Authors & Presenters

Beth Russell, EdD, has worked with numerous urban and suburban school systems introducing personality type theory and teaching its value as a tool for differentiation, classroom management, culturally responsive teaching, instructional coaching, and collaboration.

Bo Ryan is principal of the Ana Grace Academy of the Arts Elementary Magnet School in Bloomfield, Connecticut. He is passionate about building and sustaining professional learning communities (PLCs) and has led two different schools to Model PLC at Work® certification.

Carol Scearce has three major areas of focus: adolescent literacy, her most recent focus; effective teaching strategies; and team building for leadership and middle school teams.

Faith Short is the principal at East Pointe Elementary. With 25 years of experience in education, she is fiercely passionate about the work of collaborative teams as a vehicle to ensure high levels of learning for every student. She specializes in helping leaders and teachers implement the PLC process to impact teaching and learning.

Susan K. Sparks has served as a teacher, staff developer, and executive director. Her areas of expertise include consensus building, decision making, contract negotiations, conflict resolution, strategic planning, and professional learning communities.

Rusty Taylor has been a professional educator since 1997, serving as a science teacher, middle school assistant principal, and principal at both the middle and high school levels.

Matt Thede is an assistant principal at Mount Vernon High School in Iowa. He has led curricular improvements and professional development initiatives in the areas of standards-based grading, unit design, instruction, and assessment.

Matthew Treadway, EdD, is the former principal of Freedom Elementary School in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, where he led his staff in developing a collaborative culture centered on the three big ideas of a professional learning community.

Eric Twadell, PhD, is superintendent of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He has been a social studies teacher, curriculum director, and assistant superintendent for leadership and organizational development.

Eddie Velez is the former principal at Kennedy High School in Fremont, California. He specializes in building leadership capacity, building PLC culture, implementing RTI, and coaching collaborative teams. He has a genuine connection and care for every school he serves and is respected for his ability to meet schools “where they are” without compromising the end goal of creating equitable opportunities for all students.