Dr. Neil Shenvi

Dr Neil Shenvi grew up in Delaware and attended Princeton University as an undergraduate where he worked on high-dimensional function approximation with Professor Herschel Rabitz. He became a Christian in Berkeley, CA where he did his PhD in Theoretical Chemistry at UC – Berkeley with Professor Birgitta Whaley. The subject of his PhD dissertation was quantum computation, including topics in quantum random walks, cavity quantum electrodynamics, spin physics, and the N-representability problem. From 2005-2010, he worked as a postdoctoral associate with Prof. John Tully at Yale where he did research into nonadiabatic dynamics, electron transfer, and surface science. He moved down to Durham in 2010 to do research into nonadiabatic dynamics and electronic structure theory with professor Weitao Yang at Duke University.

Dr. Neil Shenvi has more than 35 publications. A few days after arriving in Durham, he had a seizure caused by an undiagnosed 5cm brain tumor between his cerebellum and occipital lobe.  By God’s grace, the emergency surgery was a success and he has been healthy ever since.

In 2015, he quit his job at Duke to homeschool his four children, although he still fiddles with quantum mechanics now and then for fun.  In addition to his duties as the principal of the South Durham Academy for Math and Science (also known as Daddy Academy), he tutor the Master’s class at their local Classical Conversations homeschool co-op.

In The Great Collaboration, Dr. Neil Shenvi tackles the question: Do the issues of the day coincide with our beliefs as Christians? 

Miles McPherson

Miles is the pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, former defensive back for the San Diego Chargers, author, actor, motivational speaker, and founder of DoSomethingChurch.org. Miles is a unifier who makes the hope of the gospel real, relevant, and accessible, to empower people to make a difference in the world.

In 2000, he felt called by God to start the Rock Church in San Diego. A cornerstone of the San Diego community and reaching over 18,000 people every week, the Rock seeks to reach, equip, and send people to impact their community and beyond.

In The Great Collaboration, Pastor Miles McPherson tackles how the church should respond to the pressing issues of today.

Crystal Brunton

Crystal Brunton serves as International Justice Mission’s Orlando Team Leader and frequently speaks to groups at events and conferences to share about IJM’s mission. She has traveled with IJM to several of their offices around the world and has witnessed child slavery firsthand. Additionally, she produced the 2013 documentary film, “Immokalee: Slavery in America’s Tomato Fields.”

Crystal is passionate about seeing people set free from all forms of slavery: physical, mental and emotional. Her duties at Northwest Church include counseling with the objective to empower women to reach their full potential.

She graduated with honors from Columbia College of Missouri and is a member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, Omega Zeta Chapter for academic excellence. She is married to Pastor Peter Brunton the Lead Pastor of Northwest Church.

In The Great Collaboration, Crystal addresses how the church can gain a greater perspective on the pressing topics of today. 

Kim Stagg

Kim is the Small Group Director for Northwest Church. She oversees all of small group activity at Northwest along with her husband Casey Stagg. Kim Stagg has an incredible passion for the next generation. She pursues passion for truth and love like a dog with a bone. 

In The Great Collaboration, Kim speaks on how the next generation glances at the many issues we tackle today, along with how to engage with the youth on this topic.