Author & Speaker
SHARI BRAENDEL
SHARI has become the nation’s most sought-after Christian speaker on the topic of fashion, beauty and modesty.
As a successful image consultant, she saw firsthand that women didn’t recognize the beauty that God gave them and lacked the knowledge of how to dress themselves with confidence so their outside appearance represented who they were on the inside. Shari knows that women often judge themselves based on the world’s standards and are forever coming up short. As a result she began speaking to women’s groups on “what TO wear”. From that, her popular Fashion Meets Faith Women’s Conference was born!
Shari’s newest book, Help Me Jesus, I Have Nothing to Wear is a full color style guide for every woman. Not only will you learn about the best haircut and makeup for you, but you’ll discover the most flattering jeans and swimsuit. All this and your very own shopping guide leading you to the right stores and brands just for you, based on your specific body type.
Shari has been honored to share the stage with Nicole C. Mullin, Lysa TerKeurst, and Karen Kingsbury, just to name a few. She has been featured on Focus on the Family, The Total Christian Television Network (TCT), K-Love, Crown Financial Network and over 50 radio stations and magazine features. Read more about Shari at FashionMeetsFaith!
As a successful image consultant, she saw firsthand that women didn’t recognize the beauty that God gave them and lacked the knowledge of how to dress themselves with confidence so their outside appearance represented who they were on the inside. Shari knows that women often judge themselves based on the world’s standards and are forever coming up short. As a result she began speaking to women’s groups on “what TO wear”. From that, her popular Fashion Meets Faith Women’s Conference was born!
Shari’s newest book, Help Me Jesus, I Have Nothing to Wear is a full color style guide for every woman. Not only will you learn about the best haircut and makeup for you, but you’ll discover the most flattering jeans and swimsuit. All this and your very own shopping guide leading you to the right stores and brands just for you, based on your specific body type.
Shari has been honored to share the stage with Nicole C. Mullin, Lysa TerKeurst, and Karen Kingsbury, just to name a few. She has been featured on Focus on the Family, The Total Christian Television Network (TCT), K-Love, Crown Financial Network and over 50 radio stations and magazine features. Read more about Shari at FashionMeetsFaith!
LISA SHEA
Speaker & Teacher

LISA is a happily married mother of three and is on staff at Love and Respect Ministries. She has a powerful testimony of salvation, redemption and obedience to God’s Word. After living through a devastating divorce she gave her life to Christ and re-married. She had the family she always dreamed of, yet found herself spiraling toward divorce a second time. Lisa shares her compelling, life-changing story and how the powerful, unchanging promises of God transformed her life.
Lisa’s wit and wisdom combine to deliver a captivating message of the freedom you can have when believing and acting upon the truths in God’s Word. This knowledge is powerful and Lisa teaches how to replace the lies of the enemy with Biblical truth. It’s an empowering message that will encourage you to live in victory and be all Christ has destined you to be!
Since God’s dramatic transformation, Lisa has been blessed to lead hundreds of women in Bible studies for Love and Respect Ministries and has mentored women of all ages. She also speaks passionately on finding true identity in Christ, the power of prayer, and how to walk in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Read more about Love and Respect Ministries at LoveAndRespect!
Lisa’s wit and wisdom combine to deliver a captivating message of the freedom you can have when believing and acting upon the truths in God’s Word. This knowledge is powerful and Lisa teaches how to replace the lies of the enemy with Biblical truth. It’s an empowering message that will encourage you to live in victory and be all Christ has destined you to be!
Since God’s dramatic transformation, Lisa has been blessed to lead hundreds of women in Bible studies for Love and Respect Ministries and has mentored women of all ages. She also speaks passionately on finding true identity in Christ, the power of prayer, and how to walk in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Read more about Love and Respect Ministries at LoveAndRespect!
Author & Speaker
LISA WHITTLE
LISA is an author, speaker, wife and mother who lives in North Carolina. A former pastor’s daughter, Lisa has a passion for speaking bold truth to the church. Her books include The 7 Hardest Things God Asks A Woman to Do (2006), and Behind Those Eyes: What’s Really Going on Inside the Souls of Women (2008). Her book {w}hole (2012) was birthed when her world was rocked to the core in a very public way. Her faith and whole reason for living were challenged like never before, and in that moment, Lisa was confronted by the holes in her spiritual life. She calls her readers and listeners alike to take an honest look at the holes in their own lives, discover how to fill them with God's presence, and get to a real and vibrant place of wholeness instead.
