Conference Speakers

Speakers confirmed to present at the conference:

Howard Zinn—professor emeritus at Boston University, is a historian, playwright, and social activist. The author of numerous books, he has received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction, and the Eugene V. Debs Award for his writing and political activism. In 2003, he was awarded the Prix des Amis du Monde Diplomatique. Dr. Zinn best-known book is A People’s History of the United States.

Recently his work was honored by a former student generously funded the Zinn Education Project (www.zinnedproject.org) to promote the use of A People’s History of the United States in middle and high school classrooms. Sponsored by Harper Collins Publishers.

 

William Bennett—Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, and drug czar in the first Bush administration, Dr. Bennett is the Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute, CNN contributor, author of 18 books, and the host of the nationally syndicated radio program Morning in America.

Dr. Bennett has recently completed a two-volume history of the United States titled, America: The Last Best Hope, which was reviewed well on all sides of the political spectrum. A team of Milken Educator Award recipients called Team Hope (History Opens Eyes) have developed online and support materials of the books www.roadmaptolastbesthope.com ). Sponsored by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Firoozeh Dumas—Born in Abadan, Iran, Firoozeh’s family moved to Whittier, California, back to Abadan, to Tehran, and then back to Whittier before she was in her teens. Firoozeh grew up listening to her father, a former Fulbright Scholar, recount the many colorful stories of his life. In 2001, with no prior writing experience, Firoozeh decided to write her own stories as a gift to her children.

Firoozeh’s first book Funny in Farsi was a finalist for the PEN/USA award in 2004, and the prestigious Thurber Prize for American Humor (Jon Stewart came in first). Jimmy Carter called Funny in Farsi, “A humorous and introspective chronicle of a life filled with love—of family, country and heritage.”

Her second book, Laughing Without an Accent, a series of autobiographical essays, was published in May 2008. Firoozeh’s web site is http://firoozehdumas.com. Sponsored by Random House.

 

 

 

John Francis is the Founder and Director of Planetwalk, a non-profit environmental education organization, and the author of Planetwalker: 22 Years of Walking. 17 Years of Silence. What began as a solitary journey has grown into an international phenomenon as John has led environmental walks in many other countries and consulted with their governments and businesses on environmental management and sustainable development. He travels around the world speaking on pilgrimage and change, and on Planetlines, an environmental studies curriculum, based on the walking pilgrimage, which he is developing for K-12 schools and universities. He lives in Point Reyes Station with his wife and two sons. Sponsored by National Geographic Society and Random House

Kenneth P. Cohen is Vice President of Public Affairs for ExxonMobil Corporation. He has worldwide responsibility for the Company’s government relations, communications, media relations, global community relations, and corporate brand activities. He joined the company’s legal department in 1977 after serving as an Assistant Professor of Law at Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis.

He is a member of numerous professional associations and serves on the board of directors of the Teagle Foundation and Vogel Alcove. In addition, he is on the executive committee of the United States Council for International Business and the board of trustees for the Council on Foreign Relations.

Caiphas T. Nziramasanga—The Jan L. Tucker Memorial Lecture
Dr. Nziramasanga is Professor of Social Studies Education and Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Zimbabawe. A former elementary and secondary teacher in Zimbabwe’s Baptist Mission School, he has served as the education consultant to UNESCO, the Government of Botswana, the African National Congress in South Africa, and PLAN International, one of the world’s largest nonprofit organizations to help children. A former lecturer at Gweru Teachers College, Oklahoma State University, he served as Fulbright Scholar at Florida International University and Purdue University. He recently received the Profile in Excellence Award from Oklahoma Baptist University from which he received his Doctorate.

Confirmed Panels:

Matt Williams—Senior Program Officer in the Office of President and CEO at KnowledgeWorks Foundation and board member of Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Diana Hess—Civic Education: Today and the Future

Margit McGuire—Empowering Elementary Educators as Social Studies Advocates

Barbara Cruz—New Directions in ESL/Bilingual Education

Joy Hakim and Geoffrey Scheurman—Quantum Matchmakers: Science and Social Studies in the 21st Century

We hope to see you in Houston!