Andrew Pudewa - Excellence in Writing - Keynote Speaker

       Amy Barr

Regan is an archaeologist, educator, homeschool dad, and co-founder of The Lukeion Project.  Regan earned a B.A. in Christian Ministries before heading to Cincinnati Christian University for his M.Div. in New Testament with a minor in Ancient Near Eastern Studies.  His parents’ graduation gift of a trip to Greece, Jordan and Israel ignited his love for the ancient world, which still drives The Lukeion Project today.  Regan spent the next 10 summers traveling and excavating in the Mediterranean and Europe while pursuing an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati.  He’s excavated at the Decapolis city of Abila in Jordan, the Bronze Age Mycenaean citadel of Midea in Greece, and the venerable site of Homer’s Troy in Turkey.  His publication of the Greek and Hellenistic oil lamps from Troy was the first formal publication on this topic in over a century of excavation at the site.   Regan has spoken in such diverse settings as the Cincinnati Art Museum lecture series, the North American Christian Convention, the Cincinnati Women’s Club, schools and homeschool co-ops across Ohio. He was also a participant in a Congress on Cypriot archaeology held in Göteborg, Sweden.  Regan’s teaching experience includes Cincinnati Christian University, the University of Cincinnati, and the Institute for Learning in Retirement.  Regan and his wife, Amy, live in Holly Springs, NC, where they homeschool their 3 children, Hannah, Caleb, and Isaiah.  They founded The Lukeion Project to raise awareness of modern society’s debt to the Classical World, so often under-represented in education today, and to bring history to life through live, online, interactive classes on all things relating to the Greek, Roman and New Testament world.  Regan will be prensenting a Vendor Workshop with his wife Amy.

       Yvonne Bunn

      Steve Clark
Steve Clark is a “homeschool dad” who personally homeschooled his own children from 1998 through 2004. He and his wife, Katrina, live in Louisville, Kentucky, and have 5 children, ranging in age from 17-23 years. From 1997 to the present, Steve has worked with VideoText Interactive, where his main focus has been to advise and counsel parents who want to make sure that their children excel in high school math. In addition, Clark edited and produced “Life Skills for the Homeschooler,” a book that addresses dozens of practical issues that many homeschoolers forget to teach.  Clark is also President of the Homeschool Speakers & Vendors Association, which helps homeschool speakers and vendors in the development and promotion of their products, with the goal of ensuring that all homeschoolers in the US and Canada have access to the very best curriculum available.


      Steve Demme

      Tammy Duby

     Maggie Hogan

Tyler Hogan is a homeschool graduate with a B.A. in Theatre Ministries from Belhaven College. He has been performing and directing physical theatre and theatre missions groups for seven years all over the world.  He is also a musician, writer, cartographer, and speaker with a passion for discipleship and the arts. In his "spare time," you can usually find  him with a good book in one hand and a chai tea in the other.

        Wade Hulcy

John is an award-winning author for Focus on the Family Breakaway magazine for teen boys. John's love for history, his passion for critical thinking and effective communication, and his commitment to student excellence have found expression in five books, nine short stories for Focus on the Family, speaking at homeschool conferences, and seven years of teaching homeschool students across Northern Virginia.

Susan and her husband Dale have been blessed with 9 children, ranging in age from preschool to adult). She has been homeschooling for nearly 2 decades (and still has nearly 15 years to go before they are all graduated!). An author and motivational speaker, Susan has written a number of textbooks for homeschooled children, including Apples Daily Spelling Drills, Research in Increments, and Pennsylvania Keystones. Her articles have appeared in a number of magazines. She and her husband started their own homeschool company, Schoolhouse Publishing, nearly a decade ago. Susan has spoken to audiences all over her state, combining personal experience, biblical insight, gentleness, and a touch of humor. Her workshops are designed to encourage and equip homeschool moms in their high calling – especially those moms that are experiencing discouragement and burnout. She is currently working on a book for burnt out overwhelmed homeschool moms. Her primary love is for her Savior and her family. She is first and foremost a wife and mother, and is grateful for that calling. She and her husband serve on the board of one of PA’s homeschool conferences. They are active in their local church.

Celeste Land of Vienna, Virginia,  enjoys talking about homeschooling with anyone who will listen.  Celeste is a member of The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers (VaHomeschoolers) Board of Directors, and chairs its Government Affairs Committee. She has lobbied on behalf of homeschooling interests at the state and federal level for many years, and has helped craft numerous laws, bills, and policies at the state and local level.  Celeste also assists with media contacts for VaHomeschoolers, which has led to many interesting and unusual interviews with newspapers, radio, and television.  A longtime contributor to the VaHomeschoolers Newsletter and website, Celeste's written work has also been published in Growing Without Schooling, Home Education Magazine, Homeschooling Horizons, and the Life Without School blogzine. Her children, Leila (16) and Adam (12), have always homeschooled.

      Kathleen Lawler

Kathleen Cotter Lawler is the daughter of Dr. Joan A. Cotter, author and creator of the Activities for Learning/RightStart Mathematics program. She was one of the first children to grow up under the Activities for Learning principles. Kathleen has a dual Masters Degrees from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. Kathleen is the mother of four children ages 10 to 14 and lives on a fourth-generation ranch in North Dakota. Kathleen will be presenting a vendor workshop for Activities for Learning/RightStart Mathematics.

    
      Sue Reese
Sue Reese, a self-proclaimed non-writer, found the Institute for Excellence in Writing five years ago as an answer to her fears and frustration about teaching writing. Having home educated for eleven years, her oldest daughter will graduate in 2006 and her other will have three more years at home. Having discovered how to turn a reluctant writer into a confident one and provide clear direction to her structure-loving student, Sue looks forward to passing along her excitement and share with you this wonderful adventure in writing.  Sue will be presenting a vendor workshop for  Excellence in Writing.



  

Scott Somerville went to Harvard Law School with five children in 1989 and graduated with honors (and a sixth child) in 1992. Before he was a lawyer, Scott was a homeschool activist—as the first president of Christian Home Educators of New Hampshire, Scott battled the New Hampshire rules revision subcommittee to a standstill in their effort to triple the regulations on homeschoolers. That brush with the law was enough to induce him to quit his day job as a programmer, put the house on the market, and move the whole family down to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Scott went straight from Harvard to Home School Legal Defense Association, where he was a staff attorney for 14 years. In October 2006, Scott left his full-time position at HSLDA to begin the K-Dad Network. He remains of counsel to HSLDA.


       Bob Taylor

Jessie is a home education consultant, speaker, and writer. She is the author of numerous books, including the best-seller The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (W. W. Norton, 1999 and 2004), a book she co-authored with her daughter, Susan Wise Bauer. She has taught at both public and private schools, as well as teaching her three children at home. She and her husband Jay live in historic Charles City, Virginia. Her other books include The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (Peace Hill Press, 2005) and First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind; Levels 1 and 2 (Peace Hill Press, 2000).
 

        Scott  Woodruff

For over a decade, author Michele Zavatsky has visited thousands of places (with her family) to find the best sites that kids love to visit!  This adventure of writing and publishing family travel guidebooks has taken Michele and her home-schooled family on a journey of experiences they could have never imagined.  The Zavatsky family have been blessed to be called the “family that vacations for a living” by over 300 radio and television programs. Michele has spoken to hundreds of groups throughout the Midwest and the South encouraging “family-friendly”travel.