It was a wonderful event. I am sorry you were not there to have enjoyed the many fine lectures and panels. The LMT will be presenting some of the footage on our website soon and the rest will be made available through the LJR Foundation.

For me, a highlight was to see Tory Bezazian get up and speak before the group on Friday night. I had tears in my eyes as I listened to Tory addressing an anti-cult conference. I was remembering the times we had together not so long ago when she was still in Scientology and working as an OSA volunteer to try to "handle" me at pickets. I couldn't resist and had to give Tory a great big hug as she left the podium and returned to her seat.

Tory remains one of the sweetest and most fun loving people in or out of Scientology.

And we were all so proud to see Bob recieve the Leo J. Ryan Award on Saturday night. His acceptance speech was powerful and the response from the audience was both warm and overwhelming.

Perhaps we'll meet at the next conference, Tigger. Till then, best wishes.

Mark

On Sat, 27 Oct 2001 07:21:00 -0500 (CDT), boobookittyone@webtv.net (Tigger) wrote:

>SPEAKERS AT THE 2001 CONFERENCE:
>
>Frederick Clarkson, is a veteran journalist and author who has written
>about the intersection of politics and religion for nearly 20 years. His
>groundbreaking exposès include the first report on the plans of Pat
>Robertson's Christian Coalition to take control of the Republican Party;
>the first report on far-right activists calling for the formation of
>militias; and the first investigation into the alliance between Sun
>Myung Moon's Unification Church and Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam.
>He has contributed to many scholarly publications. He has been
>frequently been cited as an expert by the media, including The New York
>Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio and the CBS Evening
>News, among many others. He is author of the highly regarded book,
>Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy. Mr.
>Clarkson will give the keynote address: Overcoming the Cults' Assault on
>Religious Freedom.
>
>William Zellner, Ph. D, retired professor of sociology at East Central
>University, Oklahoma and author, has spent much of his academic life
>studying and writing about cults and alternative religions. Dr Zellner
>has served three terms as president of the Association for the
>Scientific Study of Religion and was appointed in 1995 as a reference
>source for foreign entities by the U. S. Information Agency. Of his
>several books on unconventional groups, two recent publications, Counter
>Cultures: A Sociological Analysis, and Extraordinary Groups: A Study of
>Unconventional Lifestyles, are used in over 600 colleges and
>universities in the U. S. Dr Zellner will present: Cult Apologists: Are
>They Blind?
>
>Stephen Kent, Ph. D., is a sociologist of religion at the University of
>Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, specializing in the study of
>non-traditional and alternative religions. He has published extensively
>in a variety of both social science and religious studies' journals,
>encyclopedias and books. His latest book, From Slogans to Mantras,
>discusses the shift among disaffected youth from political protests to
>sectarian conversions that occurred in the early seventies. Dr Kent will
>present his recent paper: Child Sexual Abuse in International New
>Religious Movements.
>
>Paul R. Martin, Ph. D., is a licensed psychologist and clinical
>counselor, and is a former member of an abusive religious group. Dr.
>Martin is the director of Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in
>Albany, Ohio. Wellspring is a residential treatment facility that
>provides a program of counseling and instruction to victims of cultic
>abuse, religious abuse, and/or mind control. Dr. Martin will present:
>The Non-Negotiable Factors in Cult Recovery.
>
>Linda Kramer, Ph. D., spent thirty years in Christian Science before
>leaving for doctrinal reasons and then fought a long battle for
>emotional freedom. She now ministers to the emotional and spiritual
>needs of others touched by this religion, both through private
>correspondence and through her work with Christian Way, an outreach to
>current and former Christian Scientists. Dr. Kramer authored the book,
>The Religion That Kills, which uses Christian Science writings and
>Robert Lifton's mind control criteria to examine how Christian Science
>attracts, controls and harms its followers. Dr Kramer will present:
>Children in Christain Science: Perils of Perfection.
>
>David Clark, is a former member of The Church of the Living Word
>(1972-74). After leaving the group Dave became actively involved in
>exit-counseling members wanting to leave abusive groups. He has served
>in the following capacities: court-certified cult expert; chairman of
>the American Family Foundationtm's, "Exit Counseling Studies Group;"
>contributing author and co-editor of the "Exit Counseling: A Practical
>Overview," contributing author, Recovery From Cults (Norton); national
>and international conference speaker and media consultant; former
>president of the national Association of Thought Reform Consultants; and
>currently board member of the Leo J. Ryan Education Foundationtm. Mr.
>Clark's workshop examines: The Falun Gong and the Anti-Cult Movement in
>the Context American Political Activity and the Chinese Government
>Campaign against the "Evil Cult"
>
>Linda Jayne Dubrow, Ph. D., is a psychologist in private practice with
>the Verree Psychology Group and RETIRN (Re-Entry Therapy, Information &
