Dr. Susan Enfield
Dr. Susan Enfield is superintendent for the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada. Serving over 62,000 students across more than 100 schools, Washoe County is the second largest district in the state. Prior to Washoe, Dr. Enfield spent a decade serving as superintendent for Highline Public Schools outside Seattle, Washington. Under her leadership, Highline worked to deliver on its promise to know every student by name, strength and need so they graduate prepared for the future they choose.
Dr. Enfield began her career in education as a high school English, ELL and journalism teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. She later served as chief academic officer and interim superintendent for Seattle Public Schools. Her experience also includes leadership roles in Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, Washington, Portland Public Schools in Oregon and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She was named the 2022 Washington State Superintendent of the Year by the Washington Association of School Administrators, and the 2018 Superintendent of the Year by the National School Foundation Association.
A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Enfield has earned masters degrees from Stanford and Harvard University. She also holds a doctoral degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard’s Urban Superintendents Program.
Andrew Marotta
Andrew is an energetic and enthusiastic leader who has put his positive imprint on his beloved Port Jervis HS, in Port Jervis, NY. With the release of his first book, The School Leader: Surviving and Thriving, Andrew is expanding his impact on the educational leadership community. Andrew is the author of four books, most recently completing Dads, Leaders, & Father Figures.
In his personal life, Andrew is a loving husband to his wife, Jennifer, and a supportive father to their three young children. In his professional life, Andrew has been leading at Port Jervis HS since 2005, serving as Assistant Principal for seven years and Principal for the past nine. He has led the transformation of PJHS, helping to raise the graduation rate from a low 60s% to almost 90%. He accepted the Port Jervis Middle School Principal position in the summer of ‘21. Andrew is a former men’s division 1 college basketball official, taking many leadership lessons from that time in his life to his leadership in schools and with school leaders. He lives the words on his logo: Energy, Enthusiasm, Extra, Effort, & Excellence!
Learn more at www.andrewmarotta.com & through his #ELBlog & #ELB podcast: Education Leadership & Beyond found on facebook, linkedin, twitter @andrewmarotta21, and instagram. #ELB #ELBlog, #survivethrive #keeprolling
Stan Pearson II
Stan worked for a Governor & for a United States Senator on Capitol Hill all before the age of 21. He has been a speaker & mindset mentor for 20 years. As a celebrity media and mindset coach, Stan consults professional athletes, students and professionals on how to build themselves from the inside out while building powerful community. He’s spent time with Billionaire Mogul Martha Stewart, Ice-T, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson & Ben & Jerry’s Co-founder Jerry Greenfield to name a few.
Stan has traveled the globe speaking to audiences on how to build their mindset and tap into the Best part of themselves! While some of his professional accomplishments include Alumni of the Decade, Speaker of the Year, Performer of the Year, and Legacy Award Winner, his greatest awards are being ranked in the Top 10 for Best Husbands on the Planet and being ranked in the Top 25 for Dads in the world by The National Association of Dads & Family Involvement. p.s. Stan made that last part up. That Association does not exist.
From meditation to understanding and reducing stress, there are many things we don't discuss regularly that we could to help us thrive in difficult situations. He’s a professional movie watcher, semi-pro salsa dancer & a family man. Lock in right now, because Effort on Fire Beats Knowledge on Ice. By the end of this, some of you will feel like he’s family, so call him brother, friend or the best speaker in the world, but the one thing you won’t be able to call him is boring. If you wanted to be bored, you should have stayed home and watched Love is Blind.
Wanda V. Washington
Ms. Wanda V. Washington holds a M.Ed. with an emphasis in Administration and Supervision and possesses an endorsement in gifted and talented education. Previously served as the Program Coordinator for the Gifted and Talented Education Programs with the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada, Ms. Washington currently serves as a Central Office Administrator/Recruiting Projects Coordinator with the Human Resources – Talent Acquisition Division. Ms. Washington’s leadership includes serving as a District Curriculum Specialist in Kentucky, Assistant Principal/Principal in Tennessee, High School Principal, and Principal on Special Assignment serving with the directors of CTE, SPED, GT, and Behavior. Ms. Washington has served as the lead for the WCSD Gifted and Talented Advisory Panel (GTAP) sub-committees for curriculum development and policy and regulation development for gifted education, a member of the WCSD Equity and Diversity Task Force providing a voice for gifted education with the intention of increasing the identification of gifted students from diverse cultural linguistic backgrounds, WCSD Jump Start Advisory Executive Committee for Early College, and co-chair of NAGC Leadership Development Committee. Ms. Washington has been a guest speaker and co-presenter at local, state, and national conferences. Ms. Washington actively advocates, partners and collaborates with the legislature, national organization leaders, the school board, universities, community leaders, donors, fellow administrators, teachers and students to providing funding and implementing the changes necessary for the success of gifted programming.
Yvette Williams
Named one of Las Vegas Magazine’s Top 100 Women of the Year in 2019, Yvette Williams, is Chair and Founder of the Clark County Black Caucus, a community organizer, social justice activist/strategist, and a seasoned entrepreneur having started her first business at the young age of 8 and growing her Beverly Hills travel agency into a multi-million-dollar business and the largest minority owned agency in Southern California at the age of 26. She is the principal owner of YB Consulting, LLC engaged in public policy work and various other business interests. She is a member of the Nevada Department of Education Academic Standards Council and serves on the Multicultural Education State Advisory Taskforce and serves as a Board member of the Nevada African American Administrators and Superintendents Association. She served as Chair of the Spring Valley Township Advisory Board and recently honored by the Board of Clark County Commissioners during the 2021 Women’s History Month for her many contributions to the Clark County community.
Ms. Williams has been instrumental in systemic public policy change locally, statewide, and nationally over the last 15 years. She serves or has served on several public policy boards and committees. She is most proud of her work on Nevada’s Every Student Succeeds Act plan recognized by the U.S. Dept of Education, and Nevada’s school star rating system that values equity and promotes all students achieving in school; the historical AB178 state legislation providing equitable funding/resources to students least proficient; work in development of multi-cultural school standards; and most recently instrumental in establishing equitable access to telehealth care through Hazel Health for all students in CCSD with no out of pocket expense to families; and many other equity & diversity initiatives that provide greater access to education justice and inclusion.
She currently serves on the Clark County School District Bond Oversight Committee, School Justice Partnership Committee, Superintendent’s Antiracism Policy Taskforce, and on various other workgroups within the Clark County Black Caucus and its advocacy partners to advance equity, equality, and racial justice. She is most fulfilled by her volunteer time organizing and managing the Black Student Union Network, sponsored by the Clark County Black Caucus in partnership with Clark County School District, building the network to 28 high school sites and 3 middle schools since 2015. The mission is to help empower youth for academic success through student leadership opportunities, development of life skills, and access to higher learning experiences, while creating a more inclusive and welcoming school climate for African American and other racially isolated students on their campus while building positive relationships with school administrators, staff, and peers.
She regularly appears in news media, and as a conference guest speaker providing her perspectives on public policy advocacy and political strategy, racial justice and criminal justice reforms, education equity and access, and social justice issues locally and nationally. Outlets include networks such as NPR, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, U.S. News & World Report, New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg Reports, The Hill, The Real News, and many local media organizations.
Along with other recognitions, Ms. Williams is a 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award from President Obama; The National Black Justice Coalition - We Care Award 2009; the 2013 Human Rights Campaign – Equality in the Community Award; the NAACP—2018 Legacy Builder Award & the 2021 Education Award for her advocacy in education equity and justice; the 2022 ACLU Civil Rights Award for the CCBC’s work with the Nevada Legislature in decriminalizing traffic violations and ending suspension of driver’s license due to an inability to pay a traffic fine and fee. Through Ms. Williams leadership, Governor Sandoval declared in the state of Nevada, “Equity in Education Day” on 9/29/18 in recognition of CCBC’s advocacy for education equity, and Governor Sisolak presented a state proclamation declaring 2/22/22 “Racial Equality Advocacy Day” in the State of Nevada on behalf of their advocacy work on their 15thanniversary.
Tiffany Young
Ms. Young is a mother of two beautiful children, KaPreace (25) and Anthony (20). She is an advocate for families, community, young women, and education. As a resident of the Reno/Sparks community for over 25 years, she has been a spokesperson for the community, diversity and equitable practices, student achievement, and community and economic development. She is a public speaker, trainer, business owner, workshop facilitator and community collaborator at heart.
Ms. Young is the former Director of Equity and Diversity for the Washoe County School District (WCSD) and has recently been appointed the Program Director for the Department of Defense High Sierra STARBASE program. Her work has been within systems to support and clarify the role of Equity and cultural competency interwoven into all schools, departments, and systems. Ms. Young lead work around programs and policies that must addressed through an equitable and culturally responsive lens, as well as creating and facilitating professional learning around Equity and Cultural Competency and owns her own consulting business, Tiffany Young Consulting LLC. Ms. Young is a Fulbright Specialist with U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Ms. Young holds a M. Ed. and B.A. from the University of Nevada Reno where she is also an Adjunct Professor in the Human Development and Family Studies Department. Ms. Young has served the WCSD Parent Involvement Committee as a member chair. Ms. Young has been a Commissioner for the Nevada Equal Rights (NERC) Commission since January 2006, and has participated as a Peer Mentor for the Department of Justice Community Capacity Development Office (formerly the Executive Office for Weed and Seed). She has served as the M.C. for the Northern Nev. Human Resources Assoc. Conference in addition to facilitating workshops on Diversity, and Community Involvement. She is the current past President of the N. Nv. Black Cultural Awareness Society (NNBCAS). She previously served as a Board Member for Join Together Northern Nevada (a drug prevention coalition), the Impartial Policing Advisory Committee, and the Human Services Network. She was awarded the Education Service Award by the African American Clergy Council of Northern Nevada (AACCONN), and was appointed to the Commission on Minority Affairs from 2013 to 2014. Awarded a Community Service Award by the local chapter of the Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club, and served as the Keynote speaker for the National Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club conference held in Reno in 2012.
