Authors & Presenters

Casey R. Ahner has more than 22 years’ experience in education. He has served as a special education teacher, counselor, assistant principal, and principal at the intermediate and elementary levels.

Dr. Angelou currently serves the community in Wittmann, Arizona, as superintendent. Dr. Angelou was named Oklahoma High School Principal of the Year in 2017 for the academic gains made by her students during her tenure in Oklahoma City.

Jane Ardell is currently the director of STEM, college and career readiness, and induction and retention at the Cartwright School District in Phoenix, Arizona. She works with teachers and administrators on planning, assessment, and intervention.

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.

Brooks Baca is the managing director of human resources for Frisco ISD in Texas, where he provides dedicated support to campus and district personnel. Brooks possesses a deep passion for cultivating a culture of high expectations for all students, implementing strategies that effectively address the achievement gap, and developing processes for shared leadership, which enable collaborative teams to thrive.

Kim Bailey is former director of professional development and instructional support for the Capistrano Unified School District in California. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at Chapman University in California.

Anisa Baker-Busby, EdD, serves as an elementary school principal in middle Georgia. She has over 16 years of experience working in high-poverty schools as an elementary teacher and administrator.

Jack Baldermann has been a passionate educational leader for over 30 years. His experience includes leading several high-poverty urban schools to significant success and supporting eight different priority or high-poverty schools to become Model PLC at Work® schools.

Debora Bamforth, an educational speaker, has more than 40 years of experience in education. She served as principal of the D. J. Bakie School in New Hampshire and also worked in the Timberlane District, where she designed and implemented an enrichment program for a school of nearly 1,200 students before assuming the administrative role of curriculum coordinator.

Mandy Barrett, EdD, currently serves as an elementary school principal in northwest Arkansas. She has over 20 years of experience working in high-poverty schools and schools with large ESL populations.