Speakers

Tina Rowan is the Executive Director of Accent Pontiac.  Recently Accent Pontiac began its fourth year of programming with continued programming at Walt Whitman Elementary School and Alcott Elementary School in Pontiac, Michigan. This year, they will serve approximately 280 students with regular programming. In addition to regular programming, Accent Pontiac hosts two week-long workshops each year as well as field trips, assemblies, guest artist performances, and a summer program, and reaches approximately 750 students with exposure to new musical experiences.

Maggie Razdar, the founder and President of Kids Standard Publication, is passionate about inspiring children to succeed in areas of their interest.

When her two boys were in a middle school in Syracuse, New York, Razdar felt that many children started to lose touch with reading, writing, and researching, due to the obsessive influence of digital technology. To offset this influence, in 2009, she launched Kids Standard Publication, which quickly became very successful. In 2011, Razdar’s family moved to Clarkston, Michigan, where she began working with local schools to provide students with the opportunity to share their voices in her publication.

The first Michigan-based issue of the magazine was released in March of 2015, and it immediately received outstanding feedback from parents, teachers, students, and local professionals.

“Even more important than writing itself,” says Razdar, “is the process of doing research, learning, and thinking, which develops dispositions of a good writer.”
Maggie’s educational background includes a degree in Chemical Engineering from McGill University, Montreal, Canada. She also studied Metaphysical Science and holds a number of business and technical certifications.

Razdar is an active member of many local organizations. She also belongs to The National Association of Professional Women.

As an accomplished business owner, Maggie inspires hundreds of people with her great success. In 2000, she was recognized in ‘The Elite Who’s Who!’ and received ‘The Outstanding Female Business Owner’ award in recognition of her ability to help others achieve excellence and strong leadership skills.

Despite her professional achievement, Razdar’s greatest achievement is her two sons, who are currently students at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. They sparked her desire to establish this non-profit organization, which aims at improving well-being and development of all children.

Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, then attended high school in Michigan after the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company transferred my father to the Detroit area. After attending Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, I enrolled at the University of Notre Dame and received a bachelor's degree in history in 1967. I then studied American History for one year at Michigan State University, earning a master's degree in 1968. I have long been fascinated with the Pacific Theater of World War II. In the fourth or fifth grade, I read a book about the Battle of the Coral Sea—and was hooked!

I have researched World War II history for more than thirty years, focusing mainly on the Pacific Theater.  In addition to my  books, which are described elsewhere on this website, I have written two chapters for a World War II book published by HarperCollins for the Library of Congress in 2004, as well as biographical essays on Admiral George Dewey and Admiral William Halsey that have been included in different collections.  In addition, my writing has appeared in more than twenty-five magazines, including WWII HISTORY, MILITARY HERITAGE, NAVAL HISTORY, and AMERICAN HISTORY.  Along the way, I have interviewed close to 400 veterans of both theaters of the war.

As part of my work, I have been fortunate to appear in various television productions. Oliver North interviewed me as his chief historian for an episode about Wake Island for his Oliver North's War Stories series on Fox Television. The History Channel asked me to be the main historical consultant and on-air commentator for the ten-part series, Pacific: The Lost Evidence, which is frequently rerun. BookTV has also aired some of my book presentations and signings.     In June 2005 I retired after teaching junior high school History and Language Arts for more than thirty years. Happily, I found teaching and writing very compatible—they both require the ability to condense complicated topics into something people can grasp. I am currently a member of three historical/writing organizations—the Organization of American Historians, the Society for Military History, and the Golf Writers' Association of America.

Growing up in Akron, Ohio and having the chance to play the Firestone Country Club almost every summer day as a youth, I developed a love for golf that has never diminished. In writing articles for GOLF Magazine, MICHIGAN GOLFER, and other publications, I have been able to meet and personally interview figures such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Phil Mickelson.

I have three daughters—Amy, Julie, and Karen—and four grandchildren—Matthew and Megan  Dickerman, and Emma and Kaitlyn Lastra. When I'm not writing or teaching, I like to golf, read, and jog.

Anne Bak Marine received her BFA in Dance (magna cum laude) from Western Michigan University/Lee Honors College and spent more than ten years touring and performing with Eisenhower Dance Detroit. Ms. Marine has choreographed and taught master classes at many colleges and universities as well as at Interlochen Arts Academy,
and she has served as adjunct faculty at Oakland University. She also served as founding director for the EDE Center for Dance (now known as the School of EDD), Artistic Director for the Center Dance Ensemble, and choreographer for the Archdiocese of Detroit’s “Art for God’s Sake.” In an administrative capacity, Ms. Marine served as Director of Operations for Eisenhower Dance Detroit from 1998-2006, Managing Director for the Rackham Symphony Choir, and project manager and lead curriculum designer for “Healthy Kids,” a collaborative residency
project between EDD, Beaumont Hospital’s Weight Control Center, and the Pontiac School District and funded by theNational Endowment for the Arts and the Community Foundation for S.E. Michigan. Ms. Marine has also served on
the staff at the Detroit Skating Club since 1995 and as coordinator for the Dance Academy at DSC since 2013 where she has worked with elite level and Olympic figure skaters from around the world.

 

Derek Aguirre will speak about   Racquet Up Detroit is a non-profit urban youth development program which combines squash instruction and competition, academic tutoring and enrichment, community service, mentoring, and summer opportunities to support and empower Detroit youth