In 2019, Tiffany traveled to Zambia to co-facilitate a Training of Trainers model for girls under the age of 25 from peri-urban areas including Garden, Kamwala, Matero, Mutendere and Chawama. The Training of Trainers will guide volunteers of She Entrepreneur to integrate into trainings, lessons that address the social needs of young mothers, mostly adolescents who are part of She Entrepreneur program. Secondly, to incorporate lessons on diversity, inclusion and equity into the She Entrepreneur’s program.
BREAKOUT PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
Jami Austin
Jami Austin the Principal of Pinecrest Academy of Northern Nevada in Spanish Springs. She is a graduate of the University of Nevada Reno (2002) with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and French. Jami spent 12 years in education in North Texas including earning a Masters Degree in Education from the University of North Texas. She has worked in primary and secondary education for 19 years in public, private and charter schools. Upon returning to Reno, Jami worked at Damonte Ranch High School teaching French and coordinating the campus implementation of Social and Emotional Learning. Jami is currently finishing her doctorate in Organizational Leadership with Abilene Christian University and is passionate about building campus supports to increase self-efficacy.
Irene Bailey
Irene is an Educational Consultant who brings two decades of business development, strategic planning, and K12 client relations experience to the team. Irene has a vast knowledge of K-12 state standards-based instruction, curriculum development, school improvement strategies, state educational issues, and national education policies and trends. Irene earned a business degree from the University of Mannheim, Germany, a B.A. in English from Fayetteville State University, and an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma. Irene excels at leading system-wide collaborative efforts and community stakeholder engagement. To help ensure projects yield measurable outcomes, Irene effectively leverages current research and data in designing equitable solutions with a focus on high-impact and high value. Irene spearheads the design of direct student services and views them as the cornerstone of comprehensive K-12 Education Recovery initiatives. Irene is a native German speaker who can personally relate to ELL students and their families who must navigate a steep cultural and linguistic learning curve. Irene possesses exceptional attention to detail, trustworthiness, and a true passion for students.
Christopher Batterman
Chris is an Emergency Management Coordinator for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada. Before Emergency Management, Christopher created the national award-winning Bonanza High School Fire Science Academy, which educates and trains high school students in the field of firefighting. He is a two-time Nevada Teacher Educator of the Year recipient, recipient of the national ACTE Business Partnership of the Year award, and national conference speaker.
Bobbi Bear, VP of Professional Learning
With over 17 years experience providing educational thought leadership to best serve students, educators, and the educational technology marketplace, Bobbi currently serves
as BrainPOP’s Vice President of Professional Learning, innovating how teachers and
administrators across the world use BrainPOP to impact teachers’ instruction and deepen
students’ learning.
Prior to joining BrainPOP, Bobbi has served as a Director of Instructional Advocacy with
McGraw-Hill/Achieve3000 and built IXL Learning’s suite of professional learning for
teachers. Before moving into the educational technology marketplace, Bobbi was a
literacy educator, launching the first hybrid learning ELA classroom in her county.
Jennifer Black
Ms. Jennifer Black currently serves as the principal at Lincoln Elementary School in North Las Vegas, Nevada and a Mindful SEAD Champion. She has been in public education since 1994 and has a passion for advocating for kids and school staff. She knows that when you take care of the adults they are able to do their best work with kids. She serves as the President-Elect of the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional Technical Employees as well as President of the Nevada Elementary School Principals Association. In her spare time you can find her enjoying a weekend trip camping or at a Vegas Golden Knights Hockey game.
Ray Crisologo
Ray is one of our Regional Sales Manager at Newline Interactive. He works primarily in the K12 vertical with consulting and guidance on product placement, utilization, and best practices with integration of other classroom technology.
