Dr. Christopher Txawj Teej Thao
Senior Pastor Eternal Life Church, Sacramento, CA
Topic: Theology and the Next-Generation Church
Teng Christopher Thao currently serves as lead pastor of Eternal Life Church, Sacramento, CA. Prior to this, he served 12 years at two other churches, was an adjunct at Crown College for a year, and practiced law for 16 years. Teng Christopher Thao is married, has 7 children and 11 grandchildren.
He is a graduate of Hameline-Mitchell Law School and Luther Seminary (PhD), he is passionate about the emerging second-generation Hmong churches.
Dr. Peter Cha
Professor of Church, Culture and Society, TEDS
Topic: Ethnic identity formation and the church
Prior to joining the Trinity faculty, Dr. Cha was involved in a number of different ministries, including youth and young adult ministry in Korean American churches, campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, church planting and pastoring a multiethnic Asian American congregation. He has also served as a board member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA and of Catalyst Leadership Center (an Asian North American Christian Leadership organization), and currently serves as a member of the Committee on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).
Daniel Yang
Director of the Send Institute
Topic: New Churches and New Networks
Daniel is the Director of the Send Institute, leading and overseeing all of its initiatives. Prior to directing the institute, he planted a church in Toronto where he also helped recruit, assess, and train church planters through the Send Network and the Release Initiative. Daniel has served on various church staffs including Northwood Church, led by Bob Roberts Jr., where he was trained as a church planter and involved in global and multi-faith engagement. Prior to church planting, Daniel was an engineer for eight years. He earned an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Michigan, and is currently a Ph.D. Intercultural Studies student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
George Xiong
Licensed Therapist, Hope Therapy
Topic: The Legacy of The First Lao-Hmong Christian
George served as a youth pastor for several years and graduated with a B.S. in Youth and Family Studies from the University of Northwestern – St. Paul. He also graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he earned Master’s degrees in Mental Health Counseling and Theological Studies. He enjoys working with children and adolescents and has a heart to see individuals from all walks of life live their lives to the fullest. George provides individual and group therapy for career counseling, skills training, and spiritual formation. He is trained in providing premarital and marital counseling through Prepare & Enrich©. He is passionate about providing resources to the local church, pastors, and elders.
Alice Lor
Topic: Justice and Mercy
Alice is an attorney by trade and worked in the nonprofit sector after graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2011. She has spent most of her career in nonprofit and government because of the ways these industries work with people. While her career has centered around the practice of law, she has used her training to work behind the scenes to support organizations that serve people. She currently resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, Der, and two kids. In her free time, she enjoys eating and discovering new spots for food.
Der Lor
Pastor in Residence, Roots Covenant Church
Topic: Justice and Mercy
Der is a pastor in residence at a multiethnic church in St. Paul, MN (Roots Covenant Church). Over the past ten years, he has held different ministry leadership roles including worship arts staff at two multi-site churches. As a pastor and theological navigator, he is interested in the relationship between sociocultural context, hermeneutics, and practical theology/ministry. Simply put, he loves seeing followers of Jesus discover that the truths and stories in Scripture speak to their particular ethnic and cultural context today.
Der has spoken at conferences relating to multiethnic ministry, arts and the church, racial/ethnic identity and Christian faith. Der is married to Alice. They have a daughter, Penny and a son, Judah.
Der received a B.A. in Christian Ministry from Trinity International University and an M.A. in Theology with an emphasis in biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Kathy Moua
Coordinator for Multiethnic Ministries, InterVarsity
Topic: Leadership Development
Kathy is a Regional Coordinator of Multiethnic Ministries with InterVarsity in the Upper Midwest. She was a Campus Staff Minister at UW-Milwaukee serving a diverse group of students for six years before moving into her regional role. Kathy directs and serves on various teams that host ethnic-specific conferences regionally and nationally that calls students to follow Jesus and provides contextualized training in leadership, ethnic identity, evangelism, crossing cultures, prayer, and inductive Bible study skills. She has her B.A. in Psychology. During her free time, Kathy loves baking, watching the waves at beaches and video-calling her nieces and nephews.
La Thao
Campus Staff Minister, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, USA
Topic: Leadership Development
La Thao has served as InterVarsity campus staff for seven years and is currently working with students at the University of Wisconsin – Stout. She is also the director for InterVarsity’s Hmong Christian Collegiate Conference which for the last 15 years has called students to follow Jesus. La graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison where she began to explore leadership as a Hmong woman in the Asian American InterVarsity chapter. She writes, teaches, and reflects on Hmong American identity and faith. She loves photography and is an avid tea drinker.
Ashley Bauer
Campus Staff Minister, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, USA
Topic: Leadership Development
Ashley is a Campus Staff Minister at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with the Asian American chapter. She holds a B.S. in Engineering Mechanics and has been with InterVarsity for two years. Ashley is passionate about developing Asian American leaders, empowering students in their vocation and faith journey, and contextualizing ministry tools to serve communities well. One day hopes to see a whale out in the ocean.
Maila Kue
Maila Kue was born and raised in Metro-Detroit, Michigan. She holds a B.A. in English Language & Literature and a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Michigan and is an alumna from Wheaton College Graduate School with an M.A. in Christian Formation & Ministry and a concentration in Bible & Theology.
Maila is passionate about developing and discipling leaders of the next generation and focuses on creating space for the voices and narratives of minorities and women to be heard and represented.