Dr. Jon Bassett wanted to be a history teacher ever since he was in middle school. He began his career at a Catholic girls high school in the South Bronx (Saint Pius V), then spent over twenty years in the Boston suburbs, at Dover-Sherborn Regional High School and Newton North High School, where he served as chair of the history department and helped found the Newton Teacher Residency. In 2018 Jon returned to urban classrooms, and currently teaches world history at the Match Charter Public High School in Boston. Jon has taught students in grades nine through twelve and on every academic level, and has won two teaching awards. He has a B.A. in history from Columbia, an M.A.T. in history teaching from Brown, and an Ed.D. in curriculum and teaching from Boston University.

Breakouts: 1, 2, 3, 4

Room: Anthony

Renee Blackmon has been in the social studies educator community for over thirty years. She has experience as a teacher, instructional coach, and curriculum creator. She currently is enjoying the opportunity to learn through collaboration with her 4QM partners producing high quality social studies specific educational materials and training. When time allows she is usually quilting. When money permits she is often off on another travel adventure.  

Breakouts: 1, 2, 3

Room: El Paso

Dr. Nick Cachanosky Director of the Center for Free Enterprise and Associate Professor of Economics at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He is also a researcher with a focus on monetary policy, monetary reform, and political economy. He earned a doctoral degree and master’s degree in economics from Suffolk University, a master's in economics and political sciences from Escuela Superior de Economía y Administración de Empresas in Argentina, and a licentiate in economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. He is a member of the Association for Private Enterprise Education, Mont Pelerin Society, and the Southern Economic Association. Dr. Chachanosky is the co-editor of LIBERTAS: Segunda Epoca and sits on the editorial board of the Review of Austrian Economics and the Economists’ Voice. He served as the president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education and as the director of the Mont Pelerin Society. Dr. Chachanosky is a Senior Fellow of the Sound Money Project at the American Institute for Economic Research and a Fellow of the UCEMA Friedman-Hayek Center for the Study of a Free Society. In his free time, he enjoys playing the piano and dancing tango with his wife. 

Breakout: 1

Room: Ysleta

Dr. Brad Cartwright  earned his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.A. from the University of Texas at El Paso, and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.  His research focuses on race, gender, and imperialism in nineteenth-century America and throughout the Pacific.  Dr. Cartwright teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on early and antebellum American history, as well as the pedagogy of history.  He is the Director of UTEP’s Center for History Teaching and Learning which supports history teacher education and promotes the scholarly teaching of history. He is also the Director of El Paso History Day.  In 2015, he was awarded a University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award and, in 2019, he became a member of UTEP’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. 

Breakout: 1

Room: Fabens

Dr. Cristina Devereaux Ramírez a Professor and Department Head of English at the University of Arizona, specializing in rhetoric and writing studies with a focus on Mexican and Mexican American women's archival recovery. With a 30-year teaching career, including 13 years in secondary education, she has influenced countless students in writing, critical thinking, and professional development. Her scholarship includes two award-winning books on feminist historical recovery, focusing on Mexicana activism and rhetoric, and ongoing projects to archive and publish her grandmother’s writings. A dedicated mentor to graduate students, Dr. Ramírez teaches archival research and composition theory and actively engages in national and international academic coalitions, including the International Rhetoric Workshop and the Coalition of Feminist Scholars. Her work bridges local, national, and international collaborations to illuminate the practical and theoretical significance of writing in society. 

Breakout: 2

Room: San Elizario

Forrest Harding is the West Texas Representative for Lowman Education.  He is a retired teacher with over 25 years of experience in teaching RLA and Social Studies.  He is very lucky and blessed to have used Lowman from its inception.  From day one, Lowman’s curriculum changed his life as a teacher and hopefully it will change yours.  He is a proud father of three children.  Westin, who is a college football coach in Massachusetts, Keeley who is a biology major at Texas A&M University, and Lily Kate who is a sophomore at Canyon Randall.  For Mr. Harding, his job is to make teachers’ lives easier, and Lowman is the best curriculum company in the world to do that.  

Breakouts: 2, 4

Room: Canutillo

Dr. Gary Shiffman became a high school teacher at age 39. That summer he interned at Madison Park High School in Boston. In the fall, he began teaching 9th and 10th graders at Newton North High School, where Jon Bassett had hired him on a lark. He taught at Newton North for four years and then became Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator (a.k.a. department chair) at Brookline High School, where his two daughters, his wife (Class of ’80), and his friend Jon (Class of ’84) all attended. After seventeen years in that position, he stepped down to devote himself full time to spreading the word about the Four Question Method. Gary has a B.A. in Political Science from SUNY Binghamton, a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, and is a former Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego.

Breakouts: 1, 2, 3, 4

Room: Anthony