ATLOSCON 2011 SPEAKERS

 

 

 

Ken Andrews

Ken is a semi-retired retail executive with 45 years experience including his own business. He was born & raised in West Virginia and has a BS degree in business from Antioch College (one of the most liberal colleges in the US which is currently trying to come out of bankruptcy!). Ken discovered Atlas Shrugged in 1957 (immediately became an atheist). He organized and ran Democrats for Goldwater in Cocoa Beach,  Florida (the only county in FL that Goldwater won). He moved to NYC in 1964 and attended NBI until it closed. Ken is an avid reader, runner for 35 yrs until knee replacement, and fanatical golfer. He discovered OActivists and joined ATLOS in 2010 and attended ATLOSCon 2010. Ken says, "After discovering Atlas Shrugged in 1957 I  was repeatedly told by family and friends that I was too rational - a charge that I am the most proud of!"

 

Antonio Barzey

 

 

Antonio was born in the Republic of Panama to Methodist parents who were Jamaican immigrants to that country. He spoke English at home and Spanish everywhere else. His parents strongly and consistently encouraged him to seek knowledge and education, and to think for himself. Neither had an education beyond sixth grade.  He discovered philosophy at the age of 12 while reading one of his mother's textbooks, and was later introduced to Ayn Rand by his English substitute teacher when she recommended that he do a book report on Atlas Shrugged. That led to his reading everything written by Ayn Rand. He later emigrated to the US to study, but left school and eventually joined the Army. There he met and married Jennifer King, becoming father to three wonderful children. Miranda was his first and the one who introduced him to the pleasures of being a father before deciding to be one.

 

 

 

Miranda Barzey

Miranda is the author of the blog Building Atlantis and her interests include photography, dance, American Sign Language, and education. Miranda was raised by her Objectivist father Antonio, but came into Objectivism on her own in high school. She recently dropped out of college and moved to Atlanta to explore her career possibilities. She currently works as a teacher at a homeschool co-op, waitress, babysitter, and an art model. She also runs an Atlas Shrugged Reading Group for ATLOS.

 

 

 

Aaron Bilger

While engineer rather than scientist by trade, Aaron has a passionate interest in science and the history of science.  He is a long-time Objectivist, subscribing to it and its laissez-faire capitalism since the early 90s.  Since that time, he has been particularly intrigued with the harder political and economic questions of a truly free market.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Butterbaugh

"Born and raised in northern Indiana starting in 1940, obtaining two master’s degrees, one in math and one in architecture, and being totally inspired by Rand when I was 30, I gradually became concerned with not only knowing, but knowing that I knew. This came to a head in 1980 when I gave a speech on ethical egoism and ran into resistance regarding the validity of egoism. I dug deeper, eventually discovering the foundational aspects of life and what the choice to live really amounts to. What I discovered which solidified the choice of Objectivism for me, is what I bring to this speech."

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Cade

Martin graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1988 with an Aerospace Engineering degree. While there, he tried many intramural sports, as well as running up to 5 miles daily. In his senior year at Annapolis he started bodybuilding-style workouts and gained 18lb in less than a year. Since discovering CrossFit in 2007, Martin has focused learning about the CrossFit program and applying it to his own workouts. He currently works as a software engineer at a large telecommunications service provider. In his spare time he plays guitar, works on remodeling his house, and works out in his home gym.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brendan Casey

Brendan has been an Objectivist since 1992, and graduated from Purdue University in 1994 with a degree in Communication, Economics, and Psychology. A computer programmer by trade, Brendan's economic interest is primarily in the monetary policy decisions set by the Federal Reserve Bank, as well as the effects of regulations on productivity in general.  For the past 10+ years, he has kept a steady part-time hobby of being a skeptic toward virtually everything the government does to "help" the nation's economy. He lives with his wife, Jenn, and their three children in northwest Atlanta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jenn Casey

 

 

 

John Cox

A self admitted political junkie, John has studied Objectivism and the Objectivist view of government for over a decade. Currently, he writes on two blogs, Sacred Ego, dealing with Objectivism and Politics, and John & Ansley, a blog on the family life of the Cox Household.

 

 

 

 

 

Jason Dixon

Jason began studying Objectivism about ten years ago and is still fascinated by its implications for both daily life and long-range intellectual considerations. His interests include English and French studies, the history of ideas, and the history of rhetoric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dan Edge

Dan is a salesman from Greenville, SC, where he currently resides. He earned a BA in Philosophy from the University of South Carolina in 2006. In his spare time, he engages in intellectual activism and writes amateur essays on romantic love psychology and other subjects. And archive of his essays can be found at his blog, The Edge of Reason.

 

 

 

David Elmore

David lives in Roswell, GA, and is currently the CEO of Petromist Environmental Solutions, a company that uses a patented solution to remediate petroleum waste, bio waste at sewage plants, odors indoors and fires. David also writes regularly for his blog at The Sidereal Messenger. He has been an Objectivist since 1991.

