Jon is the Education Policy Analyst at Libertas Institute. He is a fourteen-year veteran of public schools. He taught both fifth and sixth grades, receiving Weber District’s E+ Team Award. He proudly homeschools his children with his wife.

Jon received his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Western Governors University. He spent time in the Marine Corps and separated as a sergeant in 2006.

During his time in public schools, Jon increasingly understood the importance of parental empowerment in education. This increased understanding led him to join Libertas to provide educational freedom for families. Jon enjoys spending time with his wife and five children traveling, skiing, and playing games.

Kerry McDonald works to spotlight and support education entrepreneurs who are building innovative K-12 learning models and expanding education options for families. She is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education and host of the LiberatED Podcast (liberatedpodcast.com). She is also the Velinda Jonson Family Education Fellow at State Policy Network, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a regular Forbes contributor. Kerry is the author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press, 2019). Her articles have appeared at The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, NPR, Newsweek, The74, Real Clear Politics, Reason Magazine, Washington Examiner, City Journal, Entrepreneur, Education Next, and the Journal of School Choice, among others. She has appeared on CNBC, C-SPAN, and Fox News, as well as numerous radio and podcast shows. Kerry has a B.A. in economics from Bowdoin College and a Master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband and four children who have always been unconventionally educated.

Michael Strong is founder of The Socratic Experience, a virtual school for children ages 8 to 18. He is one of the most experienced designers of innovative school programs in the United States. His projects include a public school program in which minority female students gained four years’ worth of critical thinking gains in four months (on the Watson-Glaser). He later went into Montessori secondary school program design at The Judson Montessori School (San Antonio), The Emerson School, and Hacienda School. He created The Winston Academy, where middle school students passed AP exams, making it the most academically advanced school in the country at the time. Another of Michael’s projects, Moreno Valley High School, a Paideia charter high school, was ranked the 36th-best U.S. public high school by Newsweek. More recently he co-founded KoSchool in Austin, Texas, which combined his high-performance approach to AP coursework and SAT score gains with a focus on entrepreneurial and creative projects. KoSchool, in turn, became the original model for The Academy of Thought and Industry, the high school model for the largest Montessori network in the United States. Students from Michael’s schools have been admitted to Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown, Smith, Bard, Bennington, McGill, UT-Austin, University of Colorado, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Parsons School of Design, Quest, St. John’s and many dozens of other post-secondary institutions. He is the author of The Habit of Thought: From Socratic Seminars to Socratic Practice and lead author of Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the World’s Problems.

Kelly Smith is obsessed with learning. He started a microschool around his
kitchen table in 2018, and since then has helped thousands of people start
their own microschools as the Founder/CEO of Prenda (www.prenda.com).
Before Prenda, Kelly ran a volunteer coding program at public libraries, built
and sold a small software business, worked in engineering and marketing
roles at various technology companies, and earned a master’s degree in
nuclear fusion from MIT. Kelly lives in Mesa, Arizona with his wife and four
children.

Kaity Broadbent currently serves as Prenda‘s Chief Empowerment Advocate. Since 2018 she’s helped pioneer Prenda’s unique microschool-based learning model and philosophy as Head of Learning. Prior to Prenda she was a Speech-Language Pathologist, literacy coach, and curriculum designer. She’s a certified peaceful parenting coach and mom to 4 spunky Prenda kids who love their microschools.

Adriane Thompson is a certified conscious parenting coach and a mom of
three energetic boys, which fuels her passion for helping parents navigate the
joys and challenges of raising kids. She loves being a coach because she
believes that empowered parents can create strong, connected families and
raise resilient, kind, and thoughtful adults. Adriane’s unique blend of expertise
in neurodevelopment, practical tools, and joyful energy makes her coaching
approachable and transformative.

Matt Beaudreau is a visionary leader, keynote speaker, and youth advocate dedicated to redefining education and personal development for the next generation. As the founder of Apogee Strong, a transformative mentorship and leadership program for young men, Matt empowers youth to build resilience, integrity, and purpose through action-based learning and community support.

With a background in education and human development, Matt is known for challenging the status quo and helping families break free from traditional systems that no longer serve them. His work is centered on cultivating character, self-reliance, and real-world skills in young people—tools they need to lead fulfilling and impactful lives.

Matt is also a sought-after speaker and host of the Essential 11 Podcast, where he interviews world-class leaders, thinkers, and entrepreneurs to share their wisdom with the next generation. His mission is simple yet profound: to raise strong young people who will lead with honor and courage in a rapidly changing world.

Colleen Hroncich is a policy analyst with the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom. Each week, she profiles interesting educational options, programs, and policies in her Friday Feature blog series. Colleen’s commentaries have been published in a variety of publications, including The Hill, U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Examiner, the Daily Signal, and The Federalist. She has also testified before Congressional and state legislative committees and appeared on several radio and television shows.

Dr. Erin Flynn founded the Hedge School Cooperative in Austin, Texas in
January of 2021. Having served as teacher, department head, and principal
for 10 years at a Texas public charter school and previously taught at
university in Ireland for 6 years, Doc Flynn decided to forge a new path in
education for herself and her students.
Doc Flynn was born in Cornwall, England to an USN father and an Irish
mother. From there, she moved around quite a bit as is the path of a military
kid. She has lived in 4 different countries and 4 different US states, and her
travels have given her the gift to see life from different perspectives. And, She
strives to embrace differing perspectives for each of her students.

