Speakers

Jim Knight is a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and the president of the Instructional Coaching Group. He has spent close to two decades studying professional learning and instructional coaching. He has written or co-authored several books on the topic including Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction published by Corwin and Learning Forward (2007) and Unmistakable Impact: A Partnership Approach for Dramatically Improving Instruction (2011). Knight co-authored Coaching Classroom Management (2006)and also edited Coaching: Approaches and Perspectives (2008).

Knight has authored articles on instructional coaching and professional learning in publications such as The Journal of Staff Development, Educational Leadership, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, and Kappan.

Douglas Fisher is a Professor of Educational Leadership in the Department of Teacher Education at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award, the Farmer Award for excellence in writing from the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as a Christa McAuliffe Award for excellence in teacher education. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design.

Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher may be the two most prolific authors in the area of K-12 literacy education, with a following that includes tens of thousands of teachers and administrators. Across their more-than-a-dozen titles, they’ve addressed everything from how to raise rigor in reading, structure lessons with learning goals in mind, implement formative assessment, and teach content literacy to how to set up an effective PLC. Very few educators can match Doug’s breadth of expertise.

Sheila is a Founder of Triad Consulting Group and a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School.
Sheila’s corporate clients include MITRE, BAE Systems, HSBC, Tatweer of Dubai, Unilever, the Federal Reserve Bank, Standard Bank of South Africa, Merck, and numerous family businesses. She often works with executive teams, helping them to work through conflict, repair working relationships, and make sound decisions together. In the public sector she has also provided training for the New England Organ Bank, the Singapore Supreme Court, the Obama White House, and theologians struggling with disagreement over the nature of truth and God.
Sheila has spent the last twenty years with the Harvard Negotiation Project, developing negotiation theory and practice. She specializes in particularly difficult negotiations – where emotions run high and relationships become strained. Sheila is co-author of the New York Times bestsellers Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (Penguin 2000), and Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well (Even When It’s Off-Base, Unfair, Poorly Delivered and Frankly, You’re Not in the Mood) (Viking/Penguin 2014).
One of the side benefits of writing Difficult Conversations has been the chance to appear on shows as diverse as Oprah and the G. Gordon Liddy show, NPR’s Diane Rehms Show, Fox News, and CNBC’s Power Lunch.
Sheila is a graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, and Harvard Law School. She is schooled in negotiation daily by her three children.
Sheila can be reached at heen@diffcon.com.

Michael Fullan is professor emeritus of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Recognized as a worldwide authority on educational reform, he advises policymakers and local leaders around the world in helping to achieve the moral purpose of all children learning. Michael Fullan received the Order of Canada in December, 2012. He holds honourary doctorates from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; University of Edinburgh, Scotland; Newman University College, University of Leicester; and Nipissing University in Canada.

Fullan is a prolific, award-winning author whose books have been published in many languages. His book Leading in a Culture of Change was awarded the 2002 Book of the Year Award by Learning Forward (formerly the National Staff Development Council), Breakthrough (with Peter Hill and Carmel Crévola) won the 2006 Book of the Year Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Turnaround Leadership in Higher Education (with Geoff Scott) won the Bellwether Book Award in 2009, and Change Wars (with Andy Hargreaves) was awarded the 2009 Book of the Year Award by Learning Forward. His latest books are Stratosphere: Integrating Technology, Pedagogy, and Change Knowledge (2012), Motion Leadership in Action: More Skinny on Becoming Change Savvy (2012) and Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School (with Andy Hargreaves) (2012).

Simon T. Bailey is a best-selling author, a Hall of Fame Speaker, and the CEO of Simon T. Bailey International, a company specializing in creating learning and development for individuals and organizations. Simon’s purpose is to teach 1 Billion people how to be brilliant in an average world.
Since leaving his position as Sales Director for the world renowned Disney Institute, he has worked with over 1,000 organizations and has impacted over 1,000,000 people in 45 countries worldwide. As a critically acclaimed keynote speaker, executive adviser, and best-selling author he doesn’t tell people where to go but guides them in the direction of where they need to go.
His latest creation is the Shift Your Brilliance System which instills the mindset needed to thrive in the 21st century. His Uber popular course on Lynda.com has been viewed by men and women in 100 countries. He is one of America’s Top Ten Most booked Corporate and Association Speakers on the subject of brilliance, leadership and customer experience.

