This is a past event. Registration is closed. View other American Association for Employment in Education events.
Dr. Herb "Doc" Monroe
Assistant Superintendent at Caroline County Public Schools- General Session/Keynote: Strategies Designed to Better Recruit and Retain Educators of Color
- General Session/Keynote: Strategies Designed to Better Recruit and Retain Educators of Color
Dr. Herbert T. Monroe III is completing his thirtieth year in public education and his second full year as Assistant Superintendent for Caroline County Public Schools. Under his collaborative leadership, CCPS has increased the percentage of accredited schools from 40% to 100%. Dr. Monroe’s motto of “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work” ignited and engaged CCPS stakeholders in developing Caroline County’s five-year strategic plan, Pathways 2022, and Caroline County’s K-12 Profile of a Graduate that ensures all students PreK-12 are 3E Ready: Enrolled, Enlisted, or Employed. Dr. Monroe currently serves on the VA Department of Education Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Education Practices Advisory Committee under Governor Northam and is the recipient of the 2021 VASCD Impact Leader of the Year Award. Dr. Monroe has been featured in numerous publications, most recently the May 25th issue of the Richmond, VA Family Magazine.
Dr. Sean Impeartrice
Chief Academic Officer at Clarksville-Montgomery County School System- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
Dr. Sean Impeartrice is the Chief Academic Officer for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. He came to the district 14 years ago to become the Director of Middle Schools. Dr. Impeartrice has worked as a special education and middle school history teacher, assistant principal, and principal prior to coming to Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools. He has thirty-two years of experience in education and has worked in San Jose, California, Franklin, Tennessee, and Clarksville, Tennessee. Dr. Impeartrice received his Bachelor’s Degree from Fresno State University and his Master’s and Doctorate from Trevecca Nazarene University.
Dr. Prentice Chandler
Dean and Professor of the Eriksson College of Education at Austin Peay State University- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
From 2013 – 2017, Dr. Prentice Chandler was the Associate Director of Teacher Education and Leadership and an Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at the University of Cincinnati (OH).
Prior to his time at Cincinnati, he was the Department Chair of Secondary Education and an Associate/Assistant Professor of History and Social Science Education at Athens State University (AL).
Before joining the professoriate, Dr. Chandler taught middle and high school social studies in Limestone County, AL. He also taught in the geography department at the University of North Alabama as an adjunct from 2002 – 2005.
Dr. Chandler's scholarship and writing interests are in the areas of history and social studies education, critical race theory, academic freedom, authentic intellectual work, and higher education leadership. Dr. Chandler has authored or coauthored approximately 50 works, including two books on teaching about race and racism within the social studies curriculum. His most recent book, “Rethinking School-University Partnerships: A New Way Forward” (Chandler & Barron, 2021) examines innovative partnership work taking place across the nation.
In 2007, Dr. Chandler was awarded the Defense of Academic Freedom Award from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) for his efforts teaching history in Alabama public schools. In 2018, he was awarded the Notable Leader in Teacher Education Award from the Alabama Association of Teacher Educators. He is a first-generation high school graduate of Clements High School in north Alabama.
Dr. Lisa Barron
Associate Dean and Director of Teacher Education and Partnerships at Austin Peay State University- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
Dr. Lisa Barron is professor, Associate Dean, and the Director of Teacher Education and Partnerships in the Eriksson College of Education at Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tennessee). She earned national board certification and spent 16 years in an elementary school as a teacher, assistant principal, and curriculum coach.
At Austin Peay, Dr. Barron leads the work to develop partnerships with local school districts, oversees practicum and student teaching, guides students in edTPA, and teaches graduate leadership courses. She serves on the edTPA National Academy of Consultants, and travels widely helping other universities implement edTPA. Among her publications is an edited book, “A Practical Guide for edTPA Implementation: Lessons from the Field”, which highlights effective practices and strategies for edTPA implementation from programs across the country. Her latest published book is “Rethinking School-University Partnerships”, which was co-edited with Dr. Prentice Chandler.
