|
Event
SkepDakota
SkepDakota is a freethought conference happening in Sioux Falls, SD on August 29, 2015! SkepDakota is featuring the following speakers:
Dr. Hector Avalos:
Hector Avalos is a professor of Religious Studies at Iowa State University and the author of several books about religion. He is a former Pentecostal preacher and child evangelist.
He has a Doctor of Philosophy in Hebrew Bible and Near Eastern Studies from Harvard University, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Arizona.
Avalos arrived at Iowa State University in the Fall of 1993 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the departments of Anthropology and Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1996 Avalos was named Professor of the Year at Iowa State University, where he was also named a Master Teacher for 200304. Other awards include The Early Achievement in Research and Creative Activity Award (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 1996), and the Outstanding Professor Award (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 1996).
Avalos is an internationally recognized opponent of neo-creationism and the intelligent design movement, and is frequently linked to Guillermo Gonzalez, an astrophysicist and proponent of intelligent design who was denied tenure at Iowa State University in 2007. Avalos co-authored a statement against intelligent design in 2005, which was eventually signed by over 130 faculty members at Iowa State University. That faculty statement became a model for other statements at the University of Northern Iowa and at the University of Iowa.[citation needed] Gonzalez and Avalos are both featured in the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008).
Avalos is an atheist activist and advocate of secular humanist ethics."
JT Eberhard:
JT is a writer and public speaker about atheism, gay rights, and more. He spent two and a half years with the Secular Student Alliance as their first high school organizer. During that time he built the SSA's high school program and oversaw the development of groups nationwide. JT is also the co-founder of the popular Skepticon conference and served as the events lead organizer during its first three years.
As a writer he has contributed to Atheism Resource, ShitZombiesSay.net, and numerous other sites. JT currently writes a regular column for American Atheist Magazine and is a gaming columnist for the feminist/geek site The Secular View.
JT maintains a regular speaking schedule and has appeared at the American Atheists national convention, Apostacon, Skepticon, the SSA Leadership Conference, the American Humanist Association's national convention, the Pennsylvania Atheist/Humanist convention, and many, many more.
In his personal life, JT is a trained opera singer who has worked under the directorship of two-time Grammy award winner James Billings. He is also an avid gamer who can often be found playing League of Legends or Guild Wars 2.
Michaelyn Eberhart:
Michaelyn is currently a student at the University of Kansas taking pre-med courses with the goal of pursuing psychiatry. She graduated last May with a BS in behavioral neuroscience. In the past, Michaelyn served for a year as a crisis hotline counselor. On the secular activist side of things, she was president of her university's secular student group for 2 years and helped coordinate the annual conference, ReasonFest, for 3 years.
Debbie Goddard:
Debbie Goddard is the outreach director at the Center for Inquiry Transnational in Amherst, NY. She is also the director of African Americans for Humanism, a program of the Council for Secular Humanism. Before working for CFI, she participated in local freethought groups in the greater Philadelphia region and helped organize and support campus groups internationally as a student volunteer. She has also been involved with progressive issues and LGBT activism.
Debbie's first experience with organized freethought was in 2000, when she traveled to Amherst, New York, for a Center for Inquiry Student Leadership Conference. Inspired by the experience, she began attending freethought, humanist, atheist, and skeptic group meetings in the greater Philadelphia region, including in New York City, New Jersey, and central Pennsylvania. She also started a CFI-affiliated campus group at her college.
Over time, her involvement increased: she joined the CFI Metro New York Advisory Board in 2002 and volunteered with CFI's campus outreach program as publications director from 2001 to 2002 and as student president from 2002 to 2003. She also held a work-study position at the CFI New York City office in Rockefeller Center while a full-time student at Temple University.
In 2002, she was profiled in a Beliefnet article, ""Godless Who's Who"", as a student activist. She was also interviewed by the Washington Blade, formerly one of the nation's largest circulation LGBT newspapers, as an "out" nonbeliever. In early 2006, Jamila Bey interviewed Debbie for an article about African American female atheists for the Skepchick blog.
In June 2006, CFI hired Debbie as a field organizer, allowing her to utilize her grassroots organizing experience working with campus and community groups. In 2012, she was promoted to director of outreach, and now oversees CFI's U.S. branches in addition to the international campus outreach program.
Hemant Mehta:
Hemant Mehta is the editor of Friendly Atheist, appears on the Atheist Voice channel on YouTube, and co-hosts the uniquely-named Friendly Atheist Podcast. He is a former National Board Certified high school math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago, where he taught for for seven years.
Hemant has appeared on CNN and FOX News Channel (really). He currently serves on the board of directors for Foundation Beyond Belief (a charity organization targeting non-theistic donors) after spending several years as the chair of the board of the Secular Student Alliance (which creates and supports college atheist groups nationwide).
He is the author of three books, including I Sold My Soul on eBay (WaterBrook Press, 2007) and The Young Atheist's Survival Guide (Patheos Press, 2012).
Sarah Morehead:
A life-long evangelical Southern Baptist, Sarah spent years as a dutiful wife and mother before finding the courage to leave an abusive marriage. She ultimately let go of her faith, becoming a passionate advocate for growing the secular community by developing resources for practical support as people reconsidering the role of religion in their life.
In 2011 she joined the leadership of Recovering From Religion and in 2012 she was appointed the Executive Director. Thanks to her tireless efforts, Recovering From Religion is well known as the bridge of hope for those negatively impacted by religion. In 2014 she was honored with the American Atheists "Atheist of the Year" award for her activism throughout the secular movement and in January 2015 she was elected President of the Reason Rally Coalition.
When she is not busy directing RR and organizing events like Apostacon, she enjoys spending time with her family and homeschooling her many children.
Amanda Novotny:
Amanda Novotny serves as the President of Siouxland Freethinkers, a community of atheists, agnostics, humanists, and skeptics. She is also the South Dakota State Director for American Atheists and the founder of the Brookings Freethinkers.
Amanda is a public speaker, activist, and advocate in the areas of atheism and mental health.
Amanda's speaking engagements include the Freedom From Religion Foundation's National Convention, Skepticon, the South Dakota Conference of Reason, and the Minnehaha County Democratic Forum. Amanda has also presented at several area universities and schools.
Amanda's educational background is in psychology, with a special interest and focus on schizophrenia and anxiety disorders.
When Amanda isn't out doing all the atheist things, she can be found hanging out with her dogs, playing baritone saxophone, doing something extraordinarily nerdy and Harry Potter related, watching NASCAR, or attempting to write.
Steph Montgomery:
Steph Montgomery is a nonprofit and public sector professional with over 14 years of leadership primarily related to public health and improving the lives of people living in poverty. Steph currently serves on the Board of Secular Avenue and manages a victim advocacy program.
In addition to these speakers, there will be social events Friday and Saturday night.
Come join us for some freethinking fun in the heart of the midwest!
|
|
 |
LocationDowntown Holiday Inn (View)
100 West 8th Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
|
Contact
|
