FAithfully PResent

Amber O’Neal Johnston is the author of A Place to Belong, a guide for families of all backgrounds to celebrate cultural heritage, diversity, and kinship while embracing inclusivity in the home and beyond. She is a regular contributor to the Charlotte Mason homeschooling community, a frequent podcast guest, and a coveted speaker at homeschooling, parenting, and education conferences. 

Amber lives in Georgia nestled among pine trees, hammocks and ziplines with her husband Scott and their four children. Her happy place is the back porch on a rainy day, preferably with a giant mug of hot tea and a good book. And although she was raised in the air conditioning, somehow the woods is where she feels most at home these days. 

When they have the chance, her family enjoys extended worldschooling trips to immerse themselves in other cultures, so you can often find her researching their next home away from home. Amber enjoys sharing diverse literary mirrors and windows on Heritagemom.com and @heritagemomblog (IG).

Min Hwang is an educator, writer, and founder of Life-giving Motherhood™, a Biblical motherhood school that equips moms to establish Christ-centered homes with strategy, skill, and spiritual discernment. Lovingly called a “Pastor to Mothers”, she has a passion to hold space for the Holy Spirit’s transformative work in the family, through the mother, by providing practical habit training and systematized strategies toward spiritual disciplines to forever alter their faith legacy. Min’s “superpower” is translating and reverse engineering lofty concepts into tangible actions and attainable goals.

With her varied background in higher education, law, medicine, and missions, Min serves as an experienced educator for local church ministries, nonprofits, and homeschool groups, weaving together the worlds of Charlotte Mason philosophy, biblical theology, science, and practical leadership. Through this integrated vision, families are invited to live CORAM DEO—before the face of God––and for this purpose, she created the Coram Deo Planner™, a powerful planning tool and prayer-reflection journal designed to help form habits with eternity-minded intentionality.

Min is also the host of the Life-giving Motherhood™ podcast, cohost of the “Charlotte Mason for All” podcast, and serves on the Charlotte Mason Institute Board. Most of all, Min LOVES being wife to her pastor-husband, Young, and homeschool mom to her four children, ranging in age from adult to tween. You’ll find her savoring late-night, soul-to-soul conversations, singing God’s praises at the top of her lungs while chauffeuring, and laughing ‘til her face hurts.

“All our happiness, whether in a bright day, or a true friend, or joyous work, must have its complementary expression –the ‘thank God’ ever burning as a duly trimmed lamp in our hearts.” ~ Charlotte Mason, Scale How Meditations, #21

Nancy is eternally grateful to God for bringing Charlotte Mason and her philosophy of education to her attention 30 years ago. She thrills to see others awaken to this way of living and learning where both teacher and taught can find delight and richness through high school and beyond. She has been married to Kent for 38 years and lives in a 3-story, sage-colored Victorian house where she raised six children who have all graduated with a full CM education. She enjoys rescuing and republishing books that are important to the CM community, writing on her website Sage Parnassus, consulting and mentoring, speaking and just generally encouraging others on this journey. You can also find her on IG and FB @nancy_kelly_sage_parnassus.

Julie Lowe is an author, speaker and counselor. She holds an MA in counseling from Biblical Theological Seminary, is a licensed professional counselor with over twenty-five years of counseling experience, and is a registered play therapist supervisor. Julie served as a faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF) for over 20 years and has lectured and taught at Missio Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary.

Julie has extensive experience teaching, speaking, and consulting with churches, schools, and other organizations around the country. She regularly teaches on topics such as marriage, women’s issues, sexual abuse, body image issues, parenting, adoption, and child maltreatment issues. She is trained in leading mandated reporter trainings and provides numerous trainings on child sexual abuse. Julie has a registered therapy dog that she works with both professionally and on a volunteer basis

Julie has authored several books: Childproof: Parenting By Faith Not Formula, Safeguards: Shielding Our Homes and Equipping Our Kids, Building Bridges: Biblical Counseling Activities for Children and Teens, Helping Your Anxious Child: What to Do When Your Worries are Big, Teens and Suicide: Recognizing the Signs and Sharing the Hope, Helping Your Child With a Bully: Learning to Respond Wisely and A Student Guide to Body Image, and Safety for Kids, Equipping Children to Discern Danger. 

Her work and resources have been widely promoted by organizations like Focus on the Family, The Evangelical Counsel for Abuse Prevention and Paul Tripp’s Connecting Podcast.

Julie and her husband, Greg, live in the Philadelphia, PA area and have five children. They have served over 20 years as foster and adoptive parents.

If Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) was right, then education is indeed a life as Jack Beckman has spent over 50 years under the regulus and patterns of teaching and learning - initially as an Early Childhood educator in the classroom, then as an educational leader, and finally as Professor of Elementary Education at Covenant College on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Each of these contexts has allowed him the privilege of working with students, teachers, and parents on a variety of levels involving instructional pedagogy, curriculum development, and teacher professional learning. 