Dr. Vanessa Garcia
Director of the Instructional Practice Program at Lipscomb University- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
Vanessa Garcia is the Executive Officer of Elementary Schools for Metro Nashville Public Schools. She is an experienced educator who has held various leadership positions in her 20-year career. That career has seen her serve as a middle and high school teacher, a principal, district administrator, and adjunct professor. She recently served as the Interim Chief Academic Officer for Metro Nashville Public Schools while the district conducted a nationwide search for a Director of Schools. She is committed to ensuring students are given a variety of opportunities to become productive, global citizens.
Garcia has a true passion for teaching and learning. She has spent the last eight years serving as an adjunct at Lipscomb University teaching topics on strategic planning, valuing diversity, and vision and change. Garcia holds an undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University and Masters and Doctorate degrees from Trevecca Nazarene University. She and her husband, Joe have two school-aged children and a chocolate lab named Lucy.
Dr. Sandy Husk
CEO of AVID- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
- General Session/Keynote: Teacher Apprenticeships: The Future is Now
Dr. Sandy Husk is Chief Executive Officer of AVID Center, a national education non-profit focused on closing the opportunity gap and preparing all students for college and careers. Through partnerships more than 7500 schools, AVID is currently serving more than 2.8 million students, growing more than 3.5 times under her leadership. Leveraging her 17 years of experience as a superintendent, Sandy is leading AVID’s strategic focus on accelerating the scalability of AVID as a schoolwide and districtwide system while continuing to offer best-in-class professional learning and resources. She has served on numerous advisories and boards such as ASCD, Abl, and NSPRA.
Edwine Michel
Director of Recruitment and Retention at School District of Palm Beach County- General Session/Keynote: Building Equity-Driven Recruitment & Retention Systems
- General Session/Keynote: Building Equity-Driven Recruitment & Retention Systems
Edwine Michel is the Director of Recruitment and Retention, as well as the Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, for the School District of Palm Beach County. He is a passionate leader with experience leading strategic change, developing organizational talent and driving innovation & operational excellence. His career with the School District began in 2018 as a Broad Resident and special projects lead, supporting the chief of human resources on strategic and operational initiatives.
Prior to joining the school district, Mr. Michel was director of global services at The Regis Company in Denver, where he led the company’s operational vision to deploy, support and maintain a simulation-based leadership and professional development program. Before Regis, he served in various leadership roles including as a senior manager in global business development at Sanofi S.A., a management consultant for Fidelity Investments, a leadership associate at United Technologies, and project manager for Textron.
Mr. Michel completed his Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the Broad Center. Additionally, he holds a Master of Business Administration from Boston University and a Master of Science in Optical Engineering from the University of Rochester. Mr. Michel enjoys spending time with his family, as well as traveling and learning new languages.
Dr. Andrea Thomas-Reynolds
Senior Vice-President at Insight Education Group- General Session/Keynote: Building Equity-Driven Recruitment & Retention Systems
- General Session/Keynote: Building Equity-Driven Recruitment & Retention Systems
- XL Concurrent Session: Bridging Recruiting and Retention: How Onboarding Teams Bring a Sense of Belonging to New Hires
Andrea Thomas-Reynolds is senior vice president for Insight Education Group, a diverse team of experienced practitioners who have served at all levels as state, district, school and classroom leaders. With over 250,000 educators impacted, Insight Education Group brings large-scale change by reflecting and applying lessons learned alongside our partners to shape educational systems that are truly equitable for all learners.
Andrea serves as the project director of two Teacher School Leader grants awarded from the United States Department of Education (USDOE) Educator Effectiveness Division. She is also a certified executive coach who specializes in support to district school leaders and executives of non-profit and start-up organizations.
As a former chief executive officer of two charter management organizations and leader of several non-profit and national educational organizations, Andrea developed a consultative approach to working with school leaders and staff that contributed to growth in student achievement and staff effectiveness. Today, several of these staff members are now in various leadership roles as principals, district leaders, charter school executives, and superintendents.
Andrea earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Louisiana State University, a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola University of New Orleans, and a master’s degree in community economic development from Southern New Hampshire University. She earned her Ed.D. in the Mid-Career Doctorate Program at the University of Pennsylvania in educational leadership and organizational management.
