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Growing up without electricity on a cattle ranch in northern British Columbia,
Canada (the ranch now has wireless Internet and all the amenities). Life was
simpler, with work more directly tied to survival than it seems today. A great place to
grow up in.
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Several educational degrees, culminating in a PhD in Agricultural
Economics and Marketing, from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada)
and Purdue University (Indiana, USA). However, most of my "learning" has
occurred outside of the formal framework of education through self-directed
skills development, learning with/from my children, and discussing almost
everything under the sun with my friends.
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Market research analyst for Agri Business Group in Indianapolis,
IN (now ABG, an Adayana company)
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Self-employed for over 20 years in a variety of consulting
projects including market research, management training, survey design and
analysis, strategic planning for both profit and non-profit organizations,
development of several non-profit organizations, presentations, print and
web design services, e-marketing.
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Presentations, faciliatation of many discussion groups, organization
of workshops, and event planning -- all on a variety of topics, many of which
have been professional development for homeschool parents.
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Robotics and all the unexpected teaching, business, accounting,
team building skills the have come with that -- from being a team research
coach for several years for a middle school team FIRST Lego
League team that worked their way to winning an award at the national level,
to being a co-volunteer coordinator of several hundred volunteers for the
inaugural NC Regional FRC Competition, to now forming our own community-based
highschool FIRST Robotics team and corresponding non-profit corporation to
support it and several other teams.
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A hands-on, in-the-trenches opportunity to learn about educational
philosophies, learning styles, personality styles, learning disabilities
and quirks from over a decade of homeschooling my own (completely different)
children, teaching homeschoool classes from bookclubs to stocks and investing,
and being a resource for others who are in all seasons of the homeschooling
journey, from considering through graduating one's own.
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A developing interest and skills in web design and e-marketing -- which pulls
together the creative aspect and love I have of quilting and watercolor with
the precision, logic and endless options of the keyboard and mouse.