Professional Learning Communities

Hillary Woest is a presenter, staff developer, and practitioner with over 24 years of experience in public education. She specializes in supporting Professional Learning Communities at Work® and Response to Intervention at Work™ in schools by helping them assess, refine, and optimize current systems of support for special populations and challenging demographics.

Dustin Hunt is the superintendent of Hot Springs County School District #1 in Wyoming. He specializes in the professional learning communities process from the district perspective, which includes the school board.

Amanda Hathhorn, district math specialist and mentor for the Aspiring Instructional Coaching Academy at Pasadena ISD, has over 20 years of experience in education. Notably, she played a pivotal role in successfully implementing the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) at Work® process and subsequently earning a Model PLC at Work school distinction at V. W. Miller Intermediate.

Paula Maeker is an educator, consultant, and advocate for learner-centered education. She has more than twenty-three years’ experience as an elementary teacher, literacy specialist, instructional coach, Title 1 program coordinator, campus administrator, director of elementary literacy, and director of instructional design.

Nathaniel Provencio is associate superintendent in Prince William County, Virginia. Under his leadership, Minnieville Elementary School was recognized as a Model Professional Learning Community and was the 2019 winner of the prestigious DuFour Award.

Josh McMahon, EdD, is the assistant superintendent of education programs for Morton District 201 in Illinois. Previously, he served as principal of Morton West High School.

Mary Shay, EdD, is a Colorado-based educational leader, practitioner, and researcher with almost 30 years of experience in public education. She specializes in effective leadership to maximize the collaborative capacity of teams, thereby enhancing student achievement and learning.

Whitney K. Freije is an elementary school principal at A.F. Palmer Elementary, a Model PLC at Work® school in the Windsor Central School District, located in upstate New York. She specializes in empowering teachers with effective instructional practices to promote high levels of literacy and mathematics.

Allana Hemenway, EdD, is the director of federal programs and grants at Randolph Field ISD. She has over 20 years of experience in education in both the U.S. and in Canada, and she has worked in large and small districts as well as at campuses with high student/school mobility.

Toby Arritola is the principal at Mountain Vista Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado. With more than 20 years of experience as an educator, Toby specializes in and advocates for developing PLCs and a healthy school culture.