| 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.”
Andrew also received The Old Schoolhouse magazine’s “Homeschool Speaker of the Year” award in 2005 and again in 2007.
He and his beautiful, heroic wife Robin are both converts to the
Catholic faith, and currently teach their three youngest children at
home in Atascadero, California.
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| Mary Ann Kuharski |
Mary Ann Kuharski is Director of PROLIFE Across AMERICA. Mary
Ann is a wife and mother of 13 children, six of whom are adopted and of
mixed races with "special needs" (grandmother of 14). She and husband
John, are members of St. Charles Borromeo Church. Mary Ann is the
author of Raising Catholic Children, Parenting with Prayer, Building a Legacy of Love and Outnumbered!: Raising 13 Kids with Humor and Prayer.
Active for years in the pro-life movement and as a crisis pregnancy
counselor, Mary Ann loves to tell of the educational mission of PROLIFE
Across AMERICA and is an enthusiastic "Cheerleader" for family life,
adoption, the stay-at-home mom, and the goodness of a large family!
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| Jennifer Gregory Miller |
Jennifer Gregory Miller conceived and developed the Liturgical Year section of http://www.CatholicCulture.org and is a moderator at the 4Real Learning Forums (http://4real.thenetsmith.com). She received a BA in History from the Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Jennifer and her husband David are homeschooling their two young sons,
Gregory and Nicholas, in Manassas, Virginia. When she has time she
writes about living the Liturgical Year with her family at http://familyfeastandferia.wordpress.com.
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| Jim and Alice Bascom |
| Jim and Alice Bascom are both graduates of the University of
Kansas. They participated in the Integrated Humanities Program taught
by Professors Quinn, Senior, & Nelick. Jim has B.A. degrees in
English & Classical Antiquities & an M.A. in English, along
with teaching certificates in secondary English & Latin. Alice
took her degree in English. Jim has taught English and Latin for 25
years in the Kansas City area and is in his 19th year at Rockhurst High
School. Alice homeschooled their children, two boys through 8th grade
& two girls through high school. |
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| Bob and Kelly Roper |
| Bob and Kelly Roper have been married for almost 28 years &
are parents to eight children, ages 26 to almost 6. They have
homeschooled for 13 years & have taught each grade, K-12, at least
twice. Kelly carries out the daily teaching duties & Bob serves as
principal - when needed. In addition to her role as homeschool wife
& mother, Kelly serves as a consultant for Mother of Divine Grace
School. They can boast that two of their students have graduated from
college, while the other six are still in the trenches. |
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| Gail Mies |
| Gail Mies lives in Shawnee, Kansas with her husband Mark &
their four children, Jess, Jordyn, Drew & Jarrett. Gail became
involved with the Neurodevelopmental Approach in late 1999 when seeking
an evaluation for her youngest son. Implementing a neurodevelopmental program with him eventually led her to
administrative & parent training responsibilities. She has been
serving as branch director of the Kansas Chapter of Hope and a Future,
Inc. since 2001 She went on to become certified to work with clients
after completing Level I certification & is currently continuing
her apprenticeship toward completing Level II certification. |
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| Keith Jiron |
| Keith Jiron and his wife, Kate live with their three children in
Merriam, KS. He works in the Vocation Office for the Diocese of Kansas
City-St. Joseph and is an adjunct instructor for the Bishop Helmsing
Institute. One of his greatest passions is the spiritual life. |
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| Dan and Stephanie Jacobson |
| Dan and Stephanie Jacobson have 5 children who will be going into 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th & 9th grades. They live in Overland Park, KS and Stephanie has enjoyed homeschooling their children since preschool. Stephanie is a consultant for Mother of Divine Grace and is very active in her local homeschooling support group (St. Monica's). She organizes the annual Faith & History Contest for St. Monica's and a city-wide, monthly Boys Vocation Night with Kelly Roper. Dan serves as principal, voice of reason and number one supporter of Stephanie and the children in all of their endeavors! |
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| John and Charlene Leyba |
| John and Charlene Leyba, along with their seven children
ranging in age from eleven months to fourteen years, make their home in
Colwich, KS. They have been homeschooling for nearly seven years.
