Speakers
Here are some of our fantastic line up of speakers who took part in the Premier Digital Conference 2018.
Amaris Cole
Digital Communications & Content Manager, Church of England
Amaris Cole is the digital communication manager at the Church of England, working in the award-winning digital team. She is responsible for implementing digital evangelism, discipleship and communication strategies for the Church of England and its institutions. Amaris is also leading the national digital training for churches on social media and websites, helping them use their digital presence strategically for evangelism and discipleship.
Sheridan Voysey
Writer, Speaker & Broadcaster
Sheridan Voysey is a writer, speaker and broadcaster on faith and spirituality. He is the author of six books, including Resilient: Your Invitation to a Jesus-Shaped Life (Discovery House), Resurrection Year: Turning Broken Dreams into New Beginnings (Thomas Nelson), and Unseen Footprints: Encountering the Divine Along the Journey of Life (Lion Hudson). He writes regularly for the globally popular devotional Our Daily Bread and is a regular contributor to faith programs on BBC Radio 2.
Ben Jones
CEO, Missional Generation
Ben Jones is the Founder and CEO of Missional Generation. A Christian youth charity in the North of England that develops interactive and immersive Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality youth work resources to equip young people to explore Mission, evangelism and how to become influential for God in every arena of life. Our aim is to help the Church strengthen its voice, be at the cutting edge in society and we feel young people can ignite this into action.
Niran Vinod
Creative Workshop, Instagram
As a creative product strategist at Facebook / Instagram, Niran works with the product and engineering teams to build creative tools for small to medium-sized businesses. In my previous role here, I spent two years working with fashion, apparel and luxury brands and agencies to help them maximize the creative potential of the platform. Bringing together photography, design and technology for brands is nothing new for Niran as he has bridged the worlds of commerce, content and community for over 10 years. Niran began his career on the community and publisher side with Soccer-Art and OleOle before moving agency side with We Are Social, then Independents United and AKQA, which brought him full circle back to football with Nike.
James Poulter
Technology Futurist, Head of Emerging Platforms & Partnerships, The LEGO Group
As Head of The LEGO Group’s Emerging Platforms & Partnerships team as part of the Digital Consumer Engagement division, James Poulter is pursuing new technologies, platforms and partners to build digital consumer engagement with LEGO customers, shoppers and consumers on a global basis.
James Doc
Digital Ministry Developer, The Globe Church
James is the Digital Ministry Developer at The Globe Church and co-leads the organisation of the annual Kingdom Code hackathon.
Rachel Jordan-Wolf
National Mission and Evangelism Adviser, Church of England
Rachel Jordan-Wolf is the National Mission and Evangelism Adviser for the Church of England. She leads on evangelism projects, research and consultancy and runs a network for diocesan missioners. She has a PhD and has worked with YWAM in Amsterdam's red light district.
Nigel Cameron
President, Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies
Originally from the UK, Professor Nigel Cameron has been based in the United States for nearly three decades. He has held positions in Christian and secular universities, and written extensively on theology, bioethics, and the social and policy implications of new technologies. In 2007 he founded the Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies in Washington, DC, which he directed for ten years (he is now President Emeritus). He recently chaired a series of international conferences in Brussels and Washington on the Internet of Things and Connected Cars, as well as the GITEX and Future Tech conferences in Dubai.
Archbishop Angaelos
Coptic Orthodox Church UK
His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, has a pastoral ministry spanning more than two decades, specialising in youth ministry, travelling around the world to speak at youth conferences and conventions. He is widely recognised for his extensive development and advocacy work, and as a result was conferred the honour of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty The Queen for ‘Services to International Religious Freedom.’ Archbishop Angaelos has also been conferred the Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Coventry Cross of Nails for Reconciliation.
Hannah Mudge
Digital Fundraising and Marketing Officer, The Leprosy Mission
Hannah Mudge is the Digital Fundraising and Marketing Officer at The Leprosy Mission England & Wales, where she has been looking after all things digital including the website, emails and social media since 2011. As a former journalist and blogger, Hannah has written for a number of publications and websites. She is also a founding member of the Christian Feminist Network and of Project 3:28, which completes an annual audit of the gender balance of speakers at Christian conferences and festivals and has recently launched a database of women speakers. She lives in Peterborough with her husband and two sons.
Ruth Jackson
Editor, Premier Youth & Children's Work
Ruth Jackson is editor of Premier Youth and Children’s Work, a magazine for those passionate about raising the next generation. She previously worked at CBBC’s Blue Peter before moving to RZIM, where she helped set up their youth apologetics strand Reboot. Ruth is on the leadership team at Holy Trinity Barnes and plays bass in all girl rock ‘n roll band The Daisy Chains.
Lahna Pottle
16-19s specialist with SchoolsworkUK, Youthscape
Lahna Pottle works as Youthscape’s 16-19s Specialist, working locally with young people, developing resources, and speaking nationally. She holds a BA in Theology and Youth Ministry and is passionate about all things social media and digital, and speaks regularly on youth work and youth culture.
Fr Simon Rundell
Priest, Blogger, Theologian
Fr Simon Rundell is a Church of England priest in the north part of Plymouth and an MA Student in Digital Theology at Durham University. His interests are especially Sacramental Mission and Youth & Children’s Ministry. When not in the vineyard, Fr Simon is a keen Ballroom and Latin dancer.
Karen O’Donnell
Research Fellow, CODEC
Karen O’Donnell is the Research Fellow in Digital Theology and Pedagogy at the CODEC Centre for Digital Theology at Durham University. Her research focuses on what it means to be human in a digital age.
