Uche Amaechi (Subarctic Survival Simulation Exercise) is a lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education and a leadership and group work consultant and facilitator. For the past 17 years, he has also served as the extended learning time coordinator at the Fletcher Maynard Academy in Cambridge. Uche earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard University, his master's degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix, and his Ed.D. from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Meghan Symmes Beaulieu (Targeting Market Segments through Advertising Using Ethos, Pathos, and Logos: An Interdisciplinary Lesson on Marketing Principles and English Language Arts) has taught business at Danvers High School for 15 years. She received her undergraduate degree in business administration from Babson College. She has a master's degree in secondary education and a master's degree in business administration, both from Fitchburg State College. She started the DECA co-curricular business organization at Danvers High and has an average of 200 students per year in the chapter. She has taught courses in accounting, marketing, introduction to business, sports and entertainment management, AP economics, and math. She is also the varsity swim and dive coach at Danvers High and has two daughters, ages 6 and 9.
Raymond Borno (Building Mathematical Schema with ST Math) is the education partnership manager for Mind Research Institute and has worked closely with schools across Massachusetts implementing the ST Math program for seven years. His work in educational technology spans over 22 years with Pearson, Plato Learning, and Houghton Mifflin. He has worked with some of the most dynamic thought leaders in the industry to try to cause the kind of transformation that technology has brought to every other industry. He is a graduate of Worcester State College, where he majored in urban studies. Limitless possibility has been the underlying theme in how Raymond creates and supports educational partners. His time at MIND has been the most rewarding to date, because it has led to sustained scalable transformation. Working for an organization that is interested in causing a "love of math" and ultimately a society of problem solvers is the most important work he has ever done.
Mary M. Bourque (Early College and Career Pathways) is superintendent of the Chelsea Public Schools. A lifelong educator committed to improving urban education, Mary is a graduate of the Chelsea school system she now serves. She has a bachelor of arts degree from Salem State University and a master's of education in administration, training, and policy and a doctorate in educational leadership and administration, both from Boston University's School of Education. Her doctoral research centered upon the impact of student mobility in urban districts within Massachusetts and the consequences mobility has upon schools' and districts' performance accountability. Mary is a former president of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and remains one of their executive officers. She served on the Foundation Budget Review Commission and is co-chair of the Urban Superintendents' Network. She is the 2017 AASA Massachusetts Superintendent of the Year and was on the Schools Committee transition team for the Baker-Polito Administration.
Karen Brennan (Getting Creative with Code!) is an associate professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she directs the Creative Computing Lab. Her research is primarily concerned with the ways in which learning environments can be designed to cultivate young people's creativity and agency as learners and designers. Before joining HGSE, Karen completed her Ph.D. in media arts and sciences at the MIT Media Lab, where she was a member of the team that developed the Scratch programming environment.
Nelson Butten (The Road Not Taken: Changing Up Family Engagement in the Home of Robert Frost) emigrated to Lawrence from the Dominican Republic in 1993. He has over 20 years of experience in community development and organizing. He started his career in the non-profit sector as an AmeriCorps member and is currently the director of community, family, and student engagement for Lawrence Public Schools. Prior to working for Lawrence Public Schools, he was the director of community organizing and then a co-executive director at Lawrence CommunityWorks, an active and respected community development corporation in Lawrence.
Allison Chester (Big Dig (Tonka Trucks)) [Livestreamed] is a reading interventionist in the Boston Public Schools. Ally attended Salve Regina University, earning a degree in elementary and special education, and received her master's in literacy education from Cambridge College. She taught special education at Ma'ili Elementary School on Oahu, Hawaii, for three years. Since arriving in Boston, Ally has taught special education in substantially separate and inclusion settings in grades 2–8. Ally is certified in Wilson Reading, Orton-Gillingham, Project Read, Woodcock Johnson III, WIAT-III, WIDA Access for ELLs 2.0, and Open Circle and has participated in Teachers College Reading and Writing Workshop Summer Institute five times to deepen her practice in literacy instruction.
Jennifer DiSarcina (Tower Building) is a fifth grade mathematics teacher in the Boston Public Schools and has served as the team leader for her grade and for the grades 5–8 math team. She is a founding winner of the Sontag Prize in Urban Education and has continued to work with the program as it expanded from Boston to cities across in the Commonwealth over 10 years. Jenn began her career in 2000 in Prince George's County, Md. and has taught second, fifth, and sixth grades in inclusion, general education, and talented and gifted classrooms. Jenn has worked with Boston Partners in Education since 2003 and was named their Teacher of the Year in 2010. Jenn is a past TeachPlus Fellow and has presented regionally and nationally for City Year, Word Generation/SERP, and Expeditionary Learning/Outward Bound. She has also worked at the district level as a math coach.
