Program Speakers
Tentative Speakers for 2022
- Dr. Steve Eckman
- Ms. Mary Eisenhower
- Dr. Nathan Mellor
- Maj. William Ostan
Dr. Steve Eckman
Steve Eckman is chancellor of York College in York, NE, his alma mater. He served as York College president from 2009-2020. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Ohio Valley University. Prior to that he was the Senior Grant Officer for the J.F. Maddox Foundation in New Mexico. Most of Dr. Eckman's career has been involved in Christian Higher Education including previous work at York College and 20 years at Lubbock Christian University.
Dr. Eckman has filled roles in Admissions, Financial Aid, Institutional Effectiveness, Research, taught as Associate Professor of Bible and served as Vice President for both Advancement and Student Development. Steve served as minister for the Taylor Street Church of Christ in Hobbs, NM for two year. His education includes an Associate of Arts from York College, a Bachelor's from Harding University, a Master of Arts and a Master of Divinity from ACU and a Doctor of Ministry from Amridge University.
Eckman and his wife, LaRee have two grown children who live in Texas. Steve has spoken widely for church groups and has keynoted the National Chamber Ambassadors Convention on two separate occasions. He has conducted leadership camps for several years and has been asked to speak at ministry retreats and Bible camps throughout this career. While president of York College, Steve has served on the NAIA Council of Presidents and has been President of the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference. He also serves on the Executive Boards of the Nebraska Independent College Foundation and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Nebraska.
Ms. Mary Eisenhower
Mary Jean Eisenhower was born in Washington, D.C. during her grandfather Dwight D. Eisenhower's first term in office as President of the United States. She was christened in the Blue Room of the White House and grew up in nearby Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Her family had a home with property abutting the Eisenhower Farm, where President Eisenhower eventually retired. The Eisenhowers were a very close-knit family and saw each other every day.
Mary attended several schools in Pennsylvania until her father, John, was named as US Ambassador to Belgium. She lived in Brussels with her family from shortly after her grandfather's death in 1969 through 1972.
Among Mary's numerous awards are an Honorary Doctorate in Letter of Humane from Schiller International University in Florida, the Knight of Peace Aware from the International University of Assisi, Italy, the Medal of Honor from the Slovak Republic, and Friendship Ambassador - China. She also received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from both Park University and William Jewell College in Missouri.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mary's grandfather, founded People to People International on September 11, 1956. Mary joined PTPI hoping to carry on her grandfather's dream, now it has become an important part of her life's work and she carries the mission and the founder's dream ardently as her own.
Maj. William Ostan
United States Army Major (Ret.) William J. Ostan is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where he was awarded two bronze star medals. He served for over 12 years on active duty as a JAG attorney to include combat deployments with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), and Navy SEAL Team 5. Will was medically retired on September 11th, 2019 due to a service-connected illness acquired during his deployment to Afghanistan. He has been granted a “lifetime adoption” into the U.S. Special Operations Warrior Care Program.
On Veterans Day 2019, he launched Arc of Justice | Advocates for Wounded Warriors on Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream. Arc of Justice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to reforming the military’s medical separation process by representing active-duty Servicemembers from all branches pro bono and establishing future safeguards via a Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights (WWBoR.) Will helped spearhead House Resolution 6466 which was a precursor to the WWBoR and passed last year with bipartisan support. The Arc of Justice team is actively building on the H.R. 6466 legislative success and hope to pass the WWBoR soon.
Will holds multiple earned degrees to include a Master of Public Policy in International Relations and Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University. He has been accepted into the Fall 2021 admission cycle by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government for a Master in Public Administration and is a lifetime Blackstone Fellow.
The greatest joy of Will’s life is to spend time with his family. He has been married to Jennifer for 20 years and is the proud father of twin daughters, Abigail and Kate, who are rising 6th graders. Will spends a lot of time reading books, seeking adventure in his Jeep Wrangler, and searching for good surf spots where he can ride the waves on a longboard.
Please visit www.arcofjusticeusa.org to find out more about Will and the Arc of Justice mission.
Additional Information
Dr. Nathan Mellor
Nathan Mellor serves as CEO of Strata Leadership, LLC based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Strata is the world's largest character based leadership training company. Products and services provided by Strata are used in companies, non-profits and schools in all 50 states and in over 25 countries to a monthly audience of over 800,000.
Dr. Mellor holds the Bachelor of Arts and the Master of Science in Education degrees from Harding University located in Searcy, AR. He earned the Master of Dispute Resolution degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law – Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, and the Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership degree from Pepperdine University located in Malibu, CA.
Dr. Mellor has consulted, trained, and lectured in companies, non-profits and governmental agencies throughout the United States, In pursuit of education, humanitarian, and religious interests he has studied or taught in Australia, Belize, China, England, Guyana, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Russia, and Rwanda. He has nearly 15 years experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at Baker College, Pepperdine University, and Oklahoma Christian University.
Nathan and his wife Christie were married in 1997 and have two daughters.