Laura Jeanne ("Jeannie") Penrod's journey as a high school educator has spanned 18 years in the Clark County School District, and she is the 2024 Nevada State Teacher of the Year. Jeannie teaches disciplines ranging from special education to English language learners and varying English language arts and career technical education teachers and training programs. She facilitates meaningful learning experiences with students using project-based learning (PBL) and social-emotional learning (SEL) to foster student reflection and advocacy. Passionate about teacher leadership, Jeannie has engaged in local, statewide, national, and global fellowships. She is a contributing columnist with The Nevada Independent, a published author, and has spoken and provided professional development at local and national conferences. 

Alejandra Ramos Gómez, M.Ed., is an author, consultant, and multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Juárez, México. She immigrated to Dallas, TX, in 2014 to become a bilingual educator and is currently an Ed. M. Candidate at Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) in the Human Development and Education Program with a concentration in Arts and Learning. Alejandra has collaborated as an art and educational consultant with organizations across the U.S. and Latin America. She is a Research Assistant at the Ecological Approaches to Social Emotional Learning Laboratory and an Identity Project Fellow at the Adolescent Ethnic Racial Identity Development Laboratory at HGSE. Further, she is certified in mindfulness instruction and dance therapy and serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of Wellness for Educators. Alejandra specializes in integrating artistic approaches, culturally responsive practices, identity development, and social-emotional learning. Imperfecta, her bilingual poetry book, explores the intersectionality of the experiences of women and immigrants.

EDU Café Contributions

Podcast Episodes

Jeff is the Founder and Director of the Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative (VTVLC), Vermont’s statewide K-12 online learning program created in 2009. VTVLC serves thousands of students through a unique partnership of schools; connecting students with courses that are not offered locally, not accessible due to scheduling conflicts, or that are not offered at times that help them achieve success. In addition, Jeff also is the founder of the Northeast Online Teaching Institute (NEOTI) which provides Graduate level professional development preparing educators to facilitate both online and blended learning. NEOTI offers a Certificate in Online Teaching which prepares educators to obtain the Vermont Agency of Education’s endorsement as an Online Teaching Specialist (OTS). Jeff has over 34 years of teaching and education administration experience in Career Technical Education, Academics, Online and Blended Learning, and Professional Learning through the Graduate level. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Information Technology and numerous Graduate Certificates in School Administration, Web Design, Internet Teaching, as well as a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Educational Philosophy and Technology, an Associate Degree in Electronic Technology, and another in Educational and Instructional Technology.

Meredith Roe is an Education Industry Architect, as part of Microsoft's WorldWide Education team. Prior to this, she created and led the Virtual School Network (ViSN) for Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA), and led digital transformation projects for Canberra Goulburn Catholic Education. An experienced educator and leader at system level and in remote and metropolitan schools, Meredith understands how technology can help schools address a wide range of contemporary challenges. She is a keen advocate for using technology to enable equitable access to quality education, particularly in regional, remote or rural areas. Meredith understands the importance of building relationships and connections for successful online delivery and has designed teacher training for the successful delivery of quality online courses. Her leadership in online learning has been recognized both locally (Excellence in Educational Leadership Award, from the Australian Council for Educational Leadership) and internationally (Online and Blended Learning Award, ISTE and K-12 Innovation in Online Learning, USDLA). Outside of work, Meredith enjoys pilates, the beach, cooking, and travelling.

Mary F. Rice is an Assistant Professor of Literacy at the University of New Mexico. She earned a PhD in curriculum and teaching from the University of Kansas. Mary was a postdoctoral researcher at the federally funded Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities. She is also an Online Learning Consortium Emerging Scholar (2018) and has been a Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute fellow since 2016. In 2020, Mary was part of the team that received the Creative Works Award for Innovative Scholarship in distance learning. Her publication experience has been extensive. Mary is a senior assistant editor for Online Learning journal. She also co-edited a special issue of Distance Education focused on criticality and diversity in open, flexible, distance learning environments in 2020. Mary edited the book, Exploring Pedagogies for Diverse Learners Online in 2015 (Emerald). She is also the co-editor of a forthcoming book, Designing Critical Intersectional Online Teaching and Learning (Routledge).