Erica Goodridge
Erica joins us from the great state of Maryland. Erica has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Fayetteville State University and a Master's Degree in Leadership and Administration from the University of Phoenix. Erica served in public education for 20 years. She started her career as an elementary Special Educator and finished as a high school administrator. She joined Housing Authority of Baltimore City and served as their Youth Programs Administrator where she provided resources for 30k youth, and families living in Public Housing. Erica has two beautiful daughters who are 32 and 28. Erica has written two books and is a Distinguished Toastmaster. She embraces this work and has a passion for leadership and empowering others. She serves as Nevada’s lead implementation coach for The Leader in Me/7 Habits.
Dr. Christine Kathanga-Clayman
Dr. Kathanga-Clayman is an elementary school Assistant Principal with over 21 years in education. She is an education advocate who knows firsthand that teachers, parents and schools must create the right atmosphere for students to learn and thrive. Dr. Clayman uses Time To Teach Classroom Behavior Management strategies to provide professional development for teachers, teacher leaders, and school administrators, as well as parenting coach for parents. As a behavior management educational expert, Dr. Clayman believes that student-centered instruction is needed to foster respectful, well rounded, happy and successful students.
Dr. Clayman earned her Bachelors and Master's degree in Business administration (MBA) from Kenyatta University, Masters at Teaching (MAT) degree in from Sierra Nevada College in Las Vegas, Nevada, and earned a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership with a specialization in Conflict Resolution from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Clayman has taught in the secondary and elementary education classrooms both in the US and abroad.
Charmaine Cowell
Charmaine is a Professional Development Specialist with Imagine Learning. She has taught for more than twenty-one years in public and private schools where she provided professional development training to educators. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.
Dr. Michelee “Shelly” Cruz-Crawford
Dr. Cruz-Crawford is a University Regent, serves as an officer in the Air Force National Guard, and is a school principal. Over the past twenty years, she has taught kindergarten through college. All of what she does is grounded in her “Why.” She strives to create opportunities through education advocacy because she believes education is the pathway to societal upward mobility. She has written Senate Bill SB352 which created $10 million dollars in state educator recruitment funding. She also assisted with the $65 billion 2021 Federal Recovery Broadband Act that ensures that all of our students have access to the internet. She truly believes we all have common goals and strives to work with everyone in the community to identify these goals and work collectively because we are better together!
Regent Cruz-Crawford serves on the Nevada Department of Education’s Principal Advisory Committee, Nevada National Guard’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion task force, she is the Nevada Association of School Administrators’ board secretary, she also serves on a local School Organizational Team, and is a member of the Nevada Association of Latino Administrators. She was named the Public Education Foundation’s 24th Annual Education Hero for her education advocacy work. Lastly, she is the first Latino elected Board of Regents with a goal to connect high school students to Nevada colleges and trade careers.
Dr. Colón-Díaz
Dr. Colón-Díaz is a 2022-2023 Teach Plus Nevada Policy Fellow, Mindful SEAD Leader and Southern Nevada Writing Project Teacher Consultant, who works as a 4th grade lead teacher at Lincoln Elementary School in North Las Vegas. She is a member of the campus PBL Leadership Team and works as an instructor at Nevada State College and the PLE Department in CCSD. She was recognized by the ACE Foundation as Elementary Teacher of the Year 2018. She has held teaching posts at the higher education level as a faculty member of the University of Puerto Rico, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, and National University as part of their teacher preparation programs. She recently completed a graduate certificate in English Language Acquisition and Development. She earned her BS and MS from the University of Puerto Rico and a PhD from New Mexico State University, as well as a postgraduate certificate in Online Teaching and Learning.
Nikki Erdelyi
K12 Math Specialists with Savvas Learning
Nikki is a former high school math teacher and secondary curriculum coordinator with over 25 years experience. As a National Board Certified Teacher, she is extremely dedicated in her pursuit to help educators create great teaching and learning moments - everyday and in every classroom. Together, they strive to get high quality resources into the hands of every teacher!
Robert Frantum-Allen, MA
Robert is a multifaceted leader with expertise in a variety of educational areas including Early Childhood Education, Special Education, Gifted and Talented Education, Literacy and Leadership.
Robert retired as the Director of Special Education for Denver Public Schools. Over the span of his career he worked as an early childhood teacher, teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and a school age teacher for over 33 years. His leadership career included serving as a curriculum and instruction manager for special and gifted and talented education, Director of Gifted and Talented as well as Director of Special Education. During his time serving as a Director of Special Education, he led the development of new visions and long-term strategic plans. These plans were around the values of inclusion, acceptance, equity and leadership. More students found themselves in supportive inclusive settings during this tenure.
Literacy is a critical skill necessary for post-secondary achievement. Since being diagnosed with dyslexia, Robert has dedicated a great deal of his professional career promoting the science of reading. He is a district trainer of Language Essentials of Teacher of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) and consults on numerous national professional development and curriculum development around early literacy.
