The following mentors have either spoken for us or are on our panel to speak in the current year:
MEET THE MENTORS
(Click on their photos to learn more)
Check back often as we add more amazing mentors throughout the year!
Alesia Blackwood
Alesia, along with husband Matthew, founded UnLock Math, a cloud-based math program designed to take stress and frustration out of the math equation for homeschool families like their own. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Math and Computer Science and a Bachelor of Education. Alesia has been married for over 13 years to the love of her life and has 4 beautiful children. She and husband Matthew were both homeschooled and chose the same path for their children.
You can connect with Alesia at Unlock Math: http://www.unlockmath.com/
Andrea Hall is a certified and highly qualified online adjunct mathematics instructor as well as the executive director of EPIC Homeschool Network, Inc. a nonprofit based in Georgia whose mission is to enhance, enrich and empower home education in the community (www.epichsn.com). She designs courses and teaches through her own company The Study Hall Education Consulting Company, LLC www.thestudyhalledu.com.
She is a busy, working homeschool mom who has been home educating her three children for the past 6 years, and also blogs at www.nomommyleftbehind.com where her mission is to revive your faith, renew your body, refresh your spirit and restore your soul. Her husband would describe her main hobby as sleeping but when she's awake she loves to read and hangout on Facebook.
Andrew Pudewa
Andrew Pudewa is the founder and director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and a father of seven. Traveling and speaking around the world, he addresses issues related to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity, insight, practical experience, and humor. His seminars for parents, students, and teachers have helped transform many a reluctant writer and have equipped educators with powerful tools to dramatically improve students' skills.
Although he is a graduate of the Talent Education Institute in Japan and holds a Certificate of Child Brain Development from the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his best endorsement is from a young Alaskan boy who called him "the funny man with the wonderful words." He and his wonderful, heroic wife, Robin, have homeschooled their seven children and are now proud grandparents of fourteen, making their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Connect: http://iew.com
Dr. Angela L. Gonzales (Dr. Angie) is a Pediatrician, Licensed Davis® Facilitator, Licensed Davis® Autism Approach Facilitator/Coach, parenting specialist, transformational speaker, and mother of three.
Currently, Dr. Angie owns and runs Dr. Angie's Place in Norco, CA. Dr. Angie's Place is a Learning and Wellness Facility where Dr. Angie uses her Davis® Facilitator License, medical expertise and life experience. She has also recently expanded her work into consulting for the Corona Norco Unified School District as well as joining the roster as a Guest Lecturer at California Baptist University.
Through Dr. Angie's Place, she empowers clients, educators and parents with skills and techniques that help overcome the obstacles of learning and social interaction that can accompany the unique thinking styles of those with Dyslexia, ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder to mention a few.
Dr. Angie's Place programs utilize multiple, non-pharmaceutical, techniques that are tactile, fun, and unique to each client. The programs also include help with focusing, comprehension, math skills, reading and handwriting skills, social intelligence and foundational life concepts.
As a motivational and instructional speaker and educator, Dr. Angie has dedicated herself to helping others, of all ages, to find joy and peace in their lives... especially parents. Through Dr. Angie's Place she offers multiple educational courses and workshops that aid individuals on their path to total wellness of mind, body and soul.
Audrey Rindlisbacher
Audrey Rindlisbacher is a mother of 6 who is passionate about motherhood, principles, self-education and life mission. Her path has led her through hundreds of the greatest works ever written, onto stages all over the country and into dozens of classrooms where she has shared the tools for principle-centered lifelong learning which lead to the discovery of life mission. Audrey has a classical liberal arts Bachelor's Degree and is currently completing a Master's of Arts in Education from Harrison Middleton University.
TheMissionDrivenMom.com.
Blaine and Audrey Rindlisbacher
Since rescuing their own marriage from the brink of divorce, Blaine and Audrey Rindlisbacher have become intensely passionate about what makes successful marriages work. Their commitment to experiencing the BEST marriage possible has driven them to spend the last 12 years studying what makes marriages work. Because Blaine wanted permanent answers, he spared no time or expense - while providing for and raising a family of 6 children, he paid the price to go through both a lengthy Liberal Arts Bachelor's Program and an intensive marriage and Family Therapy Master's Degree program at Liberty University. Then he went on to combine these degrees with his previous study, his personal experience and his couple's coaching practice, and was able to uncover the GREATEST SECRET to obtaining and maintaining a happy marriage - the 12 PRINCIPLES! Blaine and Audrey have worked together to found "Adore Your Spouse" and have made these 12 principles available to every couple through their ground-breaking free class: 3 Steps to a Happy Marriage.
Connect: www.adoreyourspouse.com
Brook Wayne
Brook Wayne is a homeschooled graduate and homeschooling mother of nine. She is a co-author of the new book "Pitchin' a Fit! Overcoming Stressed out and Angry Parenting."
Brook encourages moms to love their children, and connect deeply with their families, even in the midst of busy family life. She is a co-founder of Family Renewal Ministries, inspiring families to become "a people prepared for the Lord."
