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"Parents are the first and the most important educators of their own children, and they also possess a fundamental competence in this area; they are educators because they are parents."
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2007 Speaker List
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Fr. Eric Albertson (Major), US Army, is a priest from the Diocese of Arlington, VA. He grew up in North Springfield, graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, and completed an undergraduate in Business from West Virginia University in 1981. That same year he entered Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. He was ordained in 1986 and served as Associate Pastor at Holy Spirit in Annandale and St. Lawrence in Franconia before Bishop Keating released him for active duty in 1993.
His military career began at Fort Bragg, NC, with the 82 nd Airborne Division, where he completed the US Army Ranger Course and the Advanced Airborne (Jump Master) Course. He has served in multiple units throughout his 14 years of service, and has been assigned numerous times overseas and, most recently, the Anbar Province in Iraq, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
His current assignment is to Fort Belvoir, VA, as the Deputy Installation Chaplain and Catholic Pastor. Father Albertson's hobbies include Music Composition and Photography. His Military Photographs have won several awards and have been published numerous times. |
 | Fr. Joseph Mary Brown was born in Bardstown, KY, the third of seven children. He graduated from Christendom College in 1985 with a B.A. in Philosophy. In 1991, he joined the Congregation of St. John (an active-contemplative Community founded in France in 1975) in Laredo, TX, where he did his Novitiate. From there, he was sent to France to continue his formation, and in 1996, he was sent to their house in Peoria, IL.
Ordained in 1997, Father now serves as the Superior of the Community’s English-speaking Novitiate House in Princeville, IL.
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 | Fr. Robert J. Levis, Ph.D., a priest of the Diocese of Erie, PA since 1948, received his Ph. D. in Religious Education from the Catholic University of America. He served at Gannon University in Erie, PA as Professor and Chair of the Department of Theology, Chair of the Liberal Studies Curriculum, Founder and Chair of the Pontifical Center for Catechetical Studies, where for 19 years, he supervised and instructed candidates for the Master’s Degree in Catechetics. He has also taught catechetical courses at the undergraduate and graduate level at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH.
He is a Co-Founder and Vice President of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a national association of priests, seminarians, and deacons. In addition to editing its newsletter, Sapientia, for many years, he sponsored their annual convention at Gannon University for almost 20 years.
When the Catechism of the Catholic Church appeared in 1994, he pioneered the preparation of two widely accepted catechetical programs for use on the computer, one for grade school students, and the other for high school students in fidelity to this official catechism. In 1997, he wrote a popular catechism, Jesus, the Catechism, and Me, a condensed and faithful text in support of the official catechism. He co-edited John Paul II, Catechist, edited the History of Gannon University, has written regularly for the Canadian Challenge, National Catholic Register, Lake Shore Visitor, Catholic Encyclopedia, and many other publications. He has spoken often on theological topics across the States and in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Presently, he co-hosts the EWTN show Web of Faith.
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 | Fr. Frank E. Papa, S.O.L.T., J.C.D. spent more than 25 years working with youth before his ordination to the priesthood in 1989. He was Founder and Executive Director of Teens, Incorporated, a recreational character-building organization that expanded into Teen Homes for youth from broken homes.
He earned his Doctorate in Canon Law from the Angelicum in Rome, graduated Magna Cum Laude, studied for an Advocacy Degree at the Sacred Roman Rota, and taught various courses at the Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, CT.
He has been a guest on radio and television shows, and a speaker at State Agencies and Institutions, as well as at
regional and national home schooling conferences.
As a priest with extensive backgrounds in Canon Law, marriage preparation, and youth work, Fr. Papa is uniquely qualified to give parents important tips from a Catholic perspective. Recently, he authored the book, Love, Dating, and Marriage: A Marriage Preparation Guide.
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 | Fr. Paul Scalia was born in Charlottesville, VA in 1970, ordained deacon at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City-State in 1995, and ordained a Diocesan priest on May 18, 1996 at St. Thomas More Cathedral.
After receiving his B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, in 1992, Father received his STB from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1995, and his M.A. the following year from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, also in Rome. He was the founder, editor, and publisher of The Fenwick Review at the College of the Holy Cross.
Father is currently Parochial Vicar at St. Rita’s Catholic Church in Alexandria, VA. He has written articles in Catholic Twin Circle Magazine, Human Life Review, Religion and Liberty and Adoremus Bulletin.
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 | Fr. Pablo Straub, C.SS.R, is a missionary priest of St. Alphonsus’ Redemptorist Order. After his ordination in 1958 in the Hudson Valley, he spent twenty years evangelizing literally every city, town, and village in Puerto Rico. Father has spent the last twenty years in rural Mexico, where he helped found two new missionary and contemplative religious orders.
