Invited speakers

SA Anthony Manganaro is the Supervisory Special Agent over the FBI’s Child Sex Tourism Initiative, housed under the FBI HQ Violent Crimes Section, Child Exploitation Operational Unit. SA Manganaro has been with the FBI since 2010, with prior assignments in the San Antonio, TX and Springfield, IL FBI Field Offices. Before joining the FBI, SA Manganaro served as a police officer with the Tulsa, OK Police Department and worked as a Detective on the Child Crisis Unit.

Throughout his career, SA Manganaro has investigated numerous crimes against children matters to include child sexual and physical abuse, child homicide, the production and distribution of child exploitative materials, international parental kidnapping, and child sex tourism.

Ben Shifrin is completing his 16th year as head of Jemicy School in Owings Mills, Maryland. Prior to coming to the Jemicy School, Mr. Shifrin lived and worked in California and spent 14 years serving as a special education administrator in the Unified School District of Los Angeles. He later served as the head of Westmark School, one of California’s premier institutions for students with learning differences. During this time he also served as a board member of the L.A. Chapter of the International Dyslexia Association and a member of the Learning Disabilities Association and the National Association of Independent Schools. Ben moved to Baltimore to become head of Jemicy School in 2002, and shortly after, facilitated a merger with Valley Academy helping to successfully create Baltimore’s first 1st through 12th grade curriculum for students with language-based learning differences.

In 2009, Ben was appointed to the Executive Board of Directors for the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), where he served as treasurer and vice president. In 2013, he was selected to serve on the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children, which advises the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools - helping families and educators in the identification and nurturing of children with both learning challenges and giftedness. In 2014, Ben accepted an invitation from Stevenson University to join the President’s Advisory Council, and in the summer of 2015, was selected by Maryland’s governor, Larry Hogan, to join the Governor’s Dyslexia Task Force.

Ben speaks nationally on the collaboration between neuroscience and education, as well as on other topics relevant to learning differences. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Temple University, earning an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and then a master’s degree in Special Education and Administration. Dyslexic himself, Ben brings a uniquely sensitive approach to working with Jemicy students and lives up to his commitment that students’ needs come before all else.

Chris Bishop has been an educator for almost 20 years. Currently, he is the Athletic Director at the American School of The Hague and a member of the NIAAA International Committee that writes courses for International Athletic Directors. Prior to ASH he was the AD at Concordia International School of Shanghai were he worked for 10 years.

Originally from Michigan, where he was a public school teacher and coach, Chris has a Bachelor and Masters Degree from Western Michigan University.

SA Christopher Young is currently assigned to Diplomatic Security's Criminal Investigative Liaison branch, where he serves as the DS representative to the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children unit, State Department Consular Affairs Office of Children's Issues, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Prior to this assignment, SA Young was assigned to the Secretary of State's Protective Detail, U.S. Embassy, Buenos Aires, U.S. Embassy, Baghdad, and the DS Chicago Field Office. SA Young is a U.S. Navy veteran, holds a MA in Public Policy from Northwestern University, and resides in Fairfax, VA with his wife and two children.

Daniel A. Domenech, PhD
AASA Executive Director

Daniel A. Domenech has served as executive director of the AASA, The School Superintendents Association, since July 2008. Domenech has more than 45 years of experience in public education, twenty-seven of those years served as a school superintendent.

Prior to joining AASA, Domenech served as senior vice president for National Urban Markets with McGraw-Hill Education. In this role, he was responsible for building strong relationships with large school districts nationwide.

Prior to his position at McGraw-Hill, Domenech served for seven years as superintendent of the Fairfax County, Va., Public Schools, the 12th largest school system in the nation with 180,000 students.

Domenech began his teaching career in New York City, where he taught sixth grade in a predominantly black and Hispanic community in South Jamaica, Queens. He then became program director for the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services, which is the largest intermediate school district in the State of New York. Following this, he was first named superintendent of schools for Long Island’s Deer Park Schools and then became superintendent of schools for the ethnically diverse South Huntington School District, also on Long Island -- a position he held for 13 years. From 1994 to 1997, he was district superintendent of the Second Supervisory District of Suffolk County and chief executive officer of the Western Suffolk BOCES.

Domenech, an AASA member since 1979, served as president of AASA from July 1998 to June 1999. He is also a past president of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, the Suffolk County Superintendents Association, and the Suffolk County Organization for Promotion of Education. He was the first president and cofounder of the New York State Association for Bilingual Education. For ten years Domenech has published a monthly column in the School Administrator magazine as well as the dandomenech.org blog and has contributed to numerous books and publications. His book, “Personalizing 21st Century Education”, is popular with school systems implementing personalized learning.

Domenech currently serves on the boards of the Learning First Alliance, The Center for Naval Analyses, The Horace Mann Educators Corporation, ACT, USAC, and Communities in Schools. He has served on the National Assessment Governing Board, the advisory board for the Department of Defense schools, the Board of Directors of the Association for the Advancement of International Education, the Board of Overseers for the Baldrige Award and the boards of the Institute for Educational Leadership, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and Education Policy Institute.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College in New York City and a Ph.D. from Hofstra University in Uniondale, N.Y.

Dr. David Gleason is a clinical psychologist who provides counseling and consulting services, as well as neuropsychological assessments, within public, independent and international schools.

Dr. Gleason earned a B.A. in Psychology (1982) and an M.A. in Counseling Children & Adolescents from Boston College (1987), and then a Psy.D. at William James College (f.k.a. Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology) in 1993.

Dr. Gleason then served as Administrative Director of Student Support Services at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire before opening his own practice in Concord, Massachusetts in 2000. At that time, Dr. Gleason also joined Concord Academy as that school’s Consulting Psychologist.

In addition, Dr. Gleason serves as Senior Neuropsychologist at Wediko Children’s Services in Boston, where he supervises pre and post-doctoral neuropsychology interns and he co-teaches a professional development seminar. Finally, Dr. Gleason has taught psychology at the secondary, undergraduate and graduate levels, and he presents workshops and seminars at schools, national conferences in the United States, and at international conferences around the world.

Dr. Gleason’s new book, "At What Cost? Defending Adolescent Development in Fiercely Competitive Schools", was published in January 2017.

11th year as an international athletic administrator. Obtained his CAA status from the NIAAA in 2018.

Originally from Mansfield, England. United Kingdom.

Dr. David Ottaviano was appointed Director of International Accreditation Services after most recently serving as the Head of GEMS International School-Al Khail in Dubai.

David has extensive experience in school administration and ACS WASC. His doctorate was in School Evaluation and Psychology. His tenure as a school head includes 10 years as a public school superintendent in New Jersey and 21 years as head of private, international schools in Serbia, Italy, Japan, Romania and the UAE. With his years at the helm of schools, he has gained expertise in strategic planning, international recruitment, board training, as well as educational and operations management; he brings strong experience and an analytical perspective to the table to help schools in their quest for improvement. A psychologist by training, Dr. Ottaviano uses current psychological theory to inform his leadership approach.

He has had extensive experience with ACS WASC serving as a Commissioner, as a WASC educational consultant and on numerous WASC Committees as member and Chairperson.

In addition to his 31 years of experience as a school head he has held board leadership positions in the international professional development groups in Asia (EARCOS) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEESA). He has also served as President of IB North Asia, was Vice-President of EARCOS (East Asia Region Council of International Schools), and Chairman of CEESA (Central and Eastern Schools Association).

David received a BA from Grove City College in psychology, an MA in school psychology from Montclair State University, and an Ed.D. from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Educational Leadership and Psychology. David’s post-doctoral work was as a Klingenstein Fellow at Teachers College, Columbia University. He has written numerous articles on the adjustment of children, on psychology, and on the education of students. His hobbies are reading, bicycling, and golfing, traveling and flying a small airplane. He also enjoys carpentry.