Carol Gary
Carol Gary has been married to her husband, Grant Gary, since 1991. They have ardently homeschooled their sons in Phoenix, Arizona since the fall of 2000; two of whom they continue to homeschool through high school and two of whom have gone home to be with the Lord. She served in the leadership of a large, local support group for twelve years and has personally mentored over 150 moms since 2010 through her comprehensive program that she developed titled, "The Balanced Homeschooler" as well as her newest work: “The Balanced High Schooler”. Carol has also served as the AZ State Ambassador for the HSLDA Compassion since 2013, helping over 125 homeschooling families persevere through hard times while earning the their top National Service Award six times. Graduating with honors, she earned both her B.S. ('90) and M.B.A. ('98) degrees from Grand Canyon University. As an active alumni, she along with her family devote many additional hours in support of university events as well as fundraisers that benefit the GCU Scholarship Foundation, Children’s Cancer Network, and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She loves photography and travel as well as spending precious time with her family.
To learn more about Carol’s extensive mentoring resources for homeschooling families, contact her at inquiry@thebalancedhomeschooler.com or www.thebalancedhomeschooler.com. For HSLDA Compassion inquiries, contact her at hslda.az.amb.gary@outlook.com
Carrie Andrews
Carrie Andrews is a mother and mentor who has helped many people for nearly a decade in homeschooling children on the Autism Spectrum, particularly those who are high functioning and who are dealing with a variety of diagnoses. Her experience and wisdom is encouraging and her tips and techniques are like no other. What Carrie shares is from the heart, and from real life, down-to-earth experiences that you won't find in a therapist's office. She knows what it is like to have a child who is high functioning, and her techniques worked to help her child transition into a successful, independent adult.
Carrie loves to garden and train service dogs and often gives presentations in these areas as well.
Chris Yust is a 17-year veteran of the software industry and a father of two homeschooled boys. Chris and his wife Andrea are co-authors of eight computer programming textbooks for kids and teens. They believe today’s students deserve fun, engaging opportunities to learn cutting-edge technical subjects – even if their parents aren’t comfortable teaching the material on their own! Chris frequently speaks at homeschool conventions, motivating students to consider a Computer Science career. You can learn more about computer programming courses at www.HomeschoolProgramming.com
Christopher Hurtado
Known in HECOA circles as "the love of literature guy," Christopher Hurtado, formerly a college English, Philosophy, and Political Science instructor, is a full-time stay-at-home homeschool dad and the founder of Models of Excellence, offering homeschool teens an online instructor-led Classical education in the studia humanitatis model of the Renaissance.
http://modelsofexcellence.org/
Cristine MacDuffee-Rainer
> M.A. Counseling Psychology
> Behavior Therapist (ABA)
> Educational Therapist
> Integrative Life Coach
> Associate Marriage & Family Therapist
> Homeschooling Parent of 6 years
(714) 584-4558
Integrative Learning Success Coaching
Online, In-Home, & Community Services
https://cristinelifecoach.com/
Cristine.lifecoach@gmail.com
Imagineachievement@gmail.com
Orange County Therapy Office
http://discoverctr.com/
Cristine.counseling@gmail.com
LA County Therapy Office
http://www.sanpedrohealingarts.com/counseling.html
Cristine.counseling@gmail.com
Homeschool Concierge Community Ambassador Field Trips, Workshops & Classes
https://www.homeschoolconcierge.com/
Cristine@homeschoolconcierge.com
Marketing Coordinator at Discovery of Learning
https://discoveryoflearning.net/
Cristine@discoveryoflearning.net
State executive board committee chair at California Homeschool Parents Association, CHPA
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CaliforniaHomeschoolParentAssociation/?ref=share
Dianne Kelley
Dianne has been homeschooling since 2003. She has worked with thousands of homeschoolers and hundreds of homeschool groups to pioneer social activities, help form group policies with leaders, and participated in issues which affect the homeschool community as a whole. Her approach is always practical and effective. She also specializes in working with middle to high school level groups to help prepare for college entry and is familiar with the latest developments of Common Core and how it is affecting future college students. She founded a national support organization, Home Education Council of America; and has developed numerous other websites to help home educators in their efforts. Dianne has been leading online seminars, webinars, and classes online in an innovative online setting to offer live interaction no matter where you live in the world. You can connect with her at Home Education Council of America.
"My husband, Roger, and I are parents of seven children (four sons and three daughters). We are also grandparents to thirteen grandchildren (three granddaughters and ten grandsons)! We have home educated our children since 1983 and we are still in the trenches." Donna loves to be a wife, mother, and grandmother. She also loves frugality, learning, creativity, living providently, gardening, hiking, creating stained glass murals, oil painting, writing poetry, research, and sharing! BA Art '80. MA Ed. ‘08.
Donna is owner and The Homeschool Mommy Mentor at MentoringOurOwn.com She has presented at dozens of home school conferences in California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Washington, Nebraska, and Virginia, since 1995. She created the Mentoring Our Own Yahoo Group in 2002. Donna founded a private cyber-school and cottage school / home education hybrid in 2002. In 2009, Donna and her daughters Julia Groves and Jennifer Walton co-founded Princess Academies, which became Royal Academe 2013, and finally Mentoring Our Own.
