Practical Inspirations

Growing up in a family that moved on average once a year, it didn’t take Susan long to learn that communication was the way to make friends and influence people. Never a shy little girl, Susan began her career in front of an audience at the age of six performing ballet. Not long after that she started writing poems, stories, and newsletters that were carefully drawn by hand.

In junior high, Susan learned the power of speech when she became active in school politics and debate teams. She continued speaking, debating, and writing through college.

Susan became a stringer for Sacramento Bee and Sacramento Union covering high school events in her sophomore year. By the age of seventeen she was working for the Livermore Herald and News in Livermore, California.

Born in Yuba City, California, Susan now calls Harwood in Central Texas home, after raising thier three children, Karen, Leo, and Bryon, in the rural mountain community of Tehachapi, California.

Being eight months pregnant with their second child, Susan waddled onto the stage to receive her diploma from California State University, Bakersfield. She earned a bachelors degree in Liberal Studies and a Multiple Subject teaching credential.

After teaching in public and private schools for five years, Susan and her husband, Bob, began teaching their children at home in 1981. All three of their children graduated from their homeschool and have been launched from the nest.

The Stewarts owned and operated Highland Christian Schools for over ten years. A private school to meet the needs of families teaching at home. Susan served as Membership Director for Christian Home Educators Association of California (CHEA) for fifteen years and now is Communications Manager.

Speaker

Since 1985, Susan has been bringing her realistic, yet encouraging messages to conferences, retreats, and small groups.

Susan’s trademark is inspiring practical solutions. She shares her experience and openness to each topic. Inspire your audience with Susan’s practical and encouraging presentations.

Susan is a speaker at Christian Home Educators Association of California Conventions and teaches Certified Parent Educator Certificate classes. She is also a CLASS graduate.

Susan is available to speak at conferences, women’s retreats and lunches, homeschool conferences, leader seminars and retreats, and mental health groups

Writer

Susan’s writing career began with a neighborhood newspaper, drawn and written by hand. Her first published work was a poem in her elementary school “literary” booklet.

Since these humble beginnings, she has written for newspapers and magazines, including a regular column in The California Parent Educator. Her articles have also appeared in The Teaching Home, Tehachapi News, and Sacramento Bee, and she has contributed to several projects. With her husband Bob, Susan self-published Y2K in the City and Science in the Kitchen. Susan’s latest project, Preschool: At What Cost?, is due to be released in the fall.

Affiliations

· Writers of Kern

· California Writers Club

· Society of Professional Journalists

· Christian Writers Guild International

· National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI); NAMI Family-to-Family teacher, family support group facilitator

· Christian Home Educators Association of California (CHEA); Charter Member; Certified Parent Educator Certificate (CPEC) teacher

· CLASS graduate, 2004