Robert is a native American Sign Language signer and has served as a free-lance interpreter, educational interpreter, and teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Currently, Robert consults for the Listen Foundation in Denver Colorado, promoting literacy development in students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
During his free time, Robert enjoys skiing, traveling, and cooking. He has been a volunteer at the Denver Zoo for over 23 years and currently works as a keeper assistant with the Asian elephant team.
Deb Friedrich
With over 25 years in the field of education, including 9 successful years as a building leader, Deb Friedrich now works diligently supporting 86 schools with their planning, execution and monitoring of Title I federal funding. During the past few years, she has effectively “pivoted” as an education specialist who used progressive adapted structures that reach the “whole” student by effectively braiding multiple funding sources, which has now been deemed critical to the success of local schools.
Her experience in CCSD Human Resources, teacher preparation programs, CCSD English Language Learners department, School Improvement Grants and the Turnaround Zone has enabled her to draw upon a broad range of experiences. She has been recognized and supported by industry leaders such as the International Center for Leadership Educationfor her work advocating for underserved communities and students. Ms. Friedrich’s expertise and passion for leveling the playing field to ensure success for all students continues to guide her work.
Dr. Brighid Fronapfel
Dr. Fronapfel serves as the Director of Student Life at Pinecrest Academy of Northern Nevada. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral and a Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Nevada. Dr. Fronapfel has worked in education since 2003, since her undergraduate years at UNR. Dr. Fronapfel holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology, a Master’s of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy and Behavior Analysis, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Behavior Analysis. Her career started in Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention with young children and expanded to parent and educator training and support, the training and supervision of graduate students, clinical interventions (psychological assessment and treatment), university instruction for graduate students, and most recently, public policy and legislation related to the practice of behavior analysis in the state of Nevada. Dr. Fronapfel has held behavioral and educational consultative and coaching roles in California, Michigan, and with Nevada rural school districts and with Washoe County School District. In addition to consultation, she has provided educator and professional training in a variety of areas.
Lilia Gharibian
Lilia is our west coast Training Specialist. Lilia manages the day-to-day execution, priorities, and scheduling of the team conducting in-person and virtual training sessions.
Rachael Gurian
Rachael has 24 years of experience in non-profit and public-school educational landscape, including district and school-based roles. She has worked as a provider, school site leader, and systems leader working with teams across the country in K-12 public and charter school environments. Her work the last 15 years has focused on supporting school and district ecosystems strengthen team capacity to support and design structures, systems, operations, and targeted instructional support for students with disabilities, diverse learners, and students with severe trauma needs. And recently supporting leaders and teachers re-orient and heal from the trenches and experiences during 2020-2022.
Rachael has led and designed district and school site professional development in the areas of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, School Culture, English Language Learners, Special Education, Compliance, Affective Needs and Autism Special Education Programming, Dyslexia and Literacy, Teacher Efficacy and Wellness, and Literacy with one goal in mind to champion, ignite joy, and equip teachers to support our students today.
Rachael herself attended Title 1 public schools her entire education lived experience and chose to spend the majority of her career working in Title 1 schools. Her passion runs deep for school improvement and student access. She is a single mother of a spirited 7-year-old, active board member of Denver Kids, and lover of reading, music, dancing, hiking in the woods, sailing, cooking, and art.
Lisa Hathaway is the Vice President for School Assessment at Pearson. As a former public -school teacher and administrator, Lisa has spent 25 years partnering with schools, districts, and state education agencies to design educational solutions to meet the needs of diverse learners. She has extensive experience collaborating with educational leaders by providing thought leadership, strategic direction, and support to lead complex, outcome-based instructional change and foster a culture of learning. Lisa received her BS and MS degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and her Ed.S. degree from The George Washington University.
Jaime Hill
K12 Math Specialists with Savvas Learning
Jaime is a former elementary teacher with a passion for working with teachers and students across the nation to find the joy, wonder, and beauty of mathematics. She has experience teaching and training enVision Mathematics for the last 15 years.
Eugeena Horner
Ms. Eugeena Horner is a literacy specialist for Clark County School District (CCSD) and intermediate mathematics lead. In addition, Ms. Horner is teaching a 5th grade writing and science block during the 2022-2023 school year at Lincoln Elementary School in North Las Vegas. She was previously a MTSS project facilitator who developed and implemented professional learning opportunities to help all students be successful. During the 2021-2022 school year, she presented at the Read by Grade 3 Nevada Conference. She earned her BS in Elementary Education and MS in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Las Vegas (UNLV); as well as a MS in Educational Leadership at Walden University.
