Home >> About Us >> Meet Our Team >> Linda Libert
Take a pipe cleaner, a children's book, a tea cup, a few Hershey's kisses, some scenes from "Singing in the Rain" and a kitchen timer, and what do you have? NEW HOPE’S PUBLIC SPEAKING TUTORIAL!!!
Public speaking may be the number one fear in America, but not for tutor Linda Libert and her oration apprentices. And no wonder. Linda comes well equipped to develop confident speaking skills in her eager students. Mrs. Libert is the first to admit that she was born talking . . . the perfect prerequisite for teaching New Hope's Public Speaking tutorial! Her diverse background includes a bachelor's degree in education from Massachusetts College of Art, several years of teaching in public and private schools, experience in electro-mechanical drafting and technical illustration. Linda also has a growing public speaking career that gives her first hand experience with a skill she believes is a must for Christian young people.
Joyfully married to Bob since 1980, Linda now has three grown daughters. With the birth of her first child in 1982, Linda chose to become a stay-at-home homeschooling mom. In 1989, she became a volunteer counselor for the Pregnancy Care Center of Haverhill. When the PCC offered her the salaried position of Community Outreach Educator, Linda developed numerous presentations designed to help youth and adults make healthy lifestyle choices. She has been speaking to audiences all over New England since 1994. As demand for her speaking gifts increased, Linda started her own business: Heart to Heart Talks LLC, focusing her talks on the encouragement of personal virtue, strong families, and savvy citizenship.
Linda’s philosophy as New Hope’s Public Speaking tutor is derived from her own “life verse” from 1 Peter 3:15 “…in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give everyone a reason for the hope that lies within you. But do this with gentleness and respect...” Similar verses from Col. 4.5-6 and 2 Tim 2.15 convince Linda that her students should be encouraged and equipped to develop skills related to speech-making, civil discourse and logical argument: “As Christians, our students need to be prepared, gracious, winsome and accurate in the presentation of God's Truth. It is therefore important that students know what they believe, and be able to present their beliefs with conviction and poise, while trusting the Holy Spirit to change the hearers' hearts.” Linda works toward these goals using humorous and timely skill-building exercises that both engage and stimulate her students.
Linda’s interests outside of New Hope include choral singing, guitar, art and photography. She is a lifelong bicycling enthusiast, and recently became an avid (though not highly skilled) soccer player. Linda and her family have been active members of the historic Byfield Parish Church in Georgetown for over two decades. |
