Keynote Speakers



MIKE KUCZALA
Area of Expertise: Brain-Based Education/Physical Education/Music
Biography:
Mike Kuczala is the coauthor the Corwin Bestseller and Association of Educational Publishers’ Distinguished Achievement Award nominated, The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement, a book and philosophy that has changed the view of teaching and learning around the world. Mike’s 2nd book, Training in Motion: How to Use Movement to Create an Engaging and Effective Learning Environment, was released in June of 2015 (AMACOM).  President of Kuczala Consulting Inc and Director of Instruction for the Regional Training Center, an educational consulting firm based in Randolph, New Jersey, Mike has become an in-demand keynote speaker and consultant at international conferences, school districts and corporations.  His SRO presentations have been experienced in such diverse settings as The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, The American Society for Training and Development, The Forum for Innovative Leadership, The American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the Lawyer Brain OD Roundtable. 

An expert in training, training design, and effective presentation, he has designed or co-designed, three of the most successful graduate courses in the history of the Regional Training Center.  Motivation: The Art and Science of Inspiring Classroom Success, Wellness: Creating Health and Balance in the Classroom and The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement are facilitated by a cadre of more than 70 trained instructors who have taught thousands of teachers the key principles of instructional movement, motivation, and wellness. 

As a graduate instructor, keynote speaker, and workshop presenter, Mike regularly facilitates professional development programs in both corporate and educational settings in the areas of motivation, presentation skill, using movement to enhance the learning process, brain-based teaching and training, differentiated instruction and training, enhancing student thinking, and topics related to wellness and stress management.   His engaging and practical professional development programs have been enjoyed by tens of thousands of corporate executives, teachers, administrators, and parents across the United States over the last decade. 

For more information please visit his website at www.mikekuczala.com.


Keynote Title: The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement
Description: This dynamic keynote will have the audience up and moving from the opening moments until the closing remarks. Not only will the importance of the brain/body connection be highlighted, a 6-part framework for using movement thoughtfully and purposefully in all content areas and grade levels, will be demonstrated!

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MARK JENKINS
Area of Expertise: Photo, Adventure
Biography: Mark Jenkins is a contributing writer for National Geographic Magazine and the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Wyoming. A critically acclaimed author and internationally recognized journalist, Jenkins covers geopolitics, the environment and adventure. Among hundreds of stories, he has written about landmines in Cambodia, gorillas in Eastern Congo, the loss of koalas in Australia, global warming in Greenland, ethnic cleansing in Burma and climbing Mt. Everest in Nepal.
            Jenkins’ writing has won numerous awards, including the Overseas Press Club Ross Award for “The Healing Fields” in 2013, a National Magazine Award for photojournalism with colleague Brint Stirton, for “Who Murdered The Mountain Gorillas” in 2009, five Lowell Thomas Awards, three Best American Travel Writing Awards, the American Alpine Club Literary Award and the Banff Mountain Adventure Book Award. 
            Jenkins’ is the author of four books, A Man’s Life (Modern Times, 2007), The Hard Way (Simon and Schuster, 2002), To Timbuktu (William Morrow 1997) and Off The Map (William Morrow, 1992). Kirkus said of A Man’s Life, “Jenkins’ superb memory and solid writing chops break him out from the pack of true-life adventure scribes.” In a full-page review in the L.A. times, Robin Russin wrote about The Hard Way thus: “Brought to life by a poetic and muscular style, Jenkins’ writing is a brew of history, philosophy and raw emotion. His journeys are as intellectual and spiritual as they are physical, and we are by his side, in his head.” Writing in the New York Times, critic Richard Bernstein said, "The best feature of To Timbuktu consists in Mr. Jenkins delight in the small and not-so-small elements of the African spectacle, which he treats with distanced, unsentimental, often aesthetic appreciation. Mr. Jenkins transforms a common sight into a moment of pure magic.”
            Jenkins’ work has appeared in dozens of national and international magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, Backpacker, Bicycling, Climbing, the New York Times, Men’s Health, National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Traveler, Outside, Playboy, Reader's Digest, Rock & Ice, Runners World, the Utne Reader, The Washington Post and Virginia Quarterly Review. His stories have also been extensively anthologized. Jenkins has been interviewed by Anderson Cooper 360, Good Morning America, CNN, PBS, BBC and NPR, as well as spoken on countless radio programs.
            Jenkins has done over fifty expeditions around the world. Hallmarks include the 2nd American ascent of Mt. Xixabangma, Tibet (1984), the U.S. Everest North Face Expedition (1986), the 1st ascent of the highest peaks in the Arctic Circle (1988), the 1st coast-to-coast crossing of the Soviet Union by bicycle (1989), the 1st descent of the Niger River, West Africa (1991), the first ascent of the South Face of Mt. Waddington, Canada (1995) and the first descent of the largest cave in the world, Vietnam (2010). He holds a B.A. in philosophy and an M.S. in geography, both from the University of Wyoming.
            Mark Jenkins lives in Laramie, Wyoming with his wife, Sue Ibarra, a community activist. They have two daughters, Addi and Teal.

Title: Vietnam Underground: The Viet Cong, Spelunkers and the Biggest Cave on Earth
Description: Hidden deep in the jungles of central Vietnam, near the infamous Ho Chi Minh trail, is a network of massive caves. Created by underground rivers cutting their way through limestone, these caves were used as shelters by the Vietnamese during the American bombing campaigns in the 1960s. Over the past two decades, a team of British spelunkers—cavers—have been penetrating ever deeper into these gigantic caverns. National Geographic writer Mark Jenkins was invented on an expedition to descend into what would turn out to be the largest cave ever discovered: Hang Son Doong. Exploring this cave was so treacherous and difficult the team actually lived underground for days to complete the first descent. The acknowledged Mt. Everest of caves, Hang Son Doong is so vast a skyscraper can fit inside. In this presentation, Jenkins will take the audience across Vietnaman, culturally and geographically – its violent history, remarkable recovery and vibrant present – and down into the dark belly of the earth.

Sponsored by

 


DOUG GOODKIN
Area of Expertise: Music
Biography: Doug Goodkin is internationally known for his work as a music educator and particularly as a proponent of Orff Schulwerk, a dynamic approach to music education developed by composer Carl Orff and his colleague, Gunild Keetman. Currently in his 41st year at The San Francisco School, where he works with children between three years old and eighth grade, Doug also maintains a rigorous schedule of teacher training, presenting at conferences and giving workshops and courses in over 44 countries throughout the world. He is the author of eight books, numerous articles and is a featured speaker in the TEDx Talks. Doug is particularly well-known for his innovative application of Orff practice to the teaching of jazz and music of diverse cultures, as well as connecting Orff’s generative ideas with the whole of education, culture and human potential.

In addition to his workshops with local populations, Doug was one of the headliners at numerous ECIS Conferences in Europe, EARCOS Conferences in Bangkok and Kota Kinabalu and has been a visiting artist and workshop leader at International Schools in Amsterdam, London, Vienna, Budapest, Santiago (Chile), Bangkok, Beijing, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Yokohama.


Title: THE HUMANITARIAN MUSICIAN
Description: What can music contribute to the special challenges of the 21st century? How can music education help create future citizens prepared to meet those challenges? How can we expand our notions of both music and music education to create a humanitarian future? Drawn from 41 years of teaching children in one school and leading Orff Schulwerk courses in 44 countries worldwide, Doug Goodkin will challenge our notions of what music is, how it is essential to every school curriculum and how it can be enlarged to edge us toward the full possibilities of our humanitarian promise.

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Updated Monday, March 28, 2016 9:35 AM