2010 CONVENTION - SPEAKERS

Guest Speakers

Phil Downer serves as President of Discipleship Network of America (DNA). DNA is a nationwide network of people committed to following Christ's life of winning and discipling others to become disciple makers. The spiritual reproductive ministry of DNA flows out of the lives of people focused on Christ in their work, marriage, family, neighborhood and church.

A popular speaker at men's events, Phil also speaks at couples' events with Susy, his wife of 37 years, and at family conferences with his six children. He is the author of Eternal Impact: Investing in the Lives of Others, A Father's Reward - Raising Your Children to Walk in the Truth, Optimize Your Marriage, and Brave, Strong, and Tender - a book that details how this Viet Nam veteran learned to transfer his leadership from the battlefield to his home, his law practice, and eventually to running a nationwide ministry. He and Susy are coauthors with David and Teresa Ferguson of Unlimited Partnership: Building Intimacy & Teamwork Into Your Marriage. Phil is also the editor and coauthor of Effective Men's Ministry, published by Zondervan.

A former machine gunner who served in Viet Nam with the United States Marine Corps in 1967 and 1968, Phil received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law in 1975. Phil was a successful lawyer before being led to Christ and discipled by fellow professionals. He left his position as senior partner of a 50-attorney law firm, with offices in Atlanta, Washington, Dallas, and San Diego, to serve as President of CBMC for a decade. Phil is on the Steering Committee of the National Coalition of Men's Ministries, a former elder of his church, and a member of CBMC.

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. He and his beautiful, heroic wife Robin currently teach their three youngest children at home in Atascadero, California.

Fresh from a state tax audit to prove that yes, they're all ours, Hal and Melanie Young are parents of eight children. They have homeschooled through seven high-risk pregnancies, three re-locations, two decades, and 181 degrees of longitude. They spent half of that time serving on the board of NCHE (North Carolinians for Home Education). Hal and Melanie have published articles with Homeschooling Today, Homeschool Digest, the N.C. Family Policy Council, the John Locke Foundation, and the Heartland Institute and are the authors of Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys, a new release from Great Waters Press. The Youngs live in noisy familial bliss in Smithfield, North Carolina.

Special Speakers

George W. Sarris is an actor/narrator/spokesman, working primarily in the commercial environment of New York City. He has been the principal spokesman for radio and television commercials and industrial films for companies such as AT&T, IBM, American Express, Burger King, Duracell, Pizza Hut, Sprint, and Honda. Mr. Sarris holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Speech from Northwestern University, and Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He served on the staff of the Mass Media Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ for 4 years, and served on the Board of Directors for Screen Actors Guild in Boston for 6 years. He is currently Executive Coordinator of Mastermedia International/New York. Mr. Sarris has developed a unique, one-man show entitled, The World's Greatest Stories. The texts for the stories he tells are taken directly, word for word, from the Bible. They are told, however, using the art of a dramatic storyteller. The live performances of these stories have been enthusiastically received by a wide variety of audiences at conferences, in churches, at Christian Schools and camps, and for local community events. The CD's and video cassettes are enjoyed by many thousands of people. Mr. Sarris is publisher of Ecclesiastes by Solomon, in cooperation with the International Bible Society. He is a featured speaker at conferences throughout this country, addressing issues related to both teens and adults. Mr. Sarris resides in Trumbull, CT with his wife, Suzan. They have 5 children.

Elizabeth Smith, wife of Home School Legal Defense Association President Mike Smith, taught three of her four children at home from 1981 to 1996, when the youngest entered college. For over 25 years, Elizabeth's practical wisdom has encouraged audiences at homeschool conferences, symposiums, and women's retreats throughout the United States. Michael and Elizabeth have appeared several times on Focus on the Family's radio program. Elizabeth is the Director of Development for the Home School Foundation, the charitable arm of HSLDA, and serves on the Board of Directors of Breakthrough Intercessors Prayer Ministry. She is also a founding Board member of the National Black Home Educators, and teaches women's Bible studies at her local church. She serves as an Area Director over 9 counties for the state of Virginia Auxiliary to Gideons International. Elizabeth has lobbied on pro-family issues in her state capitol and in Washington, D.C., for the National Center for Home Education and the Family Foundation of Virginia since 1993.

Mike Smith is the President of Home School Legal Defense Association, an organization which he has been involved with since its beginning. HSLDA was established to protect the right of parents to teach their children at home. HSLDA now represents over 81,000 member families. Mike became involved in defending homeschoolers after he and his wife, Elizabeth, decided to homeschool their children. They have four children. Three have been homeschooled and have all graduated from college. Mike has been doing keynote speaking to homeschool conferences for over 25 years. His desire is to communicate in every message the benefits of home education and his overriding belief that God has raised up this movement for a special purpose at this time in history. Mike communicates that the benefits of homeschooling far exceed the burdens, with special emphasis on encouragement.

