Authors & Presenters

Dr. Cicely Alexander has served almost 30 years in public schools. One accomplishment that stands out for Dr. Alexander and her team is turning around a four-year, F-rated elementary campus and earning a B-rating in just two years.

Ann Alfonso has been the principal of Bethke Elementary, a Model Professional Learning Communities at Work® school in Timnath, Colorado, since 2008. She is passionate about sustaining a positive, inclusive culture and developing young educators.

Gayle Allen, EdD, is an experienced educator, researcher, and author who helps educational leaders drive transformative change. Using theory, practice, and humor, she challenges teams to become collaborative, data-driven, and digitally connected.

Kimberly Almanza serves as a reading specialist in North Texas. With more than 15 years of experience, she has worked as an instructional literacy coach as well as a classroom dual language teacher.

Lisa Almeida is a recognized educator with over 20 years of experience delivering professional development and implementation support to educators. Most notably, she is known for effective leadership and teacher coaching in the areas of standards, assessment, data-driven decision-making, and professional learning communities.

Larry Alper is a former teacher and school administrator with more than 30 years of experience in leading schools and developing learning communities for students, teachers, and parents.

Leticia Amalla has 30 years of educational experience in the West Texas area. Her areas of expertise include gifted and talented, bilingual, and special education. She experienced tremendous success as a turnaround school principal, leveraging every aspect of the professional learning communities framework as one of the vital components of school improvement.

Tania Amerson is executive director of exceptional education for the Bartow County School System where she cultivates a professional learning community culture. With 30 years of experience in special education, she’s served as a teacher, instructional coach, and administrator.

As a founding partner of Results Coaching Global (RCG), Karen serves as a seminar instructor, mentor, and coach. She has authored numerous articles including “Coaching for High Performance” and “Leadership Coaching for Principals.” As one of the co-authors of Results Coaching: The New Essential for School Leaders she was recognized as the recipient of Learning Forward’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Heather Anderson boasts a rich and diverse career spanning K–12 education. As a published author and seasoned educator, her areas of specialization encompass the gradual release of responsibility, close reading methodologies, differentiated instruction, collaborative learning, formative and summative assessments, inclusive practices, and the infusion of literacy across disciplines, all aimed at fostering academic growth and equity for all learners.