Lisa's latest book, I Want God (2014) will release later this year. She coordinates the P31 She Seeks Ministry to 20-somethings, and contributes to various publications. Read more about Lisa at LisaWhittle.com.
Lisa's latest book, I Want God (2014) will release later this year. She coordinates the P31 She Seeks Ministry to 20-somethings, and contributes to various publications. Read more about Lisa at LisaWhittle.com.
TWU Founder & Speaker
JENNY JOHNSON
JENNY'S heart for ministry is one she's had since she was a teenager. It wasn't until the fall of 2000 that she felt God call her specifically to women's ministry and gave her the vision for Total Woman U.
Even growing up in a Christian home with very supportive and encouraging parents, Jenny still struggled with finding her unique identity and purpose in Christ. This personal journey of discovery is why she is so passionate about these two topics and why she feels so strongly that women of all ages, backgrounds and race need to embark on their own personal journey. TWU has given Jenny a platform to both encourage and challenge women to uncover their God-given abilities and use those gifts to serve others and honor God as they become all He created them to be.
Jenny has served in women's ministry since 1998 leading Bible Studies, retreats and workshops, and has worked with the women's ministry at each of the churches she has attended. She has spent the last 13 years speaking to women and writing curriculum for TWU. She feels incredibly blessed to work alongside the beautifully talented and Godly women on the TWU Faculty.
Even growing up in a Christian home with very supportive and encouraging parents, Jenny still struggled with finding her unique identity and purpose in Christ. This personal journey of discovery is why she is so passionate about these two topics and why she feels so strongly that women of all ages, backgrounds and race need to embark on their own personal journey. TWU has given Jenny a platform to both encourage and challenge women to uncover their God-given abilities and use those gifts to serve others and honor God as they become all He created them to be.
Jenny has served in women's ministry since 1998 leading Bible Studies, retreats and workshops, and has worked with the women's ministry at each of the churches she has attended. She has spent the last 13 years speaking to women and writing curriculum for TWU. She feels incredibly blessed to work alongside the beautifully talented and Godly women on the TWU Faculty.
Praise & Worship Leader
LISA PIERRE
LISA grew up singing in church choirs and listening to her father and uncles perform as the gospel group The Brown Brothers. As a child, she would travel to the locations they would perform, which is where she heard most of the singing she grew up with. Lisa does not read sheet music – although she would like to learn one day – but rather learns the music by ear and lets her faith guide her musical choices. She sings with energy and passion leading her audiences into a beautiful place of worship.
Lisa is highly involved in the Houston community through her music and faith, leading worship at Sugar Creek Baptist Church and Beth Moore’s Living Proof Bible study.
Lisa is highly involved in the Houston community through her music and faith, leading worship at Sugar Creek Baptist Church and Beth Moore’s Living Proof Bible study.
Breakout Leader
ANGELA BROUSSARD
ANGELA is a vibrant speaker and teacher who plumbs the depths of God’s Word and turns it to the benefit of those who are listening, leaving an indelible mark that reveals that Jesus is intricately involved in the details of our lives. To unite in prayer with her is to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has been called to the scene.
Angela has served the Body of Christ her entire adult life, as leader, teacher, encourager, intercessor, and more. She and her husband Gil currently reside in Mississippi, where Gil took up the mantle of husband and father to the widow and her four children; shortly thereafter they added number five to the brood. Walking in servant leadership, they host a weekly gathering of believers who join together to worship the Lord, then return to the community to demonstrate Christ’s love to those outside of the Body.
Angela has served the Body of Christ her entire adult life, as leader, teacher, encourager, intercessor, and more. She and her husband Gil currently reside in Mississippi, where Gil took up the mantle of husband and father to the widow and her four children; shortly thereafter they added number five to the brood. Walking in servant leadership, they host a weekly gathering of believers who join together to worship the Lord, then return to the community to demonstrate Christ’s love to those outside of the Body.
Breakout Leader
MARY MARGARET COLLINGSWORTH
MARY MARGARET is a native of Orlando, Florida, and has lived all over the southeast. She is an Event Project Coordinator at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, Tennessee and coordinates events for women’s ministry leaders across the country. Mary Margaret has served several churches in the area of Girls' Ministry and recently completed a Master of Arts in Christian Education at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Mary Margaret loves opportunities to blog and dialogue about engaging younger women in ministry. She's a frequent traveler, occasional cook, and lover of studying Scripture.
