Keynote Speakers/Program Facilitators
Michael Furdyk (Keynote Speaker)
visit website
Michael Furdyk is the Co-founder and Director of Technology for TakingITGlobal.org. In 1997, Michael and a friend recognized the need to create an organization that would respond to the global need of young people to be connected to opportunities, share their expressions, take action, and collaborate in a community; and thus created TakingITGlobal.
Along with managing the technology team at TakingITGlobal, Michael is involved with the TIGed education program, where he has spoken about the importance of engaging students and integrating technology and global perspectives into the classroom.
As one of Teen People’s “20 teens that will change the world”, Michael has shared his opinions about Youth Engagement and experiences as a member of the Net Generation by speaking at dozens of events, including the World Congress on IT. He is a board member and advisor to numerous groups including Microsoft, Pollution Probe, the Anytime, Anywhere Learning Foundation, and several other national and global organizations. Michael Furdyk was the cover story, “The Technology Revolution: how young people can change the world by getting online,” on the May, 2009 edition of IB World.
Dr. Daniel Pauly (Keynote Speaker)
visit website
Dr. Daniel Pauly is a French born marine biologist, well-known for his work in studying human impacts on global fisheries. He is a professor and the project leader of the Sea Around Us project at the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia. He also served as Director of the Fisheries Centre from November 2003 to October 2008.
The concepts, methods and software which Daniel Pauly (co-)developed, documented in over 500 scientific and general-interest publications, are used throughout the world, not least as a result of his teaching a multitude of courses, and supervising students in four languages on five continents.
Dr. Daniel Pauly is a French citizen who completed his high school and university studies in Germany; his doctorate and habilitation are in Fisheries Biology, from the University of Kiel. For working to protect the environment, he earned a place in the Scientific 50 in 2003, the same year the New York Times labeled him an “iconoclast”. Pauly won theInternational Cosmos Prize in 2005, the Volvo Environment Prize in 2006, the Excellence in Ecology Prize and Ted Danson Ocean Hero Award in 2007, and the Ramon Margalef Prize in Ecology and Environmental Sciences in 2008.
Dr. Jerry Chris (Program Facilitator)
Jerry Chris, Ed.D has taught English, Humanities, and Theory of Knowledge in Southern California, specializing in the extremes of the student ability spectrum – the gifted and talented (GATE) as well as the reluctant and disadvantaged learners. He has authored seven educational books and two novels.
He served as International Baccalaureate Coordinator at Mission Viejo High School, from 1985 until 2008. In 1991 he became the first president of the California International Baccalaureate Organization (CIBO), the prototype for all the sub-regional groups in I.B. In 1998 he co-authored a senate bill which still provides funds for teacher training within the California I.B. organization. He also serves as an I.B. site visitor, evaluating I.B. school applicants, Theory of Knowledge workshop leader, training both new and experienced TOK teachers, TOK examiner, school exam inspector, and applicant school consultant.
He has presented workshops on a variety of topics including Socratic Seminar, brain compatible learning, differentiation, and critical thinking at teacher training institutes and schools throughout North America.
Among his many awards are three-time Mission Viejo teacher of the year, California – Orange Region (GATE) Teacher of the Year, Disney Creative Challenge County Teacher of the Year, and the Crystal Apple from NBC. At the 2004 annual California Gifted Conference, he was given the “Award of Recognition” for a career of dedication to Gifted education.
Dr. Steve Hrerha (Program Facilitator)
Steve has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies from Concordia University. He began teaching in 1974 and in 1991 he began teaching Theory of Knowledge and philosophy in the diploma program at Champlain St. Lambert. He has lead Theory of Knowledge workshops in Canada and the US for IBA, as well as for independent providers, and is a consultant and site visitor for prospective IB schools. In 2008 he was Ad Hoc member of IBA’s Program Evaluation Reading Team. He has been teaching in the Master Teacher Program, a post-graduate degree program offered by the Université de Sherbrooke, since 2000 and was a member of the course committee which designed the Philosophy of Education course which he has been teaching since that time. He has been involved with WIDE, a distance education program offered through the Harvard Graduate Education Department, since the Spring of 2005 as coach for the Teaching for Understanding course and was a Fellow at the Project Zero Summer Institute in 2008. Steve also served as the Community Representative on the Adult Clinical Ethics Committee of the McGill University Hospital Center from 2002 to 2008. In 1996 he received the Association of Canadian Community Colleges Teaching Excellence Award. Steve lives in Montréal, Québec.