Ross is an experienced organizational leader and strategic advisor frequently sought after for thought leadership strategy and content development, team and talent evaluation, and audience-specific messaging platforms. He focuses on being a strategic connector who brings together talented people with great ideas to find creative solutions. His previous roles include Managing Director with MindRocket Media Group and communications lead for ASCD. In his varied career, Ross has helped his companies achieve significant business development and client retention milestones, led award-winning PR and communications teams, developed effective brand messaging and identity platforms for numerous education companies, served as a core member of product launch teams, created custom editorial and content marketing strategies, collaborated with hundreds of leading authors and speakers, and managed team-building and culture-building efforts. He has worked as an advisor, consultant, and/or marketing and communications partner for nearly 100 companies in the education industry, including Soundtrap at Spotify, Curriculum Associates, EdisonLearning, Flinn Scientific, Future of School, LearnPlatform, and FETC (Future of Education Technology Conference); has created and/or hosted podcast and video series for the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Osmo Education, John Catt Educational, Chalk, and more; and has participated on advisory boards for companies including Edsoma, Lifestyle Learning, and Immersly.

As a yoga teacher, Margo strives to bring thoughtfulness and sensitivity to the yoga space so that students may attend to their own inquiry and get what it is they need from the practice. The classes she teaches combine detailed alignment, fluid breath, somatic movement, and heart-based themes. In addition to her experience as an instructor, she facilitates a signature Restorative yoga teacher training program. She has an intense curiosity to understand what it means to be human. She is inspired by people’s resiliency and creativity and the ways that they embody their truth through writing, movement, music and art. She is currently enrolled in the Masters of Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Goddard College in Vermont where she is studying body-based psychotherapy.

Jonathan Santos Silva has been a trouble-making, system-breaking leader in education for over 12 years. You may know him from his work as Founder of The Liber Institute and as Chairman of The Bored of Ed Podcast, but Jonathan can also be credited with contributions to the Cambiar Catalyst Fellowship and South Dakota’s Native American Achievement Schools. Jonathan has been recognized for his work as a classroom teacher, founding school leader, and leadership coach, and is a sought after speaker due to his engaging and uplifting style. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University and an M.A. in Education Administration from the University of South Dakota and currently resides in Rhode Island with his wife, four children, and two dogs.

EDU Café Contributions

Podcast Episodes

Aaron is a father, teacher, and learner. Aaron is Head of Growth and Learning at Unrulr where he works to make learning visible and joyful. He is also a teacher, program director, and co-designer of student-agency-driven learning communities around the globe. His work is focussed on apprenticeship, craftsmanship, storytelling, and providing youth the space, time, resources, and methodologies to turn their ideas into iterative realities. Aaron's professional background is in education, international business, digital storytelling, and operations/management. At the Nalukai Foundation, Aaron creates and implements entrepreneurship schema and curriculum rooted in culture, hustles to find mentors, and waxes poetic on authentic storytelling.

With more than 30 years of executive leadership and management experience in the education and software publishing industry, Jean has led content development and instructional design teams in the creation of digital learning solutions that meet the learning needs of our K-12 students and educators today.  For the past ten years, Jean served as the Chief Academic Officer and Vice President of Content Development at Apex Learning where she was responsible for driving academic leadership in the market and setting the vision for curriculum and instructional design in Apex’s digital learning solutions. Today, Jean engages in relevant and meaningful ways to support education by aligning her research and writing with her commitment to improving the learning and life outcomes for all students.  Jean serves on several Curriculum Advisory Boards as well as the Executive Committee for the Digital Learning Collaborative.  Jean has written numerous articles and blogs and participated in many webinars and conference presentations on topics that impact education.

My Why: 

I am driven by a core belief that all children deserve access to high-quality learning opportunities to reach their full potential. As a young girl, my parents instilled in me both the value and importance of education and I have dedicated my career to supporting great teaching and learning, both in the classroom and online.
 