And in all these experiences, the life and work of Charlotte Mason has been a mainstay of his life and vocation. Her ideas and practices have challenged his thinking and formed the core of several schools he has started, consulting work with schools and likeminded groups, speaking in numerous venues in North America and internationally, as well as teaching his favorite course at Covenant College: The Life and Thought of Charlotte Mason, a credit-level undergraduate study. 

As he contemplates his retirement as Emeritus Professor from Covenant College, he is seeing that there are several intriguing possibilities coming his way. The Charlotte Mason Institute's Graduate Level Studies in Charlotte Mason Pedagogy and Practice teacher and educational leader training model is up and running, and he will help lead that initiative as Designer and Director. He will be collaborating with the University of Cumbria in creating a Master of Arts in Charlotte Mason Studies with the Graduate Level Studies program as a key component where he will serve as Senior Visiting Research Fellow. Moreover, his work in writing and research will unfold in several projects he will now have time and space to explore and develop. He also will be doing storytelling in his church, local library, and schools, and keeping up with his longstanding goal – reading a book a day.

And his wife, Barbara, tells him they will be traveling and hanging out with grandchildren...

Kelly M. Kapic holds the Honorary Chair of Theology and Culture at Covenant College where he has taught since 2001. With a PhD in Systematic and Historical Theology from King’s College University of London, Kapic has written or edited over fifteen books. His newest book You Were Never Meant to Do it All: A 40-Day Devotional on the Goodness of Being Human (Brazos 2025) was built on his earlier work You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why that’s Good News, which was published in 2022 and won a number of awards, including Christianity Today’s Book of the Year award in the category of Theology (Popular) and The Southwestern Journal of Theology’s award in Applied Theology/Ethics. His earlier work includes Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering, which also won the Christianity Today book of the year award in the area of Theology and Ethics and World Magazine’s Short List award for Accessible Theology Book of the year. A few years ago he completed two volumes with the economist Brian Fikkert called Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty isn’t the American Dream and A Field Guide to Becoming Whole: Principles for Poverty Alleviation Ministries.  In 2014 Kapic received a Templeton Grant to be part of The Center for Christian Thought studying the topic of Psychology and Spiritual Formation. He has also served as part of the Core Research Teams for the Templeton-funded studies, including “Project Amazing Grace” and “Christian Meaning-Making, Suffering, and the Flourishing Life.”

David Wiggins, PhD, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor based in Roanoke VA, with 48 years of experience working with diverse populations. His work with neurodiverse individuals and their families is informed by a wide range of professional experiences, counseling practices, and long-standing scholarly interests. Forming the base for his career’s theoretical framework, he earned an M.ED. from James Madison University and Ed.S. from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.

Among his vast work experiences, his initial work with diverse populations began at Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center. In addition to his coursework and clinical work, Dr. Wiggins has held teaching and administrative positions at several institutions of higher education, including Jefferson College of Health Sciences and, more recently, at Ferrum College, where he served as Dean of Academic Success. He is currently serving clients through his private practice.

Throughout his career, he has maintained a particular interest in Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder and, over the past decade, has expanded his focus to include serving a broad range of neurodiverse individuals. He is committed to sound ethical standards and practical, compassionate, evidence-informed, practices.

Dr. Wiggins has had the pleasure of sharing with the Charlotte Mason community on previous occasions and is delighted to reconnect and continue the conversation.

Dr. Elizabeth Millar is a researcher, storyteller, artist in residence, and academic mentor. She graduated with a Doctorate in Practical Theology, studying sacred storytelling and, specifically, women’s spiritual autobiographical writings through Christian history. She discovered Charlotte Mason just as she was beginning to educate her five children and is grateful for this life-giving and gentle yet rigorous philosophy of education. Elizabeth’s book “The Inherent Generosity within a Charlotte Mason Education & A Practical Theology of Joy” was part of the monograph series, sponsored by CMI, Armitt Museum, and the University of Cumbria. She lives on Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Kerri Forney, like many, was introduced to the life-giving principles of Charlotte Mason through reading For the Children’s Sake. She and her husband, Scott, live in Wake Forest, NC, and are continuing to grow in their ability to live out Mason's principles. She has graduated four children and the last is a senior in high school. Leader of a monthly CM study group in North Raleigh, Kerri enjoys rescuing used books, researching and writing about Charlotte Mason, and mentoring and growing with fellow educators. She holds a B. A. in Sociology and Bible from Wheaton College and has completed additional coursework in biblical counseling. Kerri has presented at numerous conferences, in the US and the UK, and has led workshops on topics such as teaching learning at the high school level, exams and assessment, parenting, teaching history, and narration. Kerri, an Alveary curriculum team member from its inception, has provided leadership as a CMI board director and as a Templeton grant recipient. She is passionate about Charlotte Mason's life-giving principles for education and gifted in the work of bringing them into the 21st century. Beginning in the fall of 2024, Kerri began serving the Charlotte Mason Institute as Executive Director.

