Dr. Danique Dolly serves as the Program Director, BPLiving at Big Picture Learning. A quiet leader who loves to write, Danique has served as a start-up school teacher, start-up school principal, school leadership coach, and partner in education and leadership endeavors. Danique Dolly is a graduate of Morehouse College, Brown University, and most recently earned a doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University.

Dr. Howard Rossman is the Founder and President of the Civic Leadership Foundation, which promotes the principles and practices of positive youth development through well-researched, learner-centered, project-based programs. With a background in psychology, organizational leadership, and entrepreneurship, he previously served as Vice Chairman of Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc. and the founder of Mesirow Advanced Strategies, Inc.

Jemar Lee graduated from Morningside University and currently works for Xcel Energy as a Customer & Innovation Analyst. Having experienced learner-centered education firsthand at Iowa BIG, Jemar has become a nationally respected advocate for it, which led him to previously serve as a Fellow with Education Reimagined. For several years, he has spoken and presented at conferences around the country about learner-centered education, including SXSW EDU, iNACOL, Education Reimagined, and many more.

Jenny’s mission is to impact social justice by modernizing the public education system to be more responsive to the needs of all learners, especially those most historically under-served. Currently, Jenny is consulting on projects of interest while serving as Center for Innovation in Education (CIE) Fellow. As a Fellow, Jenny supports sense-making for CIE’s Assessment for Learning Project.

Jim Koshland served as a partner at DLA Piper US LLP law firm from 1983-2020, focusing on corporate law matters. He currently sits on the Boards of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, American Jewish World Service, Jewish Senior Living Group, Jewish Vocational Services of San Francisco, the Koshland Foundation, Opportunity Fund, Reboot, San Francisco Jewish Community Federation and the Taube-Koret Campus for Jewish Life and is a Trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation.

John Wright is the Director of Strategy for the National Education Association. Wright spent the majority of his teaching career in the Window Rock school district on the Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona where he also served as NEA local association president. Wright served in various leadership roles within the Arizona education network and has been serving in various roles with the NEA since 2010.

Dr. Joseph J Cirasuolo has been an educator for 54 years, 23 as a superintendent of schools in Connecticut. Prior to being a superintendent, Joe worked as an administrator at the district and building levels and as a teacher. After retiring from the superintendency, he was a leadership development consultant and the Chief Operating Officer for the American Association of School Administrators and for nine years, the Executive Director of the CT Association of Public School Superintendents.

Joshua Elder is the Director of Grants Management at Siegel Family Endowment, which explores the impact of technology on society across learning, infrastructure, and workforce. Joshua oversees strategic investments and partnerships across each of SFE's portfolio areas. Prior to SFE, he was Director of Strategic Initiatives at CSforALL and spent 10+ years in domestic and international education. He is also co-founder of a network of low-cost private schools operating in South Africa and Kenya.

Kara Bobroff (Navajo/Lakota) leads The One Gen Fund where she focuses on identifying promising, early-stage innovations that build sustainable solutions for Indigenous communities, deepening national efforts in Indigenous Education, and supporting Indigenous Leaders poised to impact systems change. She has more than 25 years of experience in Indigenous Education, and was recognized by President Obama as one of 100 top social innovators in the nation. Kara is a citizen of the Navajo Nation.

Katherine serves as the Managing Partner for Knowledge to Power Catalysts, a boutique consulting firm that increases the rate at which leaders transform knowledge into power so youth can thrive. Prior, she spent eight and a half years at Denver Public Schools serving in roles including Director of Extended Learning & Community Schools and Executive Director of Whole Child Supports. Katherine is the proud mom of three kiddos who regularly test all of her youth development theory and practices!

Maddie is the Executive Director of Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice. She also serves as a Board member for the National Network of State Teachers of the Year and the EdTech Evidence Exchange. Prior to working at GLC, she served as the Executive Director of the Nebraska State Education Association, as a Teacher Fellow in Residence in the Office of the Secretary at the US Department of Education, and as an elementary teacher in the Omaha Public Schools for 27 years.

