Speakers

BE INSPIRED BY PASSIONATE EDUCATORS

Click Bios to Read

DEANI VAN PELT, PhD

DR. DEANI VAN PELT
Deani Van Pelt, an Ontario Certified Teacher, is President of Edvance Christian Schools Association in Ontario, Canada. Previously Associate Professor of Education and Director of Teacher Education at Redeemer University College, and formerly a teacher in both Christian and public high schools, she holds a B.Commerce (McMaster University), B.Ed. (University of Toronto), and Master’s and Ph.D. in Education (Western University). She was awarded a medal for excellence in graduate studies for her master thesis on Charlotte Mason’s Design for Education, and her article For a Great Door is Opened: The Legacy of Charlotte Mason draws on her studies during that period. She led an exciting international research collaboration, funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, at the Armitt Museum and Library that resulted in the Charlotte Mason Digital Collection, available worldwide through Redeemer University College and recently received CMI’s Charlotte Mason Tribute award for doing so. Van Pelt, a Cardus Senior Fellow and a Fraser Institute Senior Fellow, has researched and published frequently on aspects of school choice in Canada (including home schooling, charter schools, religious schools, and independent schools) and on education spending and school sector enrollments. She has served as an expert witness, presented at numerous academic and education conferences across North America, and her work has been regularly featured in Canadian print and broadcast media. She and her husband, Michael, raised their three children near Toronto, Canada and both are thankful to have “met” Charlotte Mason early in their parenting years.

JENNIFER SPENCER, EdD

DR. JENNIFER SPENCER
Dr. Jennifer Spencer has been an educator in public, private, and home schools since 1997. She obtained an undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education and a masters in Elementary Education before pursuing a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. Her dissertation on Mason’s approach to writing won the highest award for student research given by her university. Jen was privileged to be part of the team that digitized the Mason archives for the Charlotte Mason Digital Collection in 2009. In 2011, she founded Willow Tree Community School in Shelby, NC, where she worked as teacher and principal for four years. Jen currently works as the senior project manager for Charlotte Mason’s Alveary, the curriculum for schools and homeschools published by the Charlotte Mason Institute. Jen enjoys hiking, reading, and supporting her two children in their musical endeavors. She lives in Gaffney, SC with her husband, Wes.

DOUG SIKKEMA, PhD

DR. DOUG SIKKEMA
Dr. Doug Sikkema grew up in Southern, Ontario amidst vineyards and peach orchards, and lots of books. Doug has a B.A in English from Redeemer University, an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in contemporary American literature from the University of Waterloo. His current research explores the relationship of religion, literature, and the environment. Doug is an assistant Professor of English and the Core Humanities Program at Redeemer University. Doug is currently the Board Chair of Oak Hill Academy, a classical Christian school – inspired by Charlotte Mason – he helped start with his wife Vanessa and a group of parents. Doug and Vanessa live just outside of Hamilton on a small acreage where they raise their four children (and two dogs).

MATT MULLINS, PhD

DR. MATTHEW MULLINS
Dr. Matthew Mullins is Associate Professor of English and History of Ideas at the College at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina where he teaches classes on American literature, literary theory, hermeneutics, and great books. He divides his research and writing time between the academy and the church, publishing both academic literary criticism and treatments of literature aimed at a broader, yet specifically Christian, audience. His most recent book fits into that second category and is entitled Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Scriptures (Baker 2021).

MITALI PERKINS

MITALI PERKINS
Mitali Perkins (mitaliperkins.com) has written many books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near, a National Book Award nominee, and Rickshaw Girl, which was adapted into a film. Her newest work for children is a picture book, Bare Tree and Little Wind: A Story for Holy Week. Recently, Mitali also shared her love and gratitude for “living children’s books” in a nonfiction book for grownups called Steeped in Stories: Timeless Children’s Novels to Refresh our Tired Souls. Mitali and her husband, who served as a pastor for 25 years, live in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have twin adult sons.

NANCY KELLY

NANCY KELLY
Nancy Kelly lives in a little town on the prairie called Windom, Minnesota. She and her husband Kent have home-educated their six children for 27 years using the principles and practices of Charlotte Mason. After meeting and listening to Susan Schaeffer Macaulay speak on education at the 1994 L’Abri Conference in Rochester, MN, she decided to wholeheartedly pursue this way of learning and living. Nancy has helped build a thriving CM educational community in southwest Minnesota that continues to grow. She started the Parents’ Midwest Educational Union (PMEU), a parents’ book discussion group; Truth, Beauty, Goodness (TBG), a student learning cooperative; Living Education Lessons; and the Living Education Retreat, now in its 16th year of sharing and spreading the ideas of Charlotte Mason. 16 years ago she began sharing her knowledge and experience across the country speaking on Charlotte Mason’s philosophy at conferences and retreats. She is a sought-after educational consultant and mentor. A trip with Kent and dear friends to Ambleside, England in 2014 forever changed her understanding of Mason’s teacher training and deepened her love for Mason’s relational philosophy. She is a book rescuer and has republished several inspiring texts important to the CM community. You can read her blog and other doings at her website, Sage Parnassus. She enjoys family, ‘bright eyes’, helping others implement the CM method with peace, Shakespeare, exploring the flora and fauna of new places, and of course…books.

SHANNON WHITESIDE, PhD

DR. SHANNON WHITESIDE
Dr. Shannon Whiteside is the Assistant Program Director for the Alveary. She lives in northwest Indiana with her husband, Mark, and their three children (ages 10-15). Before homeschooling her children, she was an elementary teacher and board member at a Christian school. Over 10 years ago, she discovered the life-giving principles of Charlotte Mason when searching the internet for alternative educational philosophies. This discovery inspired her to pursue a PhD in Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her dissertation research focused on the storytelling aspects of narration and how Mason’s educational theories compare to the classical model of education. In her spare time, Shannon enjoys reading, trying new recipes, and hiking in the Indiana Dunes.

MIN JUNG HWANG

MIN JUNG HWANG
Min Jung Hwang spends her days spreading a Charlotte Mason feast at home with her four creative children and, as a pastor’s wife, complementing her husband’s pastoral ministry at Pascack Bible Church in New Jersey. You may also find her painting, writing, leading a nonprofit ministry for mothers pursuing life-giving habits, podcasting at “Charlotte Mason For All” and “Charlotte Mason Volumes,” and bringing the feast to the children of her church as the Director of Children’s Ministry.

When her eldest was a toddler, Min “met” Miss Mason and immediately scoured online used bookstores for the unicorn “pinks,” which were the only hardcopies discoverable then. Subsequently, she was swept off her feet by this Gospel-centric educational philosophy and methods. With fire in bones, she immediately began working to bring Miss Mason’s principles to every opportunity she had over the years. This included her work overseas during her season in university administration and education, serving international students and faculty families from over 60 nations. Then, later, as the Founder and Executive Director of a nonprofit with a mission to rescue and empower pregnant women escaping forced abortion, sexual exploitation, and sex trafficking.

You will often find Min enjoy hosting book clubs, Charlotte Mason co-ops, and “mother nurture” workshops for fellow homeschool moms. Yet as an introvert, her favorite pastimes are dating her husband, Young (with Vancouver and NYC as their hometowns, they are foodies!), blissfully painting or reading away the day with a cup of tea, and exploring new terrain in God’s creation with her four adventurous children.

AMBER O'NEAL JOHNSTON

AMBER O’NEAL JOHNSTON
Amber O’Neal Johnston fell in love with the principles of Charlotte Mason when her oldest was a preschooler. After wholeheartedly committing to follow Mason’s philosophy, she became disheartened when months went by with little mention, if any, of the stories and accomplishments of Black people in her school room. The literary quality of the books was better, but she found that the cultural emptiness she experienced as a schoolgirl was being perpetuated within the walls of her own home.

Committed to bridging the gap for her four children, Amber has embarked on a journey of uniquely merging living books with life-giving books and a culturally-rich environment to ensure that their education is not merely a legalistic Charlotte Mason venture but an honest experience that honors the Truth while helping her children to see beauty in themselves and others.

Amber shares her observations on home education, books, travel, and more at www.HeritageMom.com, and when asked about her path she likes to smile and say, “In my house, Charlotte Mason has an afro.”

CARROLL SMITH, EdD

DR. CARROLL SMITH
Dr. Carroll Smith was introduced to Charlotte Mason many years ago through Mason’s book An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education. From there the seeds of ideas given by Mason in her various books have slowly taken hold and have grown year by year as Carroll worked as a middle school teacher, a principal and a college professor. He founded the educational nonprofit, The Charlotte Mason Institute, to promote the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason and cherishes the relationships that have gown over the years through a collective camaraderie with people interested in seeing education from a very different paradigm. He enjoys reading, gardening and discussing ideas with friends. He and his wife, Andra live in Roanoke, VA.

KELLI CHRISTENBERRY

KELLI CHRISTENBERRY
Kelli has been involved in the Charlotte Mason Community since discovering her work in 2000. She currently serves as Chair of the Charlotte Mason Institute Board of Directors. Many years ago, Kelli founded the thriving central Illinois Charlotte Mason group and has since established the online program for CMI’s Community Study Groups. She enjoys studying and discussing these vitalizing ideas on education and life. Kelli is part of the Alveary high school development team, and she is passionate about training teachers in Mason’s relational education practices. Through God’s abundant grace, her children were home educated through high school graduation following the philosophy and methods of Mason; all pursued diverse University degrees and are married. Kelli and her husband Randall retired to the Dallas area and spend much of the year traveling to visit their children and grandchildren.

PARKE STALCUP

PARKE STALCUP
Parke is the mother of five boys, ages 16-23, all of whom she has home schooled. After graduating in 1995 with an education degree, she read For the Children’s Sake in 2002. She soon joined a CM study group and began to implement what she had been learning about with her growing family. Parke currently teaches at Crestwood Day School in Birmingham, Alabama. She has been known as the local ‘book lady’ for years, scouring thrift stores, library sales, and yard sales looking for living books, and passing them along to other CM moms. She and her family also enjoy regular adventures to National Parkes.

ANDRA SMITH

ANDRA SMITH
In previous decades Andy taught English to international adults, and also trained those with vision problems to get around their communities. Her work took her into all kinds of classrooms from preschool to college where she saw so many students disengaged, bored with worksheets, and cramming for tests–so many “born persons” hungering for the life-giving paradigm that Charlotte Mason offers. During her children’s younger years, Andy tried to homeschool her two children with CM methods but, to her overwhelming disappointment, found that “air traffic controlling” all those layers was beyond her personal limits. At the time, she did not understand her attention deficits and how they can be mistakenly attributed to moral failure. In the 1990s, Andy was diagnosed with ADD but it was not until recent years when she immersed herself in the research of how ADHD is a disorder of diminished executive functioning that she was able to make sense of much of her life and gain new freedom. She is currently burrowing into Mason’s theory of attention as it relates to current research and feels like she is birthing a dissertation! Her great joy in her 60s now is helping others understand this complex disorder, how to detoxify its shame, and how to find freedom by using compensatory strategies to overcome challenges. Introduced to a relationship with Christ in college, Andy is grateful to God for the tremendous stability and blessing that walking with Christ has brought to life and now is so grateful for executive functioning understanding that allows her to more faithfully steward the neurochemistry she has been given.

DANIELLE MERRITT-SUNSERI

DANIELLE MERRITT-SUNSERI
Danielle was first exposed to several of Mason’s principles through the guidance of many gifted science teachers and professors (even though they didn’t know who Mason was!). Danielle graduated with a B.S. Chemistry from Saint Francis University in 2000 and an M.S. Chemistry from the Pennsylvania State University in 2003. After doing pharmaceutical research for a number of years, she and her husband, Jay, began looking for an educational alternative for their children, and she stumbled upon Home Education! The text immediately resonated, and it was a natural switch from research chemist to Charlotte Mason educator. She and Jay have established their school on a little homestead in North Carolina. When she isn’t raising food or learning alongside the children, she can be found researching neuro-atypical development or family genealogy.