He and his wife Cathy have been married for over 45 years. Cathy holds two master’s degrees in psychology and school counseling and is also a Certified Financial Planner. They have two children who were primarily educated overseas in the International Baccalaureate Programme. Kyle graduated from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, has an MA in School Counseling and works in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Kate is a graduate of Wesleyan University, a former Fulbright Scholar in Macedonia and currently attends Rutgers Medical School in New Jersey.

Dave Stanfield joined the Council of International Schools in 2014 as the Head of Research & Development. In this role, Dave develops processes and systems to collect, analyze and share data in usable form to enhance CIS services and support members in the delivery of effective educational programmes. Dave supports the development of the CIS International Accreditation and is responsible for cultivating strategic partnerships with educational researchers.

Prior to joining CIS, Dave was a Research Assistant at the Boston College Center for International Higher Education and Harvard University. He earned his Ph.D. in higher education administration at Boston College. From 2006-2011, Dave served as the Director of Student Activities and First-Year Programmes at Carnegie Mellon University’s international branch campus in Doha, Qatar. Dave earned a master’s degree in College Student Personnel from Miami University in Ohio (USA) and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M University (USA).

Ellen Donnelly is a contractor for the U.S. State Department Office of Overseas Schools, and she has 25 years of experience as an educator in international schools, U.S. Department of Defense schools, and public and private schools in the United States.

She has her Bachelor’s Degree from Seattle Pacific University and her Master’s from George Mason University in Administration Leadership.

Ellen is certified in Advanced Academics and has worked in Fairfax County as an Advanced Academic Resource Teacher for eight years, and most recently as an Advanced Academic Specialist.

Ellen developed an Advanced Academic Program for a large public school that had a high population of underrepresented students. Ellen worked with teachers to identify and develop Advanced Learning in all students.

Leading projects around the world for clients in education and industry, Ewan is the passionate and energising tour de force behind NoTosh.

A highly-regarded keynote speaker at events around the world, he’s also the author of How To Come Up With Great Ideas and Actually Make Them Happen and regularly writes about learning on his blog edu.blogs.com.

“As a French and German high school teacher in Scotland back in the 1990s, I wanted to find new ways to help students engage with my subjects – I felt strongly that technology was both critical to this and underused in the classroom, so my classes were among the first in Europe to podcast and blog as part of their daily learning.

"From here, it was a reasonably logical step to become National Advisor on Learning and Technology Futures for the Scottish Government... although joining Channel 4 as their Digital Commissioner in 2008 was a step in a different direction. But it was at Channel 4 that I became fascinated by the strategies and tactics that my creative colleagues used to create imaginative and truly engaging digital services for young people. Could I take this insight and make it work in an education setting? Yes, I reckoned I could... and that’s how NoTosh came about.”

The founder, president and senior consultant of The Learning Collaborative, Fran Prolman is an internationally recognized teacher, administrator, author, consultant and keynote speaker.

She is known for her depth of knowledge, dynamism, energy, practical application and proven track record of results. Fran earned her Doctorate in Teacher Training, International Education and Organizational Development from George Washington University and a Master’s degree in Educational Administration and Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a two-time Fulbright Scholar in both India and Israel, and has presented numerous papers, workshops and keynote speeches nationally and internationally.

Fran brings you 30 years of experience providing multifaceted work with organizations and school systems throughout the United States and the world. She was the first Understanding by Design cadre trainer designing curriculum training throughout the United States, a faculty member for ASCD and the senior consultant at Research for Better Teaching training trainers and educating thousands of administrators and teachers in effective learning practice. Fran focuses on building human capacity through a variety of avenues. She facilitates leadership retreats for teachers, administrators and executives; delivers organization-wide keynote speeches and workshops, coaches to build highly functional teams; assists organizations and teams in the appropriate use of data, designs professional growth and evaluation systems and brings insight to the change process.

