Authors & Presenters

Passionate about innovation, critical thinking, and deep learning, Shannon Simpson has been active in education for over 30 years, serving in various teaching roles and capacities.

Shawn Slakk, Chief Learning Officer for ABCDS&S Consulting, works with teachers, administrators, schools, and state agencies to offer strategies and support for multilingual learners and their classmates, in grades K–12 and adults.

Dena D. Slanda, PhD, is a research associate in the College of Innovation and Education at the University of Central Florida. She is also a professor in residence for the Teacher Quality Partnership grant project, which emphasizes mathematics and disciplinary literacy for preservice teachers.

Cara Slattery is an author, consultant, and teacher. She has also served as a magnet program coordinator, data and assessment coach, enrichment specialist, and technology integrationist.

Colin Sloper has been a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in government schools since 1983. In the course of his career, he has been involved in the establishment of five new state government schools.

Brian H. Smith, PhD, has been a leader in translating research into effective social-emotional learning programs for nearly twenty years.

During her more than 15 years in education, Tina Smith has proudly served Pasadena Independent School District, a Model PLC at Work® district, as a four-year, district-level summer school program manager while working as assistant principal at Nelda Sullivan Middle School, a Model PLC at Work school.

Lyndsi Smith, PhD, has served the education community for over 20 years in a variety of capacities. Throughout her career, Dr. Smith has delivered professional learning workshops, provided in-classroom instructional support, and presented at local, state, and national conferences.

Stephenie Smith is an assistant principal at Hazel Green Elementary School in Alabama. Previously, she served as instructional coach at Sparkman Middle School, a Model PLC at Work® school in Alabama that has earned Highly Effective Schools Accreditation. With a background as a middle school science teacher, she works with teachers, school administrators, and district leaders to implement effective professional learning communities (PLCs) and response to intervention (RTI) in order to close achievement gaps in key subgroups. Her focus is emphasizing teacher expertise and building collective efficacy through PLCs.

Jordan Smith is the professional learning community (PLC) coach at Bowman Middle School in Plano, Texas. Previously a science teacher and instructional coach, she now works with collaborative teams and their leaders to ensure student growth through the PLC process.