Millions of people are trapped in misinformation bubbles – Coleman Watts was one of them until he got out. In this interactive and revealing talk he shares the secrets of the conspiracy theory pipeline, and explains how those same tools can be used to break people free. As freethinkers, here's how we can reach through filters and algorithms to help those headed down the pipeline change course. 

• Coleman Watts is a conspiracy theorist turned skeptic and hosts Think This Through on YouTube where he debunks cons, cults and conspiracies.   

We’ll discuss changing old beliefs with empty meaning into Humanism beliefs that enrich our lives.   

Something my friend at the AHA, Fish Stark, told me once. I believe that if we dig deeper into this collective crisis of meaning, we’ll find three things: Capitalism, Conspiracies, and Christianity. This workshop will explain my relevant history, show how the three C’s funneled me into pipelines which monopolize the way we find meaning, and provide some alternatives to lift up our spirits (pun intended).  Attendees will have a couple chances to share some of their insights as well, if they want.   

• Casey is a 25 year old secular humanist, atheist, writer, and battle-rapper.   He grew up in a small, Christian, conservative town, and was heavily indoctrinated into an online conspiracy theory cult by the age 14. He hit multiple brick walls throughout the years and has happily deconstructed from his former beliefs. Casey has found himself anew in humanism, with a fascination for discussing values, epistemology, religion, and culture. He writes articles about these subjects on his substack, “The Humanist Temple”, as well as uploads videos to his TikTok. Casey was featured on The Wall Street Journal after one of his TikTok videos attracted 800k viewers.    

We need more good-hearted, secular people in office. If you want to learn how to do this come to this workshop. Russel Platt ran for City Council in his city last year (2025). He did not win but learned a great deal about the process: how to get started, pitfalls to avoid, and so on. He will tell you how to find all the info you need to get started. Plus he’s a professional marketer and employed those skills in his campaign and will share how to market yourself as well. 

• Russel is a professional social media digital marketer. He is also a member of The Clergy Project (current secretary, former Vice President). 

This workshop introduces Lanterianism as a reflective, non-dogmatic way of engaging with life’s big questions. Rather than offering rigid beliefs, it focuses on cultivating curiosity, attention, and personal growth through open-ended exploration. We’ll touch on how it frames meaning as a participatory journey, encouraging living with mindful awareness, ethical responsibility, and a sense of wonder. Expect some discussion, reflection, and tools for applying this approach in daily life.

• Martin is a thoughtful facilitator with a passion for encouraging open reflection and curiosity. With a grounding in non-dogmatic philosophies like Lanterianism, he creates spaces for others to explore meaning, personal growth, and a deeper sense of wonder in their daily lives.

Many of us left religion behind but quietly lost more than we expected: meaning, belonging, and a sense that our lives truly matter. In this interactive workshop, TEDx speaker and author of Faith For Skeptics Daryl Goldberg explores how the psychological benefits of faith can be reclaimed without belief, dogma, or self-deception. Together, we will examine why humans need meaning, how religion meets those needs, and how secular people can consciously rebuild them. Participants will leave with a practical framework, personal clarity, and simple tools for creating purpose, connection, and emotional grounding without surrendering their skepticism. 

• TedX speaker and author.  Daryl Goldberg is the author of the upcoming book "Faith For Skeptics", which explores how secular people can access the psychological benefits of faith without adopting supernatural beliefs. His work bridges psychology, existential resilience, and meaning-making for nonreligious audiences, and has been described as “deeply grounding without being preachy.” Daryl has facilitated self-development workshops and group experiences across multiple settings and brings a warm, thoughtful, and interactive style to his sessions.     

Join us for an engaging, interactive session that flips the script on disability inclusion. This workshop isn’t about pity or jargon, it’s about how embracing accessibility and disability justice drives fresh ideas, stronger connections, and a more vibrant community. We’ll explore practical strategies to make your communities and social networks truly welcoming to all, plus stories and tools that spark creativity and empathy. Expect lively discussion, actionable takeaways, and a chance to connect with others who want to lead with inclusion, not just tolerate it. 

• Mary Kate Brown is a seasoned disability advocate, educator, and consultant specializing in disability justice and inclusion. She has worked at all levels of government, local, state, and federal, to empower communities to cultivate accessible, equitable social environments where everyone can thrive, no faith required. 

Before modern psychology, spiritual practices and traditions were the "original therapy." Today, the field of psychology is recognizing that altered states of consciousness are naturally occurring and can be powerful aids to mental and emotional health, whether through meditation, psychedelics, or other practices. 

In this workshop we'll explore techniques and mindsets from spiritual and religious traditions from around the world and how they can be used to cultivate the calm, peace, and security you need to live a great life. 

