Guest Role: Educator

Studied at Beijing Institute of Tourism.
Former Tour Manager at Uniworld.
Cruise Manager, Program Director & Tour Escort, at Viking.

Kristin and Brian Barlow are parents of five children. They love to travel and are energetic and passionate learners. Their philosophy is that each experience provides opportunities to learn, and each experience is unique to the individual. They have provided educational experiences throughout their lives together. Whether it be through one of their companies, their coaching, work with youth, or with their family, they are constantly striving to create learning opportunities. They will provide discovery opportunities and sessions throughout your tour!

Kristin is a family historian, referee mentor, and a master raconteur. Brian is a consultant, author, speaker, college professor, and coach. They both enjoy humanitarian work and their entrepreneurial adventures together.

Kristin lived in “Bella Italia”  and is excited to share her love for the people, culture, and history of Italy.

Ben Wilcox has been a religious educator in the church Seminaries and Institutes program and popular EFY speaker for the last 20 years. He has a deep and abiding love for the scriptures, church history, and the teachings of the living prophets. More recently he has shared his knowledge and enthusiasm for the scriptures with thousands through his YouTube channel “Teaching with Power”. He received his bachelor’s degree in English literature from Brigham Young University, and a master’s degree also in English literature from Northern Arizona University.  He and his wife Allesha currently live in Riverton, Utah with their four children.

John and Linda Peterson are from Kaysville, Utah.  They have five children and eleven grandchildren.  Linda teaches First Grade in Farmington.  John has recently retired from a 38-year career as an Instructor for the Church Education System of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Twenty-seven of those years he was an Instructor at the Institute of Religion adjacent to the University of Utah where he often taught LDS History and Christian History.  He has also worked as an archivist and acquisitions specialist for the Church History Department in Salt Lake City, and currently works as a writer-researcher with the Brigham Young Center.  John has three degrees in History, a BA from USU, an MA from BYU, and a Ph.d. from ASU.  He has written several books including Utah’s Black Hawk War for which he was awarded the “Best First Book Award” from the Mormon History Association.  He is currently finishing a book he wrote for the National Park Service entitled Brigham’s Bastion: Winsor Castle at Pipe Springs and its Place on the Mormon Frontier.  John is an experienced and captivating teacher/lecturer and was awarded the Distinguished Teacher Award by Brigham Young University’s division of Continuing Education in 2002.  John is an avid traveller and has travelled widely, both personally, with his family, and as a tour guide.  He has been leading tours since 1995 and worked for years for BYU Travel Study specializing in Church History and European History and Christian History.  In 2001 he was Director of Education for SeaTrek 2001, a massive recreation of Mormon Maritime Emigration that involved eight actual tall ships and thousands of travelers.  In this capacity, he sailed from various ports in Europe to New York City teaching History at Sea.  Ever since he has loved sailing and tall ships.  John loves adventure traveling and exploration and is an avid hiker and scuba diver.  He especially enjoys “off the beaten path travel” and has followed the missionary journeys of Paul “with a backpack and a dollar.”  He has also lead various Church History and European tours and cruises for Fun For Less Travel.  He loves to make travel Fun, Adventurous, and Educational.  Linda’s kind and easy-going nature, as well as her never-ending smile and enthusiasm, make her a joy to travel with.  Together John and Linda make a great team.

David Butler’s greatest love is people. He had adopted as a life motto: “Stuff no mattah, people mattah.” His favorite people are his wife, Jenny, and their six darling children. Some of his other loves include good food, spontaneous adventures, Christmas morning, and the sea. David co-hosts the popular YouTube scripture study channel Don’t Miss This with Emily Belle Freeman and is the author of many religious books, including Ites: An Illustrated Guide to the People in the Book of Mormon; The Peter Potential; and Almighty: How the Most Powerful Being in the Universe Is Also Your Loving Father.

Frank Okoren has been an educator for the past 32 years. He also has been a guest speaker and lecturer at EFY and numerous church and community functions in Colorado. His other passion is music, he is a professional jazz musician with recordings playing throughout the US and Canada.  Along with his wife Nanette, they have five children and five grandchildren, which they have instilled a love of learning and music. They even had a family band while raising their children. Frank and Nanette add a lot of fun to enhance our tours.