Serving 7th through 12th graders, Hedge School Coop firmly believes that
students need to be the driving force behind their education and adults need
to serve as guides, mentors, cheerleaders, and models. The Hedge School
Coop focuses on Respect, Empowerment, and Connection in order to provide

that experience for every learner.

George has been in education for over 20 years. He holds a master’s degree
in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, and a master’s in
Religious Studies from Boston University with a concentration in the Sociology
of Religion. George taught at Lewis Community College in Vancouver, WA
and Boston University’s MET college, before he moved to public education in
2009 where he taught at a variety of Public Schools. Dissatisfied with the
structure and function of traditional education he started Bay State Learning
Center in 2013. BSLC is based on the Liberated Learners model pioneered by
Ken Danford of NorthStar Self-Directed Learning for Teens. His interests
include literature, philosophy, and world religions, and when not in the
classroom, he enjoys hiking, birding, and meditation.

Erin Davis Valdez is the Executive Director of the Incubator of the Center for
Education and Public Service at the University of Austin. She has been
passionate about the transformational power of education all her life, having
been given the gift of being homeschooled. She taught for over a decade in
Austin-area schools and served as an assistant principal at a charter school in
Lewisville. These experiences have given her the opportunity to see first-hand
how students can thrive when they have excellent options.
Valdez joined the Charles Koch Foundation in 2015 where she helped to grow
a portfolio focused on helping innovative K12 programs grow through higher
education and other partnerships. At the Texas Public Policy Foundation, she
conducted research on outcomes-based funding at the secondary and
postsecondary levels, civics education, and workforce programs in Texas. She
has testified before the Texas and U.S. legislatures and shepherded
legislation expanding educational choices for K12 and postsecondary
students.
Valdez earned an M.A. in Classics from the University of California, Santa
Barbara and a B.A. in Classical Studies from Hillsdale College. She studied in
Athens, Greece her junior year and worked as an excavator at the Agora
archaeological site for three seasons.
Valdez has lived in the Austin area (on and off) since 1990, which counts as
“native” these days. She enjoys cooking, reading, volunteering, and spending
time with her husband Jeremy, her family, friends, and cocker spaniel,
Scoops.

Denise Lever is an education entrepreneur, microschool founder, and mentor
dedicated to empowering personalized education pathways. With nearly two
decades of experience as a homeschooling parent, Denise founded Baker
Creek Academy, a thriving network of rural microschools in Eagar, Arizona,
serving K-12 learners through innovative, self-directed education. Leveraging
her unique background as a former wildland firefighter, Denise brings
courage, resilience, and strategic leadership into her role as founder of
TrailblazED, where she mentors education leaders to build thriving
microschool communities. Her passion lies in helping each learner uncover
their unique potential and equipping educators to pioneer bold, transformative
educational opportunities.

Kaity Broadbent currently serves as Prenda’s Chief Empowerment Advocate.
Since 2018 she’s helped pioneer Prenda’s unique microschool-based learning
model and philosophy as Head of Learning. Prior to Prenda she was a
Speech-Language Pathologist, literacy coach, and curriculum designer. She’s
a certified peaceful parenting coach, Nurtured Heart trainer, host of the
Kindled Podcast, and mom to 4 spunky Prenda kids who love their
microschools.

Greetings everyone! This is my 4th year in the Microschool movement. I
started as a mother of three who wanted better for her kids, so my husband
and I decided to homeschool our children. Then it turned into becoming the
founder of DiscoverUAcademy. Thanks to VELA I am able to serve more
students of all abilities, in my bigger space we can have up to 15 students. I
am very passionate about the students finding their individual path and giving
the tools to set them on that path. I am an entrepreneur at heart and
managed my family along with a personal chef business prior to starting a
Microschool. This has affected my students in a positive way, because now I
am teaching the framework of starting a business (along with some kitchen
skills) to all who attend my program. I encourage them to join local farmers
markets and even hold “mock” markets for those who may not have the
chance to participate in a real market ~yet. My students love coming to class,
and that is the greatest joy I could ever ask for.

Tiffany is the passionate Founder of a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering home education families across the country. As the host of The Ultimate Homeschool Community Podcast, she creates a welcoming space for parents to find encouragement, practical insights, and meaningful conversations that elevate the homeschool experience.

Based in Tennessee, Tiffany’s influence continues to grow nationally through her vibrant social media presence and a range of collaborative projects with other leaders in the homeschool space. Her authentic voice and deep understanding of the needs and challenges facing homeschooling families have made her a trusted guide and advocate within the community.

In addition to her thought leadership, Tiffany has developed a unique homeschool curriculum designed to serve families with flexibility, creativity, and purpose. She is excited to share it as a vendor and looks forward to connecting with parents and educators through both the stage and the exhibit space. With her energetic presence and commitment to empowering families, Tiffany brings both inspiration and practical value wherever she speaks.

Elan Page is a homeschool mom of two and the founder of Homeschool Our
Way, whose mission is to help families of color access the freedom and
fulfillment that homeschool offers.

Through a weekly podcast, the Homeschool Launch Blueprint online course,
and other useful resources, Homeschool Our Way helps families start their
homeschool journey with confidence and clarity.

Elan and her husband live in Dallas, Texas with their two daughters.

Homeschool mom and entrepreneur.