In the United States, Mexico and Guatemala, Father Straub directs missions, retreats, and Marian Eucharistic Conferences, as well as finds time to evangelize on Mother Angelica’s EWTN and on Mexican Catholic television.
Known as the "Crucifix Priest," Father Pablo has a special devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, loves the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is faithful to the Pope. He hears confessions during his missions from before sunrise to beyond midnight, preaches with a quiet passion borne of love, and finds time to write an occasional Catholic tract for laity. He has produced audios and videos of the Catholic Catechism and Rosary meditations, including the very popular 32-lesson, "Catholic Family Catechism" DVD series.
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 | Mrs. Laura M. Berquist, a home schooling mother of six, is founder and director of Mother of Divine Grace School, a home study program currently serving 2400 students. Mrs. Berquist is the author of Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum and editor of The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum. Based on the philosophy of the classical Trivium--grammar, logic, and rhetoric--she has developed a modern classical home school curriculum for grades K-12 that strengthens character and intellect, and reinforces virtue.
Mrs. Berquist is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, CA. She has home schooled her six children for the last 22 years. Four of them have graduated from college (of whom two are married); one is attending college, and the youngest is still being home schooled.
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 | After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Economics, Mrs. Carole Breslin lived in Malaysia for six years as a Peace Corps volunteer, and worked her way up to Acting Director in the Vietnamese Refugee Resettlement Office. She later earned her Master’s in Accounting and Organizational Development from the University of Michigan, during which time she met and married her husband, Mike.
Mrs. Breslin served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for 8 years, and currently serves on its Board of Directors. She has spoken at a number of conferences and published articles in various newsletters. Carole’s greatest blessing and challenge is the continuing education of their four daughters. Since her eldest is a junior at Eastern Michigan University, Mrs. Breslin continues to homeschool her other three daughters.
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 | Mr. John F. Clark is a registered investment advisor and the chief executive officer of Paladin Financial Group, a Catholic investment firm. A graduate of Christendom College, Mr. Clark is recognized as an expert in the field of morally responsible investing.
He is a frequent lecturer and radio guest on the topic of morality and markets. His articles have appeared in Homiletic and Pastoral Review, The Wanderer, Latin Mass Magazine, Human Life International Reports, and SeattleCatholic.com. He is also a regular columnist for CatholicExchange.com.
Mr. Clark is head coach of the Christendom College baseball team. He resides in Front Royal, Virginia, with his wife, Lisa, and seven children.
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 | Dr. Mary Kay Clark has taken an active role in educational and political issues for over 30 years. Since 1982, she has been Director of Seton Home Study School. Under her direction for 23 years, Seton Home Study School has grown from 340 students in 1985 to more than 10,000 students currently enrolled in the United States and internationally.
Besides being a frequent speaker at home education and family conferences, Dr. Clark is also a frequent guest on radio and television programs. She has written many articles on home schooling, and has authored the book, Catholic Home Schooling: A Handbook for Parents. Dr. Clark is the mother of seven children, all of whom she educated at home. She and her husband, Bruce, are proud grandparents of 28 little Clarks.
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 | Dr. John A. Cuddeback received his B.A. from Christendom College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America in 1997. He is Chairman of the Philosophy Department at Christendom College. He writes and lectures on various topics, including virtue, culture, natural law, contemplation, and friendship.
His book, Friendship: The Art of Happiness, was published in 2003. Dr. Cuddeback is a member of the Third Order Dominicans, and is an avid gardener and hunter. He is a home schooling father and lives with his wife and five children in the Shenandoah Valley.
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 | Dr. Ray Guarendi is a father, clinical psychologist, author, public speaker and a radio host. His experience includes school districts, Head Start programs, mental health centers, substance abuse programs, inpatient psychiatric centers, juvenile courts, and a private practice.
Dr. Guarendi has been a regular guest on national radio and television, including Oprah, Joan Rivers, Scott Ross Prime Time, 700 Club, Gordon Elliot, and CBS This Morning. He’s appeared on regional radio and television shows in over 40 states and Canada. He has been the program psychologist for Cleveland’s Morning Exchange, Pittsburgh 2-Day, and AM Indiana. He has written several books, including You’re a Better Parent Than You Think!, now in its twenty-first printing, Back to the Family and his newest book is Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime.
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 | The son of Armenian immigrants, Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian (pronounced: Kal-PAGE-ee-an) was born in Milford, MA in 1941. He earned his B.A. in English from Bowdoin College and his M.A. in English from the University of Kansas. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1974. He taught at Simpson, Christendom, and Magdalen colleges, and is an adjunct professor of English at St. Anselm College and at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. He and wife, Joyce, now deceased, were married for 25 years and had five children.