Elizabeth Santelmann is a second-generation homeschool mom and podcaster. She worked in children's ministry before having her own kids. She was introduced to the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education right before her oldest son started kindergarten, and it transformed the way she looks at education. Elizabeth enjoys writing and sharing homeschool resources on Instagram and her blog. She has a popular podcast, Sunshine in My Nest, and is passionate about helping others find joy in education. Elizabeth loves continuing her own education as an avid reader. She got her CORE certification through CMI and finds her greatest joy in learning alongside her podcast listeners, her children, and students. Elizabeth lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three sons

Dr. Donna Johnson is a recently retired university professor. She learned of Charlotte Mason in 1996 while attending a L’Abri Conference in Rochester, Minnesota. One of the presenters was Susan Schaeffer Macauley. Reading For the Children’s Sake transformed the Johnson’s homeschooling journey. Over the years, Donna has attended and presented at CMI events in North Carolina, Ontario (Canada), Pennsylvania, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Kentucky. She has contributed to the CMI blog, the Blue Orchard Bee, and development and review of CMI accreditation standards. Her presentation topics include narration, dyslexia, spelling, and reading aloud. Dr. Johnson holds degrees from Southwest State University and Mankato State University in Minnesota and The University of South Dakota. Her dissertation compared narration to other comprehension instructional methods in a sixth grade classroom. She is a certified Orton-Gillingham tutor and currently serves on the Advisory Council of the International Dyslexia Association-Upper Midwest Branch.

A degreed educator gone rogue, Jennifer Babisak stumbled onto the enchanting philosophies of Charlotte Mason almost twenty years ago. She has since, at various times and in various ways, homeschooled her four children and supported and supplemented their learning once they entered day schools and universities. She currently homeschools her fifteen-year-old daughter and “supplemental schools” her ten-year-old daughter while working full-time as an attorney, lending her particular passion and perspective on the joys and challenges of combining various vocations. Alongside her husband, she has learned the balm of connection that shared meals, devotions, hymn singing, and family read alouds can provide to a working parent’s weary spirit. She loves encouraging other parents to embrace the messy beauty of homeschooling.

Kathleen Cotter Clayton is the daughter of Dr. Joan A. Cotter, author and developer of the RightStart™ Mathematics program. Kathleen is involved with curriculum development and has written or co-authored 18 manuals. She has a degree in Home Economics and a minor in Business from the University of Minnesota and has two Masters Degrees from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND.

Kathleen and her husband, Steve, have six adult children and six delightful grandchildren. She teaches online middle-school classes, designs and creates mathematical quilts, loves to travel, and speaks across the US and Canada, and presented at Cambridge University in England in 2022 and in Bologna, Italy in 2024, sharing the mission to help children understand, apply, and enjoy mathematics.

Kendra Ryckman began her career as an elementary school teacher before transitioning to homeschooling, a journey that has now spanned more than ten years. Both at home and in the classroom, she has developed a deep interest in how uniquely designed brains grow, learn, and flourish. Her love of rich literature and nature led her to the philosophy of Charlotte Mason and confirmed her conviction that education could be a beautiful journey that honors the whole person. Kendra is passionate about helping mothers understand neurodiversity, reduce shame, and cultivate peaceful learning environments where every child is respected as a person. She and her husband, David, make their home in the Midwest, where they enjoy the arts, exploring new parks, and hosting lively family room performances.

LeAnn Burkholder is an organizational leader with a background in business operations and team development who has more recently brought that experience into the founding and leadership of a Charlotte Mason school. Her professional work has centered on building clear structures, defined roles, and healthy accountability within growing organizations.

For many years, she has studied and lived within Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, allowing its principles to shape both her leadership and family life. In founding a school, she has sought to integrate seasoned leadership experience with a maturing understanding of Mason’s design for education, testing how atmosphere, habit, and respect for persons shape not only children, but the adult community entrusted with them. Her work continues to be practiced and refined in real time.

Lisa Cadora, MEd, has pursued a deeper understanding of Mason’s philosophy since first hearing of it from Ranald and Susan Macaulay in 1982. 

She has worked in various Mason school settings, including the ChildLight Schools, Ambleside Schools International, and the Great River Learning hybrid school in Cincinnati which she co-founded.

Lisa has served on the Board of Directors of CMI on and off since its inception and has contributed to CMI’s Alveary Curriculum and to various publications of CMI. She has worked with CMI’s accreditation program and designed and taught courses in CMI and the University of Cumbria’s Graduate Studies in Mason’s Principles and Practice 

Lisa is currently a Research Fellow with CMI and the University of Cumbria. She delights in mining riches from the lode of Mason’s legacy and presenting them to all who are concerned with honoring persons.

As a home educator, Shelly Suzuki has used the Charlotte Mason method for more than 10 years with her two children.

Early in her journey, Shelly was moved by Charlotte Mason’s statement that "To leave off or even to begin with the history of our own country is fatal. We cannot live sanely unless we know that other peoples are as we are with a difference, that their history is as ours, with a difference, that they too have been represented by their poets and their artists, that they too have their literature and their national life." 

Yet, Shelly found it difficult to find living books about other peoples and cultures; books about the Philippines written by Filipinos, literature set in Kenya written by Kenyan authors, narratives of North American history shared by Haudenosaunee, Abenaki, or Lakota. 

