Leadership Team | Equal Rights Institute

Executive Staff

Greg Austen, DMin

President

A mission-driven executive leader with more than 35 years of experience, Greg is passionate about listening conversations, training and empowering fresh generations, and a compassionate and intellectually rigorous pro-life movement that is reconnected to character, civility, and the beauty of a holistic understanding of human life rooted in the Imago Dei. Recently, and coinciding with his work…Read More

Rebecca Carlson, PhD

Director of Philosophy & Engagement

Rebecca is the Director of Philosophy & Engagement at Equal Rights Institute. She received her PhD in philosophy from the University of Southern California, where she is also a former teaching assistant in philosophy and cofounded and co-led the student pro-life club. A sought-after speaker, Rebecca frequently delivers lectures all across the country at academic conferences, colleges…Read More

Emily Geiger

Director of Education & Outreach

Emily Geiger is Director of Education & Outreach at Equal Rights Institute. She is the former Co-President of Oles for Life at St. Olaf College, where she worked to transform campus culture using ERI’s apologetics to foster respectful and productive dialogues about abortion. At ERI, she is using her educational background to write, develop curriculum, and teach pro-life advocates how to change minds, save lives, and promote a culture of life in their communities. A sought-after speaker, Emily frequently…Read More

Joshua Head

Affiliate Groups Manager & Multimedia Specialist

Equipped with the tools of technology, pedagogy, and practical experience, Joshua Head fights daily to change the culture on the issue of abortion as the Affiliate Groups Manager & Multimedia Specialist for Equal Rights Institute. As Affiliate Groups Manager, Joshua supervises our Club Coaching team and meets regularly with multiple college pro-life groups to help them accomplish their goals for club activism and outreach. He also shares his expertise with them, crafted from years of experience in…Read More

Melissa McGinness

Operations Specialist

As an Operations Specialist at Equal Rights Institute, Melissa provides generalized operational support to both internal and external constituents. She came to ERI as an accomplished leader with over 28 years’ experience in the corporate setting, focused on supervising teams and career developing individual staff, building and implementing operational infrastructure, resolving complex issues…Read More

Emanuela Akpona

Research & Administration Assistant

Emanuela was first introduced to ERI through the pro-life club at her campus, and very quickly began to love their work. She believes that, if everyone affirmed the life and personhood of prenatal babies, abortion would soon become unthinkable Emanuela completed a short-term internship with ERI before graduating with her bachelor’s degree in business administration. She cares deeply about the…Read More

Club Coaches

Club Coaches are ERI Staff or Volunteers who contribute their expertise in running active and effective pro-life groups to the ERI Affiliate Group Program. Club Coaches provide exclusive mentoring to the leadership teams and members of our Affiliate Groups.

Cory Hallada

Cory Hallada graduated magna cum laude from St. Olaf College in 2025 with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics. After having his mind changed at an Oles for Life table, he got involved in the pro-life movement and learned to dialogue with the Equipped for Life course. He later became a Co-President of Oles for Life and joined ERI as an intern. As a former collegiate football player, he spends much of his spare time playing sports…Read More

Avery Severance

Avery is delighted to be on the ERI team as a Club Coach. She graduated summa cum laude from Providence College in 2024, earning a B.A. in Psychology and Theology. During college, Avery became involved in the pro-life movement after being captivated by the Equipped for Life course. She served as President of Providence College’s…Read More

Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors provide wisdom and accountability through monthly meetings where they go over our financial reports, discuss the direction of the organization, and make the decisions that only a board of directors can make.

Tim Hull

Apologist, and ERI Board Chair

Tim Hull has been married to his wife, Jen, since 2007, and they have two beautiful children, Maddox and Gretchen. Tim has been faithfully walking with Jesus since he was twelve years old and has been in the mission field professionally since he graduated High School…Read More

Ardee Coolidge

Digital Marketing and Fundraising Optimizer, and ERI Interim Board Treasurer

Ardee Coolidge spent ten years working in the nonprofit sector and now assists nonprofits with their digital marketing and fundraising efforts. He graduated…Read More

Allison Martinez

Executive Director of the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care, and ERI Board Member

Allison serves as Executive Director of the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care (CAPC), where she supports pregnancy help organizations…Read More

Nick Bradley

Chair of C12 Business Forums, and ERI Board Member

Nick Bradley serves as a Chair with C12 Business Forums in the Greensboro area of North Carolina. C12 is the world’s largest peer-learning organization for Christian CEOs…Read More

Glen Higgins

Business Consultant, and ERI Board Member

Glen Higgins is an advocate for the dignity of human life, shaped by a deep-rooted belief in family, faith, and protecting the most vulnerable. A native of Los Angeles, California…Read More

Philosophy Team

Led by Rebecca Carlson, PhD, the ERI Philosophy Team meets at least twice per year to continuously improve the philosophical rigor of ERI’s arguments. Its volunteer members are available to consult about philosophical questions and may occasionally contribute written or other content to ERI.

Alex Hyun, PhD

Alex Hyun received his B.A. in philosophy at the University of California-Berkeley, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research primarily focuses on issues in applied ethics and meta-ethics. … Read More

Stephen Napier, PhD

Dr. Stephen Napier is an associate professor of philosophy at Villanova University specializing in clinical bioethics, and epistemology (the study of knowledge). He has published two books, Virtue Epistemology: Motivation…Read More

Elizabeth Lollar, MA

Elizabeth Lollar writes under a pen name. She has a master’s degree in philosophy and teaches ethics at a small university. Her ever-patient and ever-loving husband stays up until the wee hours of the morning listening to her talk through…Read More

Honored Volunteers

We are grateful for all of our volunteers, but we want to particularly honor the people in this group for spending hundreds of hours helping ERI behind the scenes.

Jim Burke

Course Workbook Creator

Jim grew up in Minnesota. He earned a B.S. degree in electrical engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, North Dakota. Jim works as a systems engineer…Read More

Aldo Gonzalez

Spanish Language Consultant

Aldo is a Hispanic from the US, a native speaker of English and Spanish, and enjoys learning new languages. This…Read More

Aly Gonzalez

Spanish Language Consultant

Aly is a high school student who speaks English, Spanish and is learning ASL. She also enjoys sewing and music…Read More

Kerstin Hoffman

Danish Language Consultant

Kerstin has been pro-life all of her life. At the age of nine, she witnessed Denmark becoming one of the first European countries with abortion on demand (up until twelve weeks)…Read More

Anand Mark

Hindi Language Consultant

Follower of Christ, Quality Engineer, HS Soccer coach and Lean Six Sigma black belt professional. Enjoys volunteering, sports, dancing and nature…Read More

Advisory Network

Our Advisory Network is a diverse group of respected thinkers and leaders who contribute insight within their areas of expertise to ERI. Their inclusion on this list isn’t necessarily an indication that they fully align with all of ERI’s views, but rather that we value their perspectives and collaborate with them where our work and values intersect.