Jenet Jacob Erickson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Church History and Doctrine within Religious Education at Brigham Young University. She teaches The Eternal Family (REL 200) and Introduction to Family Process (SFL 160) for the School of Family Life. Her research focuses on maternal and child well-being in the context of work and family life, with particular attention to the distinct contributions of mothers and fathers in children’s development. Her scholarship has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Slate, and on the Today Show. She has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has presented her work at national and international conferences. In 2004, she was selected as a Social Science Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where she conducted policy-relevant research on non-maternal childcare. Erickson holds a B.S. and M.A. from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota. She is a research fellow of both the Wheatley Institution and the Institute for Family Studies and has been a columnist on family issues for the Deseret News National Edition since 2013. She and her husband are raising two children and enjoy navigating family life together.

Brian Mead was raised in the small town of Mt. Green, UT and graduated from Morgan High School. He attended school in Rexburg until receiving a mission call to the Italy, Milan Mission. After completing a bachelor’s degree from BYU in neuroscience and minoring in English, Brian began working for Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. He taught both seminary and institute and was eventually transferred to the Church Office Building. While there, he was a member of the Training Services Division and was the manager of student learning. He primarily focused on several topics that are near and dear to his heart such as disabilities, mental and emotional health, suicide prevention, LGBTQ, poverty, and many others. His focus has always been on helping to build and strengthen the body of Christ and making all who walk the covenant path feel that they are seen, valued, needed, and belong (see 1 Corinthians 13). While working for Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, he completed a PhD in applied social psychology. He and his wife, Annie, are a BYU success story. They reside in Salem, UT with their four children.

Richard L Evans Chair of Religious Understanding and Associate Professor of Church History
Dr. Andrew Reed is the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding and Associate Professor of Church History. He studied Russian, Ukrainian, and European history at Arizona State University and holds Masters degrees from the University of Oxford and from the University of Cambridge. He is currently working on a monograph on the well-known Russian orientalist and hebraist Daniil Avraamovich Khvol'son and Religious Tolerance in nineteenth-century Russia and also a monograph on Interfaith theology and ethics. One of the major themes within his work is the development and history of relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. He teaches comparative religion courses and church history. He is the Chair of the BYU Council for Interfaith Engagement and an organizer and participant for the Jewish - Latter-day Saint academic dialogue Learn more here.) or read the latest piece written for the Religious Education Review (Fall 2017). He founded the BYU Interfaith Student Association in 2018.

Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer Desert Management Corporation
Sheri Dew is a native of Ulysses, Kansas, and a graduate of Brigham Young University. She is a 40-year veteran of the publishing industry and has authored a number of best-selling books, including the biographies of two presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Ezra Taft Benson, as well as Insights from a Prophet’s Life: Russell M. Nelson. Her most recent book is titled Prophets See Around Corners. Sheri served as second counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is currently serving as the executive vice president and chief content officer of Deseret Management Corporation. Sheri is a former member of the Marriott School National Advisory Board, a recipient of a medal of honor from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, and has spoken at international conclaves such as the World Congress of Families. In March 2003 the White House appointed her as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations.