Speakers

Laura Berquist, CA
Laura started home educating her six children over twenty-two years ago.  She is the founder and director of Mother of Divine Grace School, a Catholic independent study program that is based on the philosophy of the classical Trivium.  Laura is the author of Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum and the editor of  The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum.  She has written numerous homeschooling articles for various magazines.  Laura will be available to consult with families at the conference.





Lee Binz, Normandy Park, WA
Lee is a home educator and the founder of The Home Scholar.  The HomeScholar blog provides a lot of helpful information.  Lee will share her famous "College Preparation" presentation.   The content includes:

    * plan a rigorous curriculum
    * record keeping
    * specialization
    * scholarships
    * SAT preparation
    * preparing records for college
    * outside documentation


Dr. Joan A. Cotter
Dr. Joan Cotter received her BSEE (electrical engineering) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MACI (curriculum and instruction) from College of St. Thomas (now University of St. Thomas, Minnesota), and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (mathematics education). Joan worked as an engineer at Univac (now Unisys), resigning when her children were born. She taught her three children at home before and after school and during summer vacations. To help them learn their basic arithmetic, she devised card games that became the basis of her first book, Math Card Games: 300 Games for Learning and Enjoying Math. Joan started a Montessori school and taught children, ages 3-6 years, as a Montessori teacher. She studied the Suzuki method and used it to teach violin and piano to young children. She also tutored children with learning problems and taught junior high mathematics. Dr. Cotter designed the double-sided AL Abacus and wrote RightStart Mathematics, a comprehensive K-4 mathematics program that incorporates visualization, the AL Abacus, and math card games. The RightStart curriculum is an outgrowth of her doctoral research. Currently, she is writing middle school math curriculum, conducting workshops, and presenting at conferences nationally and internationally. Joan and her husband, Al, have three adult children and four grandchildren.


Chris and Alison Evan, WA
Chris and Alison are home educators, professional dance teachers, and the founders of Eastside Swing Dance.  They have been dancing together since 1998.  On Friday night, Chris and Alison will demonstrate their expertise, while they teach our families how to Swing and do the Lindy Hop.









Rev. Dean Henderson, Victoria B.C.
Fr. Dean Henderson is a convert from the Anglican Church and was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest last summer for the Diocese of Victoria, BC.  He is the husband of Linda and the father of five children. Fr. Henderson is an assistant at St. Andrew's Cathedral and the Pastoral Care Coordinator at Mount St. Mary Hospital.








Albert and Bonnie Landry, Cobble Hill, B.C.
Albert and Bonnie live in the delightful hamlet of Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island, with their seven home educated children.  Their idyllic life is sprinkled, like most, with sufferings, both small and grand.  They will be sharing their experience with suffering in light of faith, family, marriage and living in the world.









Stephanie Maricich, Maple Valley, WA
Stephanie, mother and grandmother, has been successfully home educating her nine children for the past twenty-one years.  Stephanie has an MA in Education and a Montessori background.  She has experience as a teacher/consultant (preschool through college) in private and public schools in the U.S. and Canada. In her talk, "Lay the Foundation for Your Great-grandchildren's Legacy", Stephanie will share how what we do, or don't do, in forming our children at home, powerfully influences the fruit in our grown children's lives with long term consequences to our grandchildren and beyond.  The goal: life-giving, counter-cultural strategies to a haven of security, that enable a family to be tender, know their intrinsic, eternal value, and be prepared to meet life's challenges or suffering with heroic courage.  Stephanie will be available to consult with families at the conference, regarding family life strategies to pass on the faith.

Rev. Abraham Miller, Seattle, WA
Fr. Abraham Miller is the pastor of Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church in Seattle.
See page 11 of the January 22, 2006 issue of The Ukrainian Weekly to read about Fr. Miller.

Rev. Kurt Nagel, Kirkland, WA
Fr. Kurt Nagel was born and raised in the Northwest. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Seattle in 1997. Father has served at parishes in Tacoma and the Olympic Penninsula, and is presently pastor of Holy Family Parish in Kirkland.

