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Hilleary Drake has taught fifth grade for six years in Riverton, Wyoming. Growing up in Texas during the initial wave of the “testing craze” she understands just how harmful it can be when testing drives instruction. She earned her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and her Master’s degree from the University of Iowa. While at Iowa she worked with Iowa Testing Progams as a graduate assistant, gaining behind-the-scene knowledge of the testing industry.

Thomas M. McCann is an associate professor of English at Northern Illinois University, where he contributes to the teacher certification program. He taught high school for 25 years, including seven years working in an alternative high school. He has been a high school English department chair, an assistant principal, and an assistant superintendent.

Mrs. Gail Aronoff is an educational consultant who worked for 37 years in several schools, both as teacher and administrator. She has worked with students with special needs in elementary, middle school, and high school, and served as a liaison between schools and the families of struggling learners. At the high school level, she taught struggling learners for fourteen years and held the position of Assistant Principal for Student Services for twelve years.

Gretchen Oltman, J.D., Ph.D. has spent over a decade in education, including many years as a high school English teacher. She is a licensed attorney in the state of Nebraska and holds a Ph.D. in Educational Studies from the University of Nebraska. Oltman spent most of her career as a high school English teacher where she focused on Freshman English courses.

Consulting Description

Cathy A. Toll is a consultant and author who supports learning by helping professional learning teams, educational coaches, and school leaders to invest in teachers’ capacity to make a difference for students.. She has published widely for teacher leaders, including four books for coaches and numerous articles in professional journals.

Dr. Becki Cohn-Vargas is a leading scholar in identity safety, recognized for her roles as a school leader, curriculum specialist, and consultant. With a rich and varied career spanning over 35 years, she has significantly contributed as a Spanish bilingual teacher, principal, curriculum director, and superintendent in diverse rural, urban, and suburban pre-K-12 educational settings.

Jonathan P. Costa, Sr. is director of school and program services for the EDUCATION CONNECTION, a regional education service center in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Dr. Robert J. Manley graduated from Iona College with a BA in Spanish Language Arts and minors in Philosophy and Education. He completed his MA degree in the Humanities at Hofstra University and his Professional Diploma and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Educational Administration at St. John's University. He taught Spanish language skills and served as an instructor in a New York State Model Humanities program at West Babylon High School.

Anne Foster is the Executive Director of Parents for Public Schools (PPS), a national organization of community-based chapters working to strengthen public schools by engaging, educating and mobilizing parents.