Life Skills

Emily R. Peluso is a school-based speech-language pathologist (SLP) at Mildred B. Moss Elementary School of Metuchen School District. She is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and maintains the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence.

Jody Guarino, EdD, is manager of the Teaching, Learning and Instructional Leadership Collaborative at the Orange County Department of Education and a School of Education lecturer at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

Kelsee G. Young has been a special education preschool teacher at Moss School in Metuchen, New Jersey since 2020. Her educational philosophy is to create a warm and nurturing environment for her students to play, grow, and thrive, upholding compassion over compliance.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly shaping the future of education, yet without critical engagement, it risks reinforcing systemic biases and widening technological inequities. Dr. Stacie Chana, author of Experimenting With AI: Activities, Discussions, and Prompts for the Classroom and Beyond, empowers educational leaders to approach AI with a lens of equity and cultural responsiveness, ensuring that all learners are protected and informed about the challenges and opportunities AI presents. Participants will explore practical strategies for identifying AI bias, implementing responsible AI-driven decision making, and developing policies that support ethical AI integration. This session will equip leaders with the knowledge needed to critically assess AI tools, advocate for fair and just technology use in schools, and guide students in becoming discerning users of AI.