Dr. Judi Vanderhaar
Educational Consultant at Kentucky Department of Education- General Session: The Self-Care Imperative for Educators
- General Session: The Self-Care Imperative for Educators
Dr. Judi Vanderhaar works as a consultant at the Kentucky Department of Education in the Division of Student Success. She has served over 25 years in education, spending the majority in Jefferson County Public Schools as a substitute teacher, therapeutic aide, research and evaluation specialist and trainer. Judi holds a Master’s of Science in Sociology and a PhD in Educational Leadership with a focus on urban policy. She conducts trainings on trauma sensitive mindfulness, mental health first aid, educator well-being, social-emotional learning, and dropout prevention. She has published works on topics including school discipline disproportionality and trauma, and serves as a youth advocate and mentor in various capacities. On a more personal note, Judi she has spent over a decade focused on her inner journey towards deep healing and wholeness and remains committed to working for positive change in education, from the inside - out.
Wendy Adams
Director of Teach@Mines at Colorado School of MinesAdams is the Director of Teach@Mines at the Colorado School of Mines, an APS Fellow, and co-recipient of the 2018 American Physical Society Excellence in Physics Education Award. Adams is also the PI of the Get the Facts Out project, a large partnership between four national societies with the goal of changing the conversation around the teaching profession. A Physics Education Researcher by training, she earned her PhD. from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2007 under the guidance of Dr. Carl Wieman. Adams’ research focuses on formative assessment, curriculum design, and perceptions of the teaching profession. She is the author of the CLASS, which measures students’ perceptions of physics and how to learn physics; has done extensive work on problem solving evaluation; developed the interface design guidelines for the PhET Interactive Simulations; designed and developed several curricula including the Explore Sound project - K-14 materials for acoustics; and has most recently developed the suite of Get the Facts Out resources including the PTaP and PTaP.HE instruments (Perceptions of Teaching as a Profession) for students and for faculty in Higher Education, respectively.
Shannon Armstrong
HR Operations Manager at School District of Palm Beach CountyShannon Armstrong is currently the Lead HR Manager for Operations, Certification and Compliance for the School District of Palm Beach County. SDPBC is the 5th largest school district in Florida and 10th largest in the nation. Serving over 197,000 students and employing over 22,600 employees, including more than 12,900 teachers.
Shannon is a black belt in Lean Six Sigma and is passionate about process improvement and equity and excellence in education. Shannon began her career in public education in risk management. This has given her a unique perspective at looking at the big picture. While in HR, Shannon has led the process improvement to hire high quality teachers at a faster pace to meet the needs of the modern educational system. She has embarked in a focus on branding, and using an innovative approach to connect in the virtual environment with the community to focus on hiring needs and marketing “why living and working in palm beach is so amazing”. Embracing social media as well as coaching on cross departmental projects, the goal is to make the onboarding process for a new hire a better experience. Shannon has also been key in improving the pathway for certification and compliance to help us in the goal to attract, match and retain our teachers. Shannon completed her Juris Master in HR Compliance and Legal Risk Management from Florida State College of Law. She tweets at @ShannonPBCSD.
Erin Ashcraft
Assistant Director, Division of Educator Recruitment and Development at Kentucky Department of EducationErin Ashcraft is the Assistant Director of the Division of Educator Recruitment and Development at the Kentucky Department of Education. A former elementary school teacher, she is currently a Ph.D. student studying Education & Social Change. Her work at KDE involves developing KDE's Grow-Your-Own teacher recruitment pipelines and partnerships, supporting Educators Rising Collegiate, designing and disseminating the Impact Kentucky working conditions survey, advancing the GoTeachKY initiative, and promoting Kentucky Academy for Equity in Teaching (KAET) and workforce diversification.
KB
Kelly Beauchamp
HR Partner at School District of Palm Beach CountyKelly is currently an HR Partner to 50 K-12 schools in The School District of Palm Beach County in Florida. As the HR Partner, she supports school principals in managing their human capital. Kelly began her education career as an elementary teacher where she taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grade for 13 years. While teaching, Kelly was part of the Professional Development Team at her school for many years. Through this experience she took a position in the Professional Development Department for the School District. After 3 years, she moved to the Recruitment and Retention Department where she has worked for close to 10 years. Kelly is also part of the Teacher Ambassador Leadership Team. The Teacher Ambassador Program is now active in 17 schools district-wide. The Teacher Ambassador Program is a SDPBC retention initiative focused on increasing teacher effectiveness and student achievement by enhancing systems of teacher support and elevating a positive school culture. The program enlists a teacher leader to embark on facilitating on-baordong and specific retention strategies alongside the school’s leadership team.
