Welcome to all current and future physicians, nurses, & healthcare workers! We are excited to join together to celebrate our community, provide personal support tools & educate one another on how to embrace Catholic principles in the Medical Profession!

www.benedictine.edu/medcon.  

2021 Speakers

Thomas W. McGovern, MD

Thomas W. McGovern, MD

Tom has been a Mohs Surgeon at Fort Wayne Dermatology Consultants since 2000. He has been married to Sally for 30 years, with whom he has seven home-schooled children who get breaks from his ‘Dad jokes’ when he speaks at meetings.

After graduating with a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Michigan Technological University, he completed his M.D. at Mayo Medical School. He paid back his U.S. Army medical school scholarship by serving eight years on active duty where he performed two years of biological warfare vaccine research, trained in dermatology at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, and ran the dermatology clinic at Fort Riley, KS. He received his surgery training at Yale University School of Medicine.

He is ‘living the dream’ co-hosting Doctor, Doctor, the award-winning official weekly radio program and podcast of the CMA that airs on the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network and multiple podcast sites. His first book – What Christ Suffered: A Physician’s Journey Through the Passion, released January 2021 by Our Sunday Visitor in early.

Glenn Stanton

Glenn Stanton

Glenn T. Stanton is the director of Global Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family. He debates and lectures extensively on the issues of gender, sexuality, marriage and parenting at universities and churches around the world.

Stanton also served the George W. Bush administration for many years as a consultant on increasing fatherhood involvement in the Head Start program.

Stanton is the author of nine books and is senior contributor to the Federalist blog. His latest book is“The Myth of the Dying Church: How Christianity is Actually Thriving in America and the World.” His previous is “Loving My (LGBT) Neighbor: Being Friends in Grace and Truth,” explores how Christians should interact with gay or lesbian neighbors in a Christ-honoring way. He is also the co-writer of “Irreplaceable” a film seen in theatres nationwide, and the co-author and creator of “The Family Project,” a 12-session small group DVD curriculum produced by Focus on the Family.

Stanton earned bachelor’s degree in philosophy, communication arts and religion and a master’s degree in philosophy, history and religion from the University of West Florida.

Jonathan Scrafford, MD

Jonathan Scrafford, MD

Jonathan Scrafford is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist practicing in his hometown of Wichita, KS. A Kansas native, he graduated from Stanford University before completing his medical education and residency training at the University of Minnesota. When he’s not delivering babies or doing surgery, he loves to spend his free time with his wife and children. Dr. Scrafford is honored to be a member of the Catholic Medical Association, which he has found indispensable in aiding him to sanctify his daily work.

Jaylem Durousseau

Jaylem Durousseau

Jaylem grew up in Aurora, Colorado and graduated from Regis University after studying Politics and History.

Jaylem has been involved with Students for life since 2015. Since then, he has been the President and founder of the Students for Life groups at Regis Jesuit High School, the Community College of Aurora, and was the President of Regis Students for Life at Regis University. He was also a Stevens, Wilberforce, Christian Leadership, and Invictus Men’s fellow, an SFLA Student Spokesperson, a Students for Life Action State Captain, an intern for the SFLA Programs and Development teams, a campaign intern for Students for Life Action, and the Public Policy coordinator for Denver Pro-Life Future.

Mary Briganti

Mary Briganti

Mary Briganti is the Effective Education Coordinator for Students for Life of America based in Fredericksburg, Virginia. A Nebraska native, she is a recent graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication and a minor in Nonprofit Management. She became passionately pro-life her freshman year in college when she revived Mavericks Students for Life on her campus.

She was president of her group for three years, frequently volunteering at pregnancy centers in her free time. She transitioned out of the group to become Executive Assistant of the local Right to Life chapter, Nebraskans Embracing Life, in 2018. She is a 2017-2018 SFLA Wilberforce Fellow and eagerly joined the Students for Life of America Programs Team full-time in May of 2019.

Sheryl Beard, MD

Sheryl Beard, MD

Dr. Beard graduated with her MD from the University of Kansas School of Medicine Wichita in 1999. She then entered residency at the University Of Kansas School Of Medicine Wichita Family Medicine Residency at Via Christi and graduated from that program in 2002. After Residency training she joined the United States Air Force where she was stationed at McConnell AFB. After the Air Force she spent a short time in private practice prior to entering her academic career at Via Christi where she was a faculty member for 11 years. Since 2019 she has worked in private practice for Ascension Medical Group in Wichita Kansas.

Larry Mitnaul, MD, MPH, MS

Larry Mitnaul, MD, MPH, MS

Raised in a military family, Dr. Mitnaul has spent significant time traveling with his family. He completed a Bachelors in Biology from the University of Dallas. After several years managing a pediatric oncology research lab, he went on for a Masters in Biomedical Science Policy and Advocacy from Georgetown University while managing a diabetes research lab. He then attended the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio where he completed a dual MD and Masters of Public Health degree. Dr. Mitnaul then completed Adult Psychiatry residency training followed by a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Dartmouth, where he was named Chief Resident. Dr. Mitnaul is board certified in Psychiatry as well as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He now practices in Wichita, Kansas where he lives with his wife and five children. In addition to his clinical practice, he devotes time to advocacy, teaching, and public speaking on behalf of children and families with mental health needs.

Kevin Theriot

Kevin Theriot

Kevin Theriot serves as senior counsel and vice president of the Center for Life with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he directs the work of team members working to overturn Roe v. Wade, defend pro-life speech, and battle against physician-assisted suicide.

Since joining Alliance Defending Freedom in 2003, Theriot has been successful as lead counsel or co-counsel in numerous cases preserving the freedoms of speech and religion. In NIFLA v. Becerra he was part of the Supreme Court team that protected California pregnancy centers from being forced to refer for abortion. In Women’s Health Link v. City of Ft. Wayne, Ind., Theriot defended the freedom of a pro-life pregnancy center to access an advertising forum in city buses. In The Children First Foundation v. Martinez, he received a favorable ruling eliminating unconstitutional discrimination against “Choose Life” auto license plates. Theriot also co-authored the 2017 law review article, Free to Do No Harm: Conscience Protections for Healthcare Professionals.

Theriot earned his J.D. in 1991 from Vanderbilt University Law School. He is admitted to the bar in the states of Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, and Arizona. He is also a member of the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal district and appellate courts.

Michelle K. Stanford, MD

Michelle Stanford, MD

Dr. Stanford is a board certified Pediatrician. She graduated from Colorado State University with honors in Biology. Michelle then attended the University of Colorado Medical School before completing her Pediatric Residency at The Children’s Hospital, Denver. While at The Children’s Hospital she served as Chief Resident. She worked for Children’s Hospital for 4 years after completing her residency until she opened a private practice. She lives in Colorado with husband and three children.

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