The Speakers

Daniel Barrett
“Help as many people as possible live life fully, as free from drugs as possible.” Daniel Barrett, in his 17th year as a Doctor of Chiropractic, uses his eclectic past daily to save lives through healthy self-expression. In addition to his D.C., he has completed an M.D. Dr. Barrettwill be assisted by Marlena Hernandez.

Tina Bernu
Tina Bernu is the current volunteer Webmaster for American Mensa Region 4 (www.region4.us.mensa.org). She has experience in setting up and creating Web sites from scratch as wella s finding free or reasonably priced monthly rates for hosting.

Michael Cavitt
Michael Cavitt joined Mensa in 1978. He has consulted with people in organizations in all sectors. He draws on his Master in Public Administration and more than 30 years of consulting experience. He is now focusing on helping volunteer leaders in nonprofits as a coach and cheerleader at Yay Team!

Frank Joseph
Frank Joseph became the editor-in-chief of Ancient American, a popular archaeology magazine, when it was founded in 1993. His twenty published books, released in as many foreign editions, are devoted to prehistory, military aviation, and metaphysics. Joseph has been interviewed by Shirley MacLaine and numerous other broadcast hosts.

Jim Koepke
Jim Koepke has researched and written about the Kennedy assassination for years and is nationally recognized as an expert on this subject. He coordinated a national Mensa SIG on the topic. The author ofthree books, Jim is a founder of the Bloomington Writer’s Festival. He is the former administrator of the Hennepin County Mental Health Center.

Mick Lunzer
For the past 25 years Mick Lunzer has been a jugglerand street performer winning many international awards both as an individual and with his team, the Danger Committee. Thanks to his artistic innovations, Mick is on his way to becoming one of the world’s Grand Master Yo-Yo Champions.

Diana S. McKeown
Diana S. McKeown joined the Green Institute ascoordinator for the metro CERTs (Clean Energy Resource Teams) network created by the Minnesota legislature. Previously, Diana spent 14 years at Clean Water Action Alliance of Minnesota. Diana holds a B.S. degree in environmental studies from the University of Minnesota and is a state certified residential energy auditor.

Minnesota Crime Wave
There’s almost no truth to the rumor that the members of the Minnesota Crime Wave met because they have the same parole officer. Established in the fall of 2000, the Crime Wave consists of mystery writers Ellen Hart, Carl Brookins, and William Kent Krueger. Between them they have published more than thirty novels and have received nearly two dozen local, regional, and national writing awards. They’ve toured the country together several times, presenting hundreds of programs and workshops at libraries, bookstores, conferences, and book festivals.

Joette Poehler and Bill Fricke
Joette Poehler and Bill Fricke have been performing comedy (not necessarily together) for the past five years. They live in St. Paul with three cats, each of whom has a personality disorder (the cats, not Bill or Joette). Dinner at their house is a hoot. Seriously.

Deborah Ruf
Deborah Ruf, Ph.D., Minneapolis, is a specialist in gifted assessment, test interpretation, and guidance for the gifted. A recent recipient of the national Intellectual Benefits Award from the Mensa Education & Research Foundation, she was the national gifted children program coordinator for American Mensa for more than five years, stepping down from that post in July 2008. Having been a parent, teacher, and administrator in elementary through graduate education, she writes and speaks about school issues and social and emotional adjustment of gifted children. Her award-winning book, Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind (July 2005), summarizes “levels of intelligence” and highlights the spectrum of giftedness in children.

Linda Seebach
Linda Seebach was an editorial writer and columnist at Denver’s Rocky Mountain News until she retired to Northfield in 2007. Before heading off for journalism and points west, she taught mathematics at St. Olaf College, ran a small printing business catering to the antique-car hobby, and worked as a foreign expert teaching English in Shanghai. She blogs, intermittently, at www.lindaseebach.com.

Ron Spinosa
Ron served for four years as president of the Minnesota M ycological Society and is the current editor of the Toadstool Review, the newsletter of that organization. Ron is also the chair of the Cultivation Committee of the North American Mycological Association.

Honorable Mark Ritchie
Mark Ritchie serves as Minnesota’s secretary of state, the state’s chief elections officer. Mark previously worked in the Perpich administration in the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and served for twenty years as the president of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. He and his wife, Nancy Gaschott, live in Minneapolis.