Baltazar Benavides
Senior Design Principal at Education ElementsBaltazar is a Senior Design Principal with Education Elements, a national education consultancy. He has experience leading school districts through organizational change focused on teacher recruitment and retention, strategic planning, responsive leadership, and instructional change. Before joining Education Elements, he served in school systems in the DMV area as a teacher, grade level chair, and instructional coach. Baltazar holds a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, an M.S. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education and an M. Ed. from Teachers College Columbia University.
Ritchie Cherry
Recruitment & Retention Coach at Kansas City Public School DistrictRitchie Cherry Sr. is the new Recruitment & Retention Coach for the Kansas City Public school district. He started in KCPS 5 years ago as a Behavioral Interventionist, para professional and after 1 year begun his path as a school Counselor at Wheatley Elementary. He is very passionate about mental health and boxing, which is why he started a program called BOXOUT Stress. This program was designed initially to help students in his A.M group channel their stress through talking and boxing. Teachers saw the importance of this program which lead to after school PD’s to help them manage the daily stress of the work they do.
Kate Chizek
Partnerships Manager at UpbeatKate Chizek is the School Partnerships Manager at Upbeat Education. Prior to joining Upbeat's team, Kate worked as an elementary special education teacher in Tulsa and Chicago and as a recruiter for a substitute teaching organization. Kate is a Teach for America alumna and obtained her Masters in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago.
Lauren Dachille
Founder & CEO of NimbleLauren Dachille is the Founder and CEO of Nimble, which builds data-driven recruitment and hiring tools for innovative school districts and states, and has been recognized by the US Department of Education as one of the nation's leading edtech innovators. Ms. Dachille is a former member of the Human Capital team at DC Public Schools, which developed the District's groundbreaking teacher hiring strategy. Prior to founding Nimble, she worked on state-level teacher talent policy across 18 states through the nonprofit advocacy organization StudentsFirst and earned her MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. She is a contributor to the 74 on topics related to K-12 talent recruitment and hiring and her work with Nimble has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Education Week and EdSurge. She currently resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband Frank and dog Huckleberry.
Evan Erdberg
President at ESS/Proximity Learning Inc.Evan has over 15 years of online K-12 and higher education leadership and sales and human capital management experience. He is also the founder and former president of Proximity Learning Inc., a company that has become an industry leading K-12 virtual teacher staffing solution. The company acts as the human resources backup plan for over 100 school districts nationwide, placing thousands of teachers in vacant classrooms. Prior to Proximity Learning, Evan held a Director level position at Teachscape, managing one of the largest implementations in the country of principal certification and teacher evaluation systems that incorporated student data.
Katrina Gaither
HR Retention Specialist at School District of Palm Beach CountyKatrina is the Retention Specialist for the School District of Palm Beach County as part of the Recruitment and Retention Department within the Human Resources division. Katrina began her career in another large urban Florida school district as a middle school social studies teacher where she taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students for more than 15 years. Upon leaving the classroom, Katrina worked as a school-based instructional coach for five years supporting more than 100 middle school teachers each year in all subject areas. This school-based experience led to opportunities for Katrina to support teachers at multiple schools as a District “Marzano” Coach during the day and to support alternative certification teachers taking night classes. Four years ago, Katrina had the opportunity to join the SDPBC team as a Human Resource Specialist in the Department of Professional Development where she had the privilege of leading the work of the District’s Educator Support Program (ESP) for new and emerging teachers and supporting sixty K-12 schools in the District as well as Teacher Ambassador Program. Now as a member of the Recruitment and Retention team, Katrina continues to work the Teacher Ambassador Program and to launch other retention initiatives.
Elaine Gallagher
HR Partner at The School District of Palm Beach CountyElaine is currently an HR Partner to 47 K-12 schools in The School District of Palm beach County, FL. SDPBC is the 5th largest school district in Florida and 10th largest in the nation. Serving over 197,000 students and employing over 22,600 employees, including more than 12,900 teachers.
