2010 Program

We're excited to announce an excellent line up of 2010 Courage to Risk conference keynote and invited speakers.

Keynote Speakers:

Stephen Shore, Ed.D: Stephen Shore, Ed.D, Assistant Professor of Education at Adelphi University, Author of Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Editor and Contributor to Ask and Tell: Self-advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum, Co-author of Understanding Autism for Dummies

Diagnosed with "Atypical Development and strong autistic tendencies" and "too sick" for outpatient treatment Dr. Shore was recommended for institutionalization. Nonverbal until four, and with much support from his parents, teachers, wife, and others, Stephen is now a professor at Adelphi University where his research focuses on matching best practice to the needs of people with autism.

In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Stephen presents and consults internationally on adult issues pertinent to education, relationships, employment, advocacy, and disclosure as discussed in his books Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Ask and Tell: Self-advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum, and the critically acclaimed Understanding Autism for Dummies. Dr. Shore serves in the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, and for the Board of Directors for Autism Society of America Unlocking Autism, and other autism related organizations.

Margie Enoch Adams and Luke Adams: Stars of The Amazing Race, 2009

Margie and Luke Adams finished third in CBS' Amazing Race last season. But they finished first in the hearts of many fans of the show. This mother/son team was determined to show the world that nothing can stop them from living out their dreams. They enjoy hiking and traveling together and share a strong bond. Luke has been deaf since birth and Margie became his link to the hearing world. He uses American Sign Language to communicate.

Invited Speakers:

	Elizabeth Abeel Elizabeth Abeel is an artist and teacher. She has worked as a professional artist for over 30 years and has taught classes to adults and teens for the past 15 years. She credits the creative process for providing the tools that helped her discover pathways to work with her daughters learning disability as they navigated an innovative journey through school and life outside of school. She feels that a creative approach to students who learn differently is a vital ingredient to their success and that creative thinking skills can be learned and developed. In her presentations with her daughter, Elizabeth openly shares her perspective as a parent raising a child with learning disabilities and shares some of the creative approaches that they discovered.
	Samantha Abeel Samantha Abeel has a degree in English from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan. Her first book, Reach for the Moon, was published when she was fifteen and won the Margot Marek Award for best book on the subject of learning disabilities, the distinguished book award from the International Reading Association, and was named the Best Book for the Teen Age by the New York Public Library. Her newest book My Thirteenth Winter is an honest, hopeful autobiography that will inspire anyone who has ever had to face or overcome an obstacle. Among other awards My Thirteenth Winter won a distinguished American Library Association Award in 2005. Samantha has spoken at numerous conferences and schools and has been featured on National Public Radio, and USA Today. Samantha currently works as a licensed clinical social worker.
	Michele Berg, Ph.D. Director of the Center for Learning Disorders at the Family Service and Guidance Center in Topeka, Kansas Michele Berg, Ph.D. has over 30 years of experience in the field of learning disabilities. She is the Director of the Center for Learning Disorders at the Family Service and Guidance Center in Topeka, Kansas. Dr. Berg formerly founded and directed the Center for Learning Disabilities at the Menninger Clinic and served on the faculty of the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry for over twenty years. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of complex learning disorders in children and adults and is a frequently invited presenter on the topics of early literacy development, dyslexia, memory disorders, nonverbal learning disorder, and ADHD at the state and national level.
	Susan Ebbers Susan M. Ebbers is a doctoral student in cognition and development. She specializes in linguistic awareness, vocabulary, and interest theory. After teaching for 10 years in first/second grade, she taught intensive reading in middle school and was awarded outstanding educator. She coached secondary teachers in both reading and content area instruction and was awarded A+ Literacy Leader at the county level. She is the Sopris West author of Daily Oral Vocabulary Exercises: A Program to Expand Academic Language, Vocabulary Through Morphemes: Suffixes, Prefixes, and Roots for Intermediate Grades; and two series of decodable readers—basic Power Readers and advanced Turbo Readers (in press). Ms Ebbers played a key role in the authorship of the Washington State K-12 Reading Model and has consulted with various publishers, agencies, and states.
	Dwight Jones Colorado Department of Education Dwight D. Jones was appointed Colorado’s commissioner of education in June 2007 by a unanimous vote of the Colorado State Board of Education. Under his guidance, the department has refocused its efforts on serving and supporting the field, partnering with schools and districts on various initiatives, and striving to direct resources and intervention strategies to the districts with the most need. Jones has spent his career in public education throughout the country. He started as an elementary school teacher in Wichita, Kan., and went on to serve as principal for elementary, middle and high schools, as well as an assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. Following his career in Wichita, Jones was an operational vice president for Edison Schools, where he supervised 11 schools in Kansas, Missouri and Maryland. He served in this role for three years before leaving to become assistant superintendent and later superintendent of Fountain-Fort Carson School District, during which time he earned statewide recognition for narrowing and eliminating achievement gaps related to children from ethnic minority and low-economic backgrounds. In July 2009 the Education and Resource Development Institute recognized Jones for work when they named him the Excellence in Education Administrator of the Year. Jones has served on a number of governor-appointed commissions and at present serves on the Southwest Comprehensive Center’s advisory board and the boards of Denver’s Children’s Hospital, McREL and High School Futures. Late last year he participated on an international benchmarking advisory board co-sponsored by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. He is also a member of Education Commission of the States steering committee.
	Laura A. Riffel, Ph.D. National Technical Assistance Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Laura A. Riffel, Ph.D. is a behaviorist who has over 30 years of experience working with children. She has trained thousands of teachers, parents, counselors, psychologists, administrators, and bus drivers how to make data based decisions as a way to change behavior. Her trainings are filled with humor and make data collection easy to understand and to use once back in the school or home setting. She has dedicated her life to making behavior change as easy as A-B-C. Dr. Riffel manages www.behaviordoctor.org her personal site and www.pbis.org the National Technical Assistance Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
	Ian Watlington Ian Watlington is an Advocate for Children.He has a BA in Sociology with a Minor in Political Science, and is certified to teach English as a Second Language.He has worked as an advocate within the educational system for over six years.He has held the following distinguished positions in recent years, Chairperson of Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, Colorado Board of Education-Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee, Director on the Board of The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People, Board Treasurer with the Community Parent Resource Center in Denver.