Jennifer Abrams is an international educational and communications consultant for public and private schools, universities, and non-profits. Jennifer trains and coaches teachers, administrators, and others on successful instructional practices, new employee support, supervision and evaluation, generational savvy, having hard conversations and effective collaboration skills.

For Palo Alto USD in California, Jennifer led professional development sessions and provided new teacher and supervisor trainings at both the elementary and secondary level. From 2000-2011, Jennifer was lead coach for the Palo Alto-Mountain View-Los Altos-Saratoga-Los Gatos Consortium’s Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program. In her educational consulting work, Jennifer has presented at annual conferences such as Learning Forward, ASCD, NASSP, and the New Teacher Center Annual Symposium, as well as at the Teachers’ and Principals’ Centers for International School Leadership.

Her publications include Having Hard Conversations (Corwin Press, 2009); “Planning Productive Talk,” an article for ASCD’s Educational Leadership (October, 2011); the chapter “Habits of Mind for the School Savvy Leader” in Art Costa’s and Bena Kallick’s book Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16 Essential Characteristics for Success; and contributions to the book Mentors in the Making: Developing New Leaders for New Teachers published by Teachers College Press. Her newest book, with coauthor Valerie Von Frank, is titled The Multigenerational Workplace: Communicate, Collaborate, and Create Community (Corwin Press, November 2013).

In 2012, Jennifer was featured in ASCD’s new video series Master Class, hosted by National Public Radio’s Claudio Sanchez; in May 2011, she was a generationally savvy expert for "Tune in to What the New Generation of Teachers Can Do," published in Phi Delta Kappan; and she has been featured by the Ontario Ministry of Education in their Leadership Matters: Supporting Open-to-Learning Conversations video series.

Jennifer considers herself a “voice coach,” helping others learn how to best use their voices— be it collaborating on a team, presenting in front of an audience, coaching a colleague, or supervising an employee. Jennifer holds a Master’s degree in Education from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s degree in English from Tufts University. She lives in Palo Alto, California.

Born and raised in California, Jamie Almanzán is an expert in promoting equity in education. Educated in public schools, Mr. Almanzán received his B.A. in English Literature from California State University, Chico. After teaching a K-5 Special Day Class in Palo Alto, Mr. Almanzán decided to pursue a master’s degree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. His graduate work focused on instruction for English language learners and curricular and instructional reform for equity in the classroom.

After earning his M.A., Mr. Almanzán returned to teaching as an ESL teacher at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School. There he helped promote equity on campus by establishing a campus goal and by co-founding the Equity Awareness Task Force for the Palo Alto Unified School District. He co-directed an after-school program designed to promote equity for underserved students and designed and directed an after-school program for Latino students. Mr. Almanzán has a great deal of experience as a speaker and facilitator. He helps educators explore diversity, anti-racism, and instructional strategies for ELL students. He is also a lecturer on the faculty of Notre Dame de Namur University’s Education graduate program. Currently he works as the Director of Teacher Development for Pacific Educational Group, a company that advocates school reform to ensure equitable learning opportunities and results for underserved student populations.

Joellen Killion serves as senior advisor to Learning Forward, after serving as the association’s deputy executive director for many years. She is leading several foundation-funded initiatives including Transforming Professional Learning to Prepare College- and Career-Ready Students and implementation of Standards for Professional Learning. She is a frequent contributor to Learning Forward’s publications. Her books include What Works in the Middle, What Works in the Elementary Grades, and What Works in the High School, Teachers Who Learn Kids Who Achieve: A Look at Model Professional Development; Assessing Impact: Evaluating Staff Development, 2nd edition; Collaborative Professional Learning Teams in School and Beyond: A Tool Kit for New Jersey Educators; Taking the Lead: New Roles for Teacher and School-based Coaches; The Learning Educator: A New Era in Professional Learning; Becoming a Learning School; Coaching Matters: and Learning-Focused Feedback: Transforming Feedback for Professional Learning. She authored and co-authored numerous papers, reports and workbooks such as PDK’s EDge, The Changing Face of Professional Development and resources associated with the TPL initiative. Those are available at www.learningforward.org/publications/implementing-common-core.

