Laurie Polich Short is a speaker, an author, and associate pastor of Oceanhills Covenant Church in Santa Barbara, California. She is the author of Finding Faith in the Dark: When the Story of Your Life Takes a Turn You Didn't Plan as well as thirteen books for youth and youth workers. She has spoken to more than 500,000 people at youth conferences, women's conferences, denominational gatherings, colleges, and churches around the country. Laurie has been in ministry for thirty years, and has served on staff at four churches. She is a featured speaker with Compassion International and was on the speaking staff of Youth Specialties for fifteen years. She is a graduate of UCLA and Fuller Theological Seminary, and lives in Santa Barbara with her husband, Jere, and stepson.