Speakers

IB is pleased to announced its plenary and featured speakers for the 2009 IB Conference of the Americas. From authors to artists to humanitarian workers, this year's conference will include a variety of provocative speeches from thought leaders in the fields of education and international issues. Below, please find biographies summarizing the background and accomplishments these dynamic individuals.

Plenary Speakers

Romeo Dallaire

Lieutenant-General The Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, (Ret'd), Senator, has had a distinguished career in the Canadian military, achieving the rank of Lieutenant-General and becoming Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources) in the Department of National Defence in 1998. In 1994, General Dallaire commanded the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). His book on his experiences in Rwanda, entitled Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, was awarded the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction in 2004. Since his retirement from the military, Senator Dallaire has worked to bring an understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder to the general public. He has also been a visiting lecturer at several Canadian and American universities, and has written several articles and chapters in publications on conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance and human rights. While a Fellow of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, he pursued research on conflict resolution and the use of child soldiers. General Dallaire accepted Sir Joseph Rotblat's Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 on behalf of the Pugwash Peace Exchange as part of the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the founding of the organization.

JoAnn Deak

JoAnn Deak, Ph.D., has spent more than twenty years as an educator and psychologist. She began her career as a teacher but soon learned the complexity of dealing with the many brain and motivational patterns represented by the diverse students in her classes. This led to her work at Kent State University, one of only three universities in the United States to have a specialty in Preventive Psychology. Her doctoral work focused on how to assess those environmental, school and family patterns that lead to the healthy development of children and, conversely, those patterns that cause issues, problems and disabilities. After several years in private practice, Dr Deak began consulting with schools in Ohio. In the 1980’s she worked with the Laurel School as a consulting psychologist, where she participated in a six-year study with Harvard and a team of researchers led by Carol Gilligan. Following that study, Dr Deak joined Laurel School as the Director of the Lower School and Director of the Middle School and was the founding Director of Early Childhood. She left Laurel in 1999 to expand her consulting role with parents, schools and other organizations nationwide and internationally. Dr Deak has been an advisor to Outward Bound, a past chair of the National Committee for Girls and Women in Independent Schools, on the advisory board of New Moon Magazine, the Seattle Girls’ School, Bromley Brook School, Lendl Montessori School, Power Play and Girls Can Do. She consults with organizations and schools across the United States. She has been awarded the 2003 Woman of Achievement Award by the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools and was given the fi rst Female Educator of the Year Award 2002 by Orchard House School.

Daniel Pink

Daniel H. Pink is the author of a trio of provocative books on the changing world of work. In 2007, he won a Japan Society Media Fellowship that took him to Tokyo to study the Japanese comic format known as manga. After which, we penned his newest work, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, the first American business book in the manga genre. His other books include Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working For Yourself and A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, a long-running New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller that has been translated into 16 languages. Mr Pink’s articles on business and technology appear in many publications, including the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Wired, where he is a contributing editor. He has provided analysis of business trends on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. He also lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on economic transformation and the new workplace. A free agent himself, Mr Pink held his last office job in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. He also worked as an aide to U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and in other positions in politics and government. He received a BA, with honors, from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Yale Law School. Mr Pink currently lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and their three children.

Isabelino Siede

Isabelino Siede holds a Bachelor in Education Sciences (UBA) and Professor of Primary School. At present he is a doctoral candidate in the Facultad de Filosofçía y Letras (UBA). He was coordinator of Ethical and Civic Training and Civic Education in programmes and curricular design for the City of Buenos Aires. He is Professor at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata and the IES Juan B. Justo. Mr Siede is in charge of training at the Training School – CePA and is advisor to various private institutions. He has published several works, including: La educación política. Ensayos sobre ética y ciudadanía en la escuela (Paidós, 2007), Ciudadanía para armar (in collaboration with Gustavo Schujman. Aique, 2007), Formación ética. Debate e implementación en la escuela (Santillana, 2002), Retratos de familia en la escuela. Enfoques disciplinares y propuestas de enseñanza (in collaboration with Silvia Calvo and Adriana Serulnicoff; Paidós, 1998) and Todos y cada uno frente al desafío de los derechos humanos (Amnistía Internacional de Argentina, 1997).

Featured Speakers

Bertie Kingore

Dr Bertie Kingore is an international consultant who has worked with students, teachers, and parents for over 30 years. Recognized for her humorous and practical presentations, her energetic sessions leave teachers revitalized and eager to implement her shared ideas and learning experiences in their own classrooms. Dr Kingore is the author of numerous books, instructional aides, and articles. She has received many honors including the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of North Texas, where she earned her Ph.D. She is a past President of the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented and was also recognized as the Texas Gifted Educator of the Year.

Leslie Lewis Sword

Leslie Lewis Sword graduated with her International Baccalaureate Diploma from Ecole Active Bilingue Janine Manuel in Paris, France. Her higher level subjects were English, French, Biology and Theater. She got her BA from Harvard University, and her MFA in Acting from UCLA. She created Miracle In Rwanda in 2007, and since then, she has toured to 16 cities on 3 continents, and will be performing it in Africa this Fall. Leslie is the mother of two young children, adopted from Rwanda. She lives with them and her husband, Gavin, in Naples FL and New York City.

Helene Tremblay

Helene Tremblay is a world traveler, author, photographer, philosopher and speaker. She has published several books, including 12 children’s’ books, distributed in Canada, USA, Australia and France. She is the founder of The Families of the World Company, which works in the fields of communication, creation, production, publishing and multimedia. Her projects have received support from agencies such as CIDA , UNICEF, UNFPA and UNESCO and companies such as Olympus and the Body Shop International. Ms Tremblay is also an accomplished photographer, with work appearing in Families of the World: The Americas and the Caribbean and Families of the World: East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. Two photo exhibitions of her work have taken place at the United Nations in New York, at the Cultural Foundation of Abu Dhabi, and various galleries in France and Germany.

Lynn Erickson

Dr Lynn Erickson is a private consultant assisting schools and districts around the country with curriculum design and instruction. During the past thirteen years she has worked extensively with K-12 teachers and administrators nationally and internationally on the design of classroom and district level curricula aligned to academic standards. She is the author of three best-selling books and is a recognized presenter at national conferences in the areas of concept-based curriculum design, teaching for deep understanding, and standards alignment. Dr Erickson holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Alaska and a master's and doctorate degrees in Curriculum and Instruction and School Administration. She has worked as a teacher, principal, curriculum director, adjunct professor, and educational consultant over a 39 year career.

Beth Dallaire

Beth Dallaire is a noted humanitarian and activist. She has traveled extensively, visiting children affected by HIV/AIDS the developing world and currently serves as an ambassador for UNICEF.