She is a frequent presenter for the U.S. Department of State, European Council of International Schools, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Central and Eastern European Schools Association, Near East South Asia Association of International Schools, African Association of International Schools, the Tri-Association for the Caribbean and Central America and numerous client school systems in the United States.

Garfield Gini-Newman explores how to teach through wonder-based learning while nurturing deep conceptual understanding and genuine competence. As an associate professor at OISE/University of Toronto and the senior national consultant with The Critical Thinking Consortium, Garfield has worked with thousands of teachers across grades and subjects, helping them to frame learning around engaging and provocative activities and authentic assessments.

Requests for Garfield’s services have taken him from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean and across North America. His interest in effective teaching and learning has led him to actively explore the challenges and opportunities presented by teaching and learning in the digital age.

In addition to his work at the University of Toronto and delivering workshops, Garfield has also authored several articles, chapters in books and seven textbooks and has taught in the faculties of education at York University and the University of British Columbia. His most recent book co-authored with Roland Case, "Creating Thinking Classrooms" has received widespread praise from leading educators across Canada and internationally.

15th year as an International Athletic Administrator.

Masters in Athletic Administration from Ohio University 2016. CAA status from the NIAAA in 2014.

Jason Porter, M.S.Ed. is the East Coast Director of Professional Development for TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods charity. In this role, Jason creates, implements and delivers STEM professional development curriculum through TGR EDU: Create.

The focus of this professional development is to introduce student-centered, inquiry-based STEM teaching practices to educators on the East Coast of the United States and internationally. To successfully prepare educators to develop rigorous student-centered STEM programs, TGR EDU: Create staff model for educators a culture of inquiry, constructing strong driving questions, developing questioning strategies to lead inquiry and incorporating peer feedback to constantly improve teaching practice.

Prior to this role, Jason led a TGR Learning Lab at KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy in Philadelphia, where he also served as the founding Advanced Placement Biology Teacher, Science Department Chair and Assistant Principal. While at KIPP Philadelphia, Jason focused on implementing career-focused, engaging STEM experiences for students both during the school day as well as during after-school and weekend STEM programs.

Prior to becoming a secondary educator, Jason was a research scientist and taught undergraduate classes in Biology, Microbiology, Environmental Science, Genetics, Microbial Physiology and Microbial Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at University of the Sciences.

Jason has a deep passion for science and STEM education and cares deeply about helping educators to better prepare their students to be competent professionals in a modern workforce.

James or Jim ,received his Bachelors degree in Exercise Physiology from Eastern Washington University in 1983 and his Masters in Health Education from Whitworth College in 1986.

He has had over 20 years of Overseas Athletic Administration in Gaum,Torreon,Mexico and Warsaw Poland. He is a founding member and course developer of the recently accredited International Athletic Administrator Program sponsored by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrator Association or NIAAA. In his free time, he likes to swim.

Julie has been teaching in International Schools for 18 years, always in Early Childhood from preschool to Kindergarten. She taught in the US, China, Singapore, the UAE, Indonesia and currently teaches Kindergarten at the Anglo-American School of Moscow. Julie is a French citizen and has loved working alongside teachers from so many different nationalities and backgrounds throughout the years. Julie holds a Masters degree in Early Childhood education with a specialization in administration, leadership and management. She has been a team leader for ten years and will become the next assistant principal of the elementary school.

Since arriving at AAS-Moscow, Julie has been involved in the Research and Development team of “Application and Transfer” focusing on project-based learning and service learning. Together with her team, she started a garden with the students, donating the harvest to a local food drive. Julie believes that children are competent and capable of making choices, curious and love learning and need to be given the opportunities to build on their own theories with repeated exposure. Julie believes that open Inquiry is a way teachers can honor these beliefs about children and together, Nikki and Julie are excited to share with you their work in this area of learning.

