Alexandra DeSanctis is a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center and a contributor to National Review. She writes and speaks regularly on a variety of topics including politics, religion, culture, and the pro-life movement. Her work has been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and many other publications. Alexandra is co-author, with Ryan T. Anderson, of the 2022 book Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing.

Michael S. McGinniss is Professor of Law and J. Philip Johnson Faculty Fellow at the University of North Dakota School of Law, where he joined the faculty in 2010 and served as the Dean from 2019 to 2022. He currently teaches courses on Professional Responsibility, Conflict of Laws, Advanced Legal Ethics, and Federal Courts. He serves as Faculty Advisor for the North Dakota Law Review and the UND Law Federalist Society student chapter, and received a 2023 UND Outstanding Advisor Award for his work with the Federalist Society. In 2024, he was selected to serve on the executive committee for the Federalist Society’s Practice Group on Professional Responsibility and Legal Education.

In June 2022, Professor McGinniss received from the State Bar Association of North Dakota (SBAND) its Distinguished Service Award, the highest and most prestigious honor given by the Association. This Award, which is not given every year, is selected by the SBAND Board of Governors to recognize the efforts of its most outstanding members, and it honors a member of the profession who has provided outstanding service to the state and legal community over an extended career. He currently serves on the North Dakota Joint Committee on Attorney Standards, where he previously served for nine years as a member and two as the Chair, and on the Operations Committee for the North Dakota Lawyer Disciplinary Board. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the North Dakota Catholic Conference.

Professor McGinniss’ research and scholarship interests to date have focused primarily on questions concerning the professional, ethical, and moral responsibilities of lawyers. His law review article Expressing Conscience with Candor: Saint Thomas More and First Freedoms in the Legal Profession, was published in the HARVARD JOURNAL OF LAW & PUBLIC POLICY, which is Harvard Law’s top-ranked specialty journal.

Professor McGinniss and his wife Maureen are parishioners of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where they reside.

Judge Erickson serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

David Tamisiea serves as the Executive Director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference. Davide came to the conference from the University of Mary, where he has served as the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences since 2019. He has an extensive background in law, theology, Catholic social doctrine, and the Christian lay vocation. Dr. Tamisiea received his Ph.D. and M.A. in theology from Ave Maria University, his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, and his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he double majored in pre-medicine and psychology. David lives in Bismarck with his wife Seana and their six children.

Judge in the North Dakota Northeast Judicial District

Senator, North Dakota Legislative Assembly