Emily Belle Freeman has taught for many years in the Church Education System.  She has also been a speaker for many other BYU Programs and Conferences as well as addressing groups in Canada, Israel, New Zealand, and Australia.  She is a frequent speaker at TOFW and the Love Your Life Retreat, a contributor to The Small Seed, and a bestselling author at Deseret Book.  She has authored many books including Even This: Getting to the Place Where You Can Trust God With Anything, 21 Days Closer to Christ, and Becoming His.  In recent years she has had the opportunity to direct tours to Mexico and Israel.  Emily and her husband Greg live in Lehi, Utah and are the parents of five children, and two grandchildren.

Eric and his wife Anita have been tour leaders for 15 years at Fun For Less Tours.  Although they have taken groups all over the World, Eric’s passion has been Mesoamerica.  He has studied and researched many of the different location theories and has known Dr. John Lund for 40 years.  Eric has benefited from discussions with Dr. Lund on his books and has traveled with him many times to Central America. Eric has discussed this subject with many scholars their ideas as to where the events in the Book of Mormon may have taken place.  With a minor in geology, Eric says he always knew there would be a “geological thumb print” for where these stories may have taken place.

In 2006 Eric took one of his six, Spanish speaking son’s to Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, to research the best ancient ruin sites to visit.  He continues to coordinate and handle the logistics of all our Book of Mormon Tours and to develop new ideas and thoughts on why Mesoamerica is truly the best candidate for the Lands of the Book of Mormon.  His lectures will be insightful, interesting and fun.

Dr. Taylor Halverson accelerates learning for individuals, teams, and organizations. He is a prolific author of nearly 200 articles and books. Dr. Halverson is an engagingly enthusiastic networker and connector. He has worked for many years in the professional development industry advising high-powered individuals and organizations to identify who they are, where they want to be, and how they’ll get there. Dr. Halverson is an entrepreneur who has consulted with dozens of early-stage companies and served on the executive committees of several non-profits. His creative output includes launching the BYU Creativity, Innovation, and Design group, an organization of more than 80 faculty members, and founding a technical team that creates 3D immersive visualizations of important historical sites. He regularly teaches inspiring design, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship courses and workshops. Dr. Halverson holds PhDs in two separate fields (World civilization; and technology, design, and learning), giving him unusual interdisciplinary depth and breadth. He listens intently and synthesizes complex material to make it understandable, engaging and applicable.

Wendy Bird is the founder of Pearls with Purpose, a social-impact organization which combines micro-enterprising with humanitarian assistance. She is a renowned keynote speaker, certified high-performance coach and has been motivating and inspiring people all over the world since 2002.  With over 17 years of international experience, Wendy is gifted with natural charisma and humor. She communicates a universal message of empowerment to audiences all over the world. Speaking straight from the heart on key themes such as leadership, social change, overcoming obstacles and the importance of breaking the cycle of poverty through education and long term self-reliance. She holds the capacity to inspire, encourage, reassure and energize all who hear her speak.

As a Certified High-Performance Coach- Wendy gets to the heart of a client with her vast experience, intuitive questions and deep insights. She has successfully worked with corporate and social businesses, non-profits, academic institutions, community and service organizations. Her phenomenal life experiences combined with her powerful delivery has received overwhelming accolades from her local and international clients, colleagues and fans, time and time again.

As a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Diederik is a professional safari guide with over 20 years experience of leading tours and safaris in Southern Africa. He has taken clients on everything from walking safaris to coach tours to camping safaris.

He is a qualified National Guide in South Africa and has qualified as a guide for Swaziland. In addition, Diederik is registered as a Level 3 Safari Guide with the Field Guide Association of South Africa.

• Born in Johannesburg
• Went to school in Johannesburg and Pretoria
• Did 2 years of military service in the Infantry
• Studied at The University of the Witwatersrand
• Obtained a BSc majoring in Botany and Zoology
• Worked for Clive Walker Safaris doing walking trails and safaris in the Okavango, Tuli Block, and Klaserie Game Reserve
• Worked for the Natal Parks Board as a ranger
• Started own business in 1991
• Is a Registered National Tourist Guide for South Africa
• Is Registered as a Tourist Guide for Swaziland
• Is a Level 3 Trails Guide (NQF6) with FGASA

Glenn J. Kimber was born and raised in northern Utah. After graduating from High School he attended Weber State College. In 1965 he married Julianne Skousen and shortly thereafter he joined the Air Force where he served for 4 years, including one tour of duty to Vietnam.