Stan John is first and foremost the husband to LeAnn, his bride of 27 years, and a homeschooling father of four. In some circles, he is known as the dad who schooled his son through grades 7-12. Stan John has been at Focus on the Family for 24 years, where he currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Global Ministry Development. Stan's passion is to seek the big picture of global trends and to provide leadership by applying visionary principles to every aspect of life. In doing so, Stan served in launching Focus on the Family's Adoption and Orphan care initiative, Church initiative, and works with the Focus International offices to expand the reach of the ministry around the world. He is currently working on establishing a partnership with Home Education leaders across the nation to establish a network of families who will minister to families. Stan has trained hundreds of homeschool families to be hosts of Focus on the Family's TRUTH PROJECT, a comprehensive Biblical worldview study for small groups. His vision is to see the Homeschool movement re-establish a "Culture of Family" in our nation, producing health in struggling communities and churches.

Featured and Workshop Speakers

Carol Arnold and her husband Brad are from Massachusetts and have been married for 32 years. They homeschooled four children from 1983 to 2008. The Arnolds serve on the board of MassHOPE where Carol is the support group Networking Director. Carol taught public high school for 6 years before having children, and is enjoying her recent new role this spring of grandma. Carol is also an EBAY Education Specialist.

Don and Darlene Catlett have homeschooled their four children, ages 26 to 18, since 1988. They have graduated three of their children from high school at home, and will graduate their fourth this year, and they enjoy spreading the vision to continue homeschooling through the high school years. Having founded and held various leadership roles in both small and large co-ops, Darlene shares insights on what works and what doesn't. Don and Darlene have created and maintain many websites to both encourage and educate homeschooling families. Serving together on the CHAP Board, they are also the editors of the CHAP Magazine.

Dr. Bruce K Eagleson has practiced emergency medicine for nearly 30 years. He and his wife have exclusively homeschooled their four children for 24 years. They have four high school at home graduates. Their first and third children did college at home. Bruce has listened to over 900 homeschool presentations, attended over 40 homeschool conventions, published homeschool research, and worked for 15 years to improve the homeschooling law in Pennsylvania. Dr. Eagleson is a homeschool evangelist. Bruce is recognized nationally as the chairman (a position he has held since its founding in 2002) of The National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership. The Eaglesons have served for 15 years on the board of directors of the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania (CHAP). He currently chairs that board. Dr. Eagleson also founded the CHAP Foundation. In addition, Dr. Eagleson is the author of the CHAP getting started book, Keys to Homeschooling in the Keystone State. Bruce also writes a regular column for the CHAP Magazine. Bruce's teaching has been enthusiastically received at many conferences including ENOCH of NJ, Mass HOPE, TEACH CT, HoME, CHAP, Sandy Cove's and Harvey Cedars' Bible Conference homeschool week, HSLDA's annual leadership meeting and the National Alliance of Home Education Leadership. Topics he speaks on include: character lessons from historical figures, apologetics, a vision to homeschool, creation, getting started in homeschooling, what to do after high school, and many Bible topics. Dr. Eagleson has been described as a principled, courageous, and visionary national homeschool leader.

Mary Ann Eagleson is, by God's sovereign grace, a committed Christian. She has been married to Bruce Eagleson for 33 years, is a home educating mom of 24 years for their four children, ages 28 to 18, and has a passion for exploring how God uses home education as one of His greatest tools to shape us into His image. She and her husband serve on the board of the Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership, a national advocacy group for home education. They are also currently serving on the CHAP (Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania) Board, and have done so for 15 years. Mary Ann has been involved with several home education co-ops in participant as well as leadership roles, one of which started in their basement. Before marriage and children, Mary Ann earned a Masters Degree with a focus in Christian Education, worked as a Director of Christian Education in her church and in a regional Christian education resource center for a major Christian denomination. "Doing" Christian Education has been one of her loves in life, whether at home or in the wider Christian community. Recently, she, her husband Bruce and their children created the fledgling Tell It Publishing Company to share with others resources they have created and used to foster family discipleship during the Lent, Easter, Christmas and other seasons of the year. Their son says, "Mom, you have to 'tell' other parents about this! Of all my childhood memories, this is one of my favorites!" Learn more at: www.tellitpub.com email: info@tellitpub.com

Nathan and April Elliott have a combined total of 33 years of experience in children's ministry. As The KnightLights team, they have presented programs not only here in the U.S., but also in Mexico and Kenya. For the past four years, the Elliotts have also ministered at the Homeschool Conventions held at Harvey Cedars Bible Conference. The KnightLights team looks forward to the opportunity to minister at the CHAP Convention.