Camille E. De Blasi Pauley, M.A., Kenmore, WA
Camille has a graduate degree in Speech and Rhetoric.  She is the co-founder and President of Healing the Culture, and serves as Vice-chair of the Board. She is the founder of Being With© and Compatior Institute©. In 1993, she co-founded the Center for Life Principles and served as its Director until 2003. She was Director of Education for Human Life of Washington from 1993 to 2003.  Mrs. De Blasi Pauley has trained hundreds of speakers for the pro-life movement, spoken for thousands of audiences, designed several retreat programs for adults and teenagers, guest-hosted several radio and television programs, co-produced five video series, and published dozens of articles.  Camille is a master.  She will inspire you and your son or daughter, why AND how, to be an outstanding public speaker.



Rev. Sean Raftis, S.J., Seattle, WA
Fr. Sean Raftis received his B.A. in Communications from Gonzaga University in 1987, an M.A. in Communications from Washington State University in 1991, an M.A. in Philosophy from Loyola University in 2000, and his Master of Divinity and Sacred Theology Licentiate from Weston Jesuit School of Theology in 2005.  He is also a wonderful Catholic priest who was ordained to the priesthood three years ago. Father Raftis wrote the pro-life statement for the U.S. Jesuits, and has been an incredible teacher in the Seattle Archdiocese. He is currently teaching sections of Public Speaking, Catholicism in Communications, and Speech Coaching; serving as Academic Advisor for up to 50 students; and is the Director of Seattle University Speaking Center.
Fr. Raftis has graciously agreed to speak for Camille Pauley.

Dino Rossi, Sammamish, WA
Dino Rossi is a parishioner at Mary Queen of Peace and the father of four children, two of whom are homeschooled. He is a third-generation Washingtonian. Rossi graduated from Seattle University with a degree in businees. He co-founded Eastside Commercial Bank, served as Vice President of Scott Real Estate Investments in Seattle, is part-owner of the Everett Aqua Sox minor league baseball team, started Forward Washington Foundation, served in the State Senate from 1997 to 2003, and is currently on the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Seattle University School of Business and Economics. Dino Rossi is the 2008 Gubernatorial Candidate.

Amannda Schneider, Redmond, WA
Ken and Amannda have homeschooled their three children, ages 14, 12, and 10 years, for the past 8 years. Amannda and the children attended a large local co-op prior to partnering with some other homeschooling friends to start, Labyrinth Home Education Co-op. It was a huge job to coordinate classes, class schedules, coop jobs, the classroom/facility assignments, and recruit quality instructors, but it all came together resulting in an incredibly successful first year. Labyrinth took off with gusto! More than 120 families joined in the first year. Labyrinth is now in its fourth year and running more smoothly than ever, currently offering more than 55 classes each Tuesday. A variety of "extra" workshops are also offered, including Swing Dance, Toast Masters, and Apologetics.  Teamwork, organization, and the "co-op spirit" have made Labyrinth the success that it is. If you're interested in learning more about Labyrinth and whether or not Labyrinth and your family are "a match", please contact Amannda, www.Labyrinthcoop.org

 

John Spiers, Mercer Island, WA
John, a Seattle native and parishioner of Mercer island's St. Monica's, keeps the Friday 4 am hour in the parish's Perpetual Adoration Chapel. He and wife Carmen are parents of five and home educators. John will be the Master of Ceremonies for the homeschool conference.


Anne Wilson, Maple Valley, WA
Anne is the wife of Roger, the mother of seven children, and the grandmother of two little boys! She has homeschooled for 17 years and has two children who have graduated from college, two in college and three to go. She is very active in St. Monica's Parish on Mercer Island, but lives in Maple Valley, so she does a lot of "car schooling"! Originally from San Diego, Anne and Roger moved up to Maple Valley 20 years ago where they have loved raising their family on lots of land with woods and the river nearby. Anne loves the mountains and the ocean and is passionate about gardening, as well as crafts and sewing and books.  In 2006, the following article about Anne and Roger's parenting philosophy was printed in The Catholic Northwest Progress, "Parental authority is a responsibility, not a power trip".