Upon returning from Vietnam, Dr. Kimber continued his university studies graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree from Brigham Young University. He then joined with W. Cleon Skousen in establishing an educational foundation called the Freemen Institute, which was organized for the purpose of teaching American History and Constitutional studies. During the next number of years, Dr. Kimber presented patriotic seminars and conferences in all 50 states and in a number of foreign countries.

Dr. Kimber continued his education, receiving two Doctorate degrees, one in Constitutional Studies in 1992 from Coral Ridge Baptist University, based in Florida. He continued his educational pursuits and received a second Doctorate in education from George Wythe College.

Dr. Kimber established a series of private schools called the Benjamin Franklin Academies to incorporate a strong moral and patriotic curriculum back into the classroom. In 2001 he also established the Kimber Academies, a private school for students ages K – 12. He and his wife have authored over 100 textbooks and educational guides which emphasize the U.S. Constitution, America’s Founding Fathers, and moral and religious values in all five core subjects.

Dr. Kimber was instrumental in developing a program for television called “The Miracle of America,” which was presented in a number of states. This series taught American history and Constitutional principles from the viewpoint of the American Founding Fathers.

Dr. Kimber has testified before a number of legislative committees in several states pertaining to Constitutional and educational issues. He has also been a guest on a number of radio and television talk shows.

Currently, Dr. Kimber is the president of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Constitutional Studies, and in that capacity conducts seminars throughout the United States called “The Healing of America.” This seminar series teaches participants 1) the founding of America, 2) the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, 3) America’s drift from the Constitution, and 4) how the greatness of America can be restored.

Dr. Kimber also conducts tours to the Middle East, including Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.

He and his wife are the parents of 8 children, grandparents of 24, and currently reside in Salt Lake City, Utah.

David K. Douglas is a fun, adventurous, family-man who loves to travel and make history come to life. His full time employment has been for the Church Education System for the last 22 years, in Seminaries and Institutes. Dave’s bachelors degree is in Psychology & his masters degree in Recreation Management and Youth Leadership both from BYU. He has a PhD in Parks Recreation and Tourism from the University of Utah. As part of his research into living history, he performed at ‘This is the Place Heritage Park’ playing Orrin Porter Rockwell the infamous lawman and bodyguard. His own children hardly recognized him as he got into character and had a good laugh.

Dave is a born storyteller and has years of experience making battlefields, castles, museums and sacred places come to life for visitors. He has a broad range of travel and guiding experiences including Church & American history, African game parks & World Heritage sites throughout Europe. He appreciates that travel can be both extensive and intensive, but rather than devouring miles at a rapid fire pace the traveler can learn to mindfully linger at each site.

Jeff and his wife Marie have guided many tours throughout the world with Fun For Less Tours.  As a former teacher and avid traveler, Jeff will give historical insight throughout your tour.  Jeff and Marie will ensure an educational experience as well as an organized and fun trip!

Brother Christensen was born in Richfield Utah. He became an Eagle Scout. He served a mission in the Alaskan-Canadian mission. He served in the Utah Nation Guard as an Officer in the Artillery Married Rozann Beck from Gunnison, Utah. They have six children and 16 grandchildren. He graduated from Snow College, Weber State College and received his masters and Ph.D. in Marriage and family therapy from Brigham Young University. He was a therapist at Provo Canyon’s Boys School and has treated many adolescents for ADD, ADHD, incorrigible, rebellious, depressed, anxiety and family problems. He has had a private practice in marriage and family, couples and individual therapy for over 40 years.

He has taught in the church educational system for 25 years. He taught Release Time Seminary, served as a seminary stake coordinator in Alaska and Colorado and directed the Institute of Religion in Boulder Colorado. He taught on the Religion Faculty at Ricks College and was the institute director at the Sandy Institute of Religion in Salt Lake, and as an institute instructor at the University of Utah, he has trained many volunteer Institute teachers. He has taught Missionary Preparation classes for over 20 years. He has since retired from the Church Educational System.