Shay Edmond (Educator Workforce Diversity) [Livestreamed] is the director of student equity initiatives at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). In this capacity, Shay provides programmatic and fiscal oversight to the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program and serves as DESE's liaison to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's Racial Imbalance Advisory Council. In addition, Shay supports DESE's broader initiatives and programming focused on increasing equity for students across the Commonwealth. Prior to the joining DESE, Shay worked at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in the Office of Student Affairs. Shay received her bachelor of arts degree from Curry College in Milton and her master of education degree in policy, planning, and administration from Boston University.
Charles Fadel (Keynote) [Livestreamed] is a global education thought leader, author, futurist and inventor. He is founder and chairman of the Center for Curriculum Redesign; a member of the President's Council at Olin College of Engineering; and chair of the education committee at Business at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Charles is co-author of "Artificial Intelligence in Education" (2019), "Four-Dimensional Education" (a framework available in 20 languages), and "21st Century Skills". He is also the founder and president of Fondation Helvetica Educatio, which is based in Switzerland. He has worked with education systems and institutions in more than 30 countries. He spent 25 years in technology management and was global education lead at Cisco Systems and an angel investor with Beacon Angels. He has also been a visiting scholar at Harvard Graduate School of Education, MIT's Experimental Study Group, and the University of Pennsylvania's PennCLO, a doctoral program for chief learning officers. He holds seven patents and has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in business administration.
Emily Galindo (Tower Building) is a second grade lead teacher in the Boston Public Schools and has previously taught third grade inclusion. Emily received her master's in education through the Boston Teacher Residency and is certified in both elementary education and moderate disabilities with a Sheltered English Immersion endorsement. Through Boston Teacher Residency, Emily has worked with Deans for Impact to study the role of motivation and student learning in our classrooms by focusing on differentiation. Emily has also coached first-year teachers. Emily has attended advanced training at Columbia University's Teachers College Reading and Writing Workshop Summer Institute and been trained in Lindamood-Bell's Visualizing & Verbalizing Instruction. Emily is working with the authors of "But Why Does it Work?" to study the impact of mathematical argument in elementary classrooms in an urban setting. Emily is passionate about improving her practice and has done so through coursework, professional development, and her involvement in various educational projects.
Scott Geter (Marble Run (Kinetic Sculpture)) After earning his bachelor's degree in biology from Rutgers University, Scott taught Science to middle schoolers in Newark and Montclair, N.J. for 10 years. While teaching, Scott earned his master's degree in education in curriculum and instruction with a focus on environmental education. Scott has taught a wide range of science topics, including biology, physics, chemistry, and environmental sciences. He also coached his school's FIRST LEGO League robotics team. Because of his desire to break down classroom walls, Scott has also taken part in piloting programs that strive to integrate disciplines and was a recipient of the Voya Financial Unsung Hero Award with his colleagues. In 2016, Scott joined i2 Learning in the hopes of transforming classrooms and how educators view instruction.
Debby Greenstein (Model Rockets (Building a Lunar Colony)) received her bachelor's and master's degrees in materials science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. During that time, Debby volunteered for Let's Get Ready, tutoring underprivileged students for the SATs and coaching them through the college admissions process. Inspired by her students, Debby began her career in education by teaching elementary school through Teach For America in Chicago, where she also earned her master's degree in teaching. With a love of teaching and inspiration to pursue widespread change in education, Debby joined i2 Learning as a curriculum developer and teacher trainer.
Monica Higgins (Subarctic Survival Simulation Exercise) is the Kathleen McCartney Professor of Education Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where her research and teaching focus on leadership development and organizational change. In education, Monica studies the effectiveness of senior leadership teams and school-based teams in large urban school districts in the United States and the conditions that enhance organizational learning and performance. She also leads an initiative at HGSE called Scaling for Impact, which focuses on helping entrepreneurial initiatives with a proven track record of success scale their work for even greater impact. Prior to joining HGSE in 2006, she spent 11 years as a member of the faculty at Harvard Business School in the Organizational Behavior Unit. She has also taught in leadership programs for The Broad Foundation and for New Leaders for New Schools and was an appointee to former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan under President Obama from 2009-2016.