 

 

 

 

Kelly Elmore

Kelly is studying rhetoric and composition in grad school, homeschooling and parenting seven year old Livy, teaching gymnastics pedagogy to future PE teachers, organizing ATLOSCon, reading Jane Austen novels and Tennyson poetry, and diagramming pieces of Paradise Lost in her spare time.  She podcasts, blogs, and does parenting consults with her partner Jenn Casey for their business Cultivating the Virtues. She blogs at Reepicheep’s Coracle. She is teaching two positive discipline classes with Jenn at ATLOSCon, as well as the poetry appreciation class. If you have complaints about ATLOSCon, though she is really responsible, please keep them to yourself.

 

 

 

Diana Hsieh

Diana received her Ph.D in philosophy from University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. She is the creator of OList.com, Explore Atlas Shrugged, and Modern Paleo. Every Sunday morning, she answers questions on practical ethics in her live Rationally Selfish Webcast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Hsieh, MD

Paul is a co-founder of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM), which advocates for free market health care reforms.  His articles and editorials on health care policy have appeared in numerous publications including the Christian Science Monitor, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Denver Post, The Objective Standard, and PajamasMedia.  He practices medicine in the south Denver metro area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orin Jaworski

Orin is a passionate lover of music, learning, math and programming (among other things).  He attended 5 years of college, but is primarily self-educated.  He gets money by coding game systems, which he generally enjoys. Deeply involved with electronic music since childhood, his spare time finds him producing and studying as much as he can.  His ultimate aim is to use his skills to advance the art of music to new heights through computer-assisted composition.

 

 

 

John Keel

John is a graduate of Columbus State University where he earned a BBA in accounting. He became a CPA shortly after graduation and held financial positions of increasing responsibility with several publicly traded companies and finally became the CFO and part owner of Koster Finance in Las Vegas. John is single and retired and lives in Norcross, GA. John has been a passionately devoted Objectivist for 29 years.

 

 

 

 

 

Shea Levy

Shea is at the crossroads of careers in neural engineering and programming, with a full-time job in a neuroscience lab and many programming projects on the side. He has been studying and living Objectivism since reading Atlas Shrugged in 9th grade. He currently lives in Rochester, NY with his girlfriend and two kitties where he'll be for the next year, but expects to be located in Atlanta by next year's ATLOSCon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karl Meisenbach

Currently the Director of Advertising and Sponsorship Sales for HDNet and HDNet Movies, Karl knows the benefits and advantages of being an Objectivist in the business world. He has been studying Objectivism and applying it to the field of sales for the past 11 years. Karl has taken a full load of courses the past 5 years at OCON and is an avid consumer of Objectivist literature. As a result, Karl is a happier, more successful salesperson and is excited to present and discuss the life of a Selfish Salesman at ATLOSCon 2011.

 

 

 

Earl Parson

Earl is a practicing architect in Los Angeles, California. His work focuses on creating custom residential designs that uplift the spirit and bring out the best in their owners. His practice has expanded outside of California, to include successfully completed projects in Indiana and Tennessee. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Master of Architecture degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles. In addition to his architecture practice, he teaches drawing in the Architecture Department at Pasadena City College. You can see his work online at Earl Parson, and he blogs at Creatures of Prometheus.

 

 

 

Travis Pew

Travis is currently a web entrepreneur and developer. He has a degree in biology from the University of Chicago and worked for three years as a cancer researcher.

 

 

 

 

Colleen Smith

Colleen graduated from the University of Chicago in 2004. She is currently a 4th year medical student at Emory University School of Medicine. She has spent many years as a patient and the last three years on the other side studying to be a doctor. She enjoys camping, reading and studying languages, but she does not like long walks on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason Stotts

Jason is an aspiring philosopher, blogger at Erosophia, and author working on his first book: Eros and Ethos: The Ethics of Modern Sex. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Economics from Denison University and is an autodidact in the field of Sexuality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luc Travers

Luc is the author of Touching The Art: A Guide to Enjoying Art at a Museum. He leads tours at museums across the country and teaches art appreciation and literature at the VanDamme Academy in Aliso Viejo, CA.

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Vitale

Mike is a Vice President of Information Technology for HD Supply. He has over 25 years of leadership experience in technology and is an avid musician and songwriter, recording and producing music in his home studio. Mike holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Electrical Engineering, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science. He has a patent for technology in the telecommunications industry, has been a guest speaker at IEEE, SAP and Enterprise Architecture conferences, and has led volunteer programs for TechBridge, Habitat for Humanity, and Junior Achievement. Mike has two children and is currently residing in the Atlanta area.

 

 

 

Alexander "Sasha" Volokh

Sasha is an assistant professor of law at Emory Law School. He was born in Kiev and emigrated from the Soviet Union with his family in 1975. He graduated from UCLA with degrees in mathematics/economics and English/world literature and from Harvard with a J.D. (law) and a Ph.D. in economics. He clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit and for Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Samuel Alito. He has also worked at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in D.C. and at the Reason Public Policy Institute. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Reason, National Review, and several scholarly journals in law and in economics. Before coming to Emory, he taught at Georgetown University Law Center and University of Houston Law Center. He teaches Torts, Administrative Law, Law and Economics, Privatization, and other courses.

 

 

 

Hanah Volokh

Hanah is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Emory Law School, where she teaches Legislation, Statutory Interpretation, and Constitutional Law. She received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and her J.D. from Georgetown Law School. Before coming to Emory, she clerked for Judge Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston, TX. She now lives in Atlanta with her husband, two-year-old son, and two cats.