Connect with Donna at: http://mentoringourown.com/
Donna Vail
Donna’s been home educating her 6 children now for 20 years. With the older children now moving onto higher education, the younger ones are still at home, and she continues helping parents around the world achieve success in their home education through her writing, speaking, workshops and private consults.
Donna has been featured on Voice America and is a regular contributor for the Homeschool Handbook Magazine, Dr. Shefali Tsabary, Conscious Living, Conscious Parenting Summit and Dr. Mommy Online as well as other media outlets for her expertise in education, parenting and personal development.
Donna lives with her husband, Julian and five of their six children, three boys and three girls ages 7-24, in Plano, Texas.
Donna Vail is the founder of An Inspired Education, a company devoted to home educating families inspiring them to live extraordinary lives and empowering their children through a self-education system utilizing a customized approach tailored to meet the needs of the family and complimenting natural talents of each individual.
Connect with Donna at: http://www.lovelivelearnmore.com
Edna Latone
As a homeschool consultant, Edna helps families begin their homeschool journey, decide if home education is for them or consult on programs of study for seasoned homeschoolers. She has had the joy of working with teens to create their own individual plans and plan for their next steps in education. Edna lives in Norwood, Ontario with her husband, John, and their 3 sons.
How to contact Edna:
On Facebook at Ontario Homeschoolers and Homeschool Canada Free Market.
Her websites:
http://www.freewebs.com/theroadlesstraveledhomeschoolconsulting/
https://ednashomeschoolhelp.wordpress.com/
Ethan Demme
Ethan Demme is the President and CEO of Demme Learning and is passionate about finding the best ways to build lifelong learners. Ethan is an elected member of the board of supervisors in East Lampeter Township and is an active member of his local community. Ethan is a homeschool graduate and holds a B.A. in Communication Arts from Bryan College. Ethan has been married to his lovely wife Anna for over 8 years and they live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where they enjoy running, biking, swimming, canoeing, hiking, and exploring new places.
Greg and Rachel Denning have 7 children and have been homeschooling for 16 years and world schooling for 12 years. They have traveled or lived in 35+ countries with their family. They inspire and train homeschool families re-ignite their marriages, level up their parenting and create an EXTRAORDINARY homeschool and family culture! They will help you bring back the passion and excitement in your marriage, parenting and homeschooling by giving you the proven tools and strategies that ANYONE can use and EVERYONE should.
Connect with the Dennings: http://gregdenning.com
Heather Laurie and her husband Christopher have been homeschooling for over 13 years. She began the very popular website, Special Needs Homeschooling because 4 of her 5 children were diagnosed with autism. Their homeschooling was filled with therapy, doctor’s appointments, and behavioral issues that others just didn’t understand. Later the Laurie's discovered Heather and the children also have mitochondrial disease. She shares joyful encouragement for homeschooling through very tough times, always giving glory to God.
Heidi Totten
Heidi Totten is the owner of Heidi Totten Consulting and a serial entrepreneur, but her main role is homeschooling her two children, ages 8 and 11. She first felt the pull to homeschool when her son was born, but in 2007 helped start a charter school where her children attended for a couple of years until the pull was too strong. They began their homeschool journey in early 2012 and haven't looked back.
Connect with Heidi at: http://www.inspirethesprouts.com http://www.launchingwomen.com
Ian Cox
About Ian Cox
Ian Cox is at the Leader rank in the Life Leadership company (LifeLeadership.com), and he teaches Leadership, Classics, and Innovative Thinking for high school students at Colesville Academy in Cedar City, Utah. Ian is a featured speaker for Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd.org) and runs a one-on-one Mentoring Service by phone and online for youth and adults seeking a quality, classical leadership education.
Ian mentors students and business men and women of all ages and levels. He has mentored, both individually and in classes, book discussions, speech and debate, simulations, writing, economics, history, classical math, personal mission discovery, and classics—all mixed together with whatever fascinating tangential topics come along.
Ian is a popular keynote speaker at educational and business events. He loves reading, basketball, and discussing deep ideas on history and political science. Ian and his wife Emma have one child.
Connect with Ian at: http://ianditchrider.blogspot.com/
Israel Wayne
Israel Wayne is a homeschool graduate and father of nine who is passionate about defending the Christian faith and developing a Biblical worldview. He is the author of the books, "Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview", "Full Time Parenting: A Guide to Family-Based Discipleship", "Questions God Asks", "Questions Jesus Asks", and co-author of "Pitchin' a Fit!: Overcoming Angry and Stressed-Out Parenting"
Dr. Jay Wile
Jay Wile learned about his love for chemistry when his dedicated parents bought him his first chemistry set. Many stink bombs and a few explosions later, he was hooked! Although he loved chemistry, he also had many other interests. For a while, he thought about becoming a concert pianist, but unfortunately, his fingers were not long enough (no kidding!). As he was finishing up his high school years, he became extremely interested in the theater and began to pursue a career in acting. Partly because he learned the science behind some of the special effects of the plays in which he performed, he eventually went back to his first love: chemistry. He went to the University of Rochester in upstate New York to study chemistry, and his fascination with nuclear chemistry earned him a Ph.D. in that field. For several years, he did research in the field under the auspices of the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. This research led to several grants and many publications. Dr. Wile's love of science is demonstrated by the many awards he has won for excellence in teaching and research. He has also presented numerous lectures on the topics of Nuclear Chemistry, Christian Apologetics, Homeschooling, and Creation vs. Evolution. He has published more than 30 articles on these subjects in nationally-recognized, peer-reviewed journals, and has 9 books to his credit, most of which belong to the award-winning “Exploring Creation with” series of junior-high and high-school science courses.
You can visit Dr. Wile at: http://www.drwile.com
Jean Burk
Jean Burk is on a mission to help you get your kids free college. And she knows what she's talking about. Both her children were homeschooled and earned, incredible scholarships that included free college, room and board, study-abroad stipends, free grad school and free law school. And all because of their high standardized test scores. Since that time, Jean has taught tens of thousands of students how to ace these tests all over the USA and the world. She is a sought-after speaker who equips and educates families on how to navigate the waters of college prep. She is the author of the award-winning College Prep Genius program and is a frequent Fox News contributor who has been featured on numerous Television networks, radio shows and has been published in various magazines.
Jen Holmstrom
With a degree in Criminal Justice, a life-long background in musical theatre, and experience in filmmaking, Jen's interests cover a wide variety of topics. She has worked professionally as a preschool teacher, a claims investigator, a music video choreographer, and a film production manager. And she hopes to tap into many more creative projects in the future!
She devoted herself to pursuing home education when she was pregnant with her first child. It took her 3 years of gentle discussions and pep talks to convince her husband to support homeschool; and now he loves it and is an active participant in unschooling their children. "We recognize that each child/person has unique gifts and abilities. With personalized and loving guidance, they are capable of making inspiring achievements and pursuing their dreams." Jen is now the Director of Home Education Council of America, while she and her husband have three young children. They lived fulltime in an Airstream travel trailer for 3 years, making their dream a reality to create cherished family memories while roadschooling. They have been across the country several times and document their family experiences on Instagram @inspiredfamilyof5.
Jenny Layton
Jenny Layton is an author, speaker, professional organizer and coach who helps women go from overwhelmed to organized. She is the creator of the wildly popular Get Organized Bootcamp and the newly released Life Organized program. Jenny appears on numerous lifestyle and radio shows such as Studio 5, Good Things Utah, and the Matt Townsend radio show, was an Organizing Guru for Franklin Covey, and is a regular contributor on KUTV’s lifestyle show Fresh Living. She lives in Kaysville, Utah with her husband and five children.
Connect with Jenny: http://www.thehappygal.com/
Founder, Wholehearted Ministries
CEO, The Cookie Boys
Educational Writer, Freelance
In 2008 at just 8 & 10 years old Jeffrey and Joseph Heilman began baking and selling for their business, The Cookie Boys. Jeffrey Heilman is Chief Baker and Co-Founder along with Joseph, and their mother Jessica Heilman who acts as the companies current advisor and CEO.
Through Jessica's leadership TCB have been featured on The Food Network, in Content Magazine - Silicon Valley's Premiere Entrepreneurial Magazine, The Mercury News, at LA Cookie Con, in The Mom Life Box, and Urthbox monthly subscription food service boxes.
Jessica authors the "Homeschooled and Handmade Blog" as well as is administrator for the Homeschooled & Handmade Business Owners group on Facebook.
EDUCATIONAL WRITER
Jessica's current writing projects are: Unschooling in America, Wholehearted: How I Received Healing From the Inside Out and You Can Too! The In's and Out's of Wholehearted Leadership, The ABC'S of Raising Wholehearted Kids, and The Whole Life Experience: Your Heart, Your Health, Your Harvest.
Jill Stowell is the founder and executive director of Stowell Learning Centers where she and her team have helped thousands of children and adults permanently correct their learning or attention challenges.
Jill is a two-time best-selling author and speaker who is passionate about helping parents and educators understand their struggling students and the possibilities for real change.
Meet Jillian Newkirk, LCPC, MSEd, Type 73, Founder of Fly on the Wall Counseling
I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (with a Master’s Degree in Counseling) and expert in child behavior. For years, was a child therapist for children with severe behavior and mood disorders… I’ve seen it all. I was good at my job, and my child clients made significant progress in our sessions with diligent work. BUT… things were not changing as much at home. Even after an entire year of quality therapy, often, minimal progress was seen at home and parents were growing weary. They wanted help. I could no longer ignore the pleas of parents, so I quit my job as a child therapist and founded Fly on the Wall Counseling.
I started Fly on the Wall Counseling because of parents like you. Parents who love their children, work hard, and simply want to do what’s best for their families. Parents who don’t know what else to try and feel defeated because nothing is working; they fear what their child’s future will look like. Parents who want someone to give them straight-forward answers of what to do, because they just want to enjoy their child once again, instead of, hoping one day their child will somehow grow out of this.
My clients are amazed at how I am able to completely transform their child and homes in just 3 months. I deliver a plan that is perfectly customized to address your child’s personality, motivations, and presenting concerns. A plan that is not only therapeutically informed, but that’s in line with your family values and fits your lifestyle… not to mention delivers the change you desire. My online work with parents is the most efficient, effective, and convenient means to lasting change in your home.
Jim Weiss
Jim Weiss and his wife Randy founded Greathall Productions in 1989. Raised by parents who valued literature and history and with the additional influence of grandfathers who loved to tell stories to their grandsons, Jim grew up in the presence of literary and real-life characters in the tradition of oral language. Jim is a masterful and thoughtful storyteller of whom to date has produced over 50 Greathall recordings featuring classical literature and history, enjoyed by people all over the world. He is the recipient of more than 100 national awards from prestigious sources, and travels extensively across the United States and Canada presenting at library, school, store and community events; teacher workshops; and his favorite - educational conferences! Jim and Randy reside in Charlottesville, Virginia and are the ever-proud parents of their daughter and son-in-law.
John Notgrass
John Notgrass is a disciple of Christ, husband, father, and businessman. Since 2003 he has encouraged people through story and song to make a difference in the world for God’s kingdom. John and his wife Audra, both homeschool graduates, live in the St. Louis area with their son Henry. Henry has three siblings who are with Jesus, which makes his parents long for heaven even more.
Connect at: www.notgrass.com
Joseph Hoffman
Joseph Hoffman fulfilled his dream of starting a music academy in 2007, two years after graduating with a master's degree in music from Brigham Young University. What began as private piano lessons taught in his living room has since grown to become Hoffman Academy, with a staff of fifteen music teachers who provide piano, voice, and guitar lessons to over 300 students in the Portland, Oregon area. In 2010, Joseph saw a need for affordable, accessible music education and began creating free online video piano lessons, available at hoffmanacademy.com , which have garnered millions of views. Through these video lessons, Joseph's own piano method, which combines comprehensive music education, engaging teaching techniques, and emphasis on solid practicing habits, has helped thousands of children and adults all over the world realize their dream of learning to play the piano. Today, his online lessons are used by many homeschoolers as well as part of a comprehensive music education.
JoQueta Handy, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an Integrative Medicine Doctor and Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist with twenty three years of experience working with children who have learning challenges. She has worked with and advocated for homeschooling for 24 years.
Her philosophy is that every child is a brilliant learner in their own unique and beautiful way. It is Dr. Handy's goal to help each child to effectively learn in any environment no matter the level of learning challenge. She spends her time teaching children and coaching parents and educators how to see a child's gifts, his capacity to prosper and how to foster the best environment to succeed. While she loves one-to-one training, she really would like more people to learn these simple, effective teaching methods.
She has also designed and built 2 schools around one on one teaching based on her strong belief in the homeschool model for children with language processing issue.
You can connect with Dr. Handy at: www.brilliantlearningonline.com
Jube Dankworth
Jube Dankworth is a Homeschool Mom to 4 fabulous adult children who all graduated from homeschool and went to college. Married to the greatest guy in the world for over 40 years. Now field trip grandma to 5 fabulous grandkids.
She is a popular National Speaker, former Director of Homeschooling Family to Family, the voice of The Homeschooler Next Door podcast, which was in the top 100 on iTunes in 2006, founder of Texas Home Educators, a statewide service organization in Texas. Blogger and Writer of many articles, and was even featured in a TV documentary about homeschool.
Connect: http://texashomeeducators.com/
Julie Bogart is the creator of the innovative Brave Writer Writing and Language Arts Curriculum. For 15 years, Brave Writer instructional manuals and online classes have enriched the homeschooling lives of over 16,000 families. Brave Writer exists to foster a nurturing relationship between homeschooling parent and child while creating a safe environment for writing growth. The Brave Writer program brings a fresh point of view to the writing process. Rather than emphasizing format writing as the key to success, Brave Writer's materials and instructors facilitate the emergence of authentic writing voice in your children. Once children have access to the language, insights, and ideas locked within, they easily learn a variety of writing genres, including the rigorous academic formats of high school and college. Julie's professional background includes freelance writing, magazine and book editing, and ghost-writing. She's authored and supervised the development of all original Brave Writer materials, as well as having homeschooled her five children for 17 years. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Connect with Julie here: http://www.bravewriter.com/
Kathleen Cotter Lawler is the daughter of Dr. Joan A. Cotter, author and creator of the RightStart™ Mathematics program. She is one of the first children to grow up under the RightStart principles. Kathleen has a degree in Home Economics and a minor in Business from the University of Minnesota and has two Masters Degrees from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. Kathleen is the mother of four children ages 23 to 27 and one delightful grandson. Three of the Lawler children graduated from North Dakota State University and the youngest graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead.
Kathleen is currently responsible for curriculum development, marketing, and sales. She travels all across the US and Canada, sharing the RightStart mission of helping children understand, apply, and enjoy mathematics. In her spare time, Kathleen designs and creates quilts and is re-learning how to unicycle.
Connect: http://rightstartmath.com/
Karen Campbell
Karen Campbell is a graduate of Judson University with a B.S. in Human Relations and Secondary Education. She and her husband, Clay, have been married for 40 years and live in Illinois where they spent nearly three decades homeschooling their six children and now enjoy their 14 grandchildren who are also being homeschooled. She is the author of The Joy of Relationship Homeschooling ~ when the one anothers come home and her articles have been published in Searching Together, Midwest Christian Outreach Journal, Breakpoint, Crosswalk, and on the Home Educating Family Blog. She is also a regular contributor to Home Educating Family Magazine and Dear Magazine. Karen is actively involved in Toastmaster’s International where she won 1st place in the District Humorous Speaking competition with the story of a homeschooling mom who mummified a chicken! She blogs and podcasts mom encouragement at www.thatmom.com
Kathy Kuhl
Kathy Kuhl helps parents help children with challenges. After homeschooling her son with learning disabilities, she wrote Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner, a handbook for helping children with challenges, including learning disabilities, attention deficit, autism, and giftedness. This book is based on interviews with 64 families homeschooling children with learning challenges, and on her own research and personal experience. Kathy speaks at homeschool conferences internationally and advises families through her blog, magazine articles, and additional books she has written.
Kevin Strong
Kevin Strong is a personal development expert, business innovator, and author of Being Wise. He uses humor and illustrations with business insight to show individuals and organizations on how they can unleash their inherent potential. He is a relative of Steven Covey and has built 2 businesses and worked in sales and management for several years in a Fortune 500 Company. He delivers easy to implement steps to self-improvement and business success, using humor and memorable stories.
Kim Hoyer
Kim is the Founder and CEO of Stand Up Now (SUN). He travels globally sharing insights on leadership, strategic execution, and human happiness and advancement.
He is best known for his trademark, "P4 Advancement System" which is a framework that helps individuals and teams move beyond the ordinary and hit whatever targets they set for themselves. This methodology combines: education, planning, and keeping people happy, productive, and focused on their dreams.
Kim Hoyer is a strategic thinker and implementer. He is in the business of helping entrepreneurs and educators and accomplish anything they set their minds to.
Kim has a history of producing strong results for Fortune 500 clients, school districts, colleges, and universities.
Kim's approach combines fun, flexibility, attention to details, and an entrepreneurial fun style. He and his team are committed to providing unique and innovative educational programs and hands on solutions based on solid strategic thinking and meticulous attention to detail.
Personal
Kim lives with his wife Carmel and their four kids in British Columbia Canada.
For more information, please contact:
E-mail: info@standupnow.com
Web: https://standupnow.com
LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/kimfhoyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suncolab
Twitter: https://twitter.com/suncolab
About Linda Lacour Hobar:
Linda Lacour Hobar, author of The Mystery of History, is a self-proclaimed “people-person”, a fan of comfortable high-heels, and a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. Through homeschooling her children, and service as a missionary, she discovered a genuine love for world history where famous and not-so-famous people have shaped time itself by the mighty hand of God. In the year 2000, Linda sensed a clear call to writeThe Mystery of History series for her children, grandchildren, and generations to come.
In its 13th year of circulation, The Mystery of History has been well received by all ages! While fact-filled and thought provoking, Linda’s writing style is warm and personable. Through masterful storytelling on a wide variety of world history events, Linda Hobar's workshops are designed to prepare, equip, and inspire parents to better understand and teach world history through the lens of a Christian worldview from Creation to present time.
Lynn Dean
Lynn Dean is a veteran homeschool mother of two successful, godly young adults and taught a couple of hundred others over a dozen years as a co-op teacher. She and her husband led their city's support group for three years. She started her own residential design business and is also a published author and illustrator. Sixteen years ago she created Discover Texas, a hands-on history program designed to appeal to all ages and learning styles. As an experienced homeschool conference speaker, she enjoys meeting new homeschool parents and showing them how to encourage their children to become enthusiastic lifestyle learners.
Dr. Maria Droujkova
Dr. Maria Droujkova creates beautiful, meaningful, and joyful ways to teach and learn mathematics. She works with diverse learners and situations, such as early algebra and calculus with family groups, mathematical circles, and online courses. Maria is the founder of several online educational communities, including the Natural Math network and Math Future interest group.
Marlene Peterson
Marlene Peterson has raised eight daughters and one son with her husband, Brent and is thoroughly enjoying being a grandma. She is founder and president of Libraries of Hope which is all about stories and educating the heart. In addition to bringing many of the forgotten treasures of children's literature back into print, Libraries of Hope is also working to restore the ageless and beautiful art of storytelling to our culture. Marlene has compiled a manual for beginning storytellers, 'Restoring the Art of Storytelling in the Home'. She graduated from BYU where she studied Child Development and Family Relations. She and her husband reside in Appomattox, VA, blissfully surrounded by the stories of history.
Mary Ann Johnson
Mary Ann Johnson is passionate about families. She is a speaker, trainer, workshop leader and writer for parents who have chosen to home or public educate their children. She has seven grown children, a dozen grandchildren, is the founder of four businesses and is the creator of The Spark Station and Rockin’ Spark Station Packets. Mary Ann teaches parents how to order themselves so they can order their families, to experience more fun, inspired learning, connection and joy.
Mary Ann is currently the CEO of Home School Coach LLC and Family Connection Mentoring. Mary Ann has her masters degree in education, and has worked with thousands of children over a 40 year span and hundreds of home and public school families. You can connect with Mary Ann at: http://home-school-coach.com
Matthew Blackwood
Matthew Blackwood has been involved in Homeschooling since 1981 when his mother saw John Holt, a pioneer of the modern homeschooling/unschooling movement, on the Phil Donahue show. Matthew brings the unique perspective of being both a homeschool graduate and also a homeschool parent. He and wife Alesia (fellow homeschool alum) homeschool their 3 children and expect number 4 to make it's arrival Jan 2016. Matthew & Alesia are also the founders of UnLock Math, Inc. Founded in 2013 UnLock Math serves a growing community of students around the globe with an interactive online math curriculum for middle & high school that "Brings the Math Teacher right into your home".
Nancy Fileccia
Nancy Fileccia is a fifteen-year homeschooling veteran and co-owner of A JourneyThrough Learning lapbooks with her best friend, Paula Winget. They create fun, hands- on learning products for ALL homeschooling families. Nancy loves helping parents enjoy their daily lives with their special kids! Nancy’s oldest daughter, now 21, and in medical school, has Tourette Syndrome and OCD. Her daughter Candace was blind. Instead of dwelling on the things her kids had, her and her husband chose to raise their children to know they could do EVERYTHING! Her motto is, “we do it differently, but we WILL do it!” Nancy and her husband, Rusty, make their home in Shreveport, Louisiana, with their three children.
Connect with Nancy: www.ajourneythroughlearning.com
Nicholeen Peck
When it comes to parenting, Nicholeen Peck is a worldwide phenomenon and leader — and for good reason! Her proven system based on Four Simple Skills transforms even the most out-of-control teenagers and homes from chaos to calm within days. Though she's an international speaker, author, mentor, former foster parent of many difficult and troubled teens, and even President of the Worldwide Organization for Women (an approved consultant for the United Nations), Nicholeen spends most of her time at home with her husband and four children, which she knows will be her greatest impact and legacy. The fact that she has such an international influence while still being a stay-at-home mom is evidence of the effectiveness of her teachings.
Learn more about her mission and methods at: www.teachingselfgovernment.com
Rachel and Oliver DeMille
Oliver and Rachel DeMille are the founders of the highly acclaimed Thomas Jefferson Education ("TJEd") model of learning. They are the parents of five daughters and three sons. The DeMilles’ insights are informed not only by dealing with the unique needs, learning styles and gifts in their own home, but through their experience in mentoring and consulting with schools and families on virtually every level, and around the world. Oliver is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author and a popular keynote speaker at corporate and educational events. He is also the presenter of the online educational series Mentoring in the Classics. Rachel is on a mission to heal families, inspire others to detect, refine and unleash their genius and anxiously awaiting more grandbabies. Rachel is the creator and editor of the 2013 Best Curriculum award-winning "This Week in History".
Connect with the DeMille's: http://www.tjed.org
Pat Hade
Pat Hade’s business works with youth sports and educational organizations to form their presence in the digital world, so her team sees hundreds of thousands of posts, tweets, searches and images from students every month. In addition to writing and presenting about using and abusing Social Media and the Internet she collaborates with Virtual Safety Monitoring entities to develop educational content for parents and students.
Her book, Social Media for the High School Athlete, has become a staple in the youth sports community and both Teaching Social Media and a new educational series on Social Media are slated for publication in the spring of 2016. Hade’s work has been featured in numerous publications, media and blogs including USAToday
Patrick Nurre
As a youngster, Patrick Nurre spent many Saturdays rockhounding near the Big Horn River in Montana, leading to a lifelong study of geology. Today, Patrick is a popular speaker on geology and worldview, and teaches classes and leads field trips, including hisYellowstone Creation Adventure for families. Patrick's non-profit ministry, Northwest Treasures, creates geology kits and curricula from a young-Earth perspective. He is the author of eleven geology textbooks, including Bedrock Geology (high school), Geology and Our National Parks, and Geology for Kids (grades 4-8). Patrick and his wife Vicki live in the Seattle area, and have three children and two grandchildren. Patrick is a Certified Biblical Creation Ministry Professional.
Rachel Keppner
Rachel Keppner is the mother of thirteen children, and has been homeschooling her own since 1998. She's also been teaching youth in her homeschool community since 2006. Two of her children have high-functioning autism and that has provided unique blessings, as well as struggles. She is active in her homeschool community and enjoys public speaking, writing curriculum, teaching teen Shakespeare classes, directing plays and choirs, designing and sewing Renaissance costumes, building her home business, singing with her community choir, and reading aloud with her family. After teaching Shakespeare classes in several homeschool groups, and directing Shakespeare plays with these same groups, she started offering training and products for other Shakespeare co-op teachers with her "Youth Experiencing Shakespeare" curricula at: http://www.yeshakespeare.com/
Dr. Rebecca W. Keller
Dr. Keller has been a homeschool mom for over 15 years, is the author of Real Science-4-Kids and CEO/founder of Gravitas Publications Inc. She earned a PhD in biophysical chemistry from the University of New Mexico and pursued postdoctoral work at the University of New Mexico and the University of California, Berkeley in molecular biology and neuroscience. Dr. Keller began writing science books for kids when she started homeschooling her own children and through her books, and hopes to bring science to homeschool families that this fun, engaging, and easy for parents to teach.
Connect with Dr. Keller at: http://www.gravitaspublications.com
Dr. Shanon Brooks
Dr. Shanon Brooks is a co-founder and president of Monticello College. He has over twenty years experience in teaching and the administration of entrepreneurial higher education organizations. He is the former president of George Wythe University and a founder of the Center for Social Leadership. Dr. Brooks is the co-author of A Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration, a Master’s degree in education, and a PhD in constitutional law. He lives in Monticello, Utah with his wife Julia and their children. He loves hiking and the great outdoors. His favorite toy is a backhoe. He is passionate about liberty, liberal arts education and the organic concept of Georgics.
http://www.monticellocollege.org/
Shelby Smith
Shelby Smith is a homeschooling mom, trainer, mentor, actress and play enthusiast! She desires to influence others for good through love, laughter and learning. She has had several body language trainings, has graduated from several courses in mentoring and presenting, and has acted in several full length films (two Christian films she played lead roles in!), commercials, music videos and ad campaigns and is an active and founding member of the premier SE Idaho improvisation performing comedy group called ImprovUnderground, where she gets to tap into her inner child and continually practice and enjoy the value and healing powers of play. “Just like your body diminishes without exercise, the spirit diminishes without play.” Shelby was born in Pocatello, ID and lived there until she met her handsome hubby and moved away with him to Oregon while he attended Optometry school. Golden and Shelby now live with their 6 children in a country home on 5 acres in Rigby, ID. On this little “farm” they have had sheep, goats, cows, a horse, chickens, cats, dogs, fish and a turtle – those are just the tame animals.
Thom Neil
Thom and Tresta Neil are happy parents of eight wonderful children. We met while working at a nursing home in Provo, Utah. Thom is from New Hampshire and served a mission for his church in Italy. Tresta is from New Mexico and served her mission in the Netherlands. Thom waited for Tresta as she served and were married shortly after her return. After they had their first four children, in 4 1/2 years, Thom brought up his desire to homeschool. Tresta thought he was mad! After much persuading she decided to try it and has never looked back! Together they are the owners of Keystone Education and the directors of a popular Homeschool Conference in Utah. They are sought after presenters. They both have a unique resumes: Thom delivered half a dozen sets of twins as a teenager and Tresta sat on a cactus and was involved in grand theft auto.
Tina Hollenbeck
Tina Hollenbeck has referred to herself as a homeschooling mom since the day her older child was born, and considers it pure joy to devote her energy to her two amazing daughters, ages 13 and 14. Before they were born, she spent nine years in the public/government school system teaching English to immigrant children and teens. She made a conscious daily choice to view her job as her mission field for that season of life, but her experience within the system convinced her husband and her that they would not subject their own children to it.
Tina has been involved in homeschool organizations for over 10 years and in recent years, she has become an advocate herself, endeavoring to promote homeschooling whenever she’s given the opportunity. She mentors and speaks on various topics related to homeschooling and healthy parenting.
In 2013, Tina launched an on-going research project in conjunction with her extensive knowledge of Common Core, to provide a database of detailed information about more than 2,000 homeschool resources and their connection to Common Core. She serves in various ministries as a writer, developer, mentor and speaker for homeschool and parent-related subjects.
Tresta Kay Neil
Tresta was raised under the New Mexican sunsets and loves Mexican and Navajo food. She learned about the miracle of the body in nursing school at Weber State. After living in four different states she calls Utah her home. She is becoming well educated while homeschooling her eight children. She remains hungry for knowledge about symbols, rituals and patterns within the scriptures and the ancient Hebrew and Persian cultures. She is the author of “God Saw That It Was Good”, “The Theology Tree” and co-directs a popular Homeschool Conference in Utah with her husband, Thom. Her passion is teaching and writing. If she had to choose only one subject to study she would study the stars. If you ask her about her most embarrassing moment she will tell you a story about sitting on a cactus.
Dr. William B. Spivey
Dr. William Spivey developed Writing Express over his forty years of teaching elementary school, middle school and high school English. He currently serves as a Language Arts consultant, Homeschool tutor, presenter and keynote speaker across the United States and Canada. Dr. Spivey authored several books and articles including "Strengthening Student Writing Through Focus" and the "Strengthening Your Writing Workbook" Series (K-12), which includes the Spivey Method and his groundbreaking yet proven Sentence Expansion Approach.
For more information: www.writingexpress.net