Here are profiles of all the speakers for the WeCanReason Conference 2025! Please note that all speakers and the schedule are subject to change; this list is accurate at the time of publishing. Please sign up for email updates as well as watch this page for the full schedule of speakers.
Please note that all the Speakers are choosing their own topics and own their presentations. WeCanReason and Rocky Mountain Atheists do not review or edit any part of them. The views expressed are solely those of the Speaker. WeCanReason is about critical thinking; discussion is encouraged! Disagreements should be resolved in a constructive manner and without personal attacks. Challenge ideas not people.
Seth Andrews
Seth Andrews is a former evangelical and Christian broadcaster who now hosts The Thinking Atheist…one of the most popular podcasts and online atheist communities in the world. The Thinking Atheist is not a person. It is an icon encouraging all to reject faith and pursue reason and evidence.
Seth has authored five books, including his latest offering, “Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot.” He also hosts a second podcast, “True Stories with Seth Andrews.”
With a mix of humor and heart, Seth Andrews has spoken for audiences large and small in the U.S, Canada, Europe, and Australia about his former faith, the promotion of science and skepticism, the importance of Humanism in this often crazy world, and why we should all pursue a personal relationship with reality.
Forrest Valkai
Forrest is a biologist and science communicator known for his infectious enthusiasm and boundless love for life. Renowned for his engaging presence on YouTube and TikTok, his dynamic presentations at conferences and conventions, and hosting shows like SkepTalk and The Atheist Experience, Forrest brings together captivating science lessons, thought-provoking discussions on skepticism, and heartfelt advocacy for social progress.
Over the course of his online career, Forrest has championed science and reason, raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity, and taught audiences of all ages to love science and each other. Whether you’re diving into the wonders of evolution, questioning and deconstructing long-held beliefs, or simply wanting to make the world a better place, Forrest is hard at work cultivating a conscientious community for people who strive to be kind, to stay curious, and to never stop learning! His official Website – ValkaiLabs.com. Forrest is also the Renegade Science Teacher on YouTube..
Dr Eugenie Scott
Dr. Scott is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, Inc., a not-for-profit membership organization of scientists, teachers, and others that works to improve the teaching of science as a way of knowing, the teaching of evolution, and the teaching of climate change. A former college professor, Dr. Scott is an internationally-known expert on the creationism and evolution controversy and science denialism and is called upon by the press and other media to explain science to the general public. The author of Evolution vs Creationism: An Introduction and co-editor with Glenn Branch of Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for our Schools, she is the recipient of numerous awards from scientists and educators, and has been awarded ten honorary degrees. Asteroid ‘249540 Eugeniescott’ was named for her in 2014.
Dr Scott will be speaking on “Why Kitzmiller v Dover is relevant 20 years later“. Kitzmiller vs Dover was a 2005 federal district court trial over the legality of a small Pennsylvania town’s requirement of the teaching of “intelligent design theory” (ID). The judge ruled that ID was a form of creationism, violated the First Amendment of the Constitution, and was therefore illegal to advocate in the public school classroom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenie_Scott
Susan Gerbic
Susan Gerbic founded and runs the crowd-sourced project Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) which has written over 2 thousand Wikipedia articles concerning science, pseudoscience and people of science. With over a hundred editors from all over the world, located in a private Facebook group called The Secret Cabal they work in many languages and are always looking for more people to train for the team. Susan will explain the project as well as remind us of the importance of one of the most visited websites in the world. Bring your questions!
https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/birds-brains-and-blisters-we-really-need-your-help/
Susan answering common questions about Wikipedia on YouTube
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Dr. Rodney Schmaltz
Dr. Rodney Schmaltz is an associate professor of psychology at MacEwan University, specializing in scientific thinking, skepticism, and misinformation. He has presented at national and international conferences, including TEDx, where he explored how skepticism can foster empathy. His research examines how people evaluate extraordinary claims, why misinformation is so persuasive, and the challenges of promoting scientific literacy. His work has been featured in media outlets covering topics from belief in pseudoscience to workplace productivity myths. He is also a co-author of Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding, a bestselling introductory psychology textbook that integrates scientific skepticism into the study of psychology.
Dr Aaron Devor
Dr. Aaron Devor, PhD, FSSSS, FSTLHE, is an internationally recognized leader in Transgender Studies who has been studying and teaching about transgender topics since the early 1980s. He established and holds the world’s first Chair in Transgender Studies; initiated and hosts the international, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational Moving Trans History Forward conferences; and founded and is the subject matter expert for the world’s largest Transgender Archives. He has published widely on transgender topics, including as an author of four books and editor of another. He has received numerous awards for his research and advocacy work, his opinions are frequently sought by the media, and he has delivered more than 40 keynote and plenary addresses to audiences around the world. He is a national-award-winning teacher, a former Dean of Graduate Studies, and a professor of Sociology, at the University of Victoria.
DOWNLOAD the CV of Aaron Devor
WATCH videos of Aaron Devor
Adrienne Hill – Host and Emcee
Adrienne Hill is a retired high school mathematics teacher turned active participant in the skeptic community.
Since 2005, Adrienne worked with Tourette Canada, followed by The Tourette OCD Alberta Network, as an educational consultant and in-service provider focussing on combatting myths surrounding Tourette Syndrome, OCD, and ADHD while providing strategies for the classroom, workplace, and home.
With her extensive experience and expertise regarding Tourette Syndrome, Hill has been interviewed by Susan Gerbic, Richard Saunders and Kenny Biddle.
Adrienne has been a Guerilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) editor, under the leadership of Susan Gerbic, since 2019. She has spoken at multiple, virtual Skepticamps (New York City and Monterey Bay), and moderated her own Skepticamp in 2021. She is a regular reporter for the Skeptic Zone Podcast and has contributed articles to The Skeptic (Australia) and Skeptical Inquirer magazines. She was part of Richard Saunder’s Great Australian Prediction Project, which researched and scored almost 4,000 Australian psychics’ predictions.
Adrienne sits on Susan Gerbic’s About Time Project and the Tourette OCD Alberta Network non-profit boards.