Dr. Matt Hunter
Dr. Matt Hunter is an educator of almost 30 years. When thinking about equitable education that all students deserve, Matt is most passionate and extensively chatty about students attaining literacy proficiency and making post K-12 learning accessible to all.
Matt began his career teaching at the middle school level in Dallas Public Schools where he led teams in creating interdisciplinary modules. Focusing on content-rich, rigorous teaching led to a position at Voyager Sopris Learning writing adventure-filled summer and afterschool programs. After a few years developing curriculum, Matt began a 17-year journey in building systems around literacy programs and professional learning with a consistent focus on outcomes. During this juncture, some of Matt's proudest moments include:
- Creating a patented system for preventing illiteracy in struggling readers
- Leading support teams who served over 4000 districts and 2 million students annually
- Creating one of the first cloud-based assessment and implementation systems to facilitate MTSS based support models in reading and math across K-8
- Traveling to 38 of 50 states in to deepen partnerships with dedicated educators
Matt spent the last five years working in Higher Ed program management with 2U, partnering with elite Texas universities to establish or expand online graduate degree programs and career bootcamps. Matt helped reduce tuition, create several alternate pathways through edX and establish policies for the acceptance of credit for prior learning.
Matt continues to bring his systems view to his role as Literacy Consultant at Lexia, driving conversations around building systems that support the Science of Reading in every aspect across a school environment to bring about the change and results all educators long for.
Matt has three degrees from the University of North Texas, including an EdD in Educational Administration.
Mindy Johnson, M.S. CCC-SLP, M.Ed
Ms. Johnson completed her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at University of California, San Diego, and her master degree in Communication Disorders at Northern Arizona University. She has been employed with Clark County School District since 2003. Ms. Johnson has speech pathology experience working with Nevada Early Intervention, Child Find Project, and at the elementary and secondary levels. Ms. Johnson completed her masters in Educational Program Administration in 2019, at Sierra Nevada University. Ms. Johnson has been involved in the planning, development and implementation of the district Literacy Project. She has provided leadership as a speech department administrator since 2022. She currently serves as the Vice President of the Nevada Speech-Language and Hearing Association. Ms. Johnson lives in Northwest Las Vegas with her husband Jason, who works as a financial planner, and her two daughters, Kate, who currently attend Las Vegas Performing Arts Academy and Samantha, who attends Cadwallader Middle School.
Bonnie Lamping, M.A., CCC-SLP, M.Ed
Ms. Lamping obtained a bachelor and master degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Memphis. She was employed as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) in the public school systems in rural Tennessee before moving to Las Vegas to take employment with Nevada Early Intervention Services. In 2000, she began her employment with Clark County School District and pursued extensive continuing education in the field of literacy and ELL. She has offered professional learning opportunities in literacy and speech therapy over the past ten years. In 2018, she obtained a second master degree in Educational Policy and Leadership from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She accepted a promotion in 2019 and supervises speech-language therapists in Southern Nevada. Bonnie lives in Henderson, Nevada with her husband, a captain with the Clark County Fire Department and her two lively boys, all of whom are successful products of Nevada’s public education system.
Tam Larnerd
For 27 years, Tam Larnerd served as a health educator, varsity coach, dean of students, assistant principal, middle school, and high school principal for Clark County School District in Nevada. His last assignment, before retiring in June 2021, was serving as Principal of Spring Valley High School. In 2019, Spring Valley lost a student to suicide. Therefore, in 2020, despite every student being at home and learning online, the school successfully implemented a Hope Squad. In addition, that same year, Mr. Larnerd was appointed by Governor Sisolak to serve on his Statewide School Safety Committee. In August 2021, Mr. Larnerd accepted the position of Hope Squad's Training Facilitator and now serves as the Director of Education and Training. In this capacity, he serves as a Master Trainer, onboards and trains new Hope Squad advisors, presents at state and national conferences, and supports Hope Squads throughout the country.
Dr. Michael Liu
Dr. Liu is a co-founder and director of Algebra Zero Team. Michael Liu has worked for over 27 years in the education technology field in various roles.
Michael Liu started his dissertation research work in 1988, applying artificial intelligence to design self-learning controllers for engineering processes. This led naturally to his interest in human cognition. In 1995, Michael Liu joined Edu2000, a minority and women-owned education technology company, focusing on developing K-12 mathematics supplemental material. His strength lies in the ability to coordinate between educators and programmers, turning the best practices into digital resources that can be shared by millions.
Michael Liu has three decades’ experience developing and implementing K-12 STEM programs. He led a team that implemented several statewide, multimillion-dollar K-12 math and science programs in Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada, as well as many districtwide projects from small, rural districts to the top five most populous in the nation. Years of experience have impressed on him the urgent need to innovate new, effective ways to teach algebra, which has been the impetus for developing Algebra Zero. In fact, after he led the team and won the biggest K-12 RFP in the year 2000 ($27.9 M) together with another dozen companies, he stopped selling all algebra-related products for the next 20 years and focused on research and development of next-generation supplemental algebra materials.