Mary Margaret loves opportunities to blog and dialogue about engaging younger women in ministry. She's a frequent traveler, occasional cook, and lover of studying Scripture.
Breakout Leader
CYNDI GRACE
CYNDI was born in Denver, Colorado into a military family. She became a Christian at the age of 10 in Atwater, California, and at the age of 18 in Long Beach, MS felt God calling her into full-time Christian ministry. In 1993, Cyndi's "perfect life" crashed around her and she had to accept that she had been relying on her perceived perfection and not God's grace. From that time God has richly blessed her with a heart for worship and a desire to minister to women who have hurts and needs in their lives.
Cyndi is a graduate of Mississippi College and has a Women's Ministry advanced certificate degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She stays busy leading in conferences and retreats as well as an ongoing weekly Bible study. She feels that her call is to the woman in the pew who is searching for more.
Cyndi is a graduate of Mississippi College and has a Women's Ministry advanced certificate degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She stays busy leading in conferences and retreats as well as an ongoing weekly Bible study. She feels that her call is to the woman in the pew who is searching for more.
Breakout Leader
TASHA LEVERT (pronounced "love air")
TASHA is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Executive Director of Broom Tree Counseling. She is a conference speaker, a worship leader, and an author: Stories of Hope for the Sleep Deprived. Tasha earned her PhD at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in marriage and family therapy in 2005.
Tasha and her husband Tim are part of the Vineyard Church of New Orleans. Tasha is the leader of Vineyard U, a ministry with college-aged adults. She also works with 7th-12th grade students with Tim, who is the Pastor of Students.
Tim and Tasha enjoy leading worship together, eating, traveling, dancing, dreaming, and playing with their three beautiful daughters -- Elle, Zoe, and Ashton -- and their lazy schnauzer, Gumbo.
You can read more about Tasha at www.tashalevert.com
Tasha and her husband Tim are part of the Vineyard Church of New Orleans. Tasha is the leader of Vineyard U, a ministry with college-aged adults. She also works with 7th-12th grade students with Tim, who is the Pastor of Students.
Tim and Tasha enjoy leading worship together, eating, traveling, dancing, dreaming, and playing with their three beautiful daughters -- Elle, Zoe, and Ashton -- and their lazy schnauzer, Gumbo.
You can read more about Tasha at www.tashalevert.com
Breakout Leader
KIMBERLY ODEN
KIMBERLY'S story is one of Jesus’s salvation, redemption and incredible restoration – in her own life and in the life of her marriage. She accepted Jesus in her heart at an early age, but a series of hurts and hardships enticed her down a difficult path where she eventually met her husband, Markel. It wasn’t until after they were married, did she return to the Lord's warm embrace, and she slowly began to discover what it meant to be a restored royal daughter of the Most High God, undefined by her past, but saved and redeemed as the daughter He created and intended.
Kimberly and her husband have 4 sons. She and her husband felt the Lord reveal to them the brevity of time they were stewarded with each of their sons. They felt called to intentionally educate each of their sons, “in the way they should go,” which resulted in being co-founders of Legacy Community Academy in the Atlanta, Georgia area. LCA is an accredited, Christ-centered academy in the Atlanta, Georgia area partnering with families who desire to be intentional about their children's education.
Kimberly is a deep thinker and sympathetic listener with a passion to encourage the Body with the Truth! (Isaiah 50:4) She feels it is her life’s calling to use her gifts of listening, encouragement, and organization to help others create a simplicity of life that allows for the intentional stewardship of their time, talent and resources.
Kimberly and her husband have 4 sons. She and her husband felt the Lord reveal to them the brevity of time they were stewarded with each of their sons. They felt called to intentionally educate each of their sons, “in the way they should go,” which resulted in being co-founders of Legacy Community Academy in the Atlanta, Georgia area. LCA is an accredited, Christ-centered academy in the Atlanta, Georgia area partnering with families who desire to be intentional about their children's education.
Kimberly is a deep thinker and sympathetic listener with a passion to encourage the Body with the Truth! (Isaiah 50:4) She feels it is her life’s calling to use her gifts of listening, encouragement, and organization to help others create a simplicity of life that allows for the intentional stewardship of their time, talent and resources.
