Featured Speakers

Curtis Aikens, star of the Food Network and regular ABC Good Morning America cast member, will be the headline speaker at the Adult Learner Rights Rally that will close ProLiteracy's annual conference, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008 in Little Rock, AR.

Aikens also will be the keynote speaker at the lunch that closes the conference, which begins Wednesday evening, Oct. 1 at Little Rock's Peabody Hotel.

Aikens didn't learn to read until he was 26 years old and began working with local literacy programs affiliated with Laubach Literacy and Literacy Volunteers, Inc. Those programs merged in 2002 to create ProLiteracy Worldwide, Inc.

As a child, Aikens memorized what he heard in class; when taking tests, he would scribble illegible answers and then respond orally when teachers asked him to translate. People responded to Aikens' likeable personality, and he was able to make it through high school and college with the help of friends; he even owned his own business. But he feared that his secret would become public, so when he saw a commercial for the Marin County Free Library Literacy Program, he enrolled and began to learn to read. Six years later, Aikens was a published author; he continues to donate a portion of his book royalties to adult literacy programs throughout the U.S.

Along with adult literacy students attending the conference, Aikens will lead close to 800 literacy program directors, teachers, trainers, and volunteer tutors and board members attending the ProLiteracy conference on a first-ever march from the Peabody Hotel through downtown Little Rock to the steps of the Old Statehouse building. There adult learners will unveil their rally platform and discuss action items. Following the rally, Aikens will deliver the keynote address at the lunch that closes the two-and-a-half days of workshops and presentations for adult learners and practitioners.

Arkansas native and President/CEO of Reading is Fundamental, Inc., Carol Hampton Rasco will open ProLiteracy's annual conference in Little Rock Oct. 1-4, 2008.

Rasco, who has headed RIF since 2001, will be the keynote speaker at the opening session on Wednesday evening, Oct. 1 at the Little Rock Peabody Hotel.

There are many similarities between ProLiteracy and RIF - ProLiteracy is the oldest and largest nonprofit organization of adult basic education and literacy programs in the world; RIF is the America's oldest and largest nonprofit children's and family literacy organization. Many of ProLiteracy's member programs use volunteers to teach adults reading, writing, and math; RIF uses volunteers in each state to provide millions of children with new, free books and literacy resources each year.

Rasco's career began in Arkansas. She has degrees from the University of Arkansas and the University of Central Arkansas. She worked as the chief policy adviser in the Arkansas governor's office for ten years and served as the liaison to the National Governors' Association. From 1997 through 2000, she was Senior Adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, and director of the America Reads Challenge, a national campaign to get all children reading well and independently by the end of the third grade. Previously, Rasco worked for four years in the White House as domestic policy adviser to the president and directed the Domestic Policy Council.

Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), founded in 1966, motivates children to read by working with them, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. RIF's highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. Through community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory, RIF provides 4.6 million children with 16 million new, free books and literacy resources each year. For more information: www.rif.org.

New This Year: Conferees will be part of a multi-panel, collaborative, movable mural that will be created throughout the 2008 Annual Conference. The finished product will be unveiled at the Student Rally, Oct. 4.

Muralist Xavier Cortada has worked with groups across the world to produce numerous large-scale collaborative art projects including peace murals in Cyprus and Northern Ireland, child welfare murals in Bolivia and Panama, AIDS murals in Geneva and South Africa, and eco-art installations on Miami Beach and Antarctica. In 2008, with the fiscal sponsorship of the New York Foundation for the Arts, he'll bring his art installations to the North Pole.

The Miami artist has been commissioned to create art for the White House, the World Bank, the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Governor's Mansion, Miami City Hall, Miami-Dade County Hall, the Miami Art Museum, the Museum of Florida History and the South Pole Station. He will explain the process at the opening session, Oct. 1. You can check out his work at www.cortada.com.

Dr. Fitzgerald Hill will be guest speaker at ProLiteracy's annual conference banquet, Thursday, Oct. 2. Dr. Hill is the 13th president of Arkansas Baptist College, a decorated war hero, visiting scholar and research associate at the University of Central Florida's Institute of Diversity and Ethics, and a former collegiate head football coach. Hill is the co-founder of Life CHAMPS Youth Sports and Sports Management Agency which uses sports for the positive development of young men and community development.

The 43-year-old college president received Bachelor degrees in Communications and Physical Education from Ouachita Baptist in 1987, a Masters degree in Student Personnel Services from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA, and his Doctorate of Education degree from the University of Arkansas.

In February, 2007, Hill testified to the Congressional Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection regarding his research on African American football coaches. Currently, the former coach is writing his first book titled: CrackBack. The book examines how race influences employment opportunities for African American football coaches at division I-A colleges and universities.

Hill is also the catalyst for the annual Delta Classic-4-Literacy football game that is played each year at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The game is between Grambling State University Tigers and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions. The marching bands from each college also add another exciting component to this well attended event. Proceeds assist the Arkansas Literacy Council in developing literacy and educational centers in the Delta.

Join ProLiteracy Worldwide in welcoming Dr. Fitzgerald Hill at our 2008 Annual Conference in Little Rock, AR, Oct.1-4.

For more information contact the conference team at [email protected] or call (315) 422-9121 ext. 319.