The creed Joellen lives by is: Excellence can be achieved if you . . . Care more than others think is wise . . . Risk more than others think is safe . . . Dream more than others think is practical . . . Expect more than others think is possible . . .

Contact information Joellen Killion
Senior Advisor Learning Forward
8 Prestonwood Circle
Lakeway, Texas 78734
joellen.killion@learningforward.org

Nancy Love is Director of Program Development at Research for Better Teaching in Acton, Massachusetts, where she leads this education-consulting group’s research and development. She is the former Director of the Using Data Project, a collaboration between TERC and WestEd, where she led the development of a comprehensive professional development program to improve teaching and learning through effective and collaborative use of school data. This program has produced significant gains in student achievement as well as increased collaboration and data use in schools across the country. Love has authored several books and articles on data use, including A Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students: Unleashing the Power of Collaborative Inquiry (2008, Corwin Press) and Using Data to Improve the Learning for All: A Collaborative Inquiry Approach (2009, Corwin). She is also well known for her work in professional development both as a presenter and author of articles and books, including Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics (Second Edition) with Susan Loucks-Horsley, Kathy Stiles, Susan Mundry, and Peter Hewson (2003, Corwin Press). In 2006, she was awarded the prestigious Susan Loucks-Horsley Award from the National Staff Development Council in recognition of her significant national contribution to the field of staff development and to the efficacy of others.

For the past 30 years, Steve has served as an education consultant to school districts, teacher organizations, state departments of education, and colleges and universities nationally and internationally, facilitating the changes necessary for them to reach students and successfully prepare them for the 21st century. A prolific published author, his weekly blog, Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud, has evolved into a go-to resource for teachers and administrators all over the world.

Elena Aguilar is a teacher, coach, writer and leader who has worked in the education field for twenty years. She aspires to heal and transform the world by cultivating compassion, fostering communication, and building joyful communities of resilient educators.

Dr. Raymond L. Smith is an Author Consultant with Corwin Press. Prior to joining Corwin Ray served as adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Denver Health Science Center with the principal preparation program and currently works with Florida Atlantic University in their aspiring leader program. Ray’s diverse experience includes over 38 years of teaching and leadership at both the building and central office levels. Specifically, Ray served as Director of High School Education, Douglas County, Colorado. Subsequent to completing his doctorate in educational leadership and innovation in 2007, Ray pursued his area of specialty and passion in leadership development by authoring several articles for the Ohio Department of Education, coauthoring four books the first entitled School Improvement for the Next Generation (2010), the second entitled, The Reflective Leader: Implementing a Multidimensional Leadership Performance System (2012), the third entitled The Responsive School (in press) and the fourth book entitled School Leadership Evaluation (in press). Additionally, Ray is one of 21 Visible LearningPlus Consultants with Corwin Press trained to deliver Professor John Hattie's research in Visible Learning throughout North America and Canada.

Dr. Julie R. Smith is a thirty-four year veteran educator, international speaker-consultant and author. She currently serves as an Author Consultant with Corwin Press. Her passion, area of focus, and expertise is in building leadership capacity within people and systems; school improvement planning, teacher, principal and district evaluation models. Julie has taught at the University level in principal preparation programs in both Colorado and Florida and served as Executive Director of Elementary Schools in Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. She is a Visible LearningPlus Consultant with Corwin trained to deliver Professor John Hattie’s research in Visible Learning throughout North America and Canada. Julie continues to pursue her focus and passion in leadership development by coauthoring a book on principal evaluation entitled The Reflective Leader: Implementing a Multidimensional Leadership Performance System (2012), and has a second book entitled School Leadership Evaluation, which is in press.

Dr. Lande has dedicated her professional endeavors to advocating for teachers and students around the globe. It is her aspiration that every classroom in every school is one that she would want her own three children to learn in; a lens through which she continually measures her research, writing, and professional development efforts.

She is the Executive Director of the Teacher Voice and Aspirations International Center (TVAIC), an outgrowth of the Quaglia Institute for Student Voice and Aspirations. The mission of TVAIC is to amplify teacher voice to enhance the aspirations of all.