Captain Barrington Irving (Rubber Band Helicopter) has traveled to 50 countries, conducted more than 30 STEM expeditions, and successfully challenged middle school students to build a car faster than a Ferrari 430 and high schoolers to build a plane he flew on its test flight. In 2007, he set two world records—at age 23—as the youngest person and first black pilot to fly solo around the world. Now 35, Barrington is an explorer that investigates real world STEM problems across the globe. Established by Captain Irving in 2014, the Flying Classroom is a K-8 STEM+ digital curriculum that challenges students to design innovative solutions to the problems he investigates. Before founding the Flying Classroom, Barrington created a nonprofit, Experience Aviation, which offers hands-on, STEM-based programs and career guidance to middle and high school students in Florida, Texas, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and brought up in inner-city Miami, Barrington was inspired to pursue aviation at age 15, when a Jamaican airline pilot offered to mentor him.
Jodi Krous (Tower Building) is in her 10th year teaching an inclusive Pre-K classroom in the Boston Public Schools. Jodi has worked with BPS' Department of Early Childhood in the facilitation of the Making Learning Visible course for the past five years. In collaboration with researchers from Project Zero, she was the focus of a video called "The Color Investigation" that looked at the role of documentation and group learning through the lens of a classroom project on color. Jodi is the recipient of the Sontag Prize in Urban Education and has served a range of children through intensive instruction in Boston and Lawrence since 2009. In addition, she received a Fund for Teachers grant. As a result, she collaborated with a mentor teacher and traveled to Reggio Emilia, Italy to look deeply at instruction. Jodi graduated from Boston Teacher Residency and holds a master's degree from UMass Boston.
Alexa Kutler (Getting Creative with Code!) In her role as project manager for the Creative Computing Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Alexa develops and supports the ScratchEd Meetups Network and cultivates the ScratchEd online community. Before her work at the Creative Computing Lab, Alexa worked as a freelance designer and teaching artist, serving a number of non-profit and grassroots organizations as well as working in schools. Alexa earned her master of divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on creative learning and design.
Genein Letford (Let's Create!) As the 2015 Hart Vision Teacher of the Year, Genein is a driving force in creative development and financial literacy. She believes every person deserves the opportunity to develop their creative skills and contribute positively to the community. She has spent 15 years teaching the creative arts and creative thinking to adults and children. After paying off almost $100,000 of debt, she realized the importance of early financial literacy, opportunity recognition, and telling your story of purpose. As seen in her TEDx talk, she has effectively combined the two domains of creative literacy and financial literacy to create her "Creative Wealth Academy", which addresses our deficiencies in the creative and financial literacies.
Angela Marzilli (Biopsy Simulation) [Livestreamed] Angela received her undergraduate degree in elementary education from the University of New England and graduate and postgraduate degrees in curriculum and instruction and curriculum leadership from the University of Southern Maine. She has taught in many different subjects and grade levels: gifted math and science in grades 3-8; in third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms; and most recently, high school forensic science and geometry. Angela believes that it is critical for all schools to focus on facilitating engaging, authentic, project-based learning experiences for students. In her current position as the K-12 STEM coordinator in her school district as well as with her work on the i2 Learning team, Angela's focus is to ignite the same passion in educators everywhere for authentic, hands-on STEM learning at all grade levels.
Jessica McKenzie (Building Mathematical Schema with ST Math) is the program manager for MIND Research Institute's Massachusetts Program. She has worked with MIND for more than seven years, providing implementation management support, professional development, and ongoing consulting services in support of high-quality implementation of the instructional software program ST Math schools. She holds a master's degree in education from the University of Missouri. Prior to joining MIND, Jessica taught middle school mathematics in Philadelphia. She earned her teaching certification in secondary mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration in finance from The College of William & Mary. Jessica is passionate about math education and enjoys partnering with educators to help achieve MIND's mission: "Ensure that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world's most challenging problems."
Holly McPartlin (White Nose Syndrome) is an administrator for grades 2–4 in a Boston Public Schools Innovation School serving amazing scholars in grades K0–8. Holly has been part of the Boston Public Schools since 2000, serving as both a teacher and administrator. Holly received her undergraduate degree from Wheelock College and her master's degree and certificate of advanced graduate study from UMass Boston. Holly's dedication to creating an environment that is both full of joy and rigor can be seen in the classrooms with which she works. She is a committed literacy practitioner and has received advanced training from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Fostering a student's life-long love of learning while supporting their social and emotional growth has been a theme throughout Holly's career.