Sam Peckham
Managing Director, OneSheep
Sam is the co-founder and Managing Director of OneSheep, a ministry enabling organisations to Do Good, Better through design and technology services. He is married, has five kids and is really enjoying the journey with God blending; faith, family, leadership, tech, ministry and church.
Kevin Bennett
Chief Operating Officer, Premier
Kevin Bennett has been at Premier since 2006 and currently works as Chief Operating Officer (Marketing, Digital & Technology). He is responsible for both the organisation's digital presence and marketing activity. Kevin's love of digital was birthed in the white heat of the 1980’s home computing revolution.
Bex Lewis
Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing, Manchester Metropolitan University
Dr Bex Lewis is passionate about helping people engage with the digital world in a positive way, where she has more than 20 years’ experience. She is Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University and Visiting Research Fellow at St John’s College, Durham University, with a particular interest in digital culture, persuasion and attitudinal change.
Dan Rackham
Christian YouTuber
Dan is a YouTube creator. He creates shareable bitesize videos that get people talking about Jesus. Collectively his videos have been watched over 3 million times. He also manages the Go Chatter videos website where churches can download engaging videos from a number of different YouTube creators. Previously Dan served at a church in Toxteth, Liverpool as a community worker and evangelist. To relax he enjoys cooking for friends, making things, and the occasional bit of kite surfing.
Sean Skinner
Youth Pastor, St Pauls Howell Hill
Sean is the Youth Pastor at St Pauls Howell Hill. He is also a worship leader and keen cyclist. In a previous life he was 'Social Media Sean' - responsible for all things social media at Premier.
Pete Phillips
Director of Research, CODEC
Revd Dr Pete Phillips is Director of CODEC, a research centre at Durham University exploring Digital Theology, Digital Discipleship, and Preaching and the Imagination. A Methodist minister, Pete teaches New Testament at Cranmer Hall, Durham as well as supervising research students and projects.
Vicky Walker
Writer and speaker
Vicky Walker is a writer and speaker, among other things. She writes about life, arts and culture, faith, and awkward moments in the form of books, articles, stories, and more, and she tweets a lot.
Luke Whyte
Founder, The Youth Workshop
Luke Whyte is an author, pastor, leadership and identity coach, budding entrepreneur, speaker, podcast host and online content creator. Luke loves to speak about faith, leadership, social media, digital discipleship and most of all how to look at things differently. In addition to his writing and speaking, Luke founded The Youth Workshop LTD.
Will Roberts
Managing Director, WebBox
Will is the Managing Director at WebBox and is the first point of contact within the company. His responsibilities vary widely; but his main focuses include managing client accounts, business development and managing the team.
Nicky Shepard
Account Manager, Cofinitive
Nicky is passionate about helping people to communicate their message and to bring light to the world. Nicky lives in Cambridge with her husband and two boys, and works full time in PR and Communications. With experience of founding companies, working as a strategic consultant, in community development and as a political candidate, Nicky has a huge amount of experience creating a buzz about people and brands online and in the media. Nicky is always happy to connect with new people on Twitter and Instagram.
Emma Sijuwade
Social Media Specialist, Premier
Emma Sijuwade is an MBA grad who works at Premier in the Digital Marketing department, focusing on social media marketing. She has created successful social media campaigns on Premier platforms for clients like Sony, Christian Aid, Feed the Hungry, Tearfund and CAPuk. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, photography, food and meeting new people!
Sam Hailes
Editor, Premier Christianity magazine
Sam Hailes is editor of Premier Christianity – the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Before joining Premier he worked as a freelance journalist and social media manager. He’s married to Stacey, lives in London and is a keen traveller, reader and tweeter.
Ella Connolly
Presenter & Writer
Ella is a recent graduate from the University of Exeter. She has a passion for sharing the gospel online and alongside her studies, she served as part of the Church Online team at Rediscover Church as a host. She also shared advice and encouragements through her own blog, ellascribbles. As a presenter and writer, she believes in the power of authentic digital communication to reach people.
Laura Treneer
Chief Executive, CPO
Laura Treneer is Chief Executive of CPO (Christian Publishing & Outreach), who have been helping churches in their communications for 60 years. She is motivated by a passion to serve the Church, and see training and good resources put to good use. She wrote a series of little books in 2017, ‘Reach Out’, including practical guides on websites and social media She lives in Brighton, where her husband has been leading a church for 10 years.
Katie Tupling
Bishop's Advisor on Disability and Inclusion
Katie is a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, real-ale drinker, narrowboater, Tweeter, author, disciple of Jesus and friend! She is currently a vicar of two Anglican churches in Sheffield, and Bishop's Advisor on Disability and Inclusion. Living with mild Cerebral Palsy means she end up being an ambassador (or thorn in the side) between able-bodied society and disabled people.
Erin Green
Communication Coordinator, Conference of European Churches
Erin Green is a theologian fascinated with robots and artificial intelligence and the ethics of technology. She is developing theological and ethical responses to these technologies, with a special emphasis on race, gender, class, and ecological concerns. She currently works for the Conference of European Churches in communications.
Ali Johnson
Digital Evangelist, Cliff Colleg
Ali Johnson works as a Digital Evangelist at Cliff College. I love sport of all kinds, beautiful pens and a great cup of coffee
Fiona Fidgin
Learning & Development Officer, The Methodist Church
Fiona Fidgin is a member of the Iona Community who works for the Methodist Church Learning Network and is currently studying a part time MA in Digital Theology with CODEC at Durham University. She has a background in education with many years experience in delivering all age congregational learning.
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