Katherine Bihr, Ed.D. is the Vice President of Programs and Education for TGR Foundation, A Tiger Woods Charity, providing direction to the personnel, programs and operations of both the TGR Learning Lab and the Earl Woods Scholar Program. TGR Foundation provides career exploration and college preparation programs to high potential, low opportunity youth and families.

Prior to joining TGR Foundation, she was the principal of Vista View Middle School in Fountain Valley, CA. Bihr is the 2018 Chair of the STEM Funder Network, a national organization providing resources and professional learning to help teachers, parents and out-of-school providers better inspire and prepare our youth in STEM.

She also serves on the board of directors for the El Viento Foundation, which provides education and enrichment opportunities for at-risk students from grades 4-12; and Project Tomorrow, which supports the innovative uses of science, math and technology resources in K-12 schools and communities. In addition, she sits on the Department of Education Leadership Council for UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. She also represents USC Rossier on the USC Alumni Board of Governors and is a member of the Rossier Board of Councilors.

Katherine is an Instructional Technology Coach with American School of Warsaw working with grades PK to 5. Utilizing the collaborative and communication capabilities of Google Suite; grade level teams, support teachers, and students seamlessly integrate Digital Literacy Standards into curriculum planning and execution.

Matt Fleming is currently the Athletic Director at the American International School of Budapest, Hungary since 2008. Prior to Hungary, Matt spent six years as Athletic/Activity Coordinator and PE teacher at the International School of Latvia, specializing in new program development. Originally from Akron, Ohio, Matt has coached a variety of sports and levels in international schools along with organizing many tournaments/festivals.

Over the past seven years, he has been very active in leading Professional Development opportunities for the Central Eastern European Schools Association Athletic Director’s and Activity Coordinators through his association with the USA-based National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. Matt has been a key contributor to collaborative efforts between CEESA, the NIAAA, and the Canadian Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. These endeavors have lead to the development of courses adapted from the NIAAA to meet the unique needs of AD’s in international school settings. The primary goals of being to provide PD opportunities, enhance the repertoire of AD’s, and provide best-practice strategies for education-based athletics in International Schools.

Matt has achieved the highest level of certification through the NIAAA by earning the Certified Master Athletic Administrator title. He also holds a BS Ed. From the University of Dayton, and MS Ed. from the University of Akron.

Mike is currently an elementary technology coach at ASW. Previously, he has spent his time alternating between being a technology coach and being a classroom teacher. Mike recently retook the Google Level one exam to make sure he has an understanding of the expectations Google has to become a Google Educator. He enjoys using the Google Suite of products both at school and at home.

Michèle Mazzocco is Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development, where she directs the Early Math and Numeracy Research Lab and leads studies of mathematical cognition and mathematics learning disabilities. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Spencer Foundation, and numerous other private foundations. Michèle has reported her research in over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Influenced by her interdisciplinary training in experimental psychology, developmental neuropsychology, and early childhood education, including several years as a preschool lead teacher, she is particularly interested in practical applications of basic science. She has published and edited research reviews in practitioner-based chapters and volumes, including "Why Is Math So Hard for Some Children? The Nature and Origins of Mathematical Learning Difficulties and Disabilities", which she co-edited (with Daniel Berch).

Michèle is a member of the Development and Research in Early Mathematics Education (DREME) Network funded by Heising-Simons, and the Early Learning Research Network funded by the Institute of Education Sciences.
In addition, since 1999, she has served as a member of U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas SchoolsAdvisory Committee for Students with Exceptional Needs.

Dr. Monica Medina has been an international educator for over 25 years working as a Deputy Superintendent and Principal in Ecuador (Academic Cotopaxi), Kenya (International School of Kenya), China (Shanghai American School), The United Arab Emirates (American School of Dubai) and Brazil (Escola American do Rio de Janeiro).
She earned her Doctorate in International Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco in California where Monica worked as a teacher and school administrator for over 15 years prior to moving overseas.

