The MentHer Collective
Monthly Guest Speaker Archive
2026
We've been blessed with some incredible speakers inside our online community for moms and mentors. Explore their bios below!
July 2026—Sex, Purity, and Self-Control Guest Speaker
Dr. Dr. Joe Malone, PhD, CPT, LWMC, CFE
Dr. Joe Malone holds a Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance with a minor in neuropsychology and a specialization in women’s health and sexual wellness. He taught for many years at Middle Tennessee State University and has guest lectured at Vanderbilt, Princeton, Catholic University of America as well as other major universities. He had classes that ranged from Health and Wellness to Fitness Education for the Adult. Dr. Malone created a new course in 2012 called Women’s Personal Conditioning along with a sorority wellness program which was extraordinarily successful and effective. Dr. Malone was named Greek Faculty Member of the year in 2010 and 2016 for his wellness work with sororities.
Malone has also earned national certifications as a Personal Trainer, Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant, and Fitness Educator. He is the former Chair of the Nashville Community Health and Wellness Team and the current Topic Network Chair for Health Promotion for the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood http://ssea.org/. He draws from his life experiences as a former model, Division I college football player and coach, celebrity trainer, elected official, husband and father.
Dr. Malone served on the CDC Initiative for STD Prevention for the state of Tennessee. He has been happily married to his wife Jody for over 40 years. Dr. Malone is coauthor of Battles of the Sexes: https://www.amazon.com/Battles-Sexes-Raising-Conflict-Empower-ebook/dp/B07D97LQ67 and founder of Sex IQ: https://www.sexiq.org/He has over 20 years of experience working with females and founded a nonprofit organization to increase young women’s wellness factors in 2008. His research interests center around the promotion of the health and sexual wellness of reproductive age females.
June 2026—Dating and Relationships Guest Speaker
Gary Thomas, B.A., M.A., D.D. (Hon.)
Gary Thomas is a bestselling author and international speaker whose ministry brings people closer to Christ and closer to others. He unites the study of Scripture, church history, and the Christian classics to foster spiritual growth and deeper relationships within the Christian community.
Gary is the author of numerous books that together have sold over two million copies, have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and won numerous awards . His writings have established him as a thought-leader in the areas of marriage, parenting, and spiritual formation.
Gary holds a B.A. in English Literature from Western Washington University, an MA degree in systematic theology from Regent College (Vancouver, BC), and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Western Seminary (Portland, OR).
Gary’s speaking ministry has led him to speak in all 50 states and nine different countries, and on numerous national television and radio programs, including multiple appearances on Focus on the Family and Family Life Today. Gary’s interviews on Focus on the Family have been chosen among the “Best of 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2021.” Gary is a lifelong advocate of using the Christian classics to bring people closer to Christ.
Gary enjoys running in his spare time and has completed 14 marathons, including the Boston Marathon three times. He and his wife Lisa have been married for 38 years and they have three adult children and two grandchildren.
May 2026—Health and Wellness Guest Speaker
Dr. Alli Karlik, PT, DPT, OCS
Dr. Alli Karlik is a physical therapist based in Anchorage, Alaska, where she was born and raised. She pursued her undergraduate and doctoral training at Azusa Pacific University, gaining a strong foundation in evidence-based care. Following graduation, she completed an orthopedic residency with Kaiser, earning her Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) certification.
Dr. Karlik is passionate about helping patients move and feel their best through a holistic, patient-centered approach to care. She is dedicated to addressing the root causes of pain and dysfunction while empowering individuals to achieve long-term health and wellness.
Outside the clinic, Alli enjoys exploring Alaska with her husband—also a physical therapist—and their two children. Together, they embrace the outdoors and value an active, healthy lifestyle.