• For over five years, Daniel has worked as a psycho-spiritual coach helping people find the peace, clarity, and security they need to live a great life. He combines the best of modern psychology with spiritual traditions from around the globe to help people find new ways of living in the modern world. Daniel holds a B.A. in sociology from Yale University and is pursuing his Masters in counseling at Loyola University in New Orleans.    

This will be combination musical performance and discussion. Steve Perron will perform selected songs from the 13 that make up his upcoming book “What'll We Do With All the Churches”, relating his journey from Catholic seminarian to Secular Humanist. There will be a chance for attendees to share their experiences regarding their own faith journeys. 

• Steve Perron is a recently retired broadcast journalist, having worked for ABC in Chicago and the CBS affiliate in St. Louis. (He was at WLS when Dan Barker appeared on AM Chicago, hosted by Oprah Winfrey.) He has won over a dozen Emmy Awards. He is a gigging musician and a nationally recognized singer/songwriter, winning the prestigious "Golden Pick" international songwriting contest at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville in 2002. 

Join renowned science communicator Forrest Valkai as he breaks down the basics of science communication and helps you learn how to engage diverse audiences with big conversations about bigger facts!

• Forrest is an integrative biologist and science communicator with over 2 million followers on social media. He is well known for his infectious enthusiasm and boundless love for life, renowned for his engaging presence on YouTube and TikTok, and regularly hosts live debate shows like SkepTalk and The Atheist Experience. Over the course of his online career, Forrest has championed science and reason, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity, and taught audiences of all ages to love science and each other, and now he's going to help you do the same!

Trauma suffered from a religious background is often treated as something that happened to you, continuing the victimhood framing. Further, too often we spend time on the ideas we’ve left behind, rather than looking forward in our lives. Bringing the philosophy of humanism, informed by tools from counseling and evolutionary psychology, we’ll look at how our species creates meaning, the processes involved in taking ownership of that power going forward, and some suggestions for framing the human experience without shame and guilt.  

• David Teachout has nearly twenty years in the field of psychology, helping people with emotional and cognitive issues related to trauma and identity struggles. A master’s degree in both counseling and forensic psychology. Volunteer for Recovering from Religion. 

Did you know that all mammals play? It’s hardcoded into our DNA. Play builds empathy, executive function, creates joy, and teaches how to get along with each other. So why do we ever stop playing?
We’ll leave this session with a sore belly from laughing, more than a few new friends, and a renewed sense of inspiration for what’s possible through adult play.   

• Jake Via has been leading adults in play for over two decades. In this interactive session we will talk about the state of the humanist community, where we believe future growth can happen, and how we can infuse playful joy into our spaces. 

Love After Religion: Finding Meaning and Connection explores what it can look like to build, or rebuild a life of love, meaning, and deep human connection. Drawing from personal experience, philosophy, and science, this workshop considers questions many people face after faith shifts: How do I find purpose? Where do I belong? What guides me now? It is an honest and hopeful invitation to consider how a meaningful life can be built, and how love can remain at the center of it. 

• Joe Pittenger is a Humanist Chaplain who leads a values-based community and coaches clergy navigating life after faith through The Clergy Project. His work focuses on helping people explore love, meaning, and connection with honesty and intention. 

AJ is facilitating a panel of three men who will share how the community they grew up in shaped their masculinity. We will talk about how they have been changing the way the define masculinity and  becoming more supportive of women, queer people and other marginalized people. We’ll also talk about the advantages for men themselves to have healthy masculinity.  Our panelists will give men actionable strategies and tools to intervene, de-escalate, and model healthier forms of masculinity so they can consciously use healthier patterns.   Attendees that choose to can share some of their strategies as well.  Our panelists will be Eli Slack, Chad Harris and Jon Lovell

• AJ Ruley, from Ways To Human, is a Texas-based content creator, secular activist, and feminist advocate. She directed March for Science Houston, mobilizing 15,000 people, and later transformed that effort into a nonprofit organizing blood drives and science kit drives for underserved schools. Raised secular in rural Argentina, AJ moved to the US at 15. In her early 20’s, during a high-risk pregnancy involving a potentially fatal fetal heart condition, she became involved in a Pentecostal church centered on divine healing. Her experience within fundamentalist purity culture and rigid gender roles ultimately shaped her commitment to secularism, bodily autonomy, and challenging patriarchal systems.   

As the nonreligious community grows in the U.S., so does the need for life services that reflect our values. Weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies can and should be available for the many secular people who need them, and free from religious influence. Mandisa Thomas will discuss Humanist celebrants, how to find one, or become one, and how these ceremonies can be meaningful and creative. Potential co panelists/presenters: Fish Stark and Gayle Jordan.   