Dr. Kalpakgian has written three books: The Marvelous in Fielding’s Novels; The Mysteries of Life in Children’s Literature, and An Armenian Family Reunion. He is a regular contributor to New Oxford Review, Culture Wars magazine, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review.
Professor Kalpakgian has been a guest lecturer at the Wyoming School of Catholic Thought during the summers of 2003 and 2005, and has been honored with a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar Fellowship (in which he was invited to participate in their Institute on Children’s Literature), as well as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship.
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 | Mr. Kieran McGuire is a home-schooling father of 12 and currently serves as a New York City public high school principal. He has previously worked as an Exploration Geologist and in institutional financial services in New York and Tokyo. He holds a BS (Earth and Space Sciences) from SUNY—Stony Brook, an MS (Secondary Education), and a Professional Diploma (Ed. Admin.) from St. John’s University, Queens, New York, where, as a doctoral candidate in Educational Administration, he is attempting to empirically validate a measure of prudence in principals’ behaviors.
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 | Dr. Catherine ("Katie") Moran is the author of the book, The Doorway to Heaven, and the soon to be published, Home Schooling for Heaven, not Harvard, which is currently in its editing stage.
Mrs. Moran received her B.A. degree with majors in Biology, Chemistry and Speech/Hearing Therapy from Kent State University, and her MS.Ed. (Masters of Science in Education) and Ph.D. in Education from Breyer State University.
She has eighteen years of experience home schooling her 5 children, including one son who is a dyslexic and had ADHD. She and her husband, David, adopted two of their children (a brother and sister) from Ukraine several years ago.
She is president of the Catholic Home School Network of America (CHSNA); member of the Round Table, a national organization of Catholic Home Schooling leaders; founder and past leader of the Ohio Educators’ Catholic Home Schooling Network, and a member of the CHSNA delegation to Rome on behalf of Catholic Home Education, which visited with Pope John Paul II in 1995 and 1997.
Dr. Moran is a secular Franciscan, and served as prefect of her fraternity for three years. She is presently secretary-treasurer of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, and speaker of its Byzantine Chapter of Warren, Ohio.
She has been a keynote speaker at many conferences and retreats, and is a steadfast promoter of Mary-like modesty.
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 | Mrs. Rita Munn (Cancelled)
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 | Mrs. Virginia Seuffert, "Ginny," a native New Yorker and mother of twelve, currently resides in Illinois with her husband.
While in New York, Mrs. Seuffert lectured, debated, and wrote a number of articles for the Pro-Life movement. After moving to Illinois, she became a founding member of the Network of Illinois Catholic Home Educators, helped establish the "Round Table" (a Catholic home school leadership discussion group), and became a founder and officer of the Catholic Home School Network of America.
Mrs. Seuffert has appeared on EWTN, and has spoken at numerous Catholic family conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is the author of various articles on home education, particularly stressing the teaching of virtues and discipline. Mrs. Seuffert wrote the chapter on "Home Management" in Dr. Mary Kay Clark’s book, Catholic Home Schooling: A Parent’s Guide.
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 | Mr. James B. Stenson is a writer and educational consultant based in Boston. He received his Bachelor’s degree in biology from Boston College and his Master’s degree in history from Georgetown University. He is a co-founder of The Heights School in Washington, DC, and a founder and headmaster of Northridge Preparatory School in suburban Chicago. He has had more than twenty years of experience in teaching and school administration.
Using his twenty years of experience with families, he has written numerous pamphlets and has authored several books including: Father, The Family Protector; Lifeline: The Religious Upbringing of Your Children; Anchor: God’s Promises of Hope to Parents; and Compass: A Handbook on Parent Leadership. He is the author of numerous other books and booklets for parents. He has given hundreds of lectures to parents in cities throughout the United States as well as the Philippines, Trinidad, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland and England.
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 | Dr. Alice von Hildebrand is an internationally renowned lecturer, philosopher, and author, who currently works as a host on Mother Angelica’s EWTN television network, and has lectured widely in Western Europe, Canada, the U.S., Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico.
She is a Professor Emerita of Philosophy at Hunter College of the City University of New York, where she taught for over thirty years. She served as a trustee for the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH, from 1987 to 1999. She has taught at catechetical institutes in Arlington, VA, and Dunwoodie, NY, as well as Thomas More College in Rome and the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she received the Doctor Honoris Causa.
Dr. von Hildebrand has written many widely-acclaimed books from a traditional Catholic perspective, including The Soul of a Lion: Life of Dietrich von Hildebrand, a loving biography of her deceased husband; By Love Refined: Letters to a Young Bride; By Grief Refined: Letters to a Widow, and The Privilege to be a Woman.
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Speaker biographies
and photos used with permission.
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