Dr. Dustin D. Benac, (ThD, Duke University) is an educator, practical theologian, and organizational strategist. He teaches at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary as the Director for the Program for the Future Church. He has supported and studied communities of faith who are navigating transition and uncertainty across North America. His latest book, AdaptiveChurch: Collaboration and Community in a Changing World, explores what it takes for communities of faith to navigate organizational change. He is the co-editor of Crisisand Care: Meditations on Faith and Philanthropy and the Editor of Practical Theology, an international and interdisciplinary journal. An accomplished speaker, teacher, and fundraiser, he has worked with congregations and researchers across Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States. You can find him online at www.dustindbenac.com or on X @DustinDBenac.

Dr. Charles Denton Johnson is an Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). As a proud alumnus of NCCU’s History graduate program, he returned to the university in 2015 to serve as the Director of Public History. Dr. Johnson is an award-winning teacher and a co-author of two books: (1) Topics on African Diaspora History (2016) and (2) NC A&T vs. NCCU: More Than Just a Game (2023), a recent publication that chronicles the 100-year history of the Aggie vs. Eagle football rivalry in photos and newspaper articles. He holds degrees from Morehouse College, B.A.; North Carolina Central, M.A.; and Howard University, Ph.D. Dr. Johnson is a scholar of African Diaspora, African American, and Public History. Dr. Johnson is a recognized leader in the field of Public History inside and outside of the academy. In 2023, he was the lead historian and co-curator of America’s Voices Against Apartheid, a museum exhibition on the historical role African Americans played in the struggle for South African liberation, which was installed in the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa in May and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in September. Dr. Johnson is the current Principal Investigator (PI) for the ACLS-funded Digital Extension grant, Expanding the Digital Library on American History Through Local Community-Engaged Digital Humanities Research, which helps to preserve the history of Bragtown, one of Durham’s earliest African American communities. He is the proud father of Xavier Johnson, a freshman in the Honors College at North Carolina A&T State University studying Civil Engineering.

Ruth Peebles, offers over 30 years of hands‐on experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, grant writing, organizational development and project management.  She is the President and Founder of The INS Group a national consulting firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ms. Peebles served as the Executive Director for The Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness, as the Director of Development for Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina and Associate Director and Development Officer for the North Carolina Caring Program for Children. She has served as an adjunct instructor for the School of Public and International Affairs Master of Public Administration Program at North Carolina State University. Ms. Peebles holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and graduate degree in Public Administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Peebles currently serves on Wake County Affiliate Board of the North Carolina Community Foundation. She is a founding member of the Next Generation of African American Philanthropists giving circle.