April 2026—Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Guest Speaker
Esther Axson
Esther has been Leighton's mentor and friend since 2015, and in fact,More Precious Than Pearlswas dedicated to her! A mother and wife, Esther has an incredible testimony of growing up as missionary daughter in Nigeria, Africa before moving to the United States at a young age. She has been a nurse and educator for many years, and has a gift for teaching and encouraging. Part of Esther's testimony is shared in chapter 4 of the curriculum. She is truly an inspiration and a "mentor mom" to many women of all ages!
March 2026—Body Image, Acceptance, and Comparison Guest Speaker
Lesley Alberts
Lesley is a wife, mother of two wild and wonderful boys, and a woman who feels most alive barefoot in nature somewhere wild and open in her home state of Idaho. As a Christ-centered trauma-informed somatic coach and podcast host, Lesley bridges embodied healing and spiritual transformation for women ready to stop performing and start becoming who they were always meant to be.Over the past few years Lesley has learned — through her own journey — that courage is either chosen or forced in our lives, and stepping into it repeatedly transforms us from the inside out. She loves to hold space for women to alchemize their emotions and release them as identity, stepping instead into the truth of who God says they are.
This is why The Kindred Journey exists: because your healing journey isn't meant to be walked alone. As you navigate, embody, and step into the next version of yourself, you will be witnessed, supported, and guided every step of the way — finding your way back to belonging in your true identity.
February 2026—Power of Prayer Guest Speaker
Marissa Shelford, BSN
- Spiritual Nurse and Identity Coach with Identity Exchange, LLC
- BS in Nursing from Azusa Pacific University
Marissa’s heart, as a kinsman redeemer in the kingdom, is to participate in the healing and transformation of one person at a time. Marissa deeply believes that as one person is healed and set free, entire family lines are opened up to the redemptive work of Jesus.
Marissa is a registered nurse by trade but now considers herself a spiritual nurse working with the Great Physician. Marissa has a strong desire to help people heal the inner wounds of the spirit, heart, and mind through identity work and story work.
“God made you because God loves a good story” says Marissa and “If the story isn’t good, it isn’t over.” Together can allow God to re-story us and flip the script of our life and, in doing so, rediscover and live out our God given identities and destinies.
January 2026— Identity in Christ Guest Speaker
Joe Fowler
- Previous Pilot, Captain, and Instructor, Delta Air Lines
- Current Part-Time Simulator Instructor, Delta Air Lines
Serves as a simulator instructor, continuing to teach and mentor pilots in a part-time capacity during retirement. - Graduate, Catalyst Program, The Identity Exchange
- Chairman of the Board, Family Heritage Foundation
Provides leadership and oversight for the foundation, helping guide its mission and strategic direction. - Board Member, The Prayer Collective
Participates in national prayer ministry, including traveling to DC to pray with government representatives and their staff. - Board Member, 180 Degree Farm
Supports an organization that raises organic food and donates it to cancer patients. Also volunteers hands-on by helping move and care for the farm’s chickens on Saturday mornings.
Joe's Bio: "I was raised in a church-going family at a Christian and Missionary Alliance church in Atlanta, where foreign missions were strongly emphasized. I asked Jesus into my heart at six and was baptized at 17, telling God I would serve Him wherever He wanted. In my late teens and early twenties, I struggled as my walk didn’t match my beliefs, and my faith felt more transactional than relational. During that time, I learned that Christianity is more than a one-time decision. Studying Romans 7, 8, 12, and Galatians 2:20, along with counseling and teachings on the exchanged life, helped me understand my identity as a new creation in Christ and led to real change.
After attending Moody Bible College’s missionary aviation program following graduation from Taylor University, I was hired by Northwest Airlines. Throughout my career, I continued learning what it meant to live in my true identity as a child of God. A few years ago, I learned that God gives each of us a name that reflects how we are uniquely loved and wired. Having spent much of my career as an instructor and continuing to teach part-time in retirement, my name reflects one who teaches or mentors. As Jamie and Donna Winship with The Identity Exchange say, “Being informs doing,” and I look forward to helping others discover their God-given identities