During her 20+ years overseas she has worked in growing schools where program expansion and growth were a focus. She also worked very closely with the late Bonnie Campbell Hill, the developer of the Bonnie Campbell-Hill Reading and Writing developmental continuum.

Monica is a recipient of the National Association of Elementary School Principals prestigious National Distinguished Principal Award.

She presently works as an Instructor in the Education Department at California State University Channel Islands and consults with international schools coaching administrators, providing workshops on K-12 literacy practices and training international schools literacy coaches facilitating the International Schools Literacy Coach Cohort (ISLCC) in the CEESA region. Monica has two sons, one who was educated in international schools in Ecuador, Kenya and China. One of her sons in a middle school special education teacher in the US.

Over the past 22 years, Myron has worked as an educator in both Canada and New Zealand in subjects ranging from grades 4 to 12. In 2006 Myron began to develop a number of grading, assessment and reporting systems which gave students a greater opportunity to show what they understand and play a significant role in the reporting of their learning.

Myron has also been a part of district groups, school committees and governmental bodies that have further broadened his access to innovative ideas. Through sharing his stories, tools and first-hand experiences with public, charter and international school educators around the world, Myron’s presentations have diverged to include global education trends and broader socio-economic realities that impact learning. Myron has twice been published in EL Magazine.

His best-selling book, Grading Smarter, Not Harder– Assessment Strategies that Motivate Kids and Help Them Learnwas released by ASCD in July 2014 and in 2015 ASCD released a video project based in his own school district entitled ‘Smarter Assessment in the Secondary Classroom’. His most recent project, ‘Ask Them’, is a three-part streaming series available at www.ascd.org.

Myron and his family currently live in British Columbia where he is SD67 District Vice-Principal for Communicating Student Learning.

11th year as an international athletic administrator, obtained his CMAA status from the NIAAA in 2014.

Originally from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

Nikki Hume is originally from Portland, Oregon, USA. This is her 10th and final year teaching at the International School of Prague and will be moving on to the International School of Manila starting August 2019. Nikki is currently a Kindergarten teacher and Grade Team Leader and enjoys teaching in Reggio Inspired, Early Childhood environments. She holds a Masters degree in Curriculum & Instruction with a specialisation in Early Childhood Education.

Her involvement at ISP is diverse and has been involved in coordinating Service Learning, Social Studies curriculum and developing Units of Inquiry in the Elementary School; Nikki is a coach for girls football (soccer) and basketball, and has been an assistant to the music teachers for ES musicals and drama productions. For the past two years, Nikki has been the Early Years representative for the CEESA region schools. As an educator, Nikki feels most passionate about building community in the classroom; facilitating creative and critical thinking through Service Learning experiences, storytelling with children, and providing a learning environment that is open for children to explore through play.

Peter Welch has spent his career working in very different kinds of schools all over the world. This professional journey has encompassed experiences in national, international, private, state, wealthy, impoverished, boys, girls, coeducational and residential schools.

After studying at Cambridge University, he worked first as a voluntary English teacher in Lesotho and then Ghana in Africa before teaching History in the UK and then moving overseas. He has been the Head of IB World Schools in Thailand, Turkey and Finland. In the summer of 2019, he will follow Dr Robert Brindley as the next Director of the American International School of Bucharest. This will be Peter’s third headship within the CEESA region, this close family of schools that it is such a pleasure to work with.

Peter’s educational passion is exploring the profound relationship between culture, how we learn, and how we see our world. He originated research and developed a practical tool for schools to understand how a student’s culture maps to their learning and communication preferences. The Council of International Schools adopted this model and, working in partnership to improve and validate the research, this survey is now global, involving thousands of international students.

Peter is currently on a year-long sabbatical. This precious time has included some adventurous travel with his family, some volunteering (cleaning up after orangutans!), home-schooling his daughter, learning the ukulele and (finally!) finishing his book on cultural differences – ‘Who on Earth Are You? – How to Thrive in a Mixed-Up World’.