KERRI FORNEY

KERRI FORNEY
Just like so many others, Kerri Forney was introduced to the life-giving principles of Charlotte Mason through the reading of Susan Schaeffer Macaulay’s For the Children’s Sake. She and her husband, Scott, and her family (two kids still schooled at home, three more graduated and in the area) are continually growing in their ability to live out these principles north of Raleigh, NC. Besides being involved with the Charlotte Mason Institute in various capacities and leading a monthly CM study group for parents in North Raleigh, she and some of the kids enjoy rescuing used, living books wherever they can be found and sending them to new homes.

ELIZABETH MILLAR

ELIZABETH MILLAR
Elizabeth Millar resides on Prince Edward Island, Canada and yes – she is a Lucy Maud Montgomery fan! As a home educator for the past 20 years, teaching her five children has given her a storehouse of rich memories and a passion for Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education. She’s had the wonderful opportunity of teaching at several homeschool co-ops and classes, as well as coordinating a book club for children. She enjoys history especially because it is all about people and stories – two of her favourite things. She believes that recognizing God’s thread of redemption, beauty, and grace throughout history is one of the ways to turn learning into worship. Elizabeth recently graduated with a Masters of Theological Studies, and just began a doctoral program, concentrating on recognizing the presence of God in our own stories. Her areas of interest include corporate prayer, liturgy, story telling, and spiritual discernment. In her spare time, the art of making things, whether for the home or body, has been a source of rest and peace. Joy and delight come from literature, walking, tending to her circle of love at home and finding unexpected beauty and grace

SANDRA ZUIDEMA

SANDRA ZUIDEMA
Sandra graduated from Redeemer University College with degrees in both Art and Education and enough love for both to continue using them to this day. After 12 years of homeschooling her own children, she keeps a toe in the classroom teaching Art and Picture Study. The rest of the week she pursues her passion for pottery, realized in her fledgling home business, aSpire Pottery.

The loves she has developed find voice in her pots. Traceried windows pierced out of clay reflect her love for buildings – discovered while teaching high school History of Architecture classes, a visit to Italy, and in her beautiful city of Hamilton. Local birds and flora etched onto vases and mugs show her love for the created world – found on countless walks along the escarpment with her Nature Study students. Sandra’s pottery is constantly evolving as she discovers new spaces, plants, and techniques. She sees the windows in her pots as little glimpses into what she holds dear – her faith, her family, her joy in both teaching and learning.

NICOLLE HUTCHINSON

NICOLLE HUTCHINSON
Nicolle is the Executive Director and a founder of Gillingham Charter School, the first public, non-sectarian Charlotte Mason school in the US. Aiming to offer Mason’s free liberal arts relational education to all, Gillingham opened one decade ago in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and currently serves 250 young persons aged 5-18 years. Gillingham is accredited by the Charlotte Mason Institute, and the Gillingham Foundation offers consulting to educators and school starters as they follow their dreams of offering a relational, life-giving education. Nicolle earned her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and has been teaching students, training teachers and leading learning organizations in public, private and home schools for 30 years

LISA CADORA

LISA CADORA
Lisa Cadora first heard of Charlotte Mason from Ranald and Susan Macaulay at a L’Abri conference in Minnesota circa 1982. After finishing her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Covenant College, she continued to study Mason on her own while teaching in public schools, and finally joining the ChildLight Schools to practice Charlotte Mason education in the classroom and develop curriculum. Upon receiving her Master’s degree in Language and Literacy from Georgia State University, she worked with the Ambleside School of Fredericksburg and with ChildLight Schools again as an administrator. She went on to practice Mason’s “sane” education in a parochial school and at Cincinnati State before starting Great River Learning, a Mason cottage school, in Cincinnati Ohio.

