Who are our speakers for Doxacon Seattle 2018?
Keynote Speakers
Clergy Keynote Speaker: Deacon James Ferrenberg of St. Elizabeth the New Martyr Orthodox Church, Poulsbo, WA.
Deacon James grew up in Southern California and has resided in Washington since 1989. He had no religious upbringing and converted from atheism to Christianity as an adult. Serving as a youth minister, he spent time in a Pentecostal denomination and later, for a brief time, in the Episcopal Church. He and his wife embraced the Orthodox faith in 2001. He holds degrees in Religion and Biotechnology and currently works as a researcher for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Deacon James and his wife Susan (Sophia) live with their four children in Poulsbo.
Lay Keynote Speaker: James Wyatt of Wizards of the Coast
Other Speakers
General Session Speaker: David Linz – “Rage Against the Machine – Heroism, Christ, and the Future We Make”
David Linz is a graduate student at the University of Washington department of Industrial Engineering. In addition to working on his dissertation, David maintains interest in politics, theology and philosophy which he pursues through blogging, podcasting, and helping to run Blessed Sacrament parish’s “Drinks with Dominicans” speaking series. David Linz is a Roman Catholic who lives in Seattle, Washington.
Breakout Session Speakers
Tim W. Brown – “Captain Sergios’ Saga: A Tale of Heroism, Darkness, and Return”
Tim Brown has been a history buff and a science-fiction/fantasy fan his entire life (beginning a few years after The Lord of the Rings was published), a tabletop gamer for almost as long, and role-playing gamer since that genre was invented. Raised with no coherent spiritual beliefs, his Christian walk began (shortly after the film Star Wars opened) with a college Bible study group and has since wandered from charismatic Protestant to Lutheran and finally to the Orthodox Church, in which he attends Saint Spiridon Cathedral in Seattle, Washington. You can hear Tim’s previous Doxacon Seattle presentations from 2014 and 2015 on Ancient Faith Radio.
Bev. Cooke – “Pratchett’s Rincewind: The Loser’s Loser or How to Lose at Life and Cheat Death”
While looking for something she hadn’t yet read in her elementary school library, an odd title jumped out at Bev.: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. Bev opened it and fell in love, with Narnia, and later, with Middle Earth. She watched the original Star Trek show back when it first aired. Dr. Who and other SF authors and shows followed, including Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. Bev combines her love of God and the Orthodox faith with her love of SF in books for young adults. She hopes to age into Granny Weatherwax but her kids contend she’s more like Granny Ogg. You can hear Bev’s previous Doxacon Seattle presentations from 2014, 2015, and 2016 on Ancient Faith Radio.
Reece Friesen and Tanya Keenan – “Kaleidescope – How Perspective Changes Heroism”
Steven “Reece” Friesen grew up in a religiously conservative family that initially frowned on his passion for spandex-clad justice bringers. He struggled with honoring his parents in this area, but eventually chose to submit to their wishes and moved away from reading and drawing “those” books. Several years of globe-trotting missions later, Reece felt God tugging him back into the world of superheroes… but this time with eyes and hands that wanted to honor God first and “make awesome art” second. His work on the indy Pax Avalon series introduced readers to a strange new world where ethical actions and their realistic consequences were explored purposefully. He continues to write, draw, and speak on ethics in comics in the Pacific Northwest with his “band of brothers”. You can hear Reece’s previous Doxacon Seattle presentation from 2014 on Ancient Faith Radio.
Tanya Keenan – “Antihero as Relational Process: Bringing out the Heroic in the Villain or Turncoat in Helix, Battlestar Galactica, and Babylon 5“
Tanya Keenan is a Clinician working for a community mental health agency, particularly with homeless, runaway, and foster youth. She credits Star Wars for bringing her to Orthodoxy; she remains a Star Wars fan to this day, and can quote Princess Leia’s complete holographic message by heart, which she learned when she was 13. She enjoys comics as well, and has particularly enjoyed reading the later Batman comics (her favorite is the graphic novel Night Cries). She currently plays the MMORPG World of Warcraft with other Orthodox friends. She is an avid player of table-top role-playing games (currently Dungeons & Dragons and Burning Wheel, although she really misses playing MouseGuard). She loves Church, lindy hop, and all kinds of geekery across many fandoms. Someday, she would like to go to space, ride a dragon, or fly an X-wing. You can hear the Doxacon Seattle panels on which Tanya participated from 2014 and 2015 on Ancient Faith Radio.
Laura Selby – “Ethics of Ender: From Hero to Villain, a discussion on intention ethics, autonomous decision making, and unintentional sin”
Dr. Laura Selby is a resident physician in Corvallis Oregon. She has completed advanced course work in philosophy and ethics, and hold a certificate of clinical bioethics. Her professional interests include end of life issues, patient autonomy, and who will be the next Doctor Who. When not working, she enjoys board games, reading, and hiking.
Presvytera Elizabeth Scott Tervo – “Interstellar Missions Trips”
Presvytera Elizabeth is married to Father Michael Tervo, of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, Bellingham, Washington and they have two children. Pres. Elizabeth was educated at Williams College (Russian Studies), Yale University School of Nursing (Nurse-Midwifery), and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary (Theological Studies). She enjoys writing poetry and theological articles, and has recently completed her first screenplay. She ‘went over’ to Orthodoxy in Russia in 1994 after experiencing the Orthodox Church in Russia and also especially in Georgia. You can hear her previous Doxacon Seattle presentation from 2015 on Ancient Faith Radio.