Savanna Flakes is an international education consultant specializing in inclusion and diversity, team collaboration, innovation in education, and education technology. Savanna has worked with school communities around the world to support administrators and teachers with effective instructional practices for ALL students.

Savanna has served as a professor in the American University School of Education and Health, and she presents on topics such as Innovation in a Digital World, STEAM, and Technology Integration.

Savanna has received numerous honors and awards for her work on behalf of students and in education such as Orator of the Year, National Association of Special Education Teachers Outstanding Special Educator Award, and the U.S. Department of Education-White House Outstanding American Educator.

Savanna has published instructional resources and articles on instructional practices, universal design for learning, and student efficacy.

Savanna holds a Masters Degree in Special Education from American University; Education Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Virginia; and a Masters Certificate in Leadership and Administration from the George Washington University.

Savanna is a “Possibilitarian,” she believes everything is possible with a great teacher; every child can be successful.

Shannon Hobbs-Beckley has been an educator for 22 years working in both international and US public school settings. Currently, she is the Director of Teaching and Learning at Graded American School of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

She has served in the roles of elementary principal, associate principal, Instructional Leadership and Professional Learning Coordinator, instructional coach, and classroom teacher. While working in US public schools, she lead the development and implementation of a district-wide instructional coaching program, supporting coaches and administrators in 40 schools.

In 2008, in tandem with Bonnie Campbell-Hill and Carrie Ekey, she began work as the co-facilitator of the NESA Literacy Coach Cohort, which later expanded to the CEESA region. She has also presented on coaching and leadership at conferences in South America and the United States.

She is a member of Learning Forward and former Executive Secretary for the Washington Affiliate. As an educator she has expertise and interest in adult learning, leadership, organizational and systems approaches to improvement, and literacy instruction.

Shannon holds a Master of Educational Leadership from the University of Washington - Bothell, a Master’s Degree in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment from Lesley University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Child Development from Western Washington University.

When she is not working, she enjoys travelling, trying new things, cooking, reading, and spending time with her family.

Simon is currently one of the Upper School Technology Coaches at ASW. He is a Google Certified Trainer and Apple Distinguished Educator. He is always amazed at how G Suite has developed with new tools being developed constantly.

Dr. Sonny Magana is an award-winning teacher, best-selling author, and pioneering educational technology researcher. Painstakingly synthesizing four decades of groundbreaking research into his latest book, Disruptive Classroom Technologies, Dr. Magana introduced the T3 Framework for Innovation to wide international acclaim: “A visionary work; truly insightful and inspirational!” (Marzano, 2017); “A brilliant breakthrough in our understanding and use of technology for learning” (Fullan, 2017); and, “A major step forward; Magana’s T3 Framework offers a credible, powerful, and exciting challenge; let’s do it!” (Hattie, 2018). Dr. Magana’s research methods and findings underpinning the T3 Framework were recently inducted into Oxford University’s inaugural Online Research Encyclopedia for Education.

Dr. Magana founded and served as Principal of Washington State’s first CyberSchool in 1996, a groundbreaking blended learning program that continues to meet the needs of at-risk students in Washington. An avid musician, yoga practitioner, climber, and bee keeper, Sonny was awarded the Milken Family Foundation Educator Award and the Washington Governor’s Commendation for Educational Excellence. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Stockton University, a master of education degree from City University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Seattle University. He has successfully climbed the highest peaks in the state of Washington.

Dr. Susan Grant holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, having trained at the University of Maryland, College park and the Graduate School of Medicine at the UMAB campus.

She specializes and did research in Neurolinguistics, the study of the relationship between brain and language development. She also has a Master of Science degree and Maryland license in Speech and Language Pathology.

Dr. Grant has been in private clinical practice for nearly 30 years, diagnosing and developing treatment plans for children with ASD, speech-language, reading and learning disabilities. Her staff of speech/language pathologists and psychologists implements treatment plans and provide ongoing therapy.

