2025 Speakers

Alex is co-founder of NaturalView, a 501c-3 nonprofit organization focused on helping people who are re-evaluating their faiths and recovering from religious trauma. The organization uses state of the art digital media tools to create content that is insightful and uplifting. 

Alex has recently started writing music using AI that explores positive and inspirational alternatives to traditional religious music.

Alex is also founder of Brandmother and has worked with many start-ups and Fortune 100 organizations.  He holds an MBA from Northwestern and a BA from Vanderbilt. 

Alex Heetland is the Artistic Director of the Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus. SGMC has been raising voices and building community through music since 1984. With a mission to foster pride and understanding while entertaining audiences, SGMC is known for dynamic performances that blend artistry, humor, and heart. The chorus produces three main concerts a season and can be seen representing LGBTQIA+ voices throughout the community at events and festivals throughout the Sacramento region. Their next concert is "Holiday Hits with a Splash of Sass" at the Safe Performing Arts Center on November 29. More info about the chorus at sacgaymenschorus.com.

Teresa “TESS” Guyan is the owner / operator of Guyan Funeral Trade & Consulting Services, which provides management level staffing solutions for mortuaries and crematories in Northern California. 

Tess has worked in the Final Care Industry for thirty-three years, serving families in numerous capacities. She served two terms as President of The Sacramento Funeral Directors Association and was a former board member of The California Funeral Director’s Association. She is an expert in the fields of Trauma Restoration, Embalming and Pre-need Funeral Law.

Tess currently lives in the East Bay Area. Her hobbies include horseback riding throughout Northern California’s beautiful mountain & coastal terrains, crocheting intricate baby blankets and finds tremendous joy in caring for her two beloved grandchildren.

Today, Tess will be sharing information on the benefits of final care pre-arrangements.

Sarah Norris is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist and American Society of Consulting Arborists Registered Consulting Arborist. She earned her bachelor's degree from Michigan State University in Botany and Plant Pathology and earned a master's degree from the University of California, Davis in Soil and Biogeochemistry. Sarah is a small business owner, and Wild Rye Consulting is the culmination of her natural curiosity for the plant world and passion for improving the urban forest and educating others on the importance, value, and biology of trees.

Typically, we have a speaker every month who teaches us something new, interesting, or unique about the world and the people in it. However, with summer travel, sicknesses, and busy schedules, we were unexpectedly without a speaker this month. We apologize for this miscalculation, but we will be sure to have more experts at coming Assemblies. Until then, thank you to everyone who came just to hang out. We appreciate you!

Luisa Morco is a Filipino-American, feminist, environmentalist, activist, animal lover, forever-student, volunteer, teacher, and student of life. She is also a talented artist that focuses on community connection and the importance of mental health. 

As a teacher, she strives to help others learn, reminding them that their journey is as important as the final result. In the same way, she continues to learn and grown with the people, community, and world around her, always finding ways to improve herself while helping others. 

She is currently working on "Narrative Voices," an interactive installation that creates a safe space for viewers to share their voices, cultivating communities through sharing stories. Luisa works with many organizations in the Sacramento area, bringing Narrative Voices to life throughout California. 

Laura Stillmunkes is the Executive Director of Capital Adoptive Families (CAFA), an organization dedicated to supporting adoptive, kinship, and guardianship families to help children thrive in permanent homes. With a degree in business, Laura brings both a strategic and compassionate approach to her leadership role.

Laura has been with CAFA for 16 years, starting as a volunteer, and has played an integral role in its growth. Under her leadership, CAFA has expanded from a small organization offering a single support group to a thriving resource hub that provides various programs, including respite care, wraparound services, multiple support groups, and linkages to critical services.

Outside of work, Laura is a recent empty nester who enjoys gardening, spending time in nature, and relaxing with her pets.

Gregory Dilts is a clinical psychology PhD student at Fielding Graduate University and a longtime resident of the Sacramento area. He received his master's degree in clincial psychology from FGU and his bachelor's in psychology from CSU Sacramento.

He will be presenting on his dissertation topic, the perceived benefits of participating in Sunday Assembly in the US cultural context. He is set to defend his dissertation this Spring. Greg will be providing an overview of the academic literature on this topic, a description of qualitative research applications, and the progress of his own research.

Emily Autenrieth (ey/em), who spent 32 years in Alaska before settling in California, saw a need in the community for a space where people of all ages and identities could be themselves and learn about others. With eir spouse Ryan's support, Emily opened a pop-up and online bookstore out of the family's home in January 2020 and started to build up a supportive community. Emily and Ryan opened the brick-and-mortar location of A Seat at the Table Books in November 2021. We have been featured by ABC10 as their first business of the year for 2022, for Pride in 2024, and for our work in the community on multiple occasions.

Our speaker for January is Amanda McCarthy representing Sacramento's own River City Food Bank. Amanda McCarthy is a University of Oregon graduate with a degree in Journalism, driven by a mission to build healthier, more equitable communities. For more than two decades, she has championed food security, leading hunger relief efforts across California and Washington. Her career spans leadership in nonprofit management and community engagement, always aligning her work with her values of compassion and empowerment.

As Executive Director of River City Food Bank, Amanda focuses on innovative, results-driven solutions to support those in need. When she’s not advancing the food bank’s mission, Amanda enjoys being outdoors and spending time with her family, including her husband of more than 20 years, their two teenage sons, and their dog, Sheldon. Amanda’s dedication to fostering positive change is at the heart of everything she does.