CATHY BARRINGTON

CATHY BARRINGTON
When Cathy and her husband, Jim, were exploring educational possibilities for their two young children, they were immediately drawn to Mason’s ideas of short lessons, lots of outdoor hours, and living books. In 2001 Cathy began attending a monthly CM group. In addition to homeschooling, she has helped others in CM co-ops and support groups over the last 16 years. She currently teaches at Crestwood Day School in Birmingham. Cathy enjoys volunteering as a weekly summer Camp Director, Children’s Choir teacher, library helper, and Women’s Ministry committee member.

DONNA JOHNSON, EdD

DR. DONNA JOHNSON
Dr. Donna Johnson is an Associate Professor of Special and Elementary Education at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota. She has served on the board of the International Dyslexia Association Upper Midwest Branch, is on the South Dakota Advisory Panel for Children with Disabilities, and does private tutoring as a certified Orton-Gillingham dyslexia instructor. Donna and her husband, Chris, homeschooled their three daughters from 1989 until 2004. They first learned of Charlotte Mason in the early 1990s while attending L’Abri Conferences in Rochester, Minnesota. Hearing a presentation by Susan Schaeffer Macauley, author of For the Children’s Sake, influenced and transformed not only their homeschool, but all of Donna’s future teaching. The Johnsons three daughters are now grown, married, and collectively the mothers of Chris and Donna’s seven grandchildren. At home on their farm, the Johnsons grow vegetables, fruit, and flowers and enjoy the wildlife and their three farm cats. Away from the farm, they like to travel and browse antique shops.

KATHRYN FORNEY

KATHRYN FORNEY
Kathryn Forney was schooled through high school with Mason’s philosophy and methods and continues to see the applicability of Mason’s principles in academics and all of life. After studying Mandarin Chinese in China for a year, she then completed a B.A. in English. Kathryn serves the Charlotte Mason Institute as a coordinator for programs and services and creates music content for the Alveary. She is especially fascinated by the way Charlotte Mason’s philosophy reveals intersections between theology, counseling, literature, and writing. In her free time, you’ll find her playing ultimate frisbee, gardening, hiking, reading, or hanging out with friends and family.

COURTNEY GUNTER

COURTNEY GUNTER
Courtney Gunter grew up near Asheville, North Carolina where she began her dance training at age 3. During her youth, she trained with private instructor and mentor Veronica Zink, Ballet Spartanburg, and Joffrey Ballet School. While completing her BFA in Dance from Florida State University she studied with and performed works by Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Suzanne Farrell, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Alex Ketley, and Dan Wagoner. While in Tallahassee, she taught dance at Wildwood Ballet and Tallahassee Ballet. After relocating to Atlanta, Courtney danced professionally with contemporary dance company Staibdance and taught classes at Emory University and Perimeter Ballet. She has served as the Artistic Director for Westminster Ballet since starting the ministry in 2008. Courtney discovered Charlotte Mason after seeing children at her church who were noticeably different and was given Susan Schaeffer Macaulay’s, For the Children’s Sake. After attempting a boxed curriculum for her first year of homeschooling, she sought a more gentle approach adopting the Charlotte Mason philosophy, joined a Charlotte Mason co-op, and eventually began using the Charlotte Mason Institute’s Alveary curriculum. The opportunity arose for Courtney to contribute movement instruction for the Alveary in 2018 and it quickly expanded to the Historical Dance offering where she has been able to explore, research, and share many different styles of dance from the past. Courtney is excited that her love of dance and Charlotte Mason have intersected beautifully and that the Charlotte Mason Institute provides an outlet for her.

