ACP Speakers 2023

February 2nd - L. Martin Nussbaum

Religious Freedom in America

For more than 35 years, L. Martin Nussbaum has represented and advocated for denominations, churches, dioceses, schools, religious hospitals, monasteries, Chabad houses, ashrams and other ministries.

Over his career, he has earned a national reputation for his expertise on religious freedom and the First Amendment. He employs strategic litigation that seeks to protect those rights.

Martin has served as a trial, appellate, and amicus counsel in landmark First Amendment and RFRA cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and in state and federal courts across the country. He also advocates for religious institutions before legislatures and in administrative proceedings, and serves as outside general counsel to numerous national and regional ministries.

May 4th - David Bereit

Pro-Life Movement in a Post-Roe America

David Bereit is a passionate Catholic convert, husband, father, pro-life leader, international speaker, strategic advisor, and leadership mentor.

He is the founder and former CEO of the global 40 Days for Life movement, which he led through its first decade and built into the world's largest coordinated grassroots pro-life initiative - mobilizing 2,000 leaders and 750,000 volunteers in 675 cities across all 50 states and 40 nations, saving 14,000 lives, closing 83 abortion centers, and helping 143 workers to leave the abortion industry. 

David has spoken to more than 1,000 groups, inspiring over one million people in 600 cities, 50 states, and 20 countries. His insights have been featured in nearly every major media outlet, including CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, HBO, NPR, BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

David advises influential organizations, mentors high-impact leaders, and hosts large, online events with audiences as large as 44,000 people. He serves on numerous boards and has raised more than $85 million for faith-based and pro-life causes. 

David has been married for 30 years to his best friend, Margaret, and the Bereits have two children, Sister Gloria Christi, a Nashville Dominican, and Patrick, a junior and Catholic Campus Ministry leader at George Mason University. After attending Mass with his wife for 28 years, David was received into the Catholic Church at the 2018 Easter Vigil. 

Joe began his career in the energy industry in the mid-1970s as a field engineer in South Texas for Schlumberger. After working in various engineering and management positions in several states, he founded Charter Oak Production in 2004. Charter Oak is a privately held oil and gas producer with a staff of nine in Oklahoma City and numerous field personnel. Charter Oak operates approximately 200 wells in Oklahoma and Texas, and drills about 10 horizontal wells a year. Joe is a Registered Professional Engineer with a BS in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Joe was appointed by Governor Stitt in 2021 to serve on the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board. Joe and Barbara Brevetti have been married for 46 years and have three children and 8 grandchildren. They are parishioners at St. Monica in Edmond.

Charles “Chuck” Duginski joined Canvas Energy in 2019 as president and chief executive officer. Since starting his career with Mobil Oil, Chuck served in roles of increasing responsibility with ExxonMobil, Chesapeake Energy, Continental Resources and Tapstone Energy. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. A lifelong Catholic, Chuck is an active parishioner at St. Eugene in Oklahoma City, and serves on the Archdiocesan Building Committee and on the board of the Catholic Foundation of Oklahoma. He and his wife, Robyn, have three children, all of whom are graduates of the Catholic School of St. Eugene and Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School.

Matt is the president and owner of EnerQuest Oil & Gas, which he co-founded in 1996, and he has worked continuously as a petroleum engineer for the past 41 years. Upon graduation from college, he began work for Energy Reserves Group in Oklahoma City. BHP Petroleum (Americas) purchased the company and in 1987 he became a staff engineer at BHP’s corporate headquarters in Houston. Matt relocated his family back home to Oklahoma City in 1993 by accepting an engineering position with Enron Oil & Gas, and later worked at Magic Circle Energy. EnerQuest operates producing oil and gas wells in five states and has non-operated interests spanning the U.S. Matt is a fourth-generation Catholic Oklahoman. He and his wife, Janis, have four children and 14 grandchildren. Matt is an active member of the Knights of Columbus and a member of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre.