2010 Convention Speakers, Page 1 of 2

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MICHAEL FARRIS
Keynote

Michael Farris is Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association and Chancellor of Patrick Henry College.  He also serves as President of ParentalRights.org.

Since founding HSLDA in 1983, Farris has used his extensive experience in both politics and appellate litigation to defend parental rights and help grow the organization to over 80,000 member families.  He is also the founder of Patrick Henry College, a Christian institution with the mission of training students through a classical liberal arts curriculum and apprenticeship methodology.

Most recently, Farris started an organization called ParentalRights.org.  This campaign exists to secure a constitutional amendment that defends the rights of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

Mike and Vickie Farris live in Purcellville, Virginia, and have ten children and eleven grandchildren.

WEBSITES:  www.hslda.org, www.parentalrights.org, www.phc.edu

CAROL BARNIER
Keynote

Carol Barnier is author of three books, mother to three children, and wife to one husband. She is a popular writer, speaker, and radio guest. She strives to provide practical and usable ideas in each and every talk. And while she can be quite serious, probably the best description of her is what you find on her business cards:  Delightful Speaker, Entertaining Author, Adequate Wife, Pitiful Housekeeper.

Carol’s books address teaching to and living with an atypical mind (including her own):
How to Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and On to Learning
If I'm Diapering a Watermelon, Then Where'd I Leave the Baby?
The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles

Carol homeschools her three children in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of Connecticut - when she's not busy searching for her lost keys. 

WEBSITES:  www.CarolBarnier.com and www.SizzleBop.com

ZAN & JOE TYLER

Zan and Joe Tyler have been married for thirty-two years and have three children whom they homeschooled from kindergarten through high school, for a total of twenty-one years.  Zan is currently the Director of Apologia Press, a new division of Apologia dedicated to publishing informational and inspirational resources for homeschooling families. She is also the author of 7 Tools for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential. When the Tylers began homeschooling in 1984, Zan was threatened with jail by South Carolina’s state superintendent of education. After prolonged battles for the rights of homeschoolers in her state, Zan founded the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools (SCAIHS) in 1990, and served as its president for ten years. Joe, an information systems project manager, has also been deeply involved in the homeschooling movement both through his own family and the homeschool community at large. He currently serves as the chairman of the SCAIHS board. The Tylers have been blessed with two wonderful daughters-in-law and four grandchildren.  

WEBSITE:  www.apologia.com

ANDREW PUDEWA

Andrew Pudewa is the director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and a homeschooling father of seven. Presenting throughout North America, he addresses issues relating to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity and 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 Matsumoto, 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 beautiful, heroic wife Robin currently teach their three youngest children at home in Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

WEBSITE:  www.excellenceinwriting.com

DIANNE CRAFT, MA, CNHP

Dianne Craft is a former homeschool mom who has a master’s degree in Elementary and Special Education.  She has 25 years experience teaching bright, hard-working children who have to work too hard to learn.  She teaches parents across the country how to help their child learn faster and easier, using therapies and strategies that are very effective while being very inexpensive. Dianne is passionate about training parents to make learning easier for their homeschooled children.   Her workshops are very informative and often entertaining.   She is a Certified Natural Health Professional specializing in natural treatments for children with attention, learning, and behavioral issues.  She is president of the educational consulting firm Child Diagnostics, Inc. in Littleton, Co.  She is currently serving as a Learning Specialist for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. 

WEBSITE:  www.diannecraft.com

JIM WEISS

Jim Weiss has been a storyteller for over 30 years and is the recipient of 80+ national awards. 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of his “storytelling business,” Greathall Productions, Inc.   Greathall Productions has thus far produced 43+ storytelling recordings with enticing titles from classical literature and history: G.A. Henty titles; unabridged readings; Story of the World, I, II, III, and IV; and more.

Jim travels extensively internationally and throughout the U.S. presenting at homeschool conferences, schools, stores, libraries, community events, and national organizations.

Jim says, "The storytelling recordings work precisely because we value the original sources and have tried to convey our love of the stories to a new generation of listeners and readers. Storytelling today rejuvenates one of the first and most personal forms of entertainment. Telling stories is pure joy." Jim was born, raised, and educated in Highland Park, Illinois. He then graduated from the University of Wisconsin. He resides in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife, Randy.

WEBSITE:  www.greathall.com

MIKE SNAVELY

Mike Snavely was reared in rural South Africa, the son of missionaries.  Growing up in an area that teemed with remarkable creatures, he had a wide variety of fascinating experiences which helped to mold his future.  After graduating from Oak Hills Christian College in Minnesota, he returned to South Africa to work in the famous Kruger National Park.  

In 1985 he married Carrie Baum who grew up near Hershey, Pa.  Carrie attended Lancaster Bible College and was an executive secretary.  In 1986 they went to South Africa as missionaries, and taught at Durban Bible College.  In 1995, they founded Mission: Imperative - a ministry of teaching creation-oriented issues through a series of seminars covering a wide range of topics.  Mike and Carrie home educated their three children.

Mike is the author of Creation or Evolution: A Home-Study Curriculum, and has produced seven DVDs that cover his core topics.

WEBSITE:  www.natureofcreation.org

COLENE LEWIS & HEATHER HAUPT

In the Beginning Tom and Colene Lewis homeschooled. And led AFHE. And lobbied and rewrote the homeschool law. And spoke to thousands of homeschoolers. And loved educating and being with their girls.

Eldest daughter, Heather, survived homeschooling, graduated from ASU, taught biology to preschool through college students and married Rich. They have now embarked on their own homeschooling adventure with their three boys.

Colene and Heather love learning about learning and discussing it endlessly with each other and anyone else who will listen.

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