He became a Corporate Trainer for VitalSmarts Corporation. He is currently doing Individual, Marriage and Family Therapist and is the Director for Maximum Potential and Bingham Creek Counseling in West Jordan. He deals with struggling, marriages, depression; anxiety and other emotional and mental issues. He has developed an online Pornography Recovery Program, called “Candeo”, reaching over 50 countries. The program has proven to work in helping men and women overcome addiction to pornography and sex addiction. He has spoken at many professional conferences and community programs.

He recently published a book “What Grandpa Taught about the Law of Holiness”. He has published 14 talk tapes and speaks at many youth conferences, BYU Education Week and Know Your Religion programs. He and his wife directed tours for BYU Travel Study to Israel and Central America for many years.

He has served as a Bishop and was in the District Presidency in Juneau Alaska, working with the Y.M. program, he served on several different High Councils and has been the Stake Mission President for two different Stakes. He has held almost every position, except Relief Society President, He turned that calling down. He has served as an ordinance worker in the Jordan River Temple. He is also the Stake Sunday School President in the Westland Stake, training “Come follow Me” teaching to not only the youth instructors, teachers, but for H.P, E.Q. R.S. and S.S. Instructors. He and his wife served a mission at the Heber Valley Girls Camp.

Diane Prince was born in California and raised in California and Utah. She has her degree in Education. She has taught, has been in sales achieving “the million-dollar club” status with her company. She began speaking as a corporate trainer and Motivational Speaker 35 years ago. She has spoken across America to thousands of business professionals on time and stress management, assertiveness skills, self-esteem, human relation skills, family relations, and a myriad of other topics.

She has been in high demand as a speaker with her ability to educate and entertain her audiences. She has been a speaker at BYU Education Week since 1988. She has also been a speaker for many other BYU Programs and Conferences. Diane has been on five talk tapes, is the author of a popular book, and has appeared as a featured author in five other books. She has been on radio, featured in many newspaper articles, and has appeared on television as a specialist in human relations skills. She and her husband volunteer teaching Marriage Enrichment Seminars.

Diane has a deep love of music and performed for several years with the famous Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Diane served a mission when she was young to France and Belgium, and with her husband, Rob to Australia and Papa New Guinea. Diane’s greatest joy in life is being a wife, a mom, and a grandmother. She is joyfully married to Robert Prince. They have a blended family of nine children and twenty-five grandchildren.

For more than a decade, Matt Townsend has been energizing and involving audiences with his unique approach to building and maintaining successful relationships. Known as one of America’s top presenters in the field of Human Relations and Development, Matt blends humor and story telling with interactive, real-life solutions that inspire motivation and immediate results in his audiences.

Having dedicated his life to the study of communication and interpersonal relationships, Matt has worked extensively in the areas of results-oriented communication, conflict resolution and time management training. As a lead presenter for industry leader, Franklin Covey, Matt worked with the Family & Special Market Division and created the company’s largest train-the-trainer program, certifying more than 900 trainers to teach his customized time management curriculum.

“The Matt Townsend Show” is broadcast every week on KSL News Radio and Matt’s book Starved Stuff: The 7 Basic Needs of Healthy Relationships is a popular pick among those searching for better relationship skills. Having earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communication and a second master’s degree in Human Development, he recently earned his PhD in the field of Human Development. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and the National Department of Commerce.

DeAnn Sadleir is a native of Salt Lake graduating from Brigham Young University. She traveled extensively with President Reagan on his advance team. She and her former husband were hosting couple for the United States being appointed as Deputy Chief of Protocol.

DeAnn currently runs a non-profit The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. She works with the LDS Temples & Special Projects to provide further education and training for their designers. She is also a free lance interior designer.

DeAnn taught for eight years in the Church Education System and has authored many articles and given numerous presentations on Temples, Sacred Architecture, Creativity and Beauty. She has directed tours to Italy/Greece, Book of Mormon Lands, and Israel.
She is the mother of four delightful children and four grand daughters.

Dr. John M. Madsen is a former associate professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He has participated in 9 tours to the Holy Land before being called as a General Authority. Dr. Madsen has led many tours to Israel since being granted Emeritus status. We don’t just send a name, with no experience, we send the best in Educators and those with the most experience!