Since 2017, Shelly has worked with other like-minded readers to find these books and make them available to others.  She is looking forward to sharing some things she has learned.

Tom Cox has taught Latin and Greek for sixteen years at an all-boys school near DC. He and his wife decided to homeschool and were strongly attracted to Charlotte Mason methods and philosophy, first on Ambleside.com and now with the CMEC (Charlotte Mason Educational Center), where Tom helps edit the Plutarch guides. His initial interest in Miss Mason began when he noticed how well her ideas harmonized with the perennial educational philosophy of the West, from Plato and Cicero to Augustine and Thomas More. Most recently, he educates his own children in Forms 1-3 in Plutarch and Latin when not adventuring on trails, in song, in the pages of a book, or with a fresh cup of coffee.

Sarah-Beth Gould is a Canadian-South African who has homeschooled and taught in both countries. She currently lives in South Africa.  

Sarah-Beth is a Charlotte Mason educator and English teacher who teaches youth and adults online and in person. While she used to find teenagers scary, she now loves spending her days with them and thinks the senior years are the best years to teach! She homeschooled her three young adult sons for most of their education. They began and finished those years using Mason’s philosophy and methods (with some variation in the middle!).

She is passionate about the importance of (civil) discussion and dialogue as vital parts of a living education - of knowing and caring about God, ideas, the world, and others. Good hard books are normally the center of those discussions.

Sarah-Beth is one of the instructors for CMI’s courses in the basic certification level and has been involved in developing some of those courses.

Sarah Stabenow first learned about Charlotte Mason’s life-giving ideas from Susan Schaeffer Macaulay’s book For the Children’s Sake. Since then she has tried “however imperfectly” to carry out Mason’s principles in her home which she shares with her husband, Max, and three school-aged children. She has co-led Charlotte Mason reading groups, organized a weekly co-op, and hosted mother culture events. Sarah is passionate about championing moms in their role as home educators. She enjoys learning alongside her children, hiking, and going on family adventures, large or small. Now serving as Marketing Coordinator, Sarah has also served on the CMI Volunteer team and has been enjoying the Alveary since 2018.

Rolinda McKnight holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She first “met” Charlotte Mason six years ago, an encounter that transformed her approach to teaching and family life. She has been homeschooling for 12 years and previously taught in elementary classrooms in Michigan, Georgia, and a military school, mentoring new teachers and developing curriculum maps. Currently, she leads a Charlotte Mason homeschool co-op and nature club for military families in Columbus, Georgia, and mentors mothers in the U.S. and overseas in Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy. She enjoys homeschooling her five children, ages 7–15, with her husband of 18 years. She shares practical strategies to bring Mason’s principles to life at home, in co-ops, and in classrooms. You can find her on Instagram @truthgoodness_and_beauty.

Nikki Thomas is a certified secondary education and physical education teacher, former coach, and current educator in a Charlotte Mason hybrid school. She teaches Swedish Drill as part of the school day and enjoys bringing purposeful movement into the rhythm of learning.

Growing up as a competitive athlete, Nikki played both volleyball and softball throughout high school. Her love for movement has remained a steady part of her life. She believes physical activity is about more than strength or skill; it is a way to support the whole child — body, mind, and heart.

As a teacher and homeschool mother, Nikki is passionate about helping families experience movement as a joyful and meaningful part of their day, whether through a simple drill or a game in the backyard. You can find her on Instagram @The.Schoolyard.

Kathryn Avery was introduced to Charlotte Mason by immersion in her elementary years and began learning about Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and methods in high school through some of the earliest CMI conferences. She continues to find Mason’s ideas relevant to many areas and seasons of life, including her experience as an international student in China, serving as a youth leader at her church, and working for several years as an academic writing consultant for undergrad and graduate students. Kathryn holds a degree in English and is currently on staff with CMI. She works in operations and as part of the Alveary curriculum team for Music, Literature, and English. She lives in Charlotte, NC, with her husband and baby girl and, in her “free time,” enjoys ultimate frisbee or volleyball, gardening, reading, and traveling with her family.

Dr. Meredith Donaldson Clark first learned of Charlotte Mason when she began researching educational philosophies after choosing to step away from an academic career and homeschool her children. She was drawn to Mason’s love of literature, devotion to God, and respect for the dignity of all children. The transition from scholarly work to homeschooling has been exciting, challenging, and rewarding; for the past ten years, she has enjoyed learning alongside her children. Meredith completed three degrees in English, taught at several Canadian universities, and has published and given many talks on her research in the field of English Renaissance literature. Currently, she is a member of the Alveary curriculum team, and works on Canadian History, Canadian Geography, Literature, and Citizenship courses. She lives in a village in southwestern Ontario with her husband and their three children. She enjoys reading, playing the flute, exploring the Great Lakes, and cheering on the Toronto Blue Jays! You can find her on Instagram @meredithjdc.

