Professional Learning Communities

Cody Mothershead has worked with the White River School District for over 15 years and has been involved in implementing PLCs as a teacher, team leader, assistant principal, and now currently leads the work as a principal.

Michelle Garlick is a former classroom teacher and instructional coach and currently serves as assistant principal at Woodlawn Middle School for Kildeer Countryside School District 96 in suburban Chicago.

Kendra Bell, PhD, retired from Peoria Unified School District in Arizona in 2022 after serving as chief academic officer for the district. Throughout her career, Dr. Bell has emphasized the importance of continual improvement through professional learning communities.

Erika Chapa serves as the director of intervention, Section 504, and dyslexia for Pasadena Independent School District in Texas. Erika led Pasadena ISD towards full implementation of intervention structures and supports across 68 campuses.

Dr. Sanchioni serves as the superintendent of the Tiverton Public Schools in Tiverton, Rhode Island. He has a wide array of educational experiences including serving as the superintendent in Natick, Massachusetts (10 years) and in Millis, Massachusetts (three years). In addition, Dr. Sanchioni served as a principal for 10 years.

Jennifer Taylor serves as an instructional coach at Riverton Intermediate School. Prior to her current role, she supported administrators and teachers in the professional learning communities (PLC) process as a district instructional specialist.

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.

Cathy Padilla has served as an elementary education teacher, assistant principal, and principal at the intermediate and elementary levels. She specializes in developing and supporting leaders in professional learning communities, family engagement, categorical programs, migrant education, and English language development.