• Mandisa Thomas is the Founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, a community organization that is celebrating 15 years in 2026. Mandisa became a celebrant in 2021, and is endorsed by The Humanist Society, and is also ordained through Universal Life Church. She has officiated weddings and life services for BN members and supporters, and has also facilitated panel discussions to promote awareness and available resources. 

Come share ways to coexist - and even be loving to - people who still have areas in their life that may be hurtful to us.  

I’m a gay, liberal atheist living in rural Tennessee. I work and live around people whose way of worshipping, voting and looking at life is in direct odds with my beliefs. Mind you - these are not KKK members or neo nazis. They're my neighbors, friends, loved ones, and community members who claim to love me. I certainly love them. Yet they still attend churches that discriminate and vote for politicians who would like to take away my rights. I believe the way to a more enlightened world isn't to simply shut people out, but when possible to find ways to still relate with them. 

• Daniel Cartier has been a recording and visual artist for most of my life, and last year I started hosting a podcast called "There Is No God  - and We're All Gonna Die". I also am heavily involved in the recovery community year (7 years sober) so I have a lot of experience working with people of all faiths and beliefs to try and work towards a common goal of recovery. 

In this interactive workshop, we’ll talk about what it means to be a Humanist. You can decide if it fits you. Then we’ll discuss about how to explain it to others.  Shay will bring more resources to find out about and connect with other humanists.  Last year, Shay Leonia did not know what humanism was. She still has questions. But somewhere between joining a humanist organization, launching a podcast, and showing up to this conference, she started noticing something: the movement is really good at talking to itself. This talk is about what happens when someone who didn't get the reading list tries to reach everyone else who didn't either.   

• Shay Leonia (she/hers)  is the Communications Manager at the American Humanist Association, host of the podcast "How to Humanist", and runs AHA's Creator Program, which partners with content creators to bring humanism to new audiences. She is a musician based in Philadelphia who came to this movement the same way she hopes you did — curious, a little confused, and glad she stayed. 

Too many nonprofit boards are filled with well-meaning people who show up—but don’t truly lead. This workshop challenges that norm. It’s designed for board members who want to move beyond passive participation and become active stewards of mission, performance, and long-term impact.

Built around five non-negotiable responsibilities, this session cuts through confusion about what board members should—and should not—be doing. Participants will learn how to stay mission-focused, govern without micromanaging, ensure financial accountability, contribute meaningfully to fundraising, and engage with purpose and preparation.

This is not a theoretical discussion. It’s a practical, behavior-driven workshop grounded in real-world leadership experience. Participants will leave with clear expectations, sharper accountability, and concrete actions they can implement immediately.

If your board is ready to stop filling seats and start driving results, this workshop will show you how.

• Dr Darrel Ray (he/him) is the founder of Recovering from Religion, and author of the books "The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture" and "Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality."  www.recoveringfromreligion.org  

In the current era when AI and cryptocurrencies can make investments more daunting and scams more difficult to detect, Phil has a solid perspective borne from his years as an investment advisor representative - how to apply some healthy skepticism to avoid financial scams.  He will also offer insight into his philosophy on financial matters, as well as lessons learned from decades advising in secular spaces.  There will be a  Q&A time.

• Phil Ferguson has been an investment advisor representative since 1996 and is the president of Polaris Financial Planning LLC.  His podcast - The Phil Ferguson Show - covers skepticism, atheism, investment philosophies, economics, and politics -- all in one show!  Phil is also a longtime activist in the secular movement, and has been on the boards of the Secular Student Alliance and Atheist Alliance International. He is an active member of many secular organizations and has helped start three local groups. Phil also gives informative presentations to both local events and large conventions, including TAM (The Amazing Meeting) and Skepticon – just to name a few! 

Many people who leave religion spend years learning how to dismantle what they no longer believe. They learn the language of harm, power and theology. They learn how systems operate and how identity was shaped inside them. That work matters and is necessary. But eventually the demolition ends and the central question changes from “What do I no longer believe?” to “What am I building now?” This workshop focuses on the constructive phase that often receives less attention in nonreligious spaces. The goal is not to rebuild religion or to replace one belief system with another. The goal is to help participants identify the values, sources of meaning and forms of belonging that can support a full human life after the collapse of a former worldview.  

• Mike Maeshiro is the founder of Numa, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals recovering from religious toxicity, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community. A prominent voice in both the LGBTQ+ and deconstruction movements, Mike draws on his experiences as a gay man navigating his Christian upbringing and ministry to share profound insights about faith and identity. He is a very liberal Christian who works to help gay people get out of Evangelicalism.