Megan Saben thinks of her life in predicate nouns and active verbs. She is a follower of Christ, a wife, and mother of five boys who writes, knits, and is gradually learning how to better apply Charlotte Mason’s principles to educating her sons, thanks to a local book discussion group with friends who recently started a co-op so they could practice the subjects that fall through the cracks. She holds master’s degrees in Children’s Literature and Library and Information Science, reviews books for Redeemed Reader, and is the author of Something Better Coming, New House, New Home, and the co-author of The Redeemed Reader: Cultivating a Child’s Discernment and Imagination Through Truth and Story. Megan enjoys weekly coffee dates with her husband and is quite particular about which pottery mug is best suited to her favorite hot drinks throughout the day. You can find her on Instagram @megansabenauthor.

Dr. Max Stabenow was introduced to Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education through For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. Since then, he and his wife, Sarah, have strived to create an atmosphere of learning that encompasses all of life for their three school-aged children. Max is passionate about assisting parents in cultivating their own philosophy of education, empowering them to confidently embrace their God-given responsibility to educate their children according to the first and greatest commandment (Matt. 22:34-40). His formal education includes a BA in Humanities, an M.Div. and Th.M. in Historical Theology, and an Ed.D., with a dissertation exploring the educational philosophy of Francis Schaeffer, father of Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. Max serves as the executive director of Lighthouse Education Cooperative in Northeast Arkansas and is part of the Alveary Curriculum Collaborative. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading, hiking, shooting, and exploring God’s creation with his family. You can find him on Instagram @jbrlighthouse.

Lillian Kim is the Creator of LivingwithCharlotte.com, a global resource hub for all things Charlotte Mason, and is a Charlotte Mason home educator to her two boys in the SF Bay Area in CA. She came across Charlotte Mason’s principles early on in her homeschool journey, and has been teeming with living ideas ever since then, finding new applications of Charlotte Mason’s philosophy in today’s modern age. The onset of AI in recent years has been no exception, especially as it relates to how its usage will affect the ongoing education of her children. Uniquely positioned to address the intersection of modern technology and Charlotte Mason’s principles, Lillian holds a B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and brings extensive professional experience in technology marketing from her past career. This background allows her to adeptly learn about new technologies’ practical applications while approaching it with a philosopher’s critical eye for ethics as she navigates their impact on society. You can find her on Instagram @livingwithcharlotte_com.

Leah Nicklaus is a Midwestern mama of five boys, ages three to eleven. She enjoys implementing a Charlotte Mason education for her sons, currently teaching three in formal lessons while cherishing the early years with her youngest two. 

Leah is also a former dancer, dance teacher, and choreographer. She is currently in her third year of teaching a Movement Class at her local Charlotte Mason co-op, where students learn the beauty of movement through stretching, games, sports, Swedish Drill, and folk dancing. 

Leah is a board member of her local Charlotte Mason co-op and actively participates in her local Charlotte Mason book club. She founded Living Bright Homeschool which seeks to encourage mothers in the Lord and equip them to bring Mason’s principles into their homes. Her greatest hope is that a life-giving education would point parents and their children to the truth, goodness, and beauty of the gospel. You can find her on Instagram @livingbrighthomeschool.

Kristina Thomas has been homeschooling her 5 children using a Charlotte Mason approach for 9 years, after experiencing Charlotte Mason style lessons as a homeschool student herself. She has been deliberately incorporating media to create an atmosphere of thoughtful usage since being encouraged to study a film composer her first year teaching. She believes that many of our concerns about what to include in our own home education settings can be solved by learning and applying Charlotte Mason’s paradigm to the question at hand. Does this resource help students care? Does it present captain ideas in a living manner? Does it encourage imagination and greater depth of understanding? In addition, she has seen media usage of many types be a source of cohesion for her family, creating meaningful discussions and joyful traditions over the years.

Julie Cerdas is a dedicated home educator who has been utilising Charlotte’s Mason philosophy for over 10 years. She has developed her understanding of Charlotte Mason principles through reading the volumes and participating in Charlotte Mason book clubs. She has graduated one student and still has two students at home using the Alveary. A firm believer that languages should be taught through beauty and relational connection, she also teaches French online using Charlotte Mason principles at CM Everyday French. When not teaching, Julie can be found drinking Yorkshire tea, reading, knitting, hiking, writing letters, or spending time in art museums. You can find her on Instagram @CMeverydayfrench.

Heather Johnson met Charlotte Mason in the early 2000’s while trying to figure out appropriate education for her first born child. The philosophy of education resonated with her, and she sought growth in her understanding through reading the volumes, practicing Mason principles in her home, leading volume discussion groups, co-leading a Mason inspired co-op, and diving deep into conferences. Heather launched a private lending library in 2018, River City Education Resources, a hub for Charlotte Mason parent education and student learning opportunities in 2022, and Delightful Living Weekend - A Charlotte Mason Annual Retreat in 2023. She is active in growing Charlotte Mason communities in North East Florida. She and her husband, Bill, have two grown children who graduated from their CM homeschool and University. When she is not reading the volumes and other CM publications you can find her gardening, hiking, learning new handicrafts and playing music - when she should be reshelving books. You can find her on Instagram @HeatherCM and @RiverCityLibrary.

