John Colyandro is Senior Advisor and Policy Director for Governor Greg Abbott, who also appointed him to represent the State of Texas on the Education Commission of the States, and the Transition Legislative Oversight Committee for the Health and Human Services Commission.

Prior to joining the Office of the Governor, Colyandro served for over a decade as Executive Director of the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute, a state-based think-tank that develops public policy recommendations. He also served as Executive Director of the Texas Conservative Coalition, a caucus of members of the Texas House and Senate.

Colyandro served previously as a campaign policy advisor to Greg Abbott as Attorney General of Texas and then as a gubernatorial candidate, and has had an active role in numerous campaigns throughout the United States including Texas Senator Phil Gramm's presidential campaign.

Additional public service roles include chief of staff positions with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Texas Railroad Commission.

Erin Humiston is Director of Policy Communication at the Institute for Policy Innovation, an independent, nonprofit research organization. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Examiner, Real Clear Markets, and The Hill. She holds a B.S. in Communications from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Erin lives in the Dallas- Fort Worth area with her husband and three children.

Dr. Tomkins earned a master’s degree in plant science in 1990 from the University of Idaho, where he performed research in plant hormones. He received his Ph.D. in genetics from Clemson University in 1996. While at Clemson, he worked as a research technician in a plant breeding/genetics program, with a research focus in the area of quantitative and physiological genetics in soybean. After receiving his Ph.D., he worked at a genomics institute and became a faculty member in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson. He had become a Christian as an undergraduate at Washington State University in 1982, with a goal to eventually work as a scientist and author in the creation science field. In 2009, Dr. Tomkins joined the Institute for Creation Research as Research Associate and in 2016 was appointed Director of Life Sciences. He is the primary author of The Design and Complexity of the Cell and a contributor to Guide to Creation Basics and Creation Basics & Beyond.

Brian Thomas received a master’s in biotechnology in 1999 from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, and a Ph.D. in paleobiochemistry in 2019 from the University of Liverpool. He taught junior high and high school at Christian schools in Texas, as well as biology, chemistry, and anatomy as an adjunct and assistant professor at Dallas-area universities. In 2008 Dr. Thomas joined the Institute for Creation Research as a science writer and editor, contributing news and magazine articles, speaking on creation issues, and researching original tissue fossils. He is the author of Dinosaurs and the Bible and a contributor to Guide to Creation Basics, Creation Basics & Beyond, Guide to Dinosaurs, Guide to the Human Body, Guide to the Universe, and Dinosaurs: God’s Mysterious Creatures.

Charles is happily married to his wife Melanie and they are the proud parents of four children (Megan, Lance, Luke and Leah). He received his Bachelor of Music in 1982 from North Texas State University (now UNT) and his Master of Theology (1994) from Dallas Theological Seminary with an emphasis in Historical Theology.
He presently serves as one of the Executive Pastors at Denton Bible Church where he wears a number of hats including, serving as Director of a Theological institute, coordinating and teaching in the DBC Young Guns Program (an intensive men’s discipleship program), and teaching an adult Sunday School class. He also enjoys regularly teaching through DBC’s Missions program in various parts of the world as well as leading tours to Israel (a total of 15 Tours at this time).
His areas of special teaching interest include Apologetics & Christian Ethics, Creation and Evolution issues, and Christian Worldview. He has taught a three-year comprehensive multi-disciplinary worldview education program to High School aged students each year since 2008. His interest in these areas has opened up opportunities to participate in debates and panel discussions on College Campuses on the Creation and Evolution controversy as well as comparative religion and a variety of ethical issues.