>Referral Network), which she co-founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
>She has served as an expert witness and forensic examiner in numerous
>malpractice cases against therapy cults, and has been a contributor to
>Cultic Studies Journal. Dr. Dubrow will present: Providing Psychotherapy
>to Children and Families affected by Destructive Groups.
>Steve K. Dubrow-Eichel, Ph. D., ABPP, is a licensed and Board Certified
>Counseling Psychologist. Dr. Dubrow-Eichel is a co-founder of RETIRN
>(Re-Entry Therapy, Information & Referral Network) in Philadelphia, PA
>and was a 1990 recipient of the John G. Clark Award for Distinguished
>Scholarship in Cultic Studies. He has provided expert testimony in
>numerous custody cases involving cultic groups, and has been a
>contributor to Cultic Studies Journal. Dr. Dubrow-Eichel will present:
>Providing Psychotherapy to Children and Families affected by Destructive
>Groups.
>
>Livia Bardin, M.S.W., is a clinical social worker in private practice in
>Washington, D.C. Her book, Coping with Cult Involvement, is based on her
>work with former cult members and with families concerned about a loved
>one's involvement in a destructive cult. Ms. Bardin chairs the Family
>Workshop Advisory Board of the American Family Foundation (AFF), a
>national cult education group. In addition to workshops for families and
>friends of cult members, Ms. Bardin facilitates a support group for
>former members and conducts workshops on destructive groups for mental
>health professionals. Ms. Bardin will present: Coping with Cult
>Involvement; What Can Families Do?
>
>Dr. Dan Feaster, is the executive director of the Samaritan Counseling
>Center of Southern Wisconsin. His background includes 23 years
>experience as a counselor, educator, minis-ter, and magician. He holds a
>Master of Social Work degree, Master of Divinity degree, and a Doctorate
>in Pastoral Counseling, and is a licensed psychotherapist. Dr. Feaster
>has published the manual, Youth in Destructive Groups: Cults, Gangs,
>Teenage Satanism, and Hate Groups. He also serves on the national board
>of directors for the Leo J. Ryan Educational Foundation. He will
>present: Magic, Deception, and Critical Thinking Skills
>
>Kevin Garvey has been actively exit-counseling members of abusive groups
>for a period of twenty-five years. He has also served as a consultant to
>corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies. He has
>lectured in seminaries and colleges, addressed academic conferences, and
>has served has an expert witness in cult related legal cases. Garvey was
>one of seventeen North Americans who testified before Germany's
>Bundestag Commission on Cults. In 1993, he was selected by the Inspector
>General of the U.S. Department of Transportation to participate in that
>office's investigation into a management training program that had been
>implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration. A Congressional
>committee received Garvey's testimony and later stopped the training
>program. He will present: Enforced Realities: The parallels between Cult
>Practices and Terrorism.
>
>Ronald N. Loomis is an internationally recognized expert on cults and
>mind control. He is a Past President of the Association of College
>Unions International and has over 35 years of professional experience in
>college union and student activities administration, including those at
>Cornell University, where he served as Director of Unions and Activities
>for 23 years. Mr. Loomis has presented cult awareness lectures and
>seminars at over 100 colleges and universities and is the Education
>Liaison for the American Family Foundation (AFF). During the summer of
>1999 he served as a principle expert witness for the Legislative Task
>Force on Cults in Maryland. Mr. Loomis is a contributing author to the
>book Cults on Campus. Mr. Loomis will present: Cult Awareness
>Educational Programs for Universities and Support Groups for Parents of
>Cult Members.
>
>Patricia Crossman, M.S.W., is a clinical social worker who worked with
>the late Eric Berne, author of "Games People Play" on the early
>development of Transactional Analysis (TA). TA became a popular therapy
>in 1960's and was the theoretical foundation for Reparenting, a
>pseudo-therapy created by Jacqui Schiff, a social worker who was a
>student of Berne. Reparenting is considered to be a very dangerous
>procedure and is based in part on fabricated experimental data, and has
>resulted in at least one death and an indeterminate number of suicides.
>Over the last 25 years Patricia has counseled with many former patients
>and family members victimized by this therapy. She will discuss the
>recent reparenting death of Candace Newmaker. Crossman will present:
>Crazy Therapies: Reparenting and Rebirthing.
>
>Mark Roggeman has been involved in outreach to those affected by cults
>and other high demand groups for a period of twenty-five years. He has
>assisted with exit-counseling individuals trapped in cults and provides
>support for the families with loved ones that are currently involved in
>a cult. Roggeman has infiltrated several of these groups to gain an
>understanding how cults use deception in recruiting, controlling, and
>retaining their members. He has served as a police officer in Denver,
>Colorado for the past thirty years and assists other law enforcement
>agencies with information and training on cults. Mr. Roggeman will
>present: How Law Enforcement can be Proactive in Helping Families
>Affected by Cults.