Michael Liu’s passion is to use the story-based approach to present the inner workings of algebra. This is one sure way to engage students and ultimately boost their achievement. He’s willing to help one student at a time. One by one, he believes we can transform algebra from STEM gatekeeper to gateway.
Bonnie Long
With over thirty years of experience, Bonnie has been at the forefront of integrating content and delivery to support effective instruction and changing instructional strategies. Her experience in curriculum and learning environments provides expertise for the transition from traditional instruction to digital learning. Prior to her publishing career, Bonnie taught in Dallas and Austin Texas. Her passion has always been equipping teachers and students with the very best resources and practices to ensure their success.
Kevin McPartlin
Kevin McPartlin moved from Michigan to Nevada in 1997 to begin his career as a math teacher. Twenty-six years later, he is in his seventeenth year as a principal and is the longest serving high school principal in the fifth largest school district in the country.
In 2006, McPartlin became the principal of Chaparral High School. Needing to reverse a decade of negative trends in achievement and climate, McPartlin restructured the school into four autonomous and thematic learning academies to engage students in their learning. In 2011, McPartlin moved to Arbor View High School and turned his focus to promoting an inclusive, equity-based environment for all students by implementing an advisory program, restorative practices, and removed obstacles to accessing higher level coursework.
McPartlin has been named Nevada Administrator of the Year on three occasions by three different organizations and has presented at educational symposiums in Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Vancouver (WA), and Washington D.C.
Ms. Amy Miller
Amy aims to leverage challenges and triumphs as opportunities for reflection and growth. As a leader, she is mindful of her daily potential to make a positive impact. Growing up impoverished in a challenging home environment, she relates, on a visceral level, to the circumstances she sees in her school, Ann T. Lynch Elementary, located in Las Vegas’ richly diverse east side. She has been the principal for the last 5 years. Ms. Miller takes pride in her versatile experiences that include magnet programs, International Baccalaureate program authorization and coordination, and Turnaround schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Expanding her service, she is the Secretary/Treasurer for the Nevada Elementary School Principals Association and the Clark County Association of Elementary School Principals' President. Being a catalyst for others to share their gifts and talents is her mission. Ms. Miller has been an educator for 22 years.
Karmen Miller
- 34+ years of Instructional Experience Pre- K-Post Secondary
- 33+ years of Diversity/Equity Education in Community, Corporate and Educational Settings
- National Facilitator with ADL World of Difference
- Board Member Southern PovertyLaw Center
- National Certification in Intercultural Communication and Research Institute
- 38+ years of Media Experience
Ms. Miller currently serves as the Administrator in Charge of the 12th House of Desert Oasis High School located in the Clark County School District in Nevada. Over the past 34 years, she has served as a classroom teacher, adjunct professor, program coordinator, Dean of Students, and Assistant Principal. In addition, to a career in Education, Ms. MIller is a Social Justice and City of Las Vegas Community Advocate and a licensed National Facilitator with the Anti-Defamation League, The Southern Poverty Law Center and Citizen Liaison with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on issues of Diversity/Equity Education and Hate Crime. She also has 40 plus years experience in the Media and Sports Entertainment.
A proud HBCU graduate of Tennessee State University with an undergraduate in Speech Communication/Theatre Secondary Education Dance and Political Science; graduate degrees from Illinois State University in Educational Administration; Georgetown University in Educational Leadership and Management, University of the South-Sewanee in Education for Ministry, and this summer finishing at Harvard University in Governmental Affairs and Policy.
She is passionate about helping anyone grow to achieve their purpose and present their authentic selves while developing a foundation of effective execution while assisting others and developing pathways for generations after themselves through equity in all life levels.
Kristin Miller
Kristin is a former 8th grade ELA teacher, literacy strategist and Elementary Assistant Principal. Her educational background includes a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction as well as Urban Leadership Development from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Kristin joined Lexia Learning in 2013 and her educational passions center around providing educator support, promoting the science of reading, and implementing student-centered instruction via educational technologies.
Braydon Moreno
Braydon is the co-founder of Robo 3D, a desktop 3D printer designer and manufacturer from San Diego, CA. Robo 3D was bootstrapped in 2013 on a dining room table in San Diego, CA. Since then, Robo has raised over $1,000,000 on crowdfunding three 3D printers as well as sold their products to over 4505 cities across 105 countries around the world. Braydon was honored in the 2017 Forbes 30 under 30 class. Robo and MyStemKits were acquired by Boxlight in April 2020 and Braydon is now the Director of STEM at Boxlight.