The Mally Family: Harold and Rebekah Mally began homeschooling their three children (Sarah, Stephen, and Grace) in 1990. Their family ministry, called Tomorrow's Forefathers, encourages and equips families to be strong in the Lord. The Mally family offers a variety of messages, plus harp music and chalk talks. In 1996, their oldest daughter Sarah began a discipleship ministry for young ladies called Bright Lights. There is now a growing network of approximately 315 Bright Lights groups across the country. Among other resources, the Mallys have published Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends (written by Sarah, Stephen, and Grace) and Before You Meet Prince Charming (written by Sarah). The Mally family lives in Marion, Iowa, and attends Cedar Rapids Bible Chapel.

Leigh Genasevich and her husband Gary have been homeschooling their three boys, ages 18, 15 and 11, for the past eleven years. Their oldest son will graduate from high school at home this May. Leigh has a passion for helping and encouraging homeschooling families. She has been conducting homeschool evaluations for the past ten years and is also a support group leader for the Hazleton Area Homeschoolers.

Wanda Gibert is the owner of Heritage House Press, a Christian publishing company dedicated to printing quality literature which encourages families to leave a spiritual legacy for their children. A homeschool veteran and visionary, Wanda has served on the board of Illinois Christian Home Educators for twenty years. Wanda is the author of two books providing instruction and encouragement for moms. Currently, she is a contributing writer for The Girlhood Home Companion. Wanda speaks frequently at home-school conferences, MOP's groups and women's retreats offering spiritual insight with practical application. Wanda resides in northern Illinois with her husband John, six children and one spunky granddaughter, Nyel.

As a medical doctor, tutor, author, and homeschooler, Stephen Guffanti, M.D., offers a unique background and tremendous insight, and communicates with warmth and humor. Not only is Stephen a physician, but he's also dyslexic and ADHD, and from this unusual perspective he brings hope and understanding to families. Born with a passion for education as well as medicine, Dr. Guffanti has served as the medical director of a clinic specializing in learning disorders and has studied nutrition and its effects on learning. Dr. Guffanti is the creator of the Rocket Phonics reading program and author of the books Does Your Child Really Have ADHD? and The Purpose of Passion. He is a popular guest on radio talk shows and has written many articles in homeschooling publications. Contact: drphonics@rocketphonics.com, www.rocketphonics.com or www.drdyslexic.com.

Julie Hiramine is the Founder and Executive Director of the ministry Generations of Virtue that equips parents to empower their children to be pure in our culture today. As a noted speaker, author and Christian leader, Julie has encouraged and impacted parents both in the US and internationally through her speaking and written materials. Julie is based with her husband, Kay, and family in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and at their other home in Conesus, New York. Julie is homeschooling her five daughters: Brianna, Stacia, Alissa, Hana and Mikayla.

Bill Jack is an educator with ten years' experience in secular schools and 14 years with The Caleb Campaign, a creationist youth ministry. Currently, Bill Jack is faculty advisor for Worldview Academy, an academic leadership program that seeks to train Christian students to think and live in accord with a Biblical worldview so that they will serve Christ and lead the culture. Bill has appeared on numerous national radio and television programs and is the producer of several apologetics and worldview training DVDs. Bill's passion is to raise up a generation who has the vision to reach their culture with the gospel, who have the valor to engage that culture with the truth and who rely on the virtue of the Word of God. Bill and his wife, Tabby, and their three children live in Colorado.

Author and female Christian conference speaker Shelley Noonan's passion is to assist parents in recapturing the lost art of mentoring. Oftentimes as parents, we teach a little here and a little there and just hope and pray that our children "turn out" or we can teach our children with purpose on purpose the morals, values and standards we want them to possess. This process of purposeful teaching is called mentoring. Shelley and her husband Robert have over 13 years of homeschooling experience with their three, now grown, children. She presents a wide variety of topics and uses the experience of homeschool and life to motivate and challenge the workshop attendee. Her message will not only touch your heart but encourage the listener in the high calling of parenting on purpose so that future generations will know, serve and love the Lord. Shelley is the co-author of The Beautiful Girlhood series and The Party Book!

Nada Rothgaber has been happily married to her husband, Doug, for over 36 years. Both were trained and worked as professional educators. When they first heard about homeschooling, they thought it would never work. Nada taught for 13 years in both the public schools and at the college level. They have one son, Joshua, a homeschool graduate. They served on the board of the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania (CHAP) for 14 years. Since Doug's early retirement from Penn State University, they have been traveling in their motorhome. They spend warm winters in the southwest and summers in the north. In January of 2009 they resigned from the CHAP Board in order to continue to serve homeschoolers in a different capacity - being the convention coordinator for the CHAP Homeschool Convention. You can reach Nada at rothgaber@chaponline.com or if you can follow their travel blog at http://rothgabertravels.blogspot.com.

