Authors & Presenters

Dr. Aisha Thomas has been an educator for over 20 years, serving in all levels of school leadership at the middle school and elementary levels. She has helped lead two schools to receive the National Blue Ribbon Award.

Alvin Thomas, EdD, is a principal in a school district in Georgia and a part-time professor at Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University. He has 17 years of experience as an assistant principal, student behavior program specialist, and teacher.

Andrea Thompson is the principal of Shell Lake Middle/High School in Shell Lake, Wisconsin, and has previously served as a director of curriculum and instruction, district assessment coordinator, summer program coordinator, and gifted and talented coordinator.

Catherine M. Thompson, EdS, is the principal of Marco Forster Middle School, located in San Juan Capistrano, California. She specializes in the implementation of professional learning communities (PLC) and is a passionate advocate for meeting the diverse learning needs of every student.

Following his time as a classroom teacher, Brian Thorne worked as a high school assistant principal, an elementary principal, and a middle school principal. He is currently the principal of Rocky Mountain Middle School in Heber City, Utah.

Cheryl Tibbals served as a teacher and district leader in California; state director of assessment development in Kentucky; director of the State Leadership Center in Washington, DC; and national consultant and senior advisor to states, districts, and education businesses.

Kara Tidemann has successfully served for over 25 years in education. As a building leader she successfully led an underperforming school to high performance, earning Model PLC at Work® school status for demonstration of exceptional academic achievement over time.

Paige Timmerman is a high school English teacher at Salem Community High School in Salem, Illinois and a National Board Certified Teacher member since 2019. She strives to provide authentic, real-world writing opportunities that meet her students’ skills and interests.

Jennifer Tobias, PhD, is an associate professor at Illinois State University. She specializes in elementary mathematics with emphasis on preparing prospective elementary teachers and developing their understanding of mathematics.

Amy Tollefson is the district-level principal with Osseo Area Schools in a diverse suburb of Minneapolis. Over more than 20 years, she has also served as a secondary school principal, secondary social studies teacher, district office coordinator, and assistant principal.