Lectures For Lifelong Learners!

A lifelong film lover, Dan Hudak has worked extensively as a film critic in print, radio and television. He has provided film reviews and commentary for WPLG-TV (ABC) Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, ABCNews.com, the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, CNN.com, indieWIRE.com, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Newsday, Orlando Sentinel, San Francisco Examiner and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

He is the owner of Hudak On Hollywood, Inc., an agency that provides lectures throughout the United States. He is the former chairman of the Florida Film Critics Circle and a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association. He studied Film History and Criticism at Bard College and the University of Miami, where he received his M.A. in Film Studies. To give Dan a piece of your mind, e-mail him at dan@primetimepresenters.com.

Dr. Bob Gibney is a faculty member of the English Department at Phoenix College, 1 of 10 colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District. His areas of teaching expertise include writing and rhetoric studies, literature of the Southwest, Chicano literature, Nature Writing, literature of the Harlem Renaissance, Medieval literature, Greek mythology, and Native American literature. His teaching career spans 25 years and began when he was a graduate student at Northern Arizona University, where he earned his Master’s Degree (2002), and it continued at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned his Ph.D (2007). In his 13 years at Phoenix College, he has served as a leader of various student support efforts, and Dr. Gibney frequently develops and leads professional development opportunities for fellow colleagues. He has also worked as a volunteer desert educator, teaching children about their home in the Sonoran Desert.

TJ George is an award-winning singer/songwriter and recording artist. He has penned four solo CDs:  Melodic Groove (2010), Abilene (2012), Fragmented Soul: Volume 1 (2015) and Fragmented Soul: Volume 2 (2020).

He recently released Heroes and Legends (2022) which is an album boasting performances by Michael McDonald, Bill Champlin (formerly of Chicago) Bill Medley (The Righteous Brothers) all singing TJ’s songs. The proceeds of the album go to the nonprofit he founded, called Demand Impact, which raises money and awareness for drug addiction recovery programs.

He has written with hit makers such as David Lasley, platinum artists such as Bill Champlin and with Hall of Fame songwriters such as Randy Goodrum.

TJ was invited to perform for the national songwriter television show, Songs at the Center on PBS. He also has delivered a powerful Tedx talk, “Driven by Passion and Vulnerability,” which universally touched audiences with music and storytelling.

“My music is a fusion of Pop, R&B, Folk and Blue-Eyed Soul, which creates a unique genre that I like to call Melodic Groove,” TJ says.

Sean Buvala has spent 40 years as a professional storyteller and teacher, working with audiences ranging from corporate boardrooms to elementary school classrooms to senior living communities. He began his career in 1986 and has since become a recognized figure in the storytelling field, receiving the Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network for leadership in the art form.

Sean has worked extensively with senior audiences, including a long-running relationship with cities in Arizona, and with engagements for national senior-serving organizations. His programs blend traditional tales, personal narrative, and hands-on practice, drawing on decades spent teaching people of every age how to find and tell their own stories.

He is the author of several books on storytelling, family literacy, and public speaking. He runs a coaching practice and publishing house alongside his speaking work. Audiences leave his programs with something to fun and interesting to do, not just something to think about.

Elena Joy Thurston is a leadership consultant and keynote speaker who trains managers across the country on leading well across differences of generation, identity, and how our brains are wired. Her clients include Logitech, Peloton, and Penn State, and her work has been featured in Forbes, ABC, and HuffPost. She’s also a TEDx speaker and appears in the documentary CONVERSION, streaming on Apple TV and Amazon.

But her real credential for these conversations is her dinner table. Elena is the mom of four: three Gen Z kids and one Gen Alpha, several of them neurodivergent. She was raised in a conservative faith, came out later in life, and walked her own family through learning to meet each other where they were.

Elena Joy believes the people we love become easier to understand when we get curious instead of anxious. Whether the topic is a generation, a grandchild’s identity, or the way a brain works, she creates a room where no question is too awkward and everyone leaves a little closer.