Aliza (Kiki) Moschella (White Nose Syndrome) is a mission-driven leader committed to equity and inclusion. She is the Grades 5–8 headmaster at Eliot K–8 Innovation School in Boston and spent five years as a middle school assistant principal in Chelsea. Previously, Kiki was a teacher and instructional coach for six years and worked collaboratively with faculty to successful turnaround Downtown Miami Charter School. Kiki is an educational leader of equity and inclusion, committed to creating an environment in which all students embody our core values: Be Responsible, Be Respectful, Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Inclusive.
Amanda Murphy (Big Dig (Tonka Trucks)) [Livestreamed] is a third grade lead teacher in Boston Public Schools, previously having taught grades 2–4 in inclusion, substantially separate, and general education settings. Amanda serves as a member of her school's Governing Board and is the founding leader of her school's Special Education Committee. Amanda holds professional teaching licenses in elementary education, moderate disabilities, and English as a second language, is Orton-Gillingham certified, and has advanced training from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Amanda has won the Sontag Prize in Urban Education, teaching the last five years over school vacations to students seeking academic advancement and enrichment. She has also recently been part of the Passion to Teach Fellowship, sharing her love of journalism with students. She has supported many students and teachers through her passion and research regarding dyslexia.
Kimberley Murphy (Early College and Career Pathways) is the 11/12th grade assistant principal at Chelsea High School. After 15 years as a high school French teacher, Kimberley completed her master's degree in urban education administration at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She considers herself a leader for social justice and a champion of Early College in Chelsea as an opportunity for students to gain access to college-going identities and to remove barriers to post-secondary education.
Talitha Oliveri (It's Personal! It's Financial! It's Natural! Financial Choices Students Make: PreK–12) Everyone has a passion. Talitha's passion? Teaching future generations about the importance of financial literacy. Many former Hopedale Junior-Senior High School students will remember the 2019 Massachusetts Business Teacher of the Year as their math teacher; for 15 years, she taught courses ranging from pre-algebra to pre-calculus and everything in between. In the fall of 2014, she made a switch to the Hopedale Business Department and now reaches 95 percent of juniors and seniors through her career and college planning and financial literacy courses. Talitha is her school's public relations coordinator; leads the Hopedale College, Career, and Life Readiness curriculum initiative; serves as a Next Gen Personal Finance fellow, and is an active member of the MassSaves K-16 Task Force.
Laura Peters (Getting Creative with Code!) In her role as project manager for the Creative Computing Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Laura designs creative computing resources and curricula and researches classroom teachers' creative computing environments. Before joining the lab, Laura spent six years as a middle school special education teacher with a focus on STEAM education and founded a community arts program for youth. Laura earned her master of education degree from HGSE as a member of the Arts in Education cohort.
Jen Powell (Big Dig (Tonka Trucks)) [Livestreamed] has been a physical education teacher serving Boston Public Schools for 10 years. Jen believes that physical education is a tool that provides students with collaboration skills, communication skills, leadership skills, and various ways to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in health and exercise science and a master of science degree in health, physical education, and recreation. Jen played women's professional football for nine years and won two national championships with the Boston Militia (currently the Boston Renegades). Recently, Jen was awarded a Passion to Teach fellowship to create and implement a curriculum that our young girls could use to build a sisterhood and strong identity, increasing their self-worth and self-confidence.
Jacqueline Prester (It's Personal! It's Financial! It's Natural! Financial Choices Students Make: PreK–12) is a career-changing business teacher and instructional technology specialist at Mansfield High School. She was the 2015 Massachusetts Business Educator of the Year and has been nationally recognized for her contributions to education in the areas of financial literacy, entrepreneurship, instructional technology, and STEM. She is treasurer of the MassCUE Board of Directors and the vice president of the Massachusetts Business Educators Association Board of Directors. Jacqueline is co-founder of Edcamp Southeastern Massachusetts, and she is a Discovery Education program champion, and a Next Gen Personal Finance fellow. She has earned Level 2 Google Certified Educator status and is currently completing her National Board Certification in Career and Technology Education, specializing in business, marketing, and financial services. Connect with her on Twitter at @mrsprester.
