2018 – Featured Speakers

Adam Andrews 

Center for Literacy Education

 Adam Andrews is the director of the Center for Literary Education (CenterForLit) and a home schooling father of six.  Since 2003, he has traveled throughout the United States and Canada presenting an innovative method for teaching the crucial skills of literary analysis.  Adam’s dynamic presentations enable students to enjoy great literature as never before, while his fresh insights inspire parents and teachers with new vision for their task as educators.

Adam earned his B.A. from Hillsdale College in southern Michigan and his M.A. from the University of Washington in Seattle, where he is currently a candidate for the Ph.D.  He is a Henry Salvatori Fellow of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and a founding board member of Westover Academy in Colville Washington.  He and his wife Missy, a Hillsdale graduate and accomplished educator in her own right, teach their children at home in Rice, Washington.

 Ian Andrews 

Center for Literacy Education 

 Ian Andrews is a teacher and the marketing coordinator at CenterForLit. He has been reading and talking about good books his entire life. Homeschooled through 12^th grade, he attended his parents’ alma mater, Hillsdale College, where he graduated with a degree in English Literature. He and his wife, Emily, live in a tiny Colorado mountain town, and work full-time for Adam and Missy Andrews at CenterForLit, teaching, writing, and developing the newest wave of teacher aids in literature.   

 Carol Becker

HSLDA High School Consultant 

Carol and her husband Jim homeschooled their son in grades 1–12 and their daughter K–12 using a variety of teaching options. The Beckers’ son has a master’s degree in Information Technology and a B.S. in Systems Engineering, and their daughter earned a B.A. with Highest Distinction in French. As a High School Consultant for HSLDA, Carol relishes the opportunity to encourage and equip homeschooling mothers because they are raising the next generation of leaders.

During Carol’s homeschooling years, she established two homeschool co-ops. The first encompassed History, Geography, and Drama and ran for eleven years accommodating students in grades 2–12. With a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering, Carol also has a passion for science, which led her to form and direct a science co-op when her son entered the high school years. She successfully guided a group of dedicated mothers and homeschooled scholars through Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

Convinced that homeschooled students must develop and hone analytical writing skills, Carol has shepherded two different groups of homeschooled students through a three-year original high school English program consisting of Composition I with Literature, Composition II with American Literature, and British Literature. Carol has tutored writing students from middle school, high school, and community college. She has also taught Algebra 1 & 2 and Geometry.

Jake MacAulay

Institute of the Constitution

Jake is a homeschooling father of four and serves as the CEO of the Institute on the Constitution (IOTC), an educational outreach and curriculum that presents the founders’ biblical view of law and government. IOTC’s US Constitu­tion course, accommodates the required High School Civics and US Government Credit and provides students a full under­stand of the Biblical principles on which America’s founding documents are based. The former co-host of the syndi­cated talk show, The Sons of Liberty, he is an ordained minister and has spoken to audiences nationwide, and has established the American Club, a constitutional study group in private, co-op, and public schools. Jake has been seen on Yahoo News, Fox News, The Blaze, AP, CBS, NBC, The Weekly Standard and more.

Kathleen Cotter Lawler

RightStartMath 

Kathleen Cotter Lawler is the daughter of Dr. Joan A. Cotter, author and creator of the RightStart™ Mathematics program. She was one of the first children to grow up under the Activities for Learning principles. Kathleen has a degree in Home Economics from the University of Minnesota and has two Masters Degrees from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. Kathleen is the mother of four children ages 20 to 25. Three of the Lawler children have graduated from North Dakota State University and the youngest is attending college at the University of Minnesota.

Kathleen is currently responsible for program development support, marketing, sales, and general management. She travels all across the US and Canada, sharing the RightStart mission of helping children understand, apply, and enjoy mathematics. She is currently leading an online class with a group of middle-school students. In her spare time, Kathleen designs and sews quilts and is re-learning how to unicycle.