Alicia Peletz is a transformational and PBL coach as well as a human centered PD designer from Rochester, NY.  

Carol Lamb has been an educator for over 40 years. She has taught elementary education, resource room for grades 4 – 6, and spent 21+ years at Paul Smith’s College working in the Center for Accommodative Services. In 2019 Carol begin ASK US, an after school program for the Tupper Lake, NY CSD.

Christina Grant has been a special educator for 17 years in Saranac Lake, NY. She has degrees in Wilderness Leadership, elementary and special education, and curriculum design. In the summer months she runs a camp for children aged 3-12 called Wild Child.

Christina Waldron is a 3rd grade teacher for Little Lake Elementary School in Hemet, CA. This year is her 9th year teaching in elementary education. Christina has her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. This is Christina’s 3rd year as grade level lead, and Union representative for her school site.

Eunice O’Mahony teaching career has spanned Elementary, High School, and Adult Education. She has taught English, Social Studies, English as a Second language, and Special Ed. Eunice is also a community activist: The Ontario (Canada) Health Coalition, Justice for Migrant Workers are only two of the many community groups she’s involved in.

James Pelech, Ed.D. is the Professor and Chair of the Education Department at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. Prior to that, he taught high school math for thirty years. He is past president of The Association for Constructivist Teaching and is presently serving on their board.

Julie Mitchell is a veteran educator of 24 years currently teaching English 10 and 12 at Fairport High School in a suburb of Rochester, NY. Julie continues into her 20th year of union advocacy with New York State United Teachers currently serving on the statewide Women’s Committee and as a delegate to the Rochester Labor Council.

Marcy Perrotte is a middle level special educator in Vermont. She received her master’s in special education from Saint Michael’s College and has a bachelor's degree from Northern Vermont University in theater arts education.

Paul Vermette, Ph.D. is a former Professor in the education department of Niagara University. Paul’s combination of an exhaustive knowledge of research combined with his charismatic presentations have kept in demand at conferences and in school districts for many years. He is past president of a statewide organization of university professors and author of several books focused on cooperative learning and multiple intelligences.

Shannon Pitcher-Boyea is Director of Instructional Support Services/SE Principal at the Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES. A primary focus of the professional development Shannon provides is addressing issues of social justice and racism.

Teresa Thayer Snyder, Ph.D. is a former superintendent of the Voorheesville, NY, CSD. In February, 2021 Dr. Snyder was interviewed on NPR discussing Covid: “Children Will Eventually Return To Schools, But Schools Won't Be The Same.”

Windsor Wade taught Social Studies, grades 7-12 grades in the Rochester, NY from 1984 until his retirement in 2018. During his 25 years at School Without Walls, Windsor taught the school’s longest running course for African American Studies.

Angela Premo began teaching in 1989 as a special educator. She taught students receiving special education services in grades pre-k through six for 18 years in that position. Currently, Angela is a first grade teacher in Malone, NY.

Chris Clark is an elementary school teacher in Granville, NY and has taught elementary school for 16 years, teaching grades 3-5 in AIS and inclusion classrooms.

Christina Rukki has taught around the world, in Costa Rica, Rwanda, Taiwan, and Spain. She is currently teaching Spanish at New Visions Charter High School for the Humanities II in the South Bronx.

Dan Drmacich was principal of Rochester’s nationally renowned School Without Walls for 23 years and is a member of the New York State Performance Standards Consortium. Dan is currently co-founder and coordinator of the Rochester, NY Coalition for Public Education, an organization focused on research-based, progressive school reform and social justice.

Jim Carroll, Ph.D. is a Research Associate Professor at the Syracuse University Maxwell School. Jim is in the third year of directing a five-year Javits Gifted Students Program grant, Project CRITICAL, for Harlem elementary and secondary teachers and students who use his Internet applications on public policy skills. 

John Myers is a recently retired curriculum instructor in social studies, classroom assessment and general teaching strategies. He has worked from grades 3 to adult in four provinces across Canada and three countries over four decades.

Marlene Pickering currently works for Life Plan in Northern New York, an organization that works with people with developmental difficulties. Marlene has had 25 years of experience working in the field of human services and 30 years working as a community volunteer.

Madi Fortier is a 2018 graduate of St. Lawrence University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and received her MST from SUNY Potsdam in childhood education. She is a teacher and social worker.

Nicole Freeman is a graduate of St. Lawrence University, is a secondary math teacher in Averill Park, NY. She is an instructor for Texas Instruments, helping classroom teachers utilize technology to provide student centered discovery lessons.

Phil Sembert is completing his student teaching at the Lewiston Porter Middle School. He has begun his teaching career at a private school, working with learning-centered practices and exploring staff development.

Sunny O’Bryan is a vocal music educator with over 30 years of experience at all grade levels from nursery school through secondary school. She has been named six times to Who’s Who among America’s teachers and once to Who’s Who in America as an exceptional educator.

Tim Bedley has been teaching elementary school since 1988 and currently teaches a 2nd/3rd grade combo class in Southern California. His passions include educational technology, student engagement, and music education. Tim was recognized as the 2013 Riverside County Teacher of the Year. His YouTube channel, “tbed63,” has an extensive library of Tim’s teaching methods and techniques from inside the classroom. 

Jennifer Townsend is an educational consultant for Universal Access Consulting, LLC., the author of Think Different: An educator’s approach to appreciate what works and co-author of SEE-KS a peer to peer mentorship model that uses appreciative inquiry to enhance learner engaegment.