FEATURED SPEAKERS & PERFORMERS
Natalie Dang (she/her) - OPENING ACT!
Natalie is a proud longtime HSC goer, singer / guitarist / and songwriter! She is 20 years old, home-grown in Anaheim California and exploring wherever music takes her. Natalie is learning music production and working her way up to releasing her own music. She is excited to be the one to kick-off HSC for a second time and share her original songs with all the HSC attendees, old and new! Click here to subscribe to Natalie's YouTube channel.
Iris Chen (she/her)
Iris Chen is an author, unschooling mom, deconstructing tiger parent, and founder of the Untigering movement. As an advocate for peaceful parenting and educational freedom for children, her mission is to inspire generational and cultural transformation, especially among Asian communities. She spent 16 years living overseas in China (land of the tiger parent!), but now resides in her native California with her husband and two sons. You can read more about her adventures in parenting and unschooling at www.untigering.com.
Erika Davis-Pitre (she/her)
Erika is President of HSC, mother of four adult children, and a grandmother of two. Erika and her family unschooled for many years and loved it, so she is always looking for opportunities to share their unschooling joy with others. Erika has hosted and participated in many round table discussions about unschooling all over the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe. She recently became the new GameSchoolCon Maven. She especially enjoys talking about Unschooling Teens, Sharing the Joy of Unschooling, WorldSchooling and Celebrating Diversity through Unschooling.
Jennifer Heystek (she/her)
Jennifer was born and raised in the Bay Area, where she now works as a homebirth midwife. She first learned about homeschooling from families who gave birth at home and was completely sold on homeschooling after attending her first HSC conference. Her oldest was homeschooled from kindergarten to fourth grade, using BIPOC-inclusive curriculum. Jennifer especially enjoys teaching Native American history to her daughters. Her passion is genealogy and researching family history, with a particular interest in connecting with Indigenous roots. She will always be committed to supporting families who are considering homeschooling (and homebirthing!) as an option. Read more about Jennifer here.
Mary Lyn Azar (she/her)
Mary Lyn is the director and lead instructor at Rock-It Science in Silicon Valley. As a mother of four with a passion for science, Mary Lyn is dedicated to making science fun, engaging, and accessible to all of her students, through a combination of storytelling and hands-on learning opportunities. She has experience as both a homeschool parent, and as an aide in parent participation schools, where she has led classes in art, ceramics, science, and more. Mary Lyn is a lifelong learner, who earned a Bachelors of Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, followed by a Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University. During her time at Georgia Tech and Stanford, Mary Lyn worked as a research assistant, teaching assistant, and tutor in aeroacoustics, physics, and calculus. Mary Lyn currently combines her love of science and teaching to lead homeschool science classes and summer camps for Rock-It Science.
