After 2 decades of mentoring college students with the campus ministry of CRU, LeAnn saw the need to help younger students prepare for life after high school graduation. In 2016 she wrote a curriculum to address many of the issues she had observed while working on college campuses; delayed graduation, lack of career direction, and the accumulation of paralyzing student debt.

While teaching the "5 Major Steps" curriculum in live seminars and online she became interested in how gap year programs could also help students mature in significant ways before entering college. Having worked in Christian ministry for 25 years, she was particularly interested in a new generation of faith-based programs. In 2017 her oldest daughter participated in The World Race gap year through Adventures in Missions and in 2018 she helped launch the first CRU gap year program. In 2019 her son was selected to be a fellow in the Impact 360 program and her youngest already has a gap year in her plans for 2022.

LeAnn and her family love to travel, having lived in Europe for 12 years. Between the 5 of them they have visited every continent and over 25 countries. Their favorite will always be Croatia.

After two decades in higher education, Jennifer stepped away from college administration and teaching to homeschool her sons and create Homeschooling for College Credit, an organization that helps homeschooling families earn college credit in high school and build a homeschool exit strategy.

www.HomeschoolingforCollegeCredit.com

“Recommended Resource” –Homeschool Legal Defense Association

"In my professional opinion, Jennifer Cook DeRosa is THE foremost authority on Homeschooling for College Credit in the United States. " -Dr. Shawn Ambrose, Higher Learning Commission and the American Council on Education.

Cindy LaJoy is the quintessential homeschool educator. Educating her five internationally-adopted children (whose special needs range from FASD to dysgraphia to gifted), led her to develop a “different kind of homeschooling excellence” that she began at her kitchen table and turned into a 11,000+ member Facebook Group known as Blue Collar Homeschool. This group, and its companion website which is chock full of resources and links for families, provides families with the support she wishes she had along her journey. Combining her love of teaching, her entrepreneurial spirit, and her training as a Special Needs Academic Advisor and job coach, it was no surprise to her friends and family when she dreamed up Buckaroos Slices and Scoops, a pizza and ice cream business specifically designed to accommodate the needs of her young adult children so that they might not only survive in the employment world, but one day thrive as business owners. And, of course, the mission of this business is also to hire others with special needs as well! Cindy’s real-world experience in these many arenas has led her to being the guest speaker on numerous podcasts in the US, Canada, and Nigeria, and to being asked to contribute to three different books on special needs and homeschooling. Specializing in teaching those with FASD, ADHD, High-Functioning Autism, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Dysmaturity, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, PDD/NOS, short and long term memory issues, slow processing speed, Sensory Integration Disorder, Cindy offers special needs academic consulting and brainstorming for hands-on project-based learning experiences. Believing that learning is a life-long pursuit, she is currently pursuing ordination as an Interfaith Minister through One Spirit Seminary and hopes to complete a course of study in Spiritual Counseling within the next three years.