Dr. Lande currently serves as a board member for the Aspirations Academy Trust in England, and is engaged in a number of research and writing projects on the topic of teacher voice and aspirations. She earned her doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Boise State University, and was a James Madison Fellow at Georgetown University.

Prior to TVAIC she worked with state departments of education across the country in partnership with a U.S. Department of Education content center, directed a state-wide reform effort, and has engaged in a wide variety of consultancy roles at the international, state, and local level on education topics including systems reform, standards, assessment, and instructional strategies that promote individualized learning and achievement for all students.
Dr. Lande’s roots are in teaching, having taught at both the high school and university level. She still considers herself to be a teacher at heart, and finds it a great privilege to partner with amazing educators around the world who are hard at work creating conditions where teachers and students can achieve their dreams.

Larry Ainsworth is the author or coauthor of 14 published books, including: “Unwrapping” the Common Core (in 2014), Prioritizing the Common Core (2013), Rigorous Curriculum Design (2010), Common Formative Assessments (2006), “Unwrapping” the Standards (2003), Power Standards (2003), Five Easy Steps to a Balanced Math Program (2000 and 2006), Student Generated Rubrics (1998), and Getting Started with Rigorous Curriculum Design: How School Districts Are Successfully Redesigning Their Curricula for the Common Core (2013).

Larry served as the Executive Director of Professional Development at The Leadership and Learning Center in Englewood, Colorado, from 1999-2013. He traveled nationally and internationally to assist school systems in implementing best practices related to standards, assessment, curriculum, and instruction across all grades and content areas. Throughout his career as a professional developer, Larry has delivered keynote addresses and breakout sessions across North America and in Latin America and regularly worked on site in school systems to assist leaders and educators in understanding and implementing powerful standards-based practices: prioritizing and “unwrapping” state standards and Common Core standards, developing common formative assessments, designing authentic performance tasks, and creating rigorous curricular units of study in all content areas, pre-kindergarten through grade 12.

Drawing upon 24 years of experience as an upper elementary and middle school classroom teacher in demographically diverse schools, Larry brings a varied background and wide range of professional experiences to each of his presentations.

Jackie Walsh is an independent educational consultant who partners with educators across the country to enhance teaching and leading in classrooms, schools, and districts. Her passion and primary area of expertise is questioning—for both student and adult learning. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie is also the lead consultant for the Alabama Best Practices Center, which affords her the opportunity to work with networks of school teams, district teams, instructional partners, and superintendents.

Jackie’s early experience as a high school social studies teacher contributed to her passion for questioning. As a designer and facilitator of professional learning for teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators, she links quality questioning practices not only to student thinking and learning but also to adult learning and reflection. Her commitment is to collaborative design that customizes learning to the context of the learners. Her experience spans work in K-12, higher education, a regional research laboratory, and a state department of education.

The author and co-author of numerous books and articles focused on quality questioning, Jackie seeks to make research and best practice accessible to practitioners. Her books, co-authored with Beth Sattes, include three Corwin titles: Quality Questioning (2005), Leading Through Quality Questioning (2010), and Thinking Through Quality Questioning (2011). She received her A.B. from Duke University, M.A.T. from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), and Ph.D. from the University of Alabama.

Beth works with adult learners through her consulting business, Enthused Learning, and prior to that, through Edvantia, a regional lab in Charleston, WV. Her primary focus has been to help teachers strengthen student thinking and learning through engaging (and research-based) classroom questioning practices. She has directly facilitated the learning of parents and teachers—individually and in teams—and also has successfully designed and trained trainers and coaches to work with teachers. Whenever possible, she engages in follow-up on-site or via technology to support classroom change. Beth’s passion is questioning and equity in opportunity to learn.
With Jackie A. Walsh has co-authored five books, including Quality Questioning, Questioning for Classroom Discussion, Thinking through Quality Questioning, Leading through Quality Questioning, and Inside School Improvement: Creating High-Performing Learning Communities.

Dominique Smith is director of student services at Health Sciences High & Middle College, where he also serves as a culture builder and student advocate. He holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California.

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is Professor of Literacy in the Department of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. The recipient of the 2008 Early Career Achievement Award from the National Reading Conference, she is also a teacher-leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College and a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California.