Get to know our speakers before the conference.
Steve Demme
Steve and his wife Sandra have been married since 1979. They have been blessed with four sons, three lovely daughters-in-law, and two special grandchildren. Their fourth son John has Downs Syndrome and lives with them in Lititz, PA.
Steve has served in full or part-time pastoral ministry for many years after graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and has served on the board of Joni and Friends for the Pennsylvania office. He is the author of Math-U-See and the founder of Building Faith Families.
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Gretchen H. Roe
Gretchen Roe has 21 years of home education experience with her six children, four of whom are now college graduates. With a degree in Psychology and Child Development, she has spent the last 19 years in positions of homeschool advocacy, having a special bond with families of children who have to work harder to learn. A former business owner, she has served on a variety of nonprofit boards. A Consultative Sales Representative with Demme Learning since 2014, Gretchen loves the outdoors, all things furry, and is in the process of perfecting backyard chicken raising, beekeeping, and gardening skills.
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Mary Aldrich
Coaching Representative | Mary Aldrich Coaching
Helping parents catch a vision to love God, love others, and enjoy it, is my mission! I believe part of that mission is to communicate that the parent is the best equipped to lead the education of a child, whether they are in public, private, or homeschool. My business is specifically to assist parents through life and relationship coaching to succeed in their roles.
I have 7 kids and have homeschooled all of them with a variety of methods, with 2 kids scheduled to graduate this coming May. My husband and I worked on campus as a Bible School for 17 years where I mentored college age kids transitioning into adulthood from all varieties of school backgrounds. My specialty was strengthening the relationship between the student and the parent during that transition. My wheelhouse is “outside the box” ideas for ways to find support for your child’s education and believe that community is an important key to success.
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Faith Berens
Reading and Dyslexia Specialist| HSLDA Special Needs Consultant
Faith Berens holds a master’s degree in reading from Shenandoah University. She has over 15 years of teaching experience in both public and private Christian schools, serving as a classroom teacher, Reading Recovery® teacher, reading specialist, and educational therapist. Her areas of expertise are early childhood literacy, reading assessment, and the identification and remediation of reading difficulties. Faith joined the HSLDA team of Special Needs Coordinators in 2008 and homeschools her own children, as well as works as a private educational consultant, evaluator, and tutor. Some of her passions include reading for pleasure, singing, traveling, nature/science, leading Bible studies, and teaching reading to primary age children. Faith lives in Fauquier County, VA with her husband, Matthew, daughter, Hailey, and son Hayden.
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More speakers will be added as vendors sign up – be sure to check back for updated information!