Dr. Madsen is an emeritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He has been a general authority of the LDS Church since 1992.

Prior to his call as a general authority, Dr. Madsen served as a regional representative of the Twelve and a mission president. He was president of the England Southwest Mission from 1970 to 1973. In 1992, John became a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. In 1997 he was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy. As a general authority, John has also served in the general presidency of the church’s Young Men organization. He had also served as member of the Young Men General Board prior to his call as a general authority. John was made General Authority Emeritus in the Oct 2009 conference.

Assignments that Dr. Madsen has had as a general authority have included serving as president of the Mexico North Area of the church, and in the presidency of the North America West, North America Northwest, Philippines, and Australia/New Zealand areas.

Glenn Jay Rawson has been the writer and co-producer for the television documentary series entitled “History of the Saints”. He has also written and co-produced the television documentary series called “The Joseph Smith Papers”. These programs are broadcast on many TV and radio stations in the intermountain west, including KSL-TV, and worldwide on BYU-TV. He travels extensively interviewing scholars and researching the original documents that tell the story of the early history of the Latter-Day Saints. The “JSP” and “History of the Saints” seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD at local bookstores. Many of these are also found on iTunes as podcasts. Documentaries on the Mormon Battalion and other projects are in various stages of production.

For the past 17 years, Glenn has written and told over 500 inspirational stories for many “Sounds of Sunday” radio programs broadcast far and wide. His Books “In The Midst Of Thee” volumes 1 and 2 are a collection of some of these stories. He has also produced and sold CD’s on topics such as prayer, freedom, and inspiration.

Glenn is a gifted teacher and fireside speaker. He has traveled extensively for “Especially For Youth” and “Best of EFY” programs as a speaker and session director. He has been a presenter at Education Week and Know Your Religion. Glenn joined the LDS Church at age 18 and served a full-time mission to Des Moines, Iowa. He is now a tour director and educator for “Fun For Less Tours”.

Glenn has a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Range Science from Brigham Young University, a masters in Educational Administration from Idaho State University, and doctoral studies in Political Science and Constitutional Studies from Idaho State University. He has a love of America and has studied US history and the founding fathers. He has co-written a stage production entitled “Give Me Liberty that tells the story of America’s freedom.

Raised on a ranch in Idaho, Glenn enjoys the great outdoors, early morning running, any kind of exercise, camping with his family, reading and researching, cooking scones, donuts, and homemade bread, cross-country skiing, identifying plants and animals, and has a love for all people. He has served 7 years as a nursery leader, worked with the handicapped for many years, and has held many other callings. Glenn and his wife Debra are the parents of 7 children and a growing number of adorable grand-children.

David A Christensen is a popular motivational speaker throughout the United States. David received his bachelor’s degree in Speech and Dramatic Arts at Brigham Young University. He received his master’s degree and his Doctorate of Education at the same university. He has been a successful instructor and professor for both high schools and universities recently serving as a program director at the University of Utah for 20 years. He is currently a faculty member of the Brigham Young University Continuing Education Department. He spent the first part of his career establishing educational systems throughout Brazil. He has traveled extensively as a presenter throughout Mexico, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. He is recognized for his exceptional teaching and motivation of both youth and adults. He is a member of Rotary International. David is married to his wife of over 50 years, Pat, and has four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Dr. Lund has led numerous tours to Israel, LDS Church History sites, and to the Lands of the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerica. He speaks fluent Spanish and served as a missionary in Mexico.

He is the author of various articles in the New Era, the Ensign, The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, and most recently, in the LDS 2006 Church Almanac.

Dr. Lund retired after teaching for thirty-six years in the CES Institute program. He is described as having a unique combination of gospel knowledge, deep spirituality, and has a delightful sense of humor.

Dr. Michael Wilcox received his PhD from the University of Colorado and taught for many years at the LDS Institute of Religion adjacent to the University of Utah. He has spoken to packed crowds at BYU Education Week and has hosted tours to the Holy Land and to Church history sites. He has served in a variety of callings, including as bishop and counselor in a stake presidency. He has written many articles and books, including House of Glory, Sunset, 10 Great Souls I Want to Meet in Heaven, and Finding Hope. He and his late wife, Laurie, are the parents of five children.