Authors & Presenters

Thomas Van Soelen, PhD, is a professional development trainer and leadership coach. His areas of expertise include instructional strategies, learning communities, critical friendship, leadership development, and teacher evaluation.

Jonathan G. Vander Els specializes in supporting teachers and administrators in schools and districts across the country in developing, sustaining, and enhancing structures to support all learners.

Natalie is an educator, coach, speaker, and passionate learner. Driven to make education empowering for all, she has developed expertise in equitable assessment and grading practices and can break down complex topics into practical strategies to drive school improvement.

Gerry Varty has served as a classroom teacher, principal, director of curriculum and instruction, assistant superintendent (learning and system improvement), and executive director of professional development.

Angela Veatch, a National Board Certified Teacher with over 25 years in education, serves as an instructional specialist for Fort Smith Public Schools. She is passionate about visible learning, learning by doing, and strengthening teacher efficacy through the PLC process.

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.

Kathy Vergara, EdD, is an experienced educator dedicated to serving and improving educational outcomes for multilingual learners and their families. She focuses on designing and implementing curriculum for bilingual, dual language, and ESL programs in grades preK–12.

Jamie Virga, EdD, has over 35 years of experience as a teacher, principal, professional developer, principal coach, and associate superintendent. He works to support schools and districts with implementing Professional Learning Communities at Work® and RTI at Work™ processes.

Brad Voehringer has over 33 years of experience in education, serving as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, and building administrator. Most recently, he led Morton Grove to become a Model PLC at Work® school district and raised student achievement to the highest in the township. The district now ranks amongst the top 10% performing districts in Illinois.

Haley Vogel is the assistant principal with 22 years of experience in education, including six years as a school leader and 13 years teaching biology, anatomy, and physiology. She is passionate about helping teacher teams rethink assessment to meet the needs of their students.