Breakout Leader
SUZANNE PHILLIPS
SUZANNE has been happily married to her husband Lane for 22 years and is the mother of three. Although she grew up in the church, it wasn't until a three year season of loss and tragedy that she came to understand the person of Jesus and her need for HIm. In 2001 Suzanne's life took a drastic turn with a decision to pursue Jesus, not only as her savior but as her Lord. The realization that Jesus doesn't just tell the truth, He IS the TRUTH caused her to rethink and recalibrate her life.
Suzanne has spent years leading, facilitating, writing and soaking in women's bible studies, and after developing a bible study on identity for middle school girls, she saw her focus shift from solely women to include the next generation and families. The interest in the middle school bible study grew to include multiple grades in the school where she launched it, and eventually, additional schools in the area began to call looking for a different way to engage the hearts of students. Her passion led her to be a founding board member of a non-traditional, Christ-centered academy, Legacy Community Academy in the Atlanta, GA area. In addition, Suzanne is involved with the development of Canopy Life Academy targeted to open in January 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya. (Read more about Legacy Community Academy.)
Suzanne loves to tell God stories! She is never short on big ideas and is willing to ask the hard questions. She has seen God act in huge ways in her, through her and on behalf of her.
Suzanne has spent years leading, facilitating, writing and soaking in women's bible studies, and after developing a bible study on identity for middle school girls, she saw her focus shift from solely women to include the next generation and families. The interest in the middle school bible study grew to include multiple grades in the school where she launched it, and eventually, additional schools in the area began to call looking for a different way to engage the hearts of students. Her passion led her to be a founding board member of a non-traditional, Christ-centered academy, Legacy Community Academy in the Atlanta, GA area. In addition, Suzanne is involved with the development of Canopy Life Academy targeted to open in January 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya. (Read more about Legacy Community Academy.)
Suzanne loves to tell God stories! She is never short on big ideas and is willing to ask the hard questions. She has seen God act in huge ways in her, through her and on behalf of her.
Breakout Leader
LAURA PHILLIPS
LAURA has been a licensed, clinical social worker in mental health and parenting for over 15 years. She is bilingual and actively serves in her church in Grenta, LA in many areas including translator, teacher, planning team, and small group leader. Her lifelong desire has always been to serve the Lord by using her God-given abilities and talents for His glory.
Breakout Leader
SUZANNE PICHON
SUZANNE is the wife of Kalon and mom to Kaley and Camden. She is a school teacher at Bonne Ecole Elementary in Slidell. She currently teaches 2nd, 3rd, and 6th grade gifted classes. She pioneered the SHiNE Club at Bonne Ecole and is one of the sponsors again this year. SHiNE stands for Serve, Honor, Inspire, Nurture and Encourage (you can read more on our SHiNE page). Suzanne has been a vital part of our TWU Faculty since 2010 and has taught at many of our events in the past.
"One of my favorite parts of my identity is that Father calls me a child of God." Suzanne continues to work with women and children to help them become all Father has created them to be.
"One of my favorite parts of my identity is that Father calls me a child of God." Suzanne continues to work with women and children to help them become all Father has created them to be.
OLIVE ZENON
Breakout Leader

OLIVE views all
of life as a mission field. The investment made in the lives of the people God
has called her to serve is profound and permeates both her professional and personal
life. With 36 years of experience in the field of education and 46 college
hours beyond the Master’s level, she has taught and mentored students at every
academic level and socioeconomic group.
As a teacher and school principal, her ability to touch the lives of children
and their families has been a Kingdom service in the Father’s house.
For the past five years, Olive has served God at Journey Ninth Ward Church, a CCDA affiliated church, in New Orleans, Louisiana. This continuing experience deepened Olive’s ability to minister to the needs of God’s people. Additionally, Olive serves Jesus in the Healing Room of Slidell prayer ministry. Beyond the borders of her community, she participates in Kairos Prison Ministry International, and has made mission trips to Rubio, Venezuela, and St. Kitts, Caribbean, where her perspective regarding God and His love for all people has been greatly expanded.
For the past five years, Olive has served God at Journey Ninth Ward Church, a CCDA affiliated church, in New Orleans, Louisiana. This continuing experience deepened Olive’s ability to minister to the needs of God’s people. Additionally, Olive serves Jesus in the Healing Room of Slidell prayer ministry. Beyond the borders of her community, she participates in Kairos Prison Ministry International, and has made mission trips to Rubio, Venezuela, and St. Kitts, Caribbean, where her perspective regarding God and His love for all people has been greatly expanded.