Professional Learning Communities at Work®

Maria Nielsen, educational speaker and author, specializes in supporting teachers and administrators in the areas of PLCs, RTI, school culture, curriculum design, the highly engaged classroom, and assessment systems. Her life’s work is to help schools build successful systems to ensure high levels of student learning.

Mike Mattos is a globally recognized author and presenter who transforms schools through Response to Intervention (RTI) and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). In 2024, Global Gurus named him one of the top 30 educational thought leaders worldwide.

Mona Toncheff, an educational presenter and author, has over 30 years of experience in public education. Mona works with educators and leaders nationwide to build collaborative teams and ensure all students receive high-quality mathematics instruction.

Paul C. Farmer is an experienced practitioner who started in education as a career and technical education (CTE) teacher. He has held multiple leadership roles, including department chair, teacher specialist in career and technology education, assistant principal, principal, and project director of instructional technology integration.

Regina Stephens Owens, EdD is an internationally recognized presenter and practitioner who specializes in creating a culture of connectivity and collaboration while utilizing systems thinking.

Sarah Schuhl specializes in professional learning communities, mathematics, assessment, school improvement, and RTI. She has been a secondary mathematics teacher, high school instructional coach, and K–12 mathematics specialist.

As an author and a leader in the field, Sharon V. Kramer, PhD, emphasizes the importance of creating and using quality assessments as a continual part of the learning process. Dr. Kramer served as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction of Kildeer Countryside School District 96 in Illinois.

Tim Brown is an internationally recognized presenter and practitioner who specializes in helping school leaders and teachers align their school improvement efforts across an entire campus and/or district.

Troy Gobble is principal of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Illinois. He previously served as assistant principal for teaching and learning at Stevenson.

W. Richard Smith is former deputy superintendent of Sanger Unified School District in California. He has been involved in public education for more than 37 years.