Meet The NEUC Advisory Board

Skyler DuPont is a 27-year-old always unschooled. They graduated in May 2019 from Hampshire College with a B.A, double majoring in Public Health and Entrepreneurship, and double minoring in Culture, Health and Science and Reproductive Rights. Skyler is now a graduate student at Columbia University, where they are obtaining a Masters degree in social work. Skyler is currently preparing for a move to Anchorage, Alaska.

Julia is a grown unschooler who has attended NEUC for years! Julia currently is an Interdisciplinary Studies major in Vermont State University's online program. She is also a small business owner! Community care and health are really important values to her - that's why she's am volunteering as this year's Community Health Coordinator!

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Derek is a 25 year old self-directed learner. He has served as the Finance Coordinator for a small cooperative, and is currently studying Data Analytics. Derek uses his expertise in finance and data analysis to contribute to the operations of the Northeast Unschooling Conference. Derek has he been attending the conference for the past 12 years and is a proud member of the community.

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Kevin Patterson is the unschooling dad of board members Alex, Tony, and Julia. He is an actor and has spent much of his work life writing. He currently works as director of Facilitation and Program Development at Leadership Dynamics, Inc., helping professionals optimize their time and foster better life balance. In his free time, Kevin's passion is making art and enjoying what others make.

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Brenda is a lesbian parent of two trans always-unschooled adults. An entrepreneur and life coach (laporteconsulting.net), she’s a politically progressive artist, writer, activist, and cat-loving pagan. Brenda loves hanging out with like-minded folks, playing games with people who don’t take winning too seriously, facilitating discussions, and life with her wife and their two kitties in Western MA where they are often hosting gayborhood bonfires.

Tony Patterson is a grown unschooler, multi-instrumentalist, comic artist, audio visual technician, and Rubik's Cube Enthusiast. Tony has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Socially Engaged Art and is working on his Masters of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. Tony works professionally running tech at conventions and is happy to bring those skills to NEUC.

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Rick is an accomplished crafter of duct tape, a writer of fantasy and science fiction, a novice chain mail
crafter, an experimenter in digital art, and a decades-long unschooling parent. He likes to create and host trivia quizzes, help people learn things he’s attempted, and facilitate funshops. He lives in Coventry, CT with wife Deb, daughter Jess, and dog Repo.

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Alex Patterson (26) was always either homeschooled or Unschooled. Choosing to start a YouTube channel rather than go to college, Alex made over 500 videos before started his own production company doing video editing, web design, and running the Doctor Who website Whoseum. Alex enjoys interviewing people for his channel and hosting panels at NEUC. He designed the new NEUC website. 

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Charlie is a certified school hopper and then school dropper, having attended five different elementary schools before calling it quits. Enamored with the small and large mysteries of the world, he has recently found community at the Northeast Unschooling Conference and intends to stick around for quite some time.  Ever seeking to learn, Charlie’s passions include running about in the great outdoors, creative writing, and sewing. They like snow but not shoes, games but not rules, and daylight savings time (which is controversial, I know). 

Terry is mom to a dynamic duo: a homeschooled/unschooled trans adult son and an always unschooled son. She's the brain behind Astrolabe Academy High School, a virtual haven for self-directed learners. Globally recognized for advocating children's rights and self-directed education, Terry thrives in lively education debates, finds solace in painting, seeks adventure in the great outdoors, and masters the art of relaxation by a crackling fire. Terry embodies the spirit of unschooling with a touch of humor and heaps of wisdom.