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 an internationally recognized author, presenter, and practitioner who specializes in uniting teachers, administrators, and support staff to transform schools by implementing response to intervention and professional learning communities.

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, a consultant, has 30 years of experience in education. As principal of elementary, middle, and high schools in Missouri, he led each to become a successful professional learning community.

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.