Steve Prudent (Early College and Career Pathways) is director of high school partnerships and college pathways at Bunker Hill Community College. Steve arrived at the college in 2018 with a decade of experience in higher education, including serving as assistant director of the Office of Admissions at MassBay Community College. Steve has also worked in Boston College's Office of Urban Outreach Initiatives, where he was assistant program director of a pre-collegiate enrichment and support program for Boston public high school students. Steve earned a master of science degree in administrative studies from Boston College, a master of education degree in higher education administration from Northeastern University, and a bachelor of arts in political science from Valdosta State University.
Danielle Quinlan (Owl Pellet Dissection) has been a teacher at South Lawrence East Elementary School in Lawrence for seven years. She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a degree in elementary education and special education and is enrolled in an educational leadership graduate program with the hope of becoming an instructional coach in the near future. At the South Lawrence East, she is team leader for the first grade team and a mentor for new teachers. Her room is a model classroom for peer demonstration observations. Danielle says that when she is not in the classroom, she is a typical washed-up athlete who enjoys reliving the glory days and playing in adult sports leagues.
Paul Reville (Building Systems of Opportunity and Support for Massachusetts' Students) is the Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where he has been a faculty member since 1997. He is the founding director of HGSE's Education Redesign Lab. Paul served as Massachusetts secretary of education from 2008–2013, a role in which he established a new Executive Office of Education that had oversight of higher education, K–12, and early education. His career has spanned more than four decades and has included both a central role in the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, which he helped develop and advocate for as co-founder of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, and in the Achievement Gap Act of 2010, as education secretary. He has been a top policymaker, a teacher, a principal, and the founder of a research center and several other organizations devoted to education equity and reform. Paul is also a former chair of the Massachusetts Board of Education.
Jeffrey C. Riley (Welcome & Opening Remarks) [Livestreamed] began serving as Massachusetts' commissioner of elementary and secondary education in April 2018. A Massachusetts native, Jeff's experience spans urban and suburban districts and includes teaching in Baltimore, Md., being principal of Tyngsboro Middle School, and being principal of Boston's Edwards Middle School. In January 2012, he was appointed superintendent/receiver of the Lawrence Public Schools. During more than six years there, he led a team that brought major improvements by shifting more resources and autonomy to the school level, expanding the school day, increasing enrichment opportunities, and ensuring all schools had great leaders and teachers. Jeff lives in Boston and holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Pomona College in California, a master's degree in counseling from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, and a master's degree in school administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University.
Ventura Rodriguez (Educator Workforce Diversity) [Livestreamed] is senior associate commissioner for strategic initiatives at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), where he leads several agency priorities, including efforts to diversify the educator workforce in the Commonwealth. Concurrently, Ventura leads DESE's Statewide System of Support, setting policy and programming for DESE's strategy to improve the state's lowest performing schools and districts. He began his career as a high school Spanish and humanities teacher in San Francisco and Nairobi, Kenya and was the founder and executive director of St. HOPE Leadership Academy, a public charter school in Harlem. Ventura holds a bachelor of arts degree in history from the University of San Franciscos and a master of arts degree in education from San Francisco State University, and he is a graduate of the doctor of education leadership program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Saul Avery Rubinstein (21st Century Public School Governance and Employment Relations: The Impact on Student Achievement, Teacher Turnover, Innovation and Poverty) is a professor at the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations and is the director of the Collaborative School Leadership Initiative. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his master's degree in education and master's degree in business administration from Harvard University, and his bachelor of arts degree from Swarthmore College. His research and consulting have focused on management and unions that have created joint efforts to transform employment relations, work systems, and performance in a wide variety of industries. His work over the past 15 years has focused on union-management collaborative efforts in public education and the impact of these partnerships on teaching and learning. He has served on the executive board of the Labor and Employment Relations Association and on his local school board.
Denise M. Snyder (The Road Not Taken: Changing Up Family Engagement in the Home of Robert Frost), deputy assistant superintendent for Lawrence Public Schools, oversees community, family and student engagement; communications; and student enrollment. She has led the Family Resource Center in a strategic planning process to shift from reactive supports to proactive partnership strategies. Prior to this role, she led enrollment and school transition activities in the Boston Public Schools for 13 years. She has also provided feedback on engagement proposals as an external grant reviewer for the Carnegie Foundation. A resident of Dorchester and the parent of a college sophomore, Denise served on parent and school site councils throughout her child's K-12 education. In 2018, Denise completed a national fellowship on family engagement with the Flamboyan Foundation in Washington, D.C. She earned her bachelor's degree in public administration from the University of Saint Joseph in Connecticut and completed her graduate studies at Boston College.
Last Updated: March 20, 2019
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