As a mother of 11 children (including one with special needs), Mary Sayre has a total of 100 childyears of homeschooling experience! Needless to say, she has a wealth of practical information to share. Before becoming a stay at home mom with the birth of her first child, she worked as a registered nurse. Recognized for her homeschooling efforts, Mary was nominated and accepted into the Who's Who Among American High School Teachers 2005. Public speaking became an integral part of her own homeschool curriculum as a result of watching the championship round of a homeschool debate tournament in 1997. Since then, Mary has taught speech and debate classes and has coached multiple students, including her own children, five of whom have advanced to the national championship level of competition. This legacy bears witness not only to the emphasis she places on public speaking in her own classroom, but also to the effectiveness of her instruction. Blissfully married for twenty-six years to her best friend, Rodger, Mary resides in Tunkhannock, PA. She is a popular inspirational speaker for homeschool support groups.

Julie Shorey is mom to four grown children and four teenagers (the fourth recently adopted), and is in her 25th year of homeschooling. She is director and tutor at Good Company Tutorials, serving over 100 homeschool families. She's been a single mom since 1997.

Mike Snavely was reared in South Africa, the son of missionary parents. His father was a bush pilot for a mission hospital among the Zulu people. Growing up in an area that teemed with remarkable and diverse creatures, he had a wide variety of fascinating experiences which helped to mold his future. After graduating from Oak Hills Christian College in Minnesota in 1979, he returned to South Africa to work for the National Parks Service in the Kruger National Park. In 1985 he married Carrie Baum who grew up near Hershey, PA. Carrie, a musician, attended Lancaster Bible College and was the executive secretary for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. In 1986 they went to South Africa as missionaries with TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission) and served by teaching at Durban Bible College. Since returning to the U.S., they founded a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization named Mission: Imperative! in 1995 - a ministry of teaching creation-oriented issues through a series of seminars covering a wide range of topics. The ministry necessitates travel, both in this country and abroad. Mike and Carrie have home-educated their children since 1991 - Luke (1986), John (1989), and Laura (1991). The "Creation Safari" seminars Mike has developed are not dry lectures, nor does he speak over people's heads. His approach is to make these sessions as interesting and understandable as possible. He uses PowerPoint, video, and various other props. The use of humor adds to the interest. Mike is the author of "Creation or Evolution: A Home-Study Curriculum", and has so far produced seven DVDs that cover his core topics relative to creation issues.

Jim and Karen Stobaugh have four home educated adult children. They have a strong burden for the new leadership group that God is calling forth from the homeschooling community. Jim was a Merrill Fellow at Harvard University and holds a B.A. cum laude from Vanderbilt, an M.A. from Rutgers University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a D.Min. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. An experienced teacher, he is a recognized leader in homeschooling and has published several books for students and teachers. Some are in the series Preparing Thoughtful Christians to be World Changers, with both student and teacher editions: Skills for Literary Analysis (2005), Skills for Rhetoric (2005), World Literature (2005), American Literature (2005), and British Literature (2005). Stobaugh has also published Fire That Burns but Does Not Consume (2003), A Gathered Inheritance (2004), and the highly valued SAT and College Preparation Course for the Christian Student (1998; revised edition, 2004). He lives near Hollsopple, Pennsylvania, and travels widely to speak at conventions about literature, teaching, and education.

Carol Topp, CPA is the author of Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out. She runs a home-based accounting practice specializing in tax preparation, small/micro business start ups, and nonprofit accounting. Carol has presented numerous workshops on money management, business start ups, taxes, budgeting, nonprofit management and homeschooling to various community, church and homeschool groups. She has also published several articles in homeschool magazines. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and homeschools her two daughters.

Bill Waddell is the Northeast Regional Coordinator for the International ALERT Cadet ministry, serving an area from Maine to Virginia. ALERT Cadet is focused on the development of Godly character in young men, and the development of the Father-Son relationship. Mr. Waddell is a full time faculty member of the US Army War College, teaching a variety of information related topics and directing the Command and Control Group.

Jim Weiss has been a storyteller for over 30 years. Under the Greathall Productions label (celebrating 21 years in business), Jim has produced 43 storytelling recordings, G.A. Henty's and numerous other venues that have earned him 85+ national awards. Jim grew up in Highland Park, IL, and has a degree in Speech Communication from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jim and his wife Randy have a grown daughter, and reside in Charlottesville, Virginia.