Helen Hughes is currently retired and loving it. She spends three days a week with grandchildren, one day a week at Windsor House, and the rest of the time with her wonderful 94 year old father, Ronald, her long time partner Ode, and her many friends and relatives. She manages to fit in being the Point person for SANE (the Society for Non-coercive Education) and an active participant in the planning of this IDEC.

Moe has been working at The Tutorial School < www.tutorialschool.org > since 1990. They went fully democratic in 1992 by establishing a school government and throwing out the curriculum. This is the first IDEC that will be close enough for them to drive to.

Elaine Wooton is part of the founding group for The Freedom School Cooperative in Maryland. She attended the Thurana Free School in Madison, Wisconsin back in the early 70s. As the mom to two wildly different boys, she's still trying to figure things out (like how to stop them from pulling each other's hair out with their teeth).

Dear Greetings to you in the precious name of Christ which is only way to Heaven amen. I am 35 of age a from respectable christian family from pakistan.God has given me the vision to evangelise the whole world so iam on the way to take Jesus to the world through youth ministry.I am currently involved in Youth ministry and i start CYF in 1996.My self is a Chairman /Founder Christian Youth Fellowship-Pakistan.Behalf of CYF we are work for the deprived and depressed communities and specially as per Bible (James 1:27) we work for the widows,Orphnas,Poors and needy ones.We held Sewing Centers for women from Rural areas in pakistan,we have basic adult education for men and women is runing,Free Health care centers and we also have religious and spiritual revivels for youth and adults through out pakistan.We are also runing a english school for orphans students and a school for disable children where they will got every thing freely.

I am a former Windsor House parent (1992-1995) and a current Windsor House staff member. My background is in special education and I have been using technology for many years to help children with special needs access and communicate with the world. Because of this interest, I have found myself facilitating the use of the digital media with the students at Windsor House.

Meghan Carrico-teacher, alum, and parent at Windsor House School. Meghan is the daughter of the founder Helen Hughes of Windsor House school, and is currently a teacher and parent at WH. She has 37 years of experience with democratic education (she was 8yrs old when the school was started in her house), a BA in Humanities from Antioch College, a B.C. teaching certificate, an MA in Leadership from Royal Roads University, and her MA thesis was on Windsor House school and the best pedagogical practices for teaching in a non-coercive school.

Candy is a co-founder with husband Steve of The Highland School in West Virginia. Highland is a day and boarding school (since 1981) where democracy is put into practice everyday. Candy has written articles about democratic schooling and a dissertation on John Dewey's Concept of the Child. Candy is also a play therapist and licensed professional counselor. She is President of the West Virginia Association for Play Therapy. Candy is thrilled to spend time with her first grandchild, Eowyn, whose Mom (Noel) is on staff at The Highland School. Music, reading, swimming, and sandbox play are a few favorite recreational activities.

I have been teaching political science at Langara College in Vancouver since 1990, and am active in the struggle for peace, justice, and the environment. Currently, I am developing a strategy to help such movements to work co-operatively on common goals. My B.A. is in Psychology, and I am finishing a book on Primal Therapy. My next book will be a study of "the human condition", and what anthropology, psychology, and political economy can teach us about human nature and community. I am a single father.

Henrik Ebenbeck is a teacher at Leipzig free school in Germany for 14 years. He is a member of the board of the German Assoziation of Free Schools, which represents more than 100 free schools. He is a member of the EUDEC-council and co-organiser of the first European Demcratic Education Conference EUDEC, which was held from 25 July to 3 August 2008 in Leipzig, Germany.

Ofira Roll is a PhD student in Social Studies Education at the University of Pittsburgh, PA & an instructor at the university for MAT and PY students. She also taught experiential Hebrew in the US to all ages, from pre-k to adults. In addition, Ofira led numerous delegations of teens to Israel and Poland. Prior to that Ofira was an educator at the Ono Valley Democratic School in Israel.
Ofira holds a B.Ed. in Creative Education and have completed teacher training in the Institute for Democratic Education in Israel, where her views and beliefs towards education and life were challenged and shaped.
Ofira studies how conceptions of democracy and social justice are integrated in the classroom across the curriculum.
Ofira likes to travel around the world. She explored different cultures and places as Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Egypt (Sinai), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, India, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Poland, lots of Israel and currently the USA.

At IDEC 2003, Melia met Chris Balme and co-founded Spark, a youth empowerment program that matches students with apprenticeships in professions of their choice at local workplaces. Melia recently moved on to begin a year-long project in self-education called Reschool Yourself. This fall, in order to explore how her formal education shaped her identity and knowledge, she will return to her childhood classrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area to volunteer and observe. In the spring, in order to shape her education intentionally going forward, she will pursue learning opportunities around the globe. Throughout the year, Melia will share her experiences of "reschooling" through her website

www.reschoolyourself.com -- and hopes that readers of all ages will do the same.