Speakers

2019 Tennessee Tiny LIVING Festival Speakers

Update (May 26, 2019): Introducing the complete roster of the incredibly talented and exciting Speakers, Panels, and Workshops scheduled for this year’s Tiny LIVING Festival Tennessee.

2019 Tennessee Saturday Keynote:

David Latimer

(Saturday, 2:15PM)

Born and raised in Nashville, TN, David has always been fascinated by the form and function of structures, good design, and the asking of , “Why?”  Working construction during summers in high school, he gained the fundamental knowledge of what has become a lifelong passion for building, carpentry, and the art & science of crafting a home… along with the Do-It-Yourself ethos.  Mindfulness, self-reliance, self-awareness, debt-free living, sustainability, intentional living, community, contribution and the empowerment to design one’s life so that the most important components are brought to the fore of daily living began to consume his mind and fuel his passion. David discovered the relatively nascent tiny home movement while seeking a means to align his values with a purpose that adds value to the lives of those around him, especially the under-served and marginalized. Thus, began the recognition of his own perpetual feelings of inadequacy with our consumer culture of envy, the wasteful ingratitude of first world striving, the addictive thinking of impulse buying and must have updates on all manner of electronics and products.  Ultimately, he noticed that the things he can change, lie mostly within himself.  He realized in a way he hadn’t previously, that everyone has the power to change his/her own habits, his own patterns, his own mind, perspectives, and attitude. The philosophy behind the tiny house movement (desperately needed Affordable Housing, making great quality design and craftsmanship attainable to many people, intentional living, community, etc.) drew David in and inspired him to devote his working hours to furthering its cause.  David has chosen to translate that philosophy and his own into his company, New Frontier Tiny Homes.

2019 Tennessee Sunday Keynote:

Jeremy Weaver

(Sunday, 2:30PM)

Jeremy Weaver is currently the Founder and Owner of Atypical Design + Build, a Chattanooga based company focused on thoughtfully designed permanent foundation homes that occupy a smaller footprint. Before that he co-founded and was Executive Director of Wind River Tiny Homes for 4 years, working with an insanely talented team that has pioneered some of the best designed movable tiny homes available. For Jeremy though, the trip down the tiny house rabbit hole started with an intense personal desire to build and live in his own tiny house. After years of scouring the depths of the internet for tiny house knowledge, in 2014 he and his wife got the opportunity to build their very own tiny house on Tiny House Nation called the Nomad’s Nest that they lived in for almost 4 years. Tiny-living, building, designing, researching, writing, speaking, consulting. Jeremy’s been to the tiny house deep end and back, but believes wholeheartedly that the dialogue and learning never stops! The question that’s at the front of his mind these days is, “What’s the perfect amount of living space for maximum happiness?”

2019 Tennessee Sunday Emcee & Speaker:

Andrea J Burns

(Saturday, 11:30AM)

Andrea is a DIY expert and the builder/owner of the Tomato Box Tiny House.  She’s a tree-hugging foodie enthusiast who is passionate about using every tool we have at our disposal to improve what we do and how we do it.  Her mission is to share with others o how they too can tackle significant issues with a fresh point of view, applying data-driven solutions at a level of being able to control the power of change.

2019 Tennessee Saturday Emcee:

Roman Weaver

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2019 Tennessee Speaker:

Yvette Stokes

(Sunday, 1:00PM)

After an extremely successful career in IT and owning her own technologies company, Yvette sold her business and “retired” so to pursue a more happiness-based, and less-hectic life.  She also accomplished her dream of becoming an author, and currently has published 4 books in her Bloodline series and also has published her e-book, My Aliner: A Tiny Travel Trailer.  In addition to being a successful published author, Yvette is also an off-grid expert, a first-hand experienced emergency evacuation expert, a full-time A-Liner, and Yvette has presented at many of the tiny house festivals across the Country.  Be sure to come out to the Tiny LIVING Festival Tennessee, where Yvette will be doing a BIG unveiling of her tiny A-Liner’s new and never-before-seen make-over.

2019 Tennessee Speaker:

Brenda Mason

(Sunday, 3:15PM)

Brenda is an author, speaker, blogger, tiny home dweller, downsizing specialist, and a de-cluttering  expert; having done it herself in 31 days before moving across country 4 years ago.  She then settled into her tiny home and has been a proponent of “Tiny Home Living” ever since.  Often referred to as The Tiny House Sweetheart, Brenda helps others to tackle the jobs of de-cluttering, downsizing and tiny house living.   She has been there, done that and is still doing it! She uses her real-life experiences to lead by example and help others move forward to create their own home oasis.  Her Downsizing31 course has received high praise from participants, and her book, “The 31-Day Guide to Creating Your Clutter Free Home Oasis”, is being released just in time for the Tiny LIVING Festival Tennessee.  You can learn more about Brenda, her downsizing course and her book at SmallerLivingHugeLife.

2019 Tennessee Speakers:

Rachel & Daniel Messick

(Saturday, 1:00PM)

Meet Daniel & Rachel Messick! They began their tiny journey because Daniel was already going out of town to do volunteer work, but the more he did it, the more he wanted to do it. They love traveling to help people and to invest in their marriage.  At first, by Dan’s and Rachel’s own admission, they struggled to find the right online jobs to allow the flexibility to be able to travel and to be of service to others.  They both once had ‘corporate’ careers with fuel cards and vehicle allowance, but it was lacking a deeper meaning for them. They could squeeze in helping and investing in other people, but not to the extent they wanted. So, they left their ‘corporate’ careers to take ‘entry’ jobs because to them people are more  important than titles. It was a hard adjustment, but Dan & Rachel share is was so worth it!  Now they are able to travel and help amazing people and see some breathtaking sights along the way. They currently live full-time in their 77sqft van conversion, known as Banana Van Adventures.  Some days Dan & Rachel reflect to each other they would love a little more space, but they also are quick to realize they would also loose the freedom to park nearly anywhere if they did have a larger home. Dan & Rachel (aka – The Messicks), getting some unique challenges living as a couple in a “micro home” (under 100sqft).