I have chosen education as my life’s work. And, like others who have made a similar choice, I believe with conviction that our job, in fact, our responsibility is to support the students we’re serving. We must strive to make learning accessible to every student. While we understand the time, pace, path, and place for learning may be different, there is no question that it’s the learning that matters. Now, more than ever, we recognize that our success depends on our ability to navigate the future of education together.

Jessica Shopoff is the Director of Policy for the Texas Public Charter Schools Association.  She is responsible for championing the Association’s efforts to reform charter school policy in Texas as we pursue our mission to ensure every family has the ability to choose a high-quality public school. Prior to joining TPCSA, Jessica was a Harvard Strategic Data Project Fellow and School and Market Analyst for the Learn4Life network of dropout recovery charter schools.  She is an educator at heart and her professional career includes time spent as an elementary teacher, online charter high school lead advisor, regional data specialist and trainer, and accountability policy specialist.  She is a self-professed data nerd and policy wonk who believes that zip code should not determine a child’s future. Jessica holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas and a M.Ed in Educational Technology Leadership from Lamar University.  She lives in San Antonio, and in her free time enjoys reading, watching football, and hiking and camping in the Texas Hill Country with her husband, four kids, and two dogs.

Dr. Silver started her education career as a high school science teacher in rural, eastern North Carolina. She went on to serve in the Curriculum and Instruction division at North Carolina Virtual Public School, which is the 2nd largest state virtual school in the country. Her leadership across this organization focused on digital teaching and learning. Dr. Silver later served as Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Academic Officer, and Superintendent where she led schools to high student growth every year. She now serves in Government Affairs in the Education Technology field.

Dr. Silver earned her Education Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management from Capella University. Shortly thereafter she earned her Education Specialist Degree from Appalachian State University. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology (Pre-Medicine) from Elizabeth City State University and Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Scranton. Dr. Silver has published several professional journal and op-ed articles in the field of online learning, education leadership, MTSS, and Science of Reading. Her area of expertise lies in thought leadership, district transformation, adult SEL, MTSS, and facilitation. She believes that service is the rent that we pay to live on this wonderful planet called Earth!

Sarika has dedicated her life to education. Sarika began as a teacher and for more than 20 years, she has served in multiple leadership roles across the country in both the public and private sectors. Sarika has proven success in the areas of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Leadership Coaching, Professional Learning, Emotional Intelligence, Creating Healthy Teams, and Academic Achievement. Sarika consistently has positive outcomes and is impactful because she answers the question, what problem am I prepared to solve? Sarika works collaboratively to assess the needs, develop a plan, and implement the plan with fidelity. Sarika is known as a servant leader. She takes education seriously, maintains high expectations, inspires passion, and always looks for opportunities to learn.

Antonia “Toni” Small has a background in dance that began at an early age. Through dance, she met the world. She had many beloved teachers who introduced her to ballet, modern, and jazz techniques, as well as the stage and performing. As a young woman, stage and screen performer, Marge Champion, took her to her first yoga class. Her yoga classes are taught with a curiosity for the body's innate wisdom, drawing on her years of dancing, lots of current study, and a firm belief that everyone who walks into a yoga class, already has some kind of practice. She is certified as an Integrative Yoga for Seniors instructor through Kimberly Carson and Carol Krucoff's Yoga for Seniors Professional Training at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. She is also an Experienced - Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT), through the Yoga Alliance at the 500-hour level. Her yoga teacher trainings were completed through the ShivaShakti School for Yoga & Healing Arts in Maine. She is also a Somatics and Kinesiology student and completed the Intelligent Movement Training program with the Soma Kinese School in 2019. Toni is also a fine art photographer (http://www.antoniasmall.com).

