Meet Our Speakers

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

MORNING PLENARY SPEAKER

Matt Stewart
Newton County Sheriff

Matt graduated from Nixa High School and moved to Joplin to attend MSSU.  Matt graduated from the Police Academy at MSSU and has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and an Associate’s degree in Law Enforcement.  Matt began his career with Joplin PD in 2000 as a police officer.  While working as an officer with JPD, Matt held several different positions within the agency and retired as the Joplin Police Chief after 20 years of service in 2020.  While with Joplin PD, Matt graduated with his Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from MSSU.  Matt is also a graduate of Leadership Joplin, the Missouri Police Chief’s Command College, and the FBI National Academy.  Matt serves on the Seneca School Board, serves on the Mercy Hospital Board as the Vice President, and recently served on the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce Board.
Matt was hired as the Executive Director of the Children’s Center of Southwest Missouri (Child Advocacy Center) on May 3, 2021.  He was elected as the Newton County Sheriff and began his term on January 1, 2025.  Matt is married to Stephanie Stewart who is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Joplin at Hometown Pediatrics.  They have two wonderful children, Taya who is a sophomore at Pitt State University and Tripp who is in 8th grade.  Matt and his family currently live in Seneca. 

Doug Smith, MSSW
Author, Speaker

Doug Smith, MSSW is the author of The Path of Rocks and Thorns: Leadership Lessons from a Prison Cell. He has more than 12 years’ experience in mental health and justice policy, as a policy expert at the Texas House of Representative and later as Senior Policy Analyst for Texas Center on Justice and Equity. He has more than eight years’ experience serving as an Adjunct Professor of Social Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. Doug specializes in developing the leadership capacity of people with with life histories of mental illness, past trauma, and incarceration. A foundation of his work is partnering with organizations to create trauma-informed leadership practices. Doug also works with communities across Texas to prevent the arrest and incarceration of people with mental illness. Doug earned his master’s in social work from the University of Texas at Austin. He graduated from Erickson Coaching International and is certified in trauma-informed coaching. Doug lived through mental illness, substance use disorder, and incarceration, and these experiences drive his passion to help people achieve their fullest potential. He is a husband and proud father and stepfather of three adult children and three rescue pups
District Attorney John Creuzot
Dallas County
John Creuzot is a retired Judge and an award-winning lawyer now serving his second term as Dallas County Criminal District Attorney after first being elected in 2018. His background also includes more than 21 years as a Felony District Court Judge, seven years of service as a Dallas County Assistant District Attorney and Chief Felony Prosecutor as well as a criminal defense lawyer while in private practice.
In addition to his trusted service on both sides of the bench, Creuzot has earned a national reputation for his innovative work on drug courts, criminal justice reform and evidence-based sentencing. After his retirement from the judiciary, Dallas County honored Creuzot by renaming its drug treatment facility the Judge John C. Creuzot Judicial Treatment Center in May of 2013.
John Creuzot was born in New Orleans and spent his youth in Houston before coming to the Dallas area in the 1970s. He graduated from the University of North Texas in 1978 and from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1982.
Bryna Talamantez, LMFT
Talamantez Therapy
Bryna Talamantez is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of Talamantez Therapy, established in 2021. Since earning her Master of Science in Counseling from Southern Methodist University in 2017, she has been practicing in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, providing compassionate and evidence-based care.
Bryna specializes in supporting children, adolescents, and young adults as they navigate grief, anxiety, ADHD, and significant life transitions. Her therapeutic approach is rooted in empathy, connection, and a deep understanding of the complexities of loss.
Bryna’s passion for grief support and community education is informed by both her personal and professional experiences. Her journey with grief began in childhood following the death of her father in 2000, after an 11-year illness. At age 14, she experienced the loss of her grandmother, who had been a primary caregiver throughout her life. At 19, during her sophomore year at SMU, her mother passed away—an event that profoundly reshaped her worldview and inspired her to pursue a career walking alongside grieving youth.
In addition to her clinical work, Bryna is an active speaker and educator. She has presented at local events such as the Adolescent Symposium of Texas and the DFW Behavioral Health Symposium, as well as national conferences including the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) Annual Conference and the Actively Moving Forward Conference.
Christopher Hoyer
Retired LEO, Author, Speaker
Retired Police Officer, Christopher Hoyer is a protector, survivor and advocate for mental, physical and emotional and spiritual wellness. After 20+ years as a street cop, having been faced with the worst horrors imaginable, he has turned his focus to sharing his story with others, helping them to prepare for any trauma that they may face. He has spoken to thousands, including first responders, mental health professionals and various professional entities, sharing his story in hopes of saving lives. He shares his story for a couple of specific and special reasons. The first is to honor the memory of all fallen first responders and military. The second is to pass on what time on the street taught him about survival ... mental, physical and emotional and spiritual.
Everest Goldstein, M. Ed., MSN, PMHNP-BC, IFMCP
Everest Functional Psychiatry & Wellness; Evergreen Functional Collective
Everest is a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner certified in functional medicine.
She obtained her B.A. in Psychology from Princeton University then worked for Teach for America as a bilingual elementary school teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer and received her Master of Education from Southern Methodist University.
Realizing the great need for mental health services in this community, Everest decided to follow her passion and earned her Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner degree at Vanderbilt University. In order to better provide holistic care to her patients, Everest also completed her functional medicine certification through the Institute for Functional Medicine.
Everest founded Everest Functional Psychiatry and Wellness, one of the only Functional Psychiatry practices in Texas and Evergreen Functional Collective, an integrative and functional medicine practice. She uses a holistic approach to healing targeting the body-mind connection. Integrating lifestyle, diet, medicine, and other innovative technologies, she views each patient individually to help them take control of their health and wellbeing. Everest works to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and expand access to care through advocacy and education.
Joann "Jodi" Davis
JoAnn “Jodi” Davis, MS, LPC, NCC currently works at a comprehensive transitional housing program in North Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in Counseling from the University of North Texas. When not providing therapy or doing advocacy work, Jodi often volunteers at local therapeutic horsemanship programs as a PATH Intl. Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning. Jodi's advocacy work has been largely shaped by the mass gun violence tragedies in both Uvalde and Allen, Texas.