Charlene is active with Holy Family Home Educators (HFHE), a Wichita
based Catholic homeschool group. She has served on the board of HFHE
for four years and is active in planning many activities throughout the
school year for the organization. Both Charlene and John are active in
their local parish. Charlene is currently the co-leader for Little
Flowers and leads monthly children's adoration in the parish. John
teaches the 12th grade religion class and is a member of the liturgy
committee. He is also an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Newman
University in Wichita. |
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| Troy Hinkel |
Troy Hinkel: After serving his country for four years in the
Airborne Infantry in Panama, Sergeant Troy Hinkel returned to his home
in Denver, Colorado to attend the University of Colorado. While
studying English and Communications, he rediscovered his faith. Four
years later, he discerned his vocation to marriage to his lovely wife,
Laura. Hungry for more knowledge about his faith, he and Laura moved to
Steubenville, Ohio where he earned a Masters of Arts degree in Theology
at Franciscan University, graduating with honors in 1994.
Troy then began serving as Director of religious education at St Mary’s
of Greeley where he spent three years teaching, learning and growing.
He organized the first Catholic Men’s conference called Covenant
Keepers at that parish and also started the Lords Day ministry; a
family ministry uniting families to reflect on the Gospel for the week.
Troy went on to work in various parish ministerial roles for an
additional two years, gaining speaking and teaching experience, as well
as publishing articles in Catholic journals such as Lay Witness and The Catholic Faith.
In 1999, Troy and his growing family moved to Lawrence, Kansas to teach
theology classes at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, University
of Kansas. He was given the task of Director of the Young Catholic
Scholars program at St Lawrence, raising up leaders for the church; a
good number of those in his program went on to join religious
communities or attend seminary. While teaching and directing the YCS
program for nine years, Troy was able to complete his coursework
towards a Ph.D. in Modern European history, and is currently a Ph.D.
candidate, having successfully completed a research trip to France in
July of 2008.
Troy became an Instructor for School of Faith in 2006 and he now
devotes full-time to teaching as well as being a spiritual
director/mentor to Catholic school teachers and adults in the
Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas. Troy and Laura are also
co-founders of a new Catholic lay movement with the Apostles of the Interior Life called “Collaborators of Your Joy”.
Troy and Laura have six children and are very involved in homeschooling. Their oldest son, Thomas, attends St James Academy. |
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| Vicki Burbach |
| Vicki Burbach is wife of 14 years to Dale and homeschooling mother of five children ages six months – nine years. A convert to the Catholic Church, she is an avid reader who led a Catholic Book Club in Chicago for over a year before moving to the Kansas City area where she initiated a Classics Book Club in 2005. Eventually, this too, evolved into a Catholic Book Club. Vicki has a B.A. in English and Political Science as well as a Masters in Business Administration. She has developed a practical Five-Year Spiritual Reading Program based on Sacred Scripture, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Father C. John McCloskey’s Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan. |
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| Lindy Meyer |
| Lindy Meyer is a wife and stay at home mom of six beautiful children. She is originally from the Kansas City area and currently resides in Concordia, Kansas. While they have dabbled in homeschooling, Tony & Lindy Meyer currently send their children to St. John’s Catholic School in nearby Beloit. Lindy is the creator of Faith Folders for Catholics, an online business that specializes in Catholic based lapbooksTM. She is actively involved in serving the Church at various parish, school and diocesan levels in the areas of Family Life, Religious Education, Respect Life and Natural Family Planning. Lindy is currently a member of the St. John’s School Council, chairing the Catholicity and Library Review Committees. |
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| Jeremy Sienkiewicz |
| Jeremy Sienkiewicz is the Associate Director of the Bishop Helmsing Institute for the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese. He is a native of the diocese having attended Christ the King Parish Elementary and Rockhurst High School. He received a bachelors in theology from the University of Notre Dame and a masters from The Catholic University of America where he is currently completing a doctorate in Systematic Theology. He is married and currently has two children. |
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| Archbishop Naumann |
| Archbishop Naumann with the Kansas City, Kansas Archdiocese will be officiating the mass on Saturday, June 6th. |
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Other Speakers
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| Other Speakers include: Kathy Keehn, Jackie Wild, Paulette Samson. |
This page last updated April 26th, 2009
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