Elaine began her career in public education as a Special Education teacher working with students with behavioral disabilities. She then took on the leadership role of ESE Coordinator for over 12 years. Her passion for teacher recruitment and retention brought her to HR 10 years ago where she now supports school principals in managing their human capital.
While in HR, Elaine was part of the development team and also leads the Teacher Ambassador Program, which is now active in 17 schools district-wide. The Teacher Ambassador Program is a SDPBC Retention initiative focused on increasing teacher effectiveness and student achievement by enhancing systems of teacher support and elevating a positive school culture. The program enlists a teacher leader to embark on facilitating on-boarding and specific retention strategies alongside the school’s leadership team.
Chris Gearlds
Director of Human Resources at MSD Decatur Township- Concurrent Session: Creating Recruitment Videos That Attract the Teachers You Need
- XL Concurrent Session: Bridging Recruiting and Retention: How Onboarding Teams Bring a Sense of Belonging to New Hires
Chris is the director of human resources for MSD of Decatur Township in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In his 17 plus years in education, he has served as a middle school teacher, an assistant principal, and a principal for three schools. He is an outside-the-box leader that encourages his staff members to bring their energy daily as they make a positive impact on the leaders of tomorrow.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, a master’s degree in education administration from Butler University, and an Education Specialist degree from Indiana State University.
Elly Gilbert
Communications Consultant at Kentucky Department of EducationAfter twenty years of classroom teaching, Elly Gilbert came to the Kentucky Department of Education in 2019 as the Division of Educator Recruitment and Development’s communications consultant. She works to promote the GoTeachKY initiative to recruit Kentucky’s next generation of educators. Elly also develops materials for teacher retention efforts. She loves spotlighting Kentucky’s educators and elevating the teaching profession through social media.
Derek Jack
Associate Director of Career Services at Brigham Young UniversityDerek Jack is the Associate Director of Career Services at Brigham Young University. After graduating from Utah State University with his master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, he found his passion for Career Counseling where he has worked for the past 21 years. As a member of AAEE for more than 16 years, Derek has spent seven years on the AAEE Board of Directors, served as AAEE President in 2017, and continues to serve AAEE as a state representative for Utah. In 2018, Derek was presented the AAEE “Pricilla A. Scotlan Award for Distinguished Service”. He finds renewal in gardening, hiking, music, and spending time with his wife and six children.
Daniel Johnson
Associate Partner at Education ElementsDaniel is an Associate Partner with Education Elements, a national education consultancy. He has more than seven years of experience consulting with school districts and state organizations with a focus on blended and personalized learning, teacher recruitment and retention, and long-term strategic planning. Before Education Elements, he served in school systems in Mississippi and New York City. Daniel holds a B.A. from the University of Kansas, and an M. Ed. from the Relay Graduate School of Education.
Sulina Mohanty
Specialist at Insight Education Group- Concurrent Session: Creating Recruitment Videos That Attract the Teachers You Need
- Concurrent Session: Coffee Chats: How This Virtual Recruiting Strategy Attracts Gen Z and Young Millennial Teacher Candidates
Sulina Mohanty is a specialist with Insight Education Group. In this role, she partners with clients to provide targeted support on leadership development, school improvement, social emotional learning, and professional learning communities.
Sulina is an experienced education leader having previously served as a special education director, dean, non-profit leader, and teacher. She has extensive experience in teacher training, social emotional learning, executive coaching, and program design.
She is dedicated to empowering teachers and leaders to maximize their potential and bring out the best in those they work with and for. She believes every student, educator, team, and system has unique strengths that should be encouraged to create sustainable impact. She works with schools, non-profits, and companies to create inclusive environments, design engaging programs, and develop empowered leaders.
Sulina is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island where she received her degree in human development and family studies and leadership studies. Sulina attained her master’s degree in special education at Arizona State University. She is the Vice Chair of the Nowell Leadership Academy School Board, the Treasurer of the Board of Governors for Leadership Rhode Island, and on the Board of Directors for the University of Rhode Island Foundation and Alumni Engagement.