JENNIFER TALSMA

JENNIFER TALSMA
Jennifer loves being a learner and teacher, seeing the two go hand in hand through life. In high school she specialized in music and tutored her friends in algebra over lunch; in university she obtained her Bachelor of Education while coordinating the Sunday School program in the church plant she attended; as a classroom teacher and homeschooler she taught during the day and explored Charlotte Mason’s principles and methodology with other educators in study groups. Jennifer has served as a lesson plan writer for Canadian content in Charlotte Mason’s Alveary and has been part of the leadership team of two Charlotte Mason study groups. Over the past 4 years Jennifer has worked with students with learning disabilities, pursuing master’s-level study in Educational Therapy and achieving the qualification of Professionally Certified Educational Therapist. During her years as a therapist, her desire to see struggling students gain access to the feast that is available to them has pushed her to find the best interventions for her clients, whatever their challenges.
Jennifer lives in Stratford, Ontario.

ERIKA MCKNIGHT

ERIKA MCKNIGHT
“…Mothers work wonders once they are convinced that wonders are demanded of them.” Charlotte Mason (Vol. 1, pg. 44)

The day our 2nd son, Joshua, was born we knew that we would be homeschooling our kids. God had brought my attention to homeschooling through my teaching at Drake University and through my private flute studio where I had the privilege of teaching several homeschooled students. The interactions these students had with me as well as with other family members stood out as something our family desired. Sadly, I do not remember my initial discovery of Charlotte Mason, but I do know God placed her early on in my research path. Glenn and I live in Des Moines, Iowa, with our three children, Daniel, 15, Joshua, 12 (has Down syndrome), and Lydia, 10. Both Glenn and I continuously study Charlotte Mason’s approach to life and learning through past and present participation in the Friends of Charlotte Mason Central Iowa mother’s and father’s study groups, as well as the Idyll Challenge. Glenn and I currently lead the Idyll Challenge 3 Couples group. I have also taken online classes (Living Education Lessons) with Nancy Kelly and have attended the Living Education Retreat each summer for the past 10 years (4 of these have been with Glenn). Our family has been involved in a local Charlotte Mason cooperative learning community for the past 6 years where I have led Composer Study and Hymn. I received my Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Florida State University as well as my Master of Music in Flute Performance and minor in Baroque Performance from Indiana University. In addition, I studied with an internationally acclaimed flutist in England, Trevor Wye, and began my doctoral studies at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. I taught at University of Florida as well as Drake University and currently am the adjunct flute instructor for Faith Baptist College. I have taught private flute lessons for 30 years in my home as well as through video calls. You can find information regarding my studio at www.erikaleakemcknight.com.

ANNA RITTER

ANNA RITTER
Anna grew up at the foot of the Blue Ridge in Virginia, as the oldest of six siblings. She is currently a second year student at the University of Minnesota Law School, studying abroad this semester at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. In addition to developing a Natural History Club program for CMI, Anna works with a water law firm in Minnesota, and intends to pursue land and water use issues. Anna enjoys poetry, riding horses, and binge watching detective shows in her time off.

Photo by Lathan Goumas/Strategic Communications

KIM SCARBROUGH

KIM SCARBROUGH
Kim Scarbrough has been a Home Educator and Charlotte Mason practitioner for 20 years – employing Mason’s principles with her four neuro-diverse children ages 13-25, who came into her family through adoption. She was blessed to learn about Charlotte Mason’s life-giving methods before she began teaching her own children and enjoyed implementing those principles with her neuro-diverse learners (3 have now graduated). In addition to use with her own children, Kim has applied Mason’s methods in home school co-ops and in Mason-inspired enrichment classes offered out of her home. Kim has been a member of the CMI Alveary for the past five years. Her passion is to share how the relational education of the Charlotte Mason Method can meet the needs of neuro-atypical learners. Her most recent project was the successful pilgrimage of her living books library from Illinois to Tennessee as part of her family’s recent move.

Kim has a degree in Music Education from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and has taught flute, piano, voice, choral music, musical theater, folk ensembles, worship ensembles and Musikgarten for over 30 years in public, private, and home-based educational settings.