Dr. Grant was the founding Board member and Board president of a middle and high school, college preparatory program for students with learning disabilities. She lectures and has given many workshops nationally and internationally on the applicability of brain research to good teaching practice, language and reading acquisition, and learning disabilities. She is Chair of the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth for the State Department Office of Overseas Schools. She serves on the Board of Trustees and Advisory Boards for several independent schools and Foundations.

Over the last 20 years, Sylvia Gillpatrick has led major, technology-driven projects in the K-12 education sector as an independent consultant.

As a program manager she led the implementation of three, statewide, computer adaptive assessments - one in Idaho partnering with NWEA, one in Delaware partnering with AIR and one for the Oregon Department of Education. From 2006 through 2014, she was employed by major education organizations – Schoolnet, McGraw-Hill, the State of Oregon, the State of Delaware, Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and Educational Policy and Improvement Center (EPIC). She led the implementation of school performance systems in Chicago and Atlanta public schools, developing an online assessment/curriculum project for McGraw Hill and led EPIC’s federal contract with the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB).

Since re-establishing her consulting practice in November of 2014, she has collaborated on several new product development projects related to K-12 education – using technology to align curriculum between community colleges and K-12, so students can avoid developmental math and English in their first year of college and a second one using technology to greatly expand the use of video beyond it’s current use in education. She is also an experienced grant reviewer focusing on federal and state grants in both k-12 and higher education.

Prior to specializing in K-12 education and technology consulting, Sylvia worked as a CPA, VP of Administration for Management Compensation Group, providing organizational design and IT program management services. She has over 15 years of experience in planning, analysis, design and implementation of complex information systems in the public sector.

She earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of California (UCLA) and a graduate degree in Business and Accounting from the University of Oregon. After receiving her graduate degree, she worked for an international accounting firm, Deloitte and Touche, obtaining the designation of Certified Public Accountant (CPA). While working in the finance and insurance industry, she held both Series 7 and 6 certifications. Over the course of her consulting career, she also earned a Professional Management Professional (PMP) designation.

Sylvia Linan-Thompson is an associate professor of Special Education in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Science at the University of Oregon and is associated with the Center on Teaching and Learning.

Dr. Linan-Thompson’s research and teaching focuses on the reading and writing development of English learners with and without literacy difficulties. She has developed and examined reading interventions for struggling readers who are monolingual English speakers, English language learners and bilingual students acquiring Spanish literacy.

She has also worked with UNESCO, the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development and various development organizations and private foundations on projects related to literacy instruction, assessment, and teacher professional development in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe since 2003.

She has been a member of the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children of the Office of Overseas Schoolssince 2004.

Tim McDonald guides individuals and organizations on their journey to becoming 21st century leaders. He helps them understand and internalize their role as community builders to deliver their product and/or service through trusted relationships that ignite movements with a customer focus. His experience working with organizations like No Kid Hungry, Cinnabon, Carvel Ice Cream among others, included leading the overall marketing vision, strategy and execution of social media campaigns, including blogger programs and influencer relationships.

Working directly on the No Kid Hungry campaign, GivingTuesday fundraising increased from $56,000 to over $249,000 in 2015, which translated into 2.49MM meals for kids in the US. Prior to that, Tim was the Director of Community for The Huffington Post, where he set strategy and oversaw a team of moderators, support and standards for the leading online news site with over 300 million comments and 70,000 bloggers. He also built and managed a community for Huffington Post's live streaming network, HuffPost Live, resulting in over 9,600 guests from more than 85 countries have joining live on-air and over 1.3 million comments on the platform.

Tim is passionate in his pursuit of purposefully connecting people. He instigates engagement and conversation, turning students into teachers and teachers into students. A skillful conversationalist, Tim encourages new ideas and navigating solid relationships through giving and receiving.