Shirley Hoogstra

Shirley Hoogstra became the 7^th president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities in September 2014. In this role, Hoogstra combines her zeal for the rule of law and her passion for Christian higher education as she promotes the value and purpose of high quality, Christ-centered liberal arts education that shapes the heart, soul, and mind. 

Prior to the CCCU, Hoogstra served for 15 years as vice president for student life at Calvin College. She also spent more than a decade practicing law as a partner at a firm specializing in litigation in New Haven, Connecticut. She earned a bachelor’s in education at Calvin and a Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law. 

Mark Lanier

Mark Lanier is recognized as a top trial attorney in the United States. Mark’s courtroom work has resulted in feature articles in major newspapers, and  he is also a frequent guest on cable news shows. Mark is the founder of the Lanier Theological Library, one of the nation’s largest private theological collections. He teaches a weekly Sunday school class at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, and is the founder of the Christian Trial Lawyers Association. 

An accomplished author, Mark recently published the book Christianity on Trial and the award winning daily devotional book, Psalms for Living: Daily Prayers, Wisdom, and Guidance. 

Dr. Steve Brown

Dr. Brown was the senior pastor of Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church in South Florida for 17 years. He is a popular preacher, conference speaker, and author. He has published more than a dozen books about Christian life and ministry

Dr. Brown founded Key Life Network, a ministry that presents honest and thoughtful biblical teaching through radio broadcasts, podcasts, seminars, and publications. Dr. Brown hosts a daily national radio show called “Key Life,” a weekly talk show called “Steve Brown, Etc.,” and a one-minute feature called “You Think About That.” He also serves on the boards of the National Religious Broadcasters and Harvest USA.

Edwin Meese

Edwin Meese III, the prominent conservative leader, thinker and elder statesman, continues a quarter-century formal association with The Heritage Foundation as the leading think tank’s Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow Emeritus.

From January 1981 to February 1985, Meese held the position of counsellor to the president — the senior job on the White House staff — and functioned as Reagan’s chief policy adviser. In 1985, he received Government Executive magazine’s annual award for excellence in management.

Meese served as the 75th attorney general of the United States from February 1985 to August 1988. As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, he directed the Justice Department and led international efforts to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime.

Meese headed the Heritage legal center’s Advisory Board for the writing and editing of the best-selling book, The Heritage Guide to the Constitution (Regnery, 2005). In it, 109 experts walked readers through a clause-by-clause analysis of the Constitution. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) was among those keeping the reference work handy during Judiciary Committee hearings on Supreme Court nominees.

Meese’s other books include “Leadership, Ethics and Policing” (Prentice Hall, 2004); “Making America Safer” (Heritage, 1997); and “With Reagan: The Inside Story” (Regnery Gateway, 1992).He wrote the Introduction to a well-received 2010 book on the “overcriminalization” trend, “One Nation Under Arrest,” by Heritage veterans Paul Rosenzweig and Brian W. Walsh.

He also is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California and lectures, writes and consults throughout the United States on a variety of subjects.