Ginger Mahoney has over ten years of experience teaching fourth grade in a Charlotte Mason based hybrid school in the woods of Southern Indiana. She has over twelve years experience homeschooling her own children as well. She has led several summer outdoor adventure canoe camps on Lake Monroe as well as on the surrounding rivers. 

Cedars’ Christian School, where Ginger teaches, has a large garden, as well as chickens, goats and rabbits. Each grade has its own outdoor classroom space which she co-developed. 

Ginger leads the students at Cedars’ Christian School in caring for the animals, planting and harvesting the garden, cooking over the fire, processing and storing produce, tapping maple trees, harvesting and processing wild edibles and many other outdoor adventures. 

She has been excited to see the students growing in confidence and community as they care for living creatures and grow and make their own food together. Charlotte Mason said, “We have a responsibility to instruct our children in the art of living.” Ginger believes, like Mason, that children are born persons  and therefore are tasked, just like our first parents, with caring for the earth God gave us.

Erika Alicea is a NYC native and former public school teacher turned homeschooling mama. A firm believer in a multicultural education for all children through the use of diverse, living books, Erika uses her website Charlotte Mason City Living as a resource to help parents diversify their instruction and encourage others with how she creatively implements Miss Mason’s methods in the context of an urban family of color.  

Along with co-leading and participating in several CM book clubs and co-ops in the past, Erika is a co-host on the Charlotte Mason for All Podcast. She is also co-founder of The Art of Color Study (curated art appreciation resources showcasing artists of color). 

An aspiring children's author, Erika loves discovering beautiful literature and photographing nature treasures nestled in the city that often go unnoticed in the liveliness of urban life. You can find her on Instagram @cmcityliving.

Emily Fabrycky fell in love with the Charlotte Mason philosophy and began homeschooling her five children using Mason’s approach after attending a CMI conference on a whim in 2015. With over six years of Mason coop experience, she’s led classes ranging from Plutarch to Physics and enjoys the heated discussions older students get into after they narrate. She’s led single book studies and read through Mason's six volumes multiple times. In addition to currently homeschooling her younger children, Emily is passionate about the need to understand Mason’s methods in light of contemporary research. She is a researcher at the University of Chicago and is proud to have incorporated narration into a research study curriculum she wrote for the Chicago Public Schools.

Carolyn Stanton is a homeschooling mother of four who has spent the last three years immersed in the Charlotte Mason philosophy. Recently, Carolyn embarked on an intentional pursuit of presence and margin within her family life, seeking to move beyond the "busy" to the "life-giving." Though she initially would have described herself as a reluctant crafter, her children’s enthusiasm for handicrafts eventually drew her into the practice. To her surprise and delight, she discovered that these tactile arts do more than produce objects; they foster an atmosphere of peace and mutual enjoyment. Carolyn has observed firsthand how the confidence gained through handicrafts filters into all areas of her children’s education. Carolyn is eager to share her observations from the home: that handicrafts go far beyond the finished product, serving as a gentle way to cultivate focus, invite quietness, and enjoy a shared rhythm with students. You can find her on Instagram @carolyn_stanton1.

Crystal Wiley is a decade-long Charlotte Mason home educator and the former director and teacher at Courage, a Charlotte Mason homeschool community in Idaho that served over 100 children and families. Over the years, Crystal learned that building community is less about having all the answers upfront and more about modeling the method, creating intentional spaces for connection, and trusting that families will be drawn to Charlotte Mason’s method of a fruit-bearing education.

At Courage, Crystal taught by modeling Charlotte Mason's method in the classroom—reviewing prior learning, reading aloud, facilitating narrations, and engaging students in hands-on written and visual responses leaning on Charlotte Mason's principle of the "science of relations." Parents witnessed the method in action, building understanding organically. The community gathered for morning symposiums featuring hymns, devotionals, and prayer. Rather than requiring parents to teach, Crystal facilitated a community standard that held everyone accountable, ensured instructors were valued, and created meaningful opportunities for parents to connect—through volunteer opportunities, nature outings, and sitting in on classes. Families were drawn not by perfection, but by clear educational standards and a genuine sense of village—a loving, supportive place where every student and family involved was invited to the Charlotte Mason table.

She is also the creator of CM Simple Studies, an award-winning Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum emphasizing living books, currently used by thousands of families. Crystal regularly speaks at in-person and online homeschool conferences and summits, and has been featured on homeschool podcasts, sharing her expertise in building thriving, inclusive educational communities. You can find her on Instagram @simple.and.free_.

Chelsea Claxton is a homeschool mom of 3 and has been using Charlotte Mason’s philosophy as a guide to her children’s education for 7 years. She teaches Shakespeare to teens in her co-op, Delightful Living Community, back home in Georgia and has helped to add a Night of Shakespeare to their thriving community. She is passionate about Shakespeare’s writing and has enjoyed the Bard since her teens. She desires to help adolescents connect with Shakespeare in a fresh way and to demystify his language, specifically through the lens of Charlotte Mason’s principles. She is honored to be able to use her God given passions to build relationships with others through the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare.