LAUREN SAIYAD

LAUREN SAIYAD

Lauren loves Jesus, is a wife to Adam, and a proud mama of three, and a lover of coffee, books, and chocolate. She has been homeschooling using Charlotte Mason’s principles for the last eight years, and her eldest daughter has just started her first year of high school which is new territory for her. Lauren and her family are originally from Harare, Zimbabwe; however, they’re in their sixth year of living in Johannesburg, South Africa where they are blessed to be part of a thriving Charlotte Mason community.

JOHANNA PÉREZ RAY

JOHANNA PÉREZ RAY
Johanna is a Charlotte Mason educator and mom originally from Chile, South America, whose God-given love of English originated it all. As a certified English-Spanish Translator homeschooling her children, Johanna is endeavoring to translate the Home Education Series into Spanish once Charlotte Mason took hold of her heart. Thankfully, she found a wonderful partner in Maria Elena Ortiz, another Charlotte Mason educator mom with whom she is now translating the Volume 1 and publishing it regularly online at charlottemasonespanol.org. She also organized the first Spanish-speaking community of Charlotte Mason educators located in Latin America, Spain and the United States, “Comunidad Educadores Charlotte Mason Iberoamérica.” Johanna’s dream of empowering Hispanic Christian families to educate their children through the wonderful works of Charlotte Mason in Chile and other Spanish-speaking countries is becoming a reality, according to God’s amazing plan! She resides with her American husband and their bicultural/bilingual children in the United States.

SARA NEUDER

SARA NEUDER
Sara Neuder is a missionary with Trinity on the Border, a ministry of the Anglican Church of North America on the South Texas/Mexico Border. After moving to the Rio Grande Valley with Teach For America as a member of the 2014 teaching corps, Sara joined the Trinity on the Border team in 2018 and is now serving in her 4th year as director of The Trinity School, a K-6 elementary school in Harlingen, Texas. The Trinity School is committed to educating students using the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason and is deeply rooted in the historic Christian practices of the Anglican Church. Sara enjoys leading her staff of 6 and teaching the 33 students enrolled at The Trinity School. In addition she enjoys Latin dance, bird watching, liturgical baking, and music. She is excited to share what she has learned at The Trinity School and welcomes those endeavoring to start new schools to connect with her.

ERICA JARRETT, M.D.

ERICA JARRETT
Erica Jarrett, M.D., is a missionary with Trinity on the Border, a ministry of the Anglican Church of North American on the South Texas/Mexico Border. Erica founded this mission alongside her husband, Rev. Michael Jarrett, in 2014. She serves as Director of Community Health and Education for the mission. She founded The Trinity School in 2017 out of the desire to see her daughter educated according to the Charlotte Mason philosophy. In addition to assisting at The Trinity School, Erica hosts a weekly free clinic and serves at a local shelter for newly-arrived immigrants. Erica loves the diversity of her work. In her free time, Erica enjoys making music videos to Disney songs with her 10-year-old daughter, arranging flowers, and tending to her butterfly garden. Erica is currently exploring ways that The Trinity School can develop as a more meaningful resource to assist other new Charlotte Mason schools.

JOHN THORLEY, PhD

JOHN THORLEY
John came from the mining and industrial area of South Yorkshire, and was captivated by classical and modern languages in secondary school, and then studied Greek and Latin at Durham University. He taught for ten years and then took several posts in Cumbria, first as an Education Officer, then as a School Inspector, then as head of a comprehensive 11-18 school in the city of Carlisle, and finally as Principal of Charlotte Mason College in Ambleside before the college merged with Lancaster University. Since retiring, John has catalogued the Charlotte Mason archive held in the Armitt Library and has taught Greek, Greek and Roman History, and Medieval Latin to post-graduates at Lancaster University. John has published books on Athenian Democracy and Medieval Latin, and articles on Roman History, New Testament Greek, medieval Cumbria, and Charlotte Mason. John attends his local Anglican church, he rings church bells in the traditional English style, he walks on the hills of Cumbria and elsewhere, and he retains an interest in education, though now mainly at a safe distance.

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