Dacia Smith identifies as a native New Yorker living in Maryland. For more than two decades, Dr. Smith has made her passion for education her life’s work. Teaching did not seem to be a foregone conclusion. A graduate of Binghamton University with a B.A. in History, Dr. Smith attended New York University where she received a Master’s in Education. Thereafter, Dr. Smith pursued a career in the law at Brooklyn Law School. Upon completion, the experience led Dr. Smith back to education. Dr. Smith graduated from Johns Hopkins University where she completed her doctorate in education. During her time as a classroom teacher, Dr. Smith initiated academic programs designed to support young women of color. As a high school teacher, Dr. Smith coordinated academic and extra-curricular programs to provide academic and social-emotional support to prepare and encourage the participants to enroll in advanced placement courses. Additionally, Dr. Smith sponsored and chartered honor societies to inspire and elevate excellence in black and brown students. As a middle school administrator, Dr. Smith leads professional development for her staff with an emphasis on culturally responsive teaching, antiracism, and engaging students in social activism. Outside of school, Dr. Smith continues her work in social justice through service in a variety of civic and community service organizations.

Leann V. Smith, PhD, is a licensed psychologist, researcher, and the founder of The Mending Place, a culturally affirming therapeutic and wellness brand. She has expertise in culture, trauma, stress, and coping. Her research is well-cited and focuses on race, racism, and the ways in which success can be bolstered for marginalized populations. As a licensed psychologist, Dr. Smith has helped a variety of clients cope with a range of mental health concerns. Dr. Smith is an assistant professor of educational psychology with specialized training in school psychology, child and family services, trauma-informed care, and cultural resilience. Dr. Smith serves on the editorial boards for two American Psychological Association (APA) journals and is the convention co-chair for the 2022 APA Convention. Her work has been published in the APA’s flagship journal, American Psychologist, as well as leading journals in subfields of psychology, such as Child Development and the Journal of Counseling Psychology. Dr. Smith considers herself to be a community-engaged scholar, who is intentional about bridging the research-to-practice gap.

Mary Snow serves as the Chief Content Officer for Wellness for Educators. Mary has been studying, practicing, and teaching yoga and fitness classes for both children and adults for 35+ years and has over 800 hours in training, including but not limited to YMCA, Kenneth Cooper Institute (Dallas, TX), Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Yoga of the Heart and Cancer Certificate (Nischala Joy Devi) and workshops with Angela Farmer. Mary also has been involved with recovery work for over 32 years. Mary holds a Bachelor’s Degree in elementary education from Lesley University as well as a Master’s in integrated arts from Plymouth State College. She recently retired from teaching in 2017 after 40 years serving in public schools in the state of Maine. She is passionate about empowering her students to be all they can be.

Jill is a consultant and instructional designer who puts her passion into practice every day as she guides her clients through projects from conceptualization to development and beyond. Jill is passionate about creating engaging, accessible, and meaningful learning experiences. Collaboration, combined with innovation and a passion for learning, is the cornerstone of her design philosophy. Jill holds a bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degrees in English and Instructional Design. Previously, Jill has worked as a writing tutor, managed an adult education program, and taught writing at the college level.

Nick has been an instructional design consultant for three years. His big city aspirations lead him to Chicago where he attended Loyola University and earned a bachelor’s of science in biology. Nick loves all things nature, and he has experience in bioinformatics. He spent three years working in an evolutionary biology lab, where he was a scientific affiliate at the Field Museum of Natural History. His research focused on the taxonomic relationships among several genera of birds. Nick loves to get others excited about experiencing something new. While working for the Chicago Botanic Garden, he was afforded the opportunity to lead volunteer groups and public tours. He likes to solve problems, and he hopes to inspire others with his love of pursuing and sharing knowledge.

Dr. Steele earned a Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education with an emphasis in Child and Adolescent Development from Stanford University in 2009. She holds two Master's degrees, one in School Counseling and Guidance and the other in Secondary Teaching. While at Stanford, Dr. Steele mentored teachers participating in the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP), completing her dissertation on the topic of teacher preparation in linguistically diverse classrooms. Prior to entering the Stanford doctoral program, Dr. Steele held a variety of positions working with secondary students. She has worked as a teacher and/or director in South Africa, Venezuela, Russia, and the U.S. Currently, Dr. Steele serves as the Director of Student Support at Stanford OHS where she focuses on student social and emotional development, wellness, and diversity, equity and inclusion while also conducting research and teaching at the university level.