Mark Wilding is the Executive Director of PassageWorks, a nonprofit that supports K-12 educators and families to create transformative and inclusive school communities that empower and prepare young people to be resourceful and empathetic, to advocate for themselves, and to stand up for others. He is the co-author of The 5 Dimensions of Engaged Teaching. As core faculty, he teaches courses, facilitates conferences and dialogues, and presents keynotes and lectures.

Marla Ucelli-Kashyap is Assistant to the President for Educational Issues at the American Federation of Teachers. Previously, she was Director of District Redesign and Leadership at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and a senior program officer at the Rockefeller Foundation. Marla has also been an independent consultant in education policy, a political press secretary, and a reporter.

An equity advocate, Dr. Melanie Tavares honed her expertise in program design, funding and strategic management at a number of state and national organizations. Melanie recently completed her final year as a Dean's Fellow in the Doctor of Education Leadership Program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. As an Ed.L.D. Candidate, her scholarship focused on system-level leadership, scalable impact, and organization sustainability.

Nik is a Partner at Transcend. He has spent his entire career in education as a teacher, academic coach, principal, and leader in school districts and charter organizations focused on personalizing learning using a competency-based systems approach. Prior to Transcend, he was the Director of 21st Century Learning for Lindsay Unified School District, where he was engaged in the system-wide transformative work of building a learner-centered, performance-based system.

Nora Flood serves as Education Lead of Wend Collective. She supports research into learner-centered school designs; collaborates with Montessori pedagogues and practitioners; and explores partnerships with like-minded organizations. Before joining Wend, Nora was the President of the Colorado League of Charter Schools. co-founded The Classical Academy in Minneapolis, served as Head of School of Madison Country Day School, and served as Director of Sonoma Charter School.

Peter McWalters is currently a board member and chairman elect of the Big Picture Learning Board, a trustee of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment (NCIEA), and a consultant to Education Reimagined. Peter’s expertise in education is extensive, drawing from previously held positions including President of the Council of Chief State School Officers; board member of the National Center for Education and the Economy; and member of the Council of Great City Schools.

Richard Alper is a retired environmental and land use attorney from the D.C. area. He moved to Colorado in 2011 and currently serves on the executive committee of the Colorado Education Initiative. Richard is a past Board member of Convergence Center for Policy Resolution where he worked with Kelly Young on Education Reimagined. As an experienced mediator and attorney, he teaches conflict resolution and environmental law and policy at the University of Northern Colorado.

Robyn Brady Ince, Ed.M. is the Executive Director of the Newark City of Learning Collaborative and Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Urban Education at Rutgers University–Newark. Robyn joined the University from the National Urban League where, as vice president of education policy, advocacy, and engagement, she led the Equity and Excellence Project and the annual Youth Leadership Summit.

Shruti is a Managing Partner at New Profit, where she co-leads both the Reimagine Learning and Early Learning Funds. Prior to that, she led New Profit's portfolio management practice. Shruti currently serves on the boards of ANet, New Teacher Center, and Peace First. Before joining New Profit, Shruti spent seven years working in the private sector, initially as an engineer at Honeywell and later in a series of quality management positions at Howmet Castings and Jabil Circuit.

Stephan Turnipseed is a veteran of the United States Air Force and is the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Pitsco Education. Stephan previously served as President of LEGO® Education North America; later serving as the Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships for LEGO® Education.

He holds two patents for the TETRIX robotic system and is the recipient of the National Instruments Engineering Impact Award for STEM Innovation.

Tom Sayer previously served as the Head of Global Adoption Programs at Google for Education. Tom got committed to learner centered education when he realized we were losing so much potential in every single child by treating them as averages. His previous experiences in education and beyond include being a School Transformation and Change Management Program Manager at Google for Education, the Board Chair at Room to Talk, and an Intelligence Officer for the British Army.