Advisory Board
Advocates Protecting Children's advisors are subject-matter experts in specific areas. However, Advocates Protecting Children does not necessarily endorse all views expressed by our advisors regarding issues unrelated to transgender ideology.
Fr. Paul Sullins, Ph.D.
Dr. Sullins is Senior Research Associate of the Ruth Institute and Research Professor of Sociology and Director of the Leo Institute for Catholic Social Research at the Catholic University of America. He has written four books and over 150 journal articles, book chapters and research reports on issues of faith and culture, among which are “The Case for Mom and Dad” (Linacre Quarterly, May 2021); “Invisible Victims: Delayed Onset Depression among Adults with Same-Sex Parents" (Depression and Research Treatment, Sept 2016)”, "Emotional Problems among Children with Same-sex Parents: Difference by Definition." (British Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science 7(2):99-120 (February 2015), and "The Unexpected Harm of Same-Sex Marriage." (British Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science (August 2015), available via Pubmed or at http://ssrn.com/author=2097328.
Formerly Episcopalian, Dr. Sullins is a married Catholic priest. He earned his PhD. at Catholic University and taught there until his retirement. He and his wife Patricia have an inter-racial family of three children, two adopted.
Monica Leal Cline
Monica Leal Cline is the Founder and Director of It Takes A Family, INC.
Prior to this she had the unique experience of being a former Comprehensive Sex Educator trained by the LGBTQ community and Planned Parenthood. She now delivers a powerful message to parents encouraging them to be the leading voice in their children’s life regarding marriage, sex, identity and healthy relationships from a Biblical worldview. She offers resources and skills necessary to strengthen family trust, ensuring that parents are their children's greatest advocates. Her goal is to help parents lead at home, in their community and through policy. The great success and stability of any nation is the health and strength of the family.
Monica believes that It Takes a Family to raise strong children, build healthy communities, and form a great nation.
Dr. André Van Mol
André Van Mol, MD is a board-certified family physician in full-time practice in California. He co-chairs the Christian Medical & Dental Associations Sexual & Gender Identity Task Force, and is the transgender scholar for both CMDA and the American Academy of Medical Ethic. Dr. Van Mol writes and speaks for the CMDA on issues of bioethical and Christian concern, has been extensively published in professional and general literature, and has been interviewed by numerous news services, publications, and programs across the media spectrum. He works with Alliance Defending Freedom in a coalition of professionals advising on policy matters addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, and has served as amicus/friend of court in federal appellate and SCOTUS cases.
Dr. Van Mol advises legislators and teams across the country and overseas on legislation regarding sexuality and gender identity. Dr. Van Mol serves on the boards of Bethel Church of Redding and Moral Revolution. He and his wife Evelyn —both former U.S. Naval officers—have two sons and two daughters, the latter of whom were among their nine foster children."
Jennifer Morse, Ph.D.
Dr. Morse is the founder of The Ruth Institute, an interfaith international coalition to defend the family and build a Civilization of Love.
Dr. Morse was a campaign spokeswoman for California’s winning Proposition 8 campaign, defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. She has authored or co-authored six books and spoken around the globe. Her latest book is The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies are Destroying Lives and Why the Church was Right Along. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Korean,
Polish and Chuukese, the native language of the Micronesian Islands.She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Rochester and taught economics at Yale and George Mason Universities. Dr. Morse was named one of the “Catholic Stars of 2013,” on a list that included Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI. Dr. Morse and her husband are parents of an adopted child, a birth child, a goddaughter and were foster parents for San Diego County to eight foster children. In 2015, Dr. Morse and her husband relocated to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where the work of the Ruth Institute continues.
Carolyn Pela, Ph.D., LMFT
Dr. Carolyn Pela is a Professor and an Assistant Dean and the Head of the School of Arts, Sciences & Humanities at Arizona Christian University in Phoenix, Arizona. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an AAMFT approved supervisor, serving as a mental health clinician for over 35 years. She has specialized in helping people explore sexual attraction fluidity and to challenge eating disorders using Narrative Therapy as her primary model. Conducting Narrative Therapy workshops internationally, Dr. Pela is available for 1-3 day clinical group training. She recently published a longitudinal study, coauthored with Dr. Philip Sutton, titled Sexual Attraction Fluidity and Well-being in Men: A Therapeutic Outcome Study in the Journal of Human Sexuality.
