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Charles M. Jaksec III has served as a school social worker in The Hillsborough County School District for 21 years and has been a member of the district’s crisis intervention team for 18 years. He serves as the chairperson of the district’s Bullying Committee and is a member of the district’s Violence Prevention Committee.

Steven Katz is the director of Aporia Consulting Ltd. and a faculty member in the Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE, UT), where he teaches in the Child Study and Education graduate program. He is the recipient of the OISE, UT- wide award for teaching excellence. Steven has a PhD in human development and applied psychology, with specialization in applied cognitive science.

A teacher since 1999, Stephen J. Valentine is currently the Assistant Head of the Upper School at Montclair Kimberley Academy in New Jersey. Valentine oversees curriculum, supervises a team of Department chairs, and advises students while he teaches a variety of English courses.

An educator, political scientist and author, Frederick M. Hess studies K-12 and higher education issues. His books include The Same Thing Over and Over, Education Unbound, Common Sense School Reform, Revolution at the Margins, Spinning Wheels, and Cage-Busting Leadership (Harvard Education Press, February 2013).

Joan Taylor is a teacher-consultant who works with teachers and students in Title I schools in the Reno/Sparks area of Northern Nevada.  She recently completed a dissertation on A History of Written Composition Instruction in U.S.

Grace Sammon, president and founder of GMS Partners, Inc., is an educator, school reformer, consultant, “coach,” speaker, and internationally recognized author. She has spent nearly twenty years working in one of the United States’ toughest institutions, the American high school. She has inspired change and fostered improvement in schools, districts, and government organizations nationally through her upbeat advice and sound, practical recommendations. GMS Partners, Inc.

Karen Bosch, Ph.D. is a professor of education and the Director of Teacher Education at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virginia. She has been awarded the Most Inspiring Faculty Award from Old Dominion University and most recently has become the recipient of the Virginia Wesleyan College’s Batten Distinguished Faculty Award for excellence in teaching, scholarship, and passion for inspiring others.

Ken O’Connor is an independent classroom assessment consultant with a special interest in grading and reporting. An internationally recognized speaker who has presented in 47 states in the United States, 9 provinces and one territory in Canada, and 24 other countries, he has also consulted for schools, districts, and state and provincial departments of education.

Shirley M. Hord, PhD, is the scholar laureate of Learning Forward (previously National Staff Development Council), following her retirement as Scholar Emerita at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory in Austin, Texas. There she directed the Strategies for Increasing Student Success Program. She continues to design and coordinate professional development activities related to educational change and improvement, school leadership, and the creation of professional learning communities.

Lois Brown Easton works as a consultant, coach, and author. She is particularly interested in learning designs for adults and for students. She recently retired as director of professional development at Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, Estes Park, Colorado.

Doris “Annie” Henry is a partner in The Resiliency Group, Ltd., and retired Pro­fessor of Educational Leadership. Her research and writing interests focus on resiliency, restructuring, change, organization development, and school improvement. Her work with developing resiliency efforts includes Nelson, New Zealand, Ashland, Oregon; Tennessee State Department of Education; and Memphis, Tennessee.

Sarah F. Mahurt is the director of the Purdue Literacy Collaborative and associate professor of literacy and language at Purdue. Through her leadership, the Purdue Literacy Collaborative has trained more than 80 literacy coordinators to be literacy leaders and coaches in their schools. This project has reached more than 800 teachers who are improving their teaching of literacy and student achievement in literacy.