Kirsten Nichols
Kirsten Nichols serves as the Director of Student Behavior Services at Pinecrest Academy in Northern Nevada. Kirsten is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Nevada. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor in education with an emphasis in special education and English language acquisition and development (2019), as well as a Masters in special education with an emphasis in applied behavior analysis (2021). Kirsten worked as a special education teacher for three years before moving into her new role.
Fawn Nguyen
Fawn Nguyen was a classroom teacher for 30 years. She then worked as a math coach for a K-8 school district for three years. This year, she begins her work as a Math Advanced Team Specialist with Amplify. She was the 2014 Ventura County Teacher of the Year. In 2009, she was awarded the Math Teacher Hero from Raytheon. In 2005, she was awarded the Sarah D. Barder Fellowship from the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. Fawn blogs about her lessons and classroom teaching and authors three websites for teachers: visualpatterns.org, between2numbers.com, and chewablemath.com. In addition to this work, she is also one of the editors for mathblogging.org. In 2012, she co-founded the Math Teachers’ Circle in Thousand Oaks, California.
Rosanne Richards
Ms. Richards currently serves as the College, Career, Equity, and School Choice Unit Director with the Clark County School District. Ms. Richards has been with the Clark County School District since August 2003 and always put the needs of students at the forefront of her work. Ms. Richards began teaching at the elementary level and moved to middle school early in her career. Ms. Richards served as a literacy trainer, dean of students, and an administrator in central office.
Additionally, working in central office and in the field, Ms. Richards understands the importance of supporting schools at all levels with balanced leadership, a growth mindset, and a dedication to achievement.
Ms. Richards earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Accounting, Master of Science in Education, and earned a Master of Science in Leadership and Educational Administration. Ms. Richards currently serves as the NASA Nevada Central Office Administrators’ Association President-Elect and will elevate to the presidency of this component group on July 1, 2022.
John Shoup
Mr. Shoup has over 26 years of experience as a school administrator and 34 years in public education. He is currently the Assistant Principal of Pinecrest Academy of Northern Nevada (PANN). Previously he was an assistant principal at a middle school in Washington and then a principal at Woodland High School for 22 years in Washington before retiring and moving to Nevada. After a year away from schools, he decided to return to doing what he loves and was hired at PANN in the summer of 2021.
Gerry Stefhon
Gerry is an Associate Manager in PCG's education division. Currently, he is leading PCG’s Science of Literacy and Learning team. His past experience includes assisting with the state revisions of their PK – 3 Early Literacy Plan and providing support for Priority School Principals with an emphasis of identifying rigor in literacy. Gerry brings 25 years of classroom, administrative and consulting experience to PCG; he has been a Deaf Educator, Assistant Principal, and Principal for the Denton Independent School District in Texas. He has extensive experience in the facilitation of organizational analysis and modification of instructional practices, policies and processes to enhance teaching and learning. Gerry has a deep working knowledge of special education law and procedures, the implementation of RTI/MTSS initiatives, and providing guidance and leadership development to campus administration, senior district leadership, and superintendents across multiple states. Gerry earned his B.S. in Education - Hearing Impairment from Texas Tech University and his M.Ed. in Educational Administration from the University of North Texas. He is currently working towards his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of New Mexico.
Suzy Takeda
To say that Suzy Takeda has done it all is an understatement. Her 35 years in education is rich with a variety of roles: classroom teacher, campus literacy coach, campus data coordinator, and district-level response to instruction coordinator, intervention coordinator, English Language Arts coordinator, and educational consultant. Across all of her roles, Suzy has held tightly to her passion for working with teachers—always seeking to find effective ways to guide and encourage them to continuously grow and increase their own professional skill set. She loves nothing more than watching the teachers she has service as they help students from diverse backgrounds reach their highest potential.
Dan Wistman
Dan has more than 25 years of information systems experience, including extensive experience in software development and project management of enterprise application implementations. He has managed and led the development and implementation of over a hundred systems in his career. For PCG, he oversees service line direction for PCG’s Behavior Threat Assessment practice.
Currently, he oversees PCG's innovative education portal and content management system for New York State and also directs the PCG's IIS work with Fulton County, Georgia. He has served as overall project director for the Tennessee Department of Education's Statewide Student Management System that provides a Web-hosted student information system and special education system to all participating districts in the state. He also directs PCG's statewide New Hampshire special education system work, is the project director for PCG's engagement with the School District of Philadelphia for a special education data system, and is the technical project director for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools RtI and SPED-EMS project. Mr. Wistman led the technology team implementing the NJSMART educational data warehouse and LEA reporting system for the state of New Jersey.