2019 Tennessee Speaker:

Pat Dunham

(Saturday, 10:00AM)

Pat, her husband and six children lived aboard a 55-ft motor yacht years before the tiny-house movement even had a name.  It was then when she fell in love with the idea of small space living; but as the family grew and the daily pace quickened, Pat followed a different path to a bigger house and more and more stuff to fill it. She obtained rental properties, which were primarily furnished and maintained by her finely honed yard sale skills and her eye for a good bargain, until she had an overwhelming stockpile of STUFF! When she and her husband made the decision to move into their own tiny house in 2015, the seemingly insurmountable job of downsizing became a personal challenge for Pat, but, as with every other obstacle in her life, Pat found a way to conquer the clutter.  Pat is a tiny spaces coach and speaker, outlines ways you can live comfortably in your own small space.  Her ideas work for space-challenged living environments from tiny homes to efficiency apartments to RV’s and boats.  She offers tiny house advice and speaks on the many benefits of living small while offering practical advice for downsizing and useful tips for creating storage solutions for any living arrangement.  If you are looking for help and guidance from an experienced professional, ask for your free half-hour discovery and see how the Tiny House Advisor can help you.

2019 Tennessee Speaker:

Leanne Stephens

(Sunday, 12:15PM)

Leanne is the author of the blog, Tiny Houses and Beyond, as well as the author of the tiny house cookbook, “Cooking in Small Spaces”.  She is a co-founder of Laura’s Little Houses, web designer for Yurtgrrl.com, a presenter at numerous tiny house festivals across our Nation, and is the Membership Coordinator of the American Tiny House Association.  Leanne, along with her husband Craig, have lived in everything from a tiny converted pool house to a hotel room with a 2-burner stove and what Leanne calls “the World’s smallest closet”.  They are currently excited about the next chapter in their tiny living journey, which will be a school bus conversion.

2019 Tennessee Speaker

Barbara Reilly

(Sunday, 10:00AM)

Empowering Trust in the Tiny House Industry! Barbara is the founder of Bildsworth International, and the creator of tiny home inspection systems, processes & indexing services. She continues to lead by developing essential relationships with insurers, lenders, municipalities, developers & tiny home builders to establish precedent for construction compliance for absolute confidence in the tiny house industry.

2019 Tennessee Speakers

John & Shiang-Ling Bissonnette

(Saturday, 4:00PM)

The Bissonnettes are a full-time, skoolie conversion (The Bhive Family), family of six (not including their dog, cat, hamster, and fish), living a nomadic life!  Everyday is an adventure to the next as they homeschool, explore, learn, and teach themselves daily!  You can follow The Bhive Family on Instagram HERE!

Cooking in Small Spaces Presentation

Sponsored By(Sunday, 12:15PM)

After the HUGELY POSITIVE response to her presentations at the 2018 Florida and 2019 Georgia Tiny House Festivals, Leanne Stephens, Author of Cooking in Small Spaces, along with her husband, Craig, returns again with hrt live Cooking in Small Spaces Presentation.  Please join Leanne & Craig at The Tiny Firehouse Kitchen for a fun, interactive, practical and YUMMY discussion and presentation of cooking in small spaces.

Tennessee Home Owners Panel

(Saturday, 11:30AM)

Listen and learn for those who actually walk the tiny walk and not just talk.  The owners of skoolies, van conversions, tiny houses, and other modalities of micro homes shares their experiences, expertise, adventures, trials, tribulations, and accomplishments in a humorous, personal, and inspirational sharing of themselves followed by a Q&A session. (Photo taken at the Louisiana Tiny House Festival in December 2018.)

Live Your Tiny Dream… LEGALLY!

(Saturday, 12:15PM)

John Kernohan will be sharing on zoning, the legalities of living tiny, and how you too can live, and afford, your tiny dream… whatever yours may be!  Come listen from someone who actually does live his tiny dream, along with his wife Fin, on their own land… and who have done so LEGALLY for the past 7+ years.  Learn how you too can become an advocate for legal tiny living, not just for yourself, but for the tiny house community on a whole.  “Your tiny dream is in your hand!”

Tennessee Off-Grid Workshop

(Sunday, 2:45PM)

John Kernohan, Beloved Cabin and the Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9, shares the 7 years of trials, tribulations, successes, failures, and the lessons learned, of his and his wife Fin’s off-grid lifestyle with Solar Energy, Rain Water Collection, Compositing Toilets, DIY Septic Systems, Gardening, and more, in the humorous, personal and entertaining way for which John is known.

2019 Tennessee Tiny LIVING Festival Organizers & Speakers:

John & Fin Kernohan

Founders of the United Tiny House Association; Organizers of the 13 for-charity Tiny House Festivals; Owners of Tiny House Rescuers; Owners of the Tiny Firehouse – Station No. 9; Featured on HGTV’s “Tiny House Big Living”, the DIY Network, TODAY, The Rachael Ray Show, AOL’s “Dream Big-Live Small“; Living 7+ Years Full-Time in their Off-Grid 304sqft Beloved Cabin; DIY Experts; FREE Off-Grid Consultants; Philanthropists; Full-Time Tiny Lifestyle Advocates; Public Speakers; and the release for their book, “Our Tiny House Love Affair”, is scheduled for 2019.