Newswise — The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) today announced a world-class list of speakers for its 22nd annual conference in Louisville this April. James Patterson, author of the No. 1 bestselling Alex Cross detective series and the No. 1 bestselling Middle School series, will donate his time to NCFL by opening the conference on Sunday, April 28, at the Galt House in Louisville.
For the past decade, Patterson has been devoting more and more of his time to championing books and reading. From the James Patterson Pageturner Awards, to his website ReadKiddoRead.com, to his College Book Bucks scholarships and his regular donations of hundreds of thousands of books to schools here in the states and troops overseas, Patterson has passed on his passion of books and reading and supported those who do the same.
EepyBird, creator of the Mentos and Diet Coke viral videos that have been viewed by more than 150 million people, shares the values of wonder and curiosity upon which the NCFL-created Wonderopolis® was founded. The co-founders of EepyBird, who recently wrote The Viral Video Manifesto, frequently appear as guests on talk shows like “Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and the “TODAY” show. The presentation by EepyBird on April 29 will incorporate NCFL’s traditional literacy programming along with its technology-based innovations like Wonderopolis.org.
C.C. Chapman, national social media expert and bestselling author of Amazing Things Will Happen and Content Rules, will speak at the closing brunch on April 30. Chapman has spent years helping people and brands convert passive consumers into passionate, invested advocates. He’s led successful campaigns for many high profile clients such as The Coca-Cola Company, Verizon FiOS, HBO, Warner Brothers and American Eagle Outfitters. Due to the popularity of his book, Amazing Things Will Happen, he was recently featured during a live chat with The Washington Post and interviewed by Martha Stewart Radio on SiriusXM.
In partnership with the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy at Penn State University, NCFL also has lined up national education experts to lead in-depth research sessions, including:• Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., Director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships and the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University;• Oscar Barbarin, Ph.D., Lila and Douglas Hertz Endowed Chair, Department of Psychology at Tulane University;• Vikki Katz, Ph.D., School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University; and• Rosario Ordoñez-Jasis, Ph.D., College of Education, California State University at Fullerton.
Held in the spring each year, the National Conference on Family Literacy showcases the ways NCFL leverages the power of the family and people’s innate sense of wonder to ignite a lifelong love of learning. Beginning in 2013, NCFL is partnering with Literacy Powerline, an organization that supports literacy coalitions across the country, to present the conference. To learn from national education experts leading in-depth sessions, visit http://www.famlit.org/conference/register/. A discounted registration of $465 is available through March 15.
The National Conference on Family Literacy is the largest and most comprehensive gathering of educators, government officials and practitioners dedicated to multigenerational learning. Now in its 22nd year, the conference typically draws attendees from at least 45 states and several countries, such as Canada, Pakistan, Puerto Rico and South Africa. The National Center for Family Literacy (www.famlit.org) produces this conference and has impacted more than 1 million families and trained more than 150,000 practitioners in more than 20 years. The conference is generously supported by sponsorships from Toyota (lead sponsor), GED Testing Service and LG&E Foundation.
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