Dr. Monique Robles
Monique Robles is a board certified pediatric critical care physician and bioethicist. She received
her M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas, in 2001. She received a Certificate in Health Care Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center and then went on to complete a Master of Science degree in Bioethics in 2018 at the University of Mary, Bismarck, North Dakota. In 2019 she was an invited speaker on two panels at the United Nations 63rd Commission on the Status of Women, with the Heritage Foundation, discussing “Gender Equality and Gender Ideology: Protecting Women and Girls” and “Why Sex Matters to Women and Girls in the Age of Gender Identity.” She has spoken on the topic of gender ideology in other venues throughout the nation and has written an article entitled “The Bioethical Dilemma of Gender-Affirming Therapy in Children and Adolescents” which was published in the Linacre Quarterly, 2021. She is a member of the Catholic Medical Association, the American College of Pediatricians, and is an Associate Scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. She is also on the Advisory Board of the Truth for Health Foundation and the Advisory Council of Catholics for Preservation of Life.
Pastor Robert Roper
Robert’s journey of faith began with the desire to date the Pastor’s daughter. When Robert began dating Serena one thing became very clear. If Robert was going to spend time with Serena, he knew where to find her, and that was in church! When Robert visited the church for the very first time, in order to see
Serena, He was gloriously called of GOD unto salvation. That was 43+ years ago and the last thing on Robert’s mind was someday pastoring that same church. Robert says that he failed at retirement! After completing a career as a firefighter, and flying in various roles to include law enforcement, EMS, mosquito control, and a missionary flying in Africa, Robert is now beginning his 9th year as a Pastor.
The church Robert pastors operates a Christian School, and Robert regularly advocates for the protection of children’s innocence through an organization that he started called Operation-Millstone. The focus of Operation-Millstone is to combat objectionable material in the public schools, the LGBTQ+ agenda being presented inappropriately to children, and Comprehensive Sexual Education in
the public school system.
Pastor Elizabeth Woning
Elizabeth Woning is a licensed pastor and co-founder of the CHANGED Movement. She holds a masters degree in theology and attended seminary openly lesbian before choosing to leave the LGBTQ movement and lesbian identity. Her faith led her on a journey of wholeness that resulted in emotional healing and restoration in her sexuality. She has been married to her husband for 16 years. Her work focuses on the intersection of faith with culture pertaining to same-sex sexuality and gender identity. Rev. Woning is an outspoken voice advocating for the legal rights of Christians with same-sex sexual attraction or gender dysphoria to abandon LGBTQ in their lives to align with their biological sex. CHANGED Movement is a network of people who have left LGBTQ behind. In addition to her work with CHANGED, Rev. Woning is a pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California where she is a member of the Moral Revolution and Equipped to Love teams. She is a regular lecturer at the Bethel School of Ministry.
"Petra Harangir"
Petra (pseudonym) identified as a transgender man for two and a half years when she was in middle and high school. As a desister/detransitioner, Petra supports efforts to educate people about the harms of gender ideology.
Jennifer Bauwens
Dr. Jennifer Bauwens is the Director of the Center for Family Studies at Family Research
Council. She researches and advocates for policies that will best serve the health and well-being
of families and communities.
Jennifer earned her Ph.D. from New York University with an emphasis in trauma studies. She
has worked extensively as a clinician providing trauma-focused treatment to children in foster-
care and behavioral health settings and to adults who have experienced interpersonal traumas, such
as sexual abuse and assault. She created programs to mitigate the effects of traumatic events for
survivors of domestic violence and abuse, and she’s provided trainings on violence prevention
for youth and adults in both national and international contexts. Additionally, Jennifer has taught on psychological trauma and research methods in several graduate programs, including Rutgers University and Princeton Seminary. She has also served as an editorial consultant and a reviewer for a multiple peer-reviewed journals focused on clinical practice and traumatic stress.
"Genevieve Marker", OB/GYN
Dr. Marker (pseudonym) is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist who must remain anonymous out of concern for her career and family.