Dr. Lynn Hoekstra is Director of Undergraduate Teacher Education, at Columbia International University in Columbia, SC. She teachers pre-service teachers preparing for Certification in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.

Lynn’s Morning Keynote: Let’s Meet Them Where They’re At (General Audience) “Kids these days!” We hear that phrase often and usually not with a positive tone. Today’s students are facing challenges their adult teachers, parents, and mentors never dreamed of. We hear many reports about being behind in literacy, math, fine motor, and socio-emotional skills. Rather than focusing on where we wished students were, let’s focus on meeting them where they’re at. This session is designed to help us recognize, honor, and nurture the potential in each child and young student in our care.

Afternoon Keynote: Teaching and Leading with Hope: Humility, Optimism, Perseverance, Enthusiasm (General Audience) In their book, Do Hard Things, authors Alex and Brett Harris encouraged readers to do five hard things: move outside our comfort zones, attempt something too big to accomplish alone, challenge the cultural norm, reach beyond what is expected or required, and pursue goals which do not earn immediate payoffs. When we contemplate that list, it can seem as if we are doing all those hard things now, just meeting the daily challenges of life as we try to teach and lead the next generation. But there is hope! This session is designed to encourage each conference attendee in doing those hard things by examining four characteristics of hope.

To read more about Dr. Hoekstra, visit her profile on the CIU website at http://www.ciu.edu/discover-ciu/who-we-are/faculty-staff/lynn-hoekstra .

Nancy is a longtime NILD educational therapist and was formerly the International Coordinator for NILD, helping start national programs in Canada, South Africa, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. She has seen individuals of all ages since 1985 for psychological evaluations, consultations and intervention using the NILD method. Nancy has a master’s degree in Learning Disabilities (MsEd)from Northern Illinois University and another in Counseling (MACC) from Gordon Conwell Seminary.

Nancy’s two sessions will be live demonstrations of NILD educational therapy aimed at helping parents, teachers and other therapists observe and understand how the program works and the power of its 5 core techniques. The morning session, Starting a Student in Educational Therapy, will use these 5 techniques with a 1^st year student while the afternoon session, Continuing with a Student in Educational Therapy, will enrich the same techniques as they would be used with a 3^rd or 4^th year student.

Heidi is an Occupational Therapist who specializes in pediatric services. She works individually with children, provides support and education to families, and consultation to faculty to ensure that each child’s fullest potential is realized. Heidi is passionate about maximizing the individual potential in every child.

Heidi founded T.O.T.S in 2006 in response to an identified need for Occupational Therapy services in local independent schools. Since then, T.O.T.S has expanded and provides services in over 15 area independent schools and preschools. Heidi provides consultative Most recently, Heidi has joined Dowd Simpson and Erin Haneline in founding The Oaks, a private Christian school in south Charlotte, that mainstreams Occupational Therapy strategies into every aspect of the educational environment.

Heidi’s session "Where Does Learning Readiness Fit into the Pandemic," will be very relevant for education today.

To learn more about Heidi and Tringali Occupational Therapy Services, go to http://charlotteot.com .

Dr. John Furrow has been in education since 1987, including over 25 years in administration. In addition to serving in a variety of teaching and administration roles in K–12 Christian schools, he has also been a guest speaker at numerous ACSI events and a team leader for ACSI accreditation visits. Currently, he is a member of the ACSI Southeast Accreditation Commission. He is also adjunct faculty in the School of Education at both Columbia International University and Cairn University.

His wife, Beverley ’86, is an NILD Educational Therapist. Together, they have three adult children, Lindsay Donovan(Will), Caleb Furrow(Emily), Joshua Furrow and 4 grandsons.

January Reed has a BA in Communications from the University of Kentucky and a MA degree in Adult and Higher Education from Morehead State University. She has 21 years of teaching experience. She has spent the last year at the Covenant Day School as the Academic Resource Director in North Carolina. Before working at Covenant Day, January was an Orton-Gillingham Specialist at The Fletcher School. She holds an Associate and Certified Level of certification through the Orton-Gillingham Academy. January is also an Apple Certified Teacher. She has presented at various conference including the International Dyslexia Conference and the Orton-Gillingham Academy Conference.