Bringing Great Hope to Great Hearts

Elizabeth “Liz” Huntley will be speaking at the Great Hearts Institute’s National Symposium for Classical Education during the plenary luncheon titled, “The Essential Impulse of Hope.”

Huntley is the co-founder of The Hope Institute whose mission is to partner with school leaders to create strategies that help them develop a culture to promote character development. In addition to that work, Huntley is an accomplished litigation attorney, dedicated child advocate, author, and lecturer. She currently practices law at Lightfoot, Franklin & White, LLC in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dr. Robert L. Jackson, Executive Director of the Great Hearts Institute, is thrilled that Huntley has joined the robust program offered at the symposium this year. “Liz Huntley is a force of nature, a woman of remarkable resilience,” said Jackson. “Her life began in some of the most difficult circumstances but was reoriented by hope, as she came under the influence of adults whose virtues and compassion spoke to her deepest longings. While many speak of ‘character education,’ Liz lives it–and has given that gift of hope to hundreds of others. She knows, firsthand, the life-changing effects of genuine character–of the power of human goodness found in the most unexpected places. Liz will be sharing the details of her story and how her story is now inspiring hundreds of other schools to pursue that same goodness of character that changed her life.”

Huntley speaks to groups of students and educators nationwide, most often about her remarkable life story. On her website, Huntley wrote, “In my memoir ‘More Than A Bird’ I recount my childhood. I was born in the violent Butler Terrace housing project in Huntsville, Alabama, but raised in my grandmother’s home in Clanton, Alabama, following my mother’s suicide. My book begins with the death of my mother and the incarceration of my father. From there, it details my emotional journey living in poverty and being sexually abused by my uncle, and profiles the men and women who I believe God placed in my life to mentor me and help me meet my full potential. More Than A Bird follows me through my high school graduation and ultimately my enrollment in college.”

Her story has inspired thousands of students across the nation as she continues to devote her time and energy toward bringing hope through education. You will not want to miss your opportunity to hear from Huntley and many other inspirational speakers during the symposium at the Phoenix Convention Center on February 22-24, 2023.

The National Symposium for Classical Education serves as the annual flagship event for the Great Hearts Institute. This one-of-a-kind event offers the biggest and brightest of classical education you’ll find with over 70 speakers and over 80 lectures, workshops, and seminars. It is designed to enrich our understanding of the classical, liberal arts in both the theoretical and practical dimensions of curriculum and pedagogy. Beginning with curated presentations from select scholars and practitioners, we provide school leaders and master teachers with some of the best thought on the subjects under consideration.

The theme this year is The Tradition Today and the focus will be on tradition as a way of knowing. Tradition, or the handing down of knowledge, is something that classical education does exceptionally well. The goal this year is to communicate to every participant the fundamental value of tradition as it informs the classical liberal arts model of education. With thoughtful attention to notions of Western civilization, culture, classical, and tradition, we will deepen our understanding of “the Great Tradition.”

Registration is now open. For more information, visit www.classicaleducationsymposium.org. Space is limited and seats are going fast, so don’t delay any further and register here today!

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contactjmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.