Bethanyanne Howard is the founder of The Charlotte Mason Home, where she develops curriculum, resources, and programs designed to support homeschooling mothers. Her work centers on the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual formation of mothers, helping them cultivate habits of attention, curiosity, and discernment that directly shape the learning environment for their children.

Using her degree in education, she has spent years of experience guiding her own children and mentoring other mothers. Bethanyanne brings a practical approach to Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, showing how ongoing maternal education and intentional daily practices transform both home atmosphere and student engagement. She creates workshops, immersion experiences, and curriculum that equip mothers to integrate living ideas, art, nature study, and reflective practices into their lives while navigating the demands of homeschooling.

Passionate about empowering mothers to flourish in their dual role as parent and teacher, Bethanyanne combines research, Mason’s principles, and lived experience managing chronic pain and autoimmune illnesses  to provide guidance that is both faithful to Charlotte Mason and deeply practical for modern homeschooling families. You can find her on Instagram @thecharlottemasonhome.

Beth Werkheiser is the founder and Executive Director of Redwood Classical Academy, a two-day Charlotte Mason hybrid program established in 2021. She has been married to her husband, Mike, for over twenty years, and together they planted City Church in St. Louis in 2008, where Mike serves as Lead Pastor. Beth and Mike both served on staff at Greentree Community Church in Kirkwood, Missouri, prior to having children. Beth has homeschooled her children from the beginning and has spent more than a decade serving in homeschool leadership. They are parents to four biological children and are foster parents. Beth enjoys hospitality, thoughtful conversation, and time with her family.

Angelica Kajiwara is a PhD student in Classical Education researching Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy with a focus on how her methods cultivate the very soft skills modern employers openly identify as essential yet increasingly rare. Her research examines how practices such as attention, narration, engagement with living books, and moral judgment form discernment, communication, adaptability, and self-governance in learners. 

A writer, speaker, and homeschooling mother, Angelica brings together classical education, Christian humanism, and contemporary workforce concerns. She is particularly interested in how Mason’s philosophy resists reductionist models of education while preparing students to think clearly, judge wisely, and act responsibly in both civic and professional life. 

She calls Lookout Mountain home, and lives on the mountain with her husband of 13 years, 3 kids, mom and two very fluffy dogs. Finding Charlotte changed her life, and she hopes to share that joy and the joy of the Lord with others. You can find her on Instagram @AngelicaKajiwara.

Amanda Escue is a speech pathologist and a board certified behavior analyst who has been working with children with autism for 20 years. She is also a homeschool mom of six children, one with autism who she and her husband homeschooled all throughout school. Nine years ago, the Escues founded a therapeutic, Charlotte Mason homeschool cooperative for children with autism, which is now an Alveary cooperative called Lighthouse Education Cooperative. She has worked with students of all ability levels and has gleaned from a wonderful team of creative colleagues who have helped develop systems and strategies to make a generous education accessible for all students. You can find her on Instagram @escuemom.

Alexa Mason is a homeschooling mother of four with a background in interior design that emphasizes hospitality and spiritual formation. Alexa loves studying how the atmosphere of home impacts all of life, including home education and teaching others how to utilize their homes to create beauty and depth that fosters connection and belonging.You can find her on Instagram @graceandcherish.

Wednesday Afternoon

• A Sense of Place: Exploring Chattanooga Arts + Culture Together. Take in beautiful art and local history with Kerri Forney and Nancy Kelly. (Additional cost $99-125)

• Be Still and Know: Come pause and take a deep breath, pray, journal, and be still before the conference begins. (Additional cost $125)

Wednesday Evening:

• Faithfully Present: A Nature Immersion.  Join fellow Mason educators on a trip to Nicajack Lake where you will experience creation together in a beautiful sunset paddle. (Additional cost $125-140)

• Join conference attendees for a Gathering Under the Lights where we will enjoy little bites of the feast: music, dancing, Book of Centuries, nature study, handicrafts, and more! (Free)

Thursday Morning:

• Attend A Morning of Relational Lessons - assume the role of the student and experience Alveary lessons in all forms, taught by the curriculum collaborative professionals. (Additional cost $125)

• Check out Battle Above the Clouds: Exploring Lookout Mountain where you will set your feet in the unique historical, cultural, and natural features of the area. (Additional cost $99-125)

Look for the ❤️ (home educator) and 🌱 (Alveary) icons in the sessions below to find fireside chats and breakout sessions intended for home educators and those interested in or using the Alveary.

Wednesday Afternoon

• A Sense of Place: Exploring Chattanooga Arts + Culture Together. Take in beautiful art and local history with Kerri Forney and Nancy Kelly. (Additional cost $99-125)

• Be Still and Know: Come pause and take a deep breath, pray, journal, and be still before the conference begins. (Additional cost $125)

Wednesday Evening:

• Join conference attendees for a Gathering Under the Lights where we will enjoy little bites of the feast: music, dancing, Book of Centuries, nature study, handicrafts, and more! (Free)

Thursday Morning:

• Battle Above the Clouds: Exploring Lookout Mountain where you will set your feet in the unique historical, cultural, and natural features of the area. (Additional cost $99-125)

Look for the 🌟(Subject-Specific) and/or 📝  (Research) icons in the sessions below to find fireside chats and breakout sessions intended for those who want to drill down into specific subjects or research (all are welcome).