Dr. Marco Muñoz
Associate Employee Retention at Jefferson County Public Schools- XL Concurrent Session: A Different Kind of Exit Survey for Improving Employee Retention in a Large Urban District: Design, Technology, and Preliminary Findings
- Concurrent Session: Planning for Teacher Retention: How One Large Urban District Uses Engagement Surveys to Support Principals and Ensure a Productive & Engaged Staff
Dr. Marco A. Muñoz has over two decades of experience in educational administration and research. He is currently serving in Human Resources in the area of employee retention with the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and applying the Improvement Science in talent management and teacher engagement work. In JCPS, he previously served for several years as Director of Priority Schools and over a decade as an Evaluation Specialist for institutional research (including large-scale federal grants). Recipient of the 2015 Harvard University Strategic Data Project Fellowship on teacher effectiveness and the 2008 National Staff Development Council Best Evaluation Award on professional development, Dr. Muñoz is the author of numerous publications in refereed journals, including the area of human resources.
Dr. Tommy Nalls
Director of Recruitment at Jackson Public School District- Concurrent Session: Creating Recruitment Videos That Attract the Teachers You Need
- Concurrent Session: Coffee Chats: How This Virtual Recruiting Strategy Attracts Gen Z and Young Millennial Teacher Candidates
Dr. Tommy Nalls, Jr. is originally from Greenville, Mississippi. He attended Tougaloo College where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. After graduation, Dr. Nalls joined the Jackson Public School District as an alternate route Biology teacher where he served for several years. While there, he obtained his Master’s and his Specialist’s Degrees from Mississippi College. Soon after, Dr. Nalls served as an administrator in JPS. During that time, Dr. Nalls obtained his Doctorate in Educational Leadership in Curriculum and Instruction. Currently he serves as the Director of Recruitment in JPS.
Tim Neubert
Executive Director of American Association for Employment in Education
John Paise
Program Consultant at Kentucky Department of EducationJohn Paise oversees the Teaching and Learning Career Pathway and Educators Rising Career and Technical Student Organization within the Kentucky Department of Education’s Division of Educator Recruitment and Development. Before coming to work at the Kentucky Department of Education, John used his experience in Food Service management and as a chef to teach Culinary Arts and Foods and Nutrition in Arizona, Tennessee, and Kentucky. He loves supporting students at the beginning of their careers and seeing them grow in their abilities and love for the field of education.
Cyndi Rengifo
Associate Instructor at University of Central FloridaCyndi Rengifo, MAT, is an associate instructor in the College of Community Innovation and Education at the University of Central Florida. She teaches undergraduate courses in reading, language arts, and leads a course in learning strategies and classroom management. She is the elementary coordinator for the central region and serves as the faculty advisor of the Future Teacher's Academy. In addition, Ms. Rengifo delivers professional development and presentations throughout the country on Co-Teaching, working with English Learners, and Simulation Design. Especially important to Ms. Rengifo is the need to understand and address the social emotional as well as the academic learning of every student she works with.
LaCreasha Stille
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction at Gainesville ISDLaCreasha Stille is the assistant superintendent of curriculum for Gainesville ISD. Mrs. Stille is a distinguished educator with over twenty-four years of experience in education. Her dedication to student achievement has been a lifelong commitment. She started her educational career as a paraprofessional, and spent ten years teaching students at the elementary, middle, and high school level. She has taught special education, English as a Second Language, ESOL, Eng I, and was an assistant volleyball and softball coach. Mrs. Stille also has experience teaching higher education with the University of Phoenix. For the last 13 years, she has been supporting students, families, and educational professionals as the Assistant Principal and Principal in Crowley ISD, Andrews ISD, and most recently Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD. Mrs. Stille has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from East Texas State University, a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Texas Christian University. She is also a proud GHS Alumni. Her educational background and personal experiences have helped shape her philosophy of education. Mrs. Stille believes all students are capable of learning at the highest level possible and our educational system will provide our children with the skills needed to be successful in our global economy.
Maureen Thompson
Human Resource Specialist at School District of Palm Beach CountyMaureen Thompson is a Human Resource Specialist within the School District of Palm Beach County. She has committed 7 years of her experience in education to teaching students as well as leading as a Single School Culture Coordinator. For the past 2 years she has dedicated her work to streamlining and innovating systems of support at the district level, through Human Resources, for educators and administrators in Palm Beach County.