Wednesday Afternoon

• Be Still and Know: Come pause and take a deep breath, pray, journal, and be still before the conference begins. (Additional cost $125)

• Faithfully Present: A Nature Immersion.  Join fellow Mason educators on a trip to Nicajack Lake where you will experience creation together in a beautiful sunset paddle. (Additional cost $125-140)

Thursday Morning:

• Battle Above the Clouds: Exploring Lookout Mountain where you will set your feet in the unique historical, cultural, and natural features of the area. (Additional cost - $99-125)

Look for the 🎁 icon in the sessions below to find fireside chats and breakout sessions intended for those who want to dive deep into what being faithfully present looks like in a Mason education.

Wednesday Afternoon

• Be Still and Know: Come pause and take a deep breath, pray, journal, and be still before the conference begins. (Additional cost $125)

Wednesday Evening

• Join conference attendees for a Gathering Under the Lights where we will enjoy little bites of the feast: music, dancing, Book of Centuries, nature study, handicrafts, and more! (Free)

Thursday Morning:

• Attend A Morning of Relational Lessons - assume the role of the student and experience Alveary lessons in all forms, taught by the curriculum collaborative professionals. (Additional cost $125)

Look for the 🔁 icon in the sessions below to find fireside chats and breakout sessions intended to explore neurodiversity in a Mason education (all are welcome).

Wednesday Afternoon

• A Sense of Place: Exploring Chattanooga Arts + Culture Together. Take in beautiful art and local history with Kerri Forney and Nancy Kelly. (Additional cost $99-125)

• Be Still and Know: Come pause and take a deep breath, pray, journal, and be still before the conference begins. (Additional cost $125)

Wednesday Evening

• Faithfully Present: A Nature Immersion.  Join fellow Mason educators on a trip to Nicajack Lake where you will experience creation together in a beautiful sunset paddle.(additional cost $125-140)

• Join conference attendees for a Gathering Under the Lights where we will enjoy little bites of the feast: music, dancing, Book of Centuries, nature study, handicrafts, and more! (Free)

Thursday Morning

• Men’s Hike - This is a great opportunity before the official conference starts to meet some fellow men supporting or providing a Mason education.  This no-cost, casual adventure will depart right from the Covenant campus.

Look for the ❤️ (home educator) and 🌱 (Alveary) icons in the sessions below to find fireside chats and breakout sessions intended for home educators/spouses and those interested in or using the Alveary.

Wednesday PM 

• Teen Meetup: Pizza and Games
  
  • Come meet fellow teens and teen track guides for some pizza in the dining hall, stick around for some ice breakers and games!

Thursday

• Morning:
  
  • Take a Tour of the Covenant Campus and enjoy some tasty treats.
• Lunch:
  
  • Keep an eye out for the Teen Table in the Great Hall, it will be clearly marked throughout the conference so that teens can find one another easily!
  • Try your hand at needle felting or experiment with solar energy projects before the conference kicks off!
• Afternoon:
  
  • Teens will have the option to dive into the art of Cloisonne as an alternative to attending the keynote session.

Look for the 📢 icon in the sessions below to find fireside chats and breakout sessions intended for teens.  (Please note, teens are not limited to sessions with this icon, teens are welcome to attend any session that looks interesting to them)

Wednesday:

• Attend the Full-Day School Leader/Teacher Pre-Conference Gathering, meet fellow Mason school educators, and benefit from special programming geared towards school-teacher specific challenges and needs. (Cost Info: $99-125)

Wednesday PM:

• Join conference attendees for a Gathering Under the Lights where we will enjoy little bites of the feast: music, dancing, Book of Centuries, nature study, handicrafts, and more! (Free)

Thursday AM:

• Attend A Morning of Relational Lessons - assume the role of the student and experience Alveary lessons in all forms, taught by the curriculum collaborative professionals. (Additional cost - $125)
• Check out Battle Above the Clouds: Exploring Lookout Mountain where you will set your feet in the unique historical, cultural, and natural features of the area. (Additional cost - $99-125)

Look for the 🚌 (school educator) and 🌱 (Alveary) icons in the sessions below to find fireside chats and breakout sessions intended for school educators and those interested in or using the Alveary.

Wednesday:

• Attend the Full-Day School Leader/Teacher Pre-Conference Gathering, meet fellow Mason school educators, and benefit from special programming geared towards school-teacher specific challenges and needs.(Cost Info: $99-125)

Wednesday PM:

• Join conference attendees for a Gathering Under the Lights where we will enjoy little bites of the feast: music, dancing, Book of Centuries, nature study, handicrafts, and more! (Free)

Thursday AM- 

• Attend A Morning of Relational Lessons - assume the role of the student and experience Alveary lessons in all forms, taught by the curriculum collaborative professionals. (additional cost - $125)

Look for the 🏫 in the sessions below to find fireside chats and breakout sessions intended for school leaders/administrators.