Bonnie Toffoli
Director, Talent Acquisition and HR Compliance of Orange County Public SchoolsBonnie Toffoli holds a Bachelor's in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida and Master's in Educational Leadership from Stetson University. As the Director for Talent Acquisition and Human Resources Compliance for Orange County Public Schools, Bonnie focuses on on-boarding processes, recruiting initiatives and building relationships with instructional candidates at universities and colleges. Bonnie has served the Florida school districts for over 25 years as a teacher, learning resource specialist, district resource teacher, administrator and she has led mentoring programs at both school and district levels. Bonnie was the administrator of the Professional Development Certification Program where she successfully supported 600+ teachers transitioning from other careers into education. In 2019 Bonnie was a member of the AAEE Conference Planning Committee, additionally she served as the AAEE State Representative for Florida through December of 2020 when she proudly accepted a her new role as the Southeast Regional Coordinator. Bonnie lives in Central Florida with her husband; she has two daughters and two grandchildren. Bonnie enjoys spending time with her family, supporting the community and traveling to new destinations.
Janet Wallace
Manager of Teacher Support and Retention at Jackson Public School DistrictAs the district’s Teacher Support and Retention Manager, Janet is responsible for contributing to the development of highly effective teachers. She will work in alignment with central office and school leaders to support development and implementation of processes and practices that support the district’s teacher pipeline and retention goals, specifically around critical shortage areas.
Janet began her career in 2011 with the Jackson Public School District as a 5th grade teacher at Barack H. Obama Magnet Elementary, where she also served as the interventionist. She recently served as the Curriculum Lead of New Teacher Induction in the Office of Teaching and Learning.
Janet is a graduate of Jackson State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She earned her Master’s in Education from Walden University, and recently earned her Education Specialist in Administration from Mississippi College.
Janet is originally from Aurora, CO. She currently resides in Ridgeland, MS with her husband, H. Dakarai Wallace, and their three sons, Dakarai (13), Grayson (5), and Kashton (3). She is active in her community as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Junior League of Jackson.
Dr. Theresa West
Leadership Coach at Upbeat- Kick-Off Gathering
- Concurrent Session: Planning for Teacher Retention: How One Large Urban District Uses Engagement Surveys to Support Principals and Ensure a Productive & Engaged Staff
Theresa brings extensive experience to the table including teaching elementary, middle, and high school, and serving leadership roles at each level, including her work as principal in turning around two elementary schools and working as a director in Fairfax County Public Schools where she worked with her Assistant Superintendent in supporting and evaluating 27 schools. She is passionate about coaching school leaders. She completed her leadership coaching program at Georgetown University and has earned a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation. By building on the positive and listening to school leaders, she provides support as leaders focus on strategic planning, building creative and welcoming cultures with a focus on student learning.
Dr. Bo Yan
Data Strategy at Jefferson County Public SchoolsDr. Bo Yan works on data and improvement strategies for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, KY. In addition to collaborating with the HR department to increase staff retention, he has been partnering with the Finance department to develop and implement a cycle-based budgeting process to improve strategic use of resources. You can explore the exit survey to be presented in their session at https://cyclebasedbudgeting.org/survey/index.php/293846?lang=en. To learn more about the cycle-based budgeting model, please visit https://cyclebasedbudgeting.org
Justin de Leon
Partner at Education ElementsJustin de Leon is a Partner at Education Elements and joined in 2012. His career in education began in 2004 at Brownsville Middle School in Miami-Dade as an English Language Arts teacher. During his time at M-DCPS, Justin served in several leadership and teacher capacity building roles including: grade level team lead, mentor for Teach for America Corps Members, director of training institutes with The New Teacher Project to prepare career changers to enter hard to staff classrooms.
In 2010, Justin left the classroom to pursue a graduate degree where he took a deeper interest in school and district wide reform. He spent time learning philosophies and frameworks to guide large scale reform from policy, organizational and leadership perspectives. He carried these learnings and classroom experience into his work at Education Elements where he has held several roles including education technology and implementation adviser, human centered product design lead and most recently as a Partner. In this role, Justin has led large scale change efforts, strategy design and implementation projects focused on teacher recruitment and retention and improving instruction in districts such as Broward County Public Schools, the Allentown School District, Syracuse City School District and Spring Branch ISD. Justin earned a M.A. in Policy, Organization and Leadership from Stanford University and a B.A. in English from the University at Albany.