Presenters

Keynote

Kimberly Johnson, the 2022 Alabama Teacher of the Year, has been teaching in public education for 26 years and has been National Board Certified (EA ELA) for 20 of those years. She consistently works to create safe, engaging, and meaningful learning spaces for her students. She aims to make big and small differences in students’ lives daily. Kimberly is an 8th and 9th-grade interventionist and resource teacher at Auburn Junior High School in Auburn, Alabama.

Keynote Conversations Applying the Science of Reading to High School Instruction

Arthur Unobskey was an English teacher, administrator and superintendent for thirty years passionately striving to teach all of his students to read energetically and write powerfully. During that time he co-founded and directed The Writers’ Express, a summer program that developed middle school writers from Boston and the suburbs. He partnered in Riveting Results because he wanted to put tools directly in the hands of teachers so that they could engage all of their students in reading advanced texts.

Keynote Conversations Education for the Age of AI

Charles Fadel is a global education thought leader and author, futurist and inventor; founder and chairman of Center for Curriculum Redesign; chair of the education committee at BIAC/OECD; Member of the OECD AI Experts group; co-author of “Education for the Age of AI” (2024), “Artificial Intelligence in Education” (2019); “Four-Dimensional Education” (framework in 23 languages) and “21st Century Skills”. He has worked with education systems and institutions in more than 30 countries, and spent 25 years in technology management (M/A-COM; Analog Devices; and as founder of Neurodyne AI). Formerly: Global Education Lead at Cisco Systems, visiting scholar at MIT ESG and Wharton/Penn CLO, project director at Harvard Graduate School of Education (2011-2018); member President’s Council at Olin College of Engineering, angel investor with Beacon Angels. BSEE, MBA, seven patents awarded & one pending.

Natalie Tran, M.A. Early Childhood Education is a National Board Certified Teacher, Early Childhood Generalist, and a three-time Oakland Unified School District Teaching Excellence Award winner (2022-2024). She was recruited to pilot Transitional Kindergarten for the state of California and Oakland Unified School District and is a founding coach for UC Berkeley National Board Resource Center. Natalie trains and mentors teachers through her work with Oakland Unified School District, the Oakland Education Association, the California Teachers Association, and the National Education Association.

A highly accomplished, passionately driven, education leader and National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), Dr. Holmes-Sutton facilitates educator professional development through leadership, mentoring, coaching, and teaching. She has extensive experience serving diverse communities of students, families, and educators within the profession through traditional public and public charter schools for nearly 25 years; designing positive, supportive, and challenging environments and driving student achievement as part of collaborative statewide and national networks of educators and leaders. She is a well-respected, impactful advocate, educator, and leader.

Equity at the Core: Self-Reflection for the Anti-Oppressive Educator

From Brooklyn by way of Trinidad, Dana is a former high school special education teacher and serves as the Director, Inclusive Assessment Development at NBPTS and founder of Sankofa Ed. Dana holds a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing and an MSEd in Special Education. They are committed to anti-oppressive education and uplifting youth voices. They are an afrofuturist nerd, a sometimes poet, and loves dachshunds maybe a little bit too much.

Equity at the Core Fostering Dialogue: Navigating Critical Conversations in the Classroom

As the Director, Candidate Experience Jacquelyn works to ensure the National Board candidate experience is grounded in equitable practices and cultivates a sense of belonging for all educators. Jacquelyn achieved certification in 2019 in Adolescent/Young Adulthood English/Language Arts and was an ELA and Social Studies classroom educator for 13 years. In addition to her work at the National Board, Jacquelyn currently engages in speaking opportunities for organizations centered on equity initiatives, advocates for improving and expanding the teacher pipeline for the Hispanic/Latine community, serves as a mentor for Edifying Teachers, and is a member of the Teach to Change Collaborative. When she isn’t working, she hosts a podcast, Unapologetically, goes on long walks and runs around Chicago, and spends time with family, friends, and her senior dog, Romeo.

A highly accomplished, passionately driven, education leader and National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), Dr. Holmes-Sutton facilitates educator professional development through leadership, mentoring, coaching, and teaching. She has extensive experience serving diverse communities of students, families, and educators within the profession through traditional public and public charter schools for nearly 25 years; designing positive, supportive, and challenging environments and driving student achievement as part of collaborative statewide and national networks of educators and leaders. She is a well-respected, impactful advocate, educator, and leader.

Vonetta Clark Tooles is a veteran educator who has served as a teacher, coach, administrator and consultant. She currently works for Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency, providing continuous improvement support to schools across Wayne County, Michigan. Vonetta enters the work of advocacy for National Board Certification as a policy fellow for Teach Michigan, an extension of Teach For America. Providing an equitable, high quality learning experience for all students is central to reforming education and Vonetta is committed to serving teachers and administrators to achieve that goal.

Advocacy and Teacher Leadership: Championing Learning Through Advocacy and Leadership: Insights from NBCT State Teachers of the Year

Renee’ Atkinson is the 2024 SC Teacher of the Year and the 2023 Horry County Schools Teacher of the Year. She has been a teacher for the past 21 years. For the past eleven years, she has been an English teacher at Aynor High School. She has been a National Board Certified teacher since 2009.

Advocacy and Teacher Leadership: Championing Learning Through Advocacy and Leadership: Insights from NBCT State Teachers of the Year

Jeff Norris began teaching at the elementary level as a third grade, fifth grade, and gifted education teacher before entering school administration for eight years. He returned to the classroom to teach at the secondary level before being named the 2024 Alabama Teacher of the Year. Jeff now serves as an Education Specialist in the Office of Extended Learning for the Alabama State Department of Education. He is an NBCT Middle Childhood Generalist who recently maintained certification and works closely with the Alabama National Board Certified Teacher Network.

Advocacy and Teacher Leadership Strengthening Your Advocacy Muscles Through Fellowships

Stacie has been an NBCT in EA/Mathematics since 2010. Her most recent teaching assignment was as a middle school math specialist at Howard County Public Schools in Maryland. She earned the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math & Science Teaching (PAEMST) in 2019. During the 2023-2024 school year, she served as the primary Education/AI Policy Advisor in the office of U.S. Representative David Trone (MD-06) as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow.

Advocacy and Teacher Leadership Championing Learning Through Advocacy and Leadership: Insights from NBCT State Teachers of the Year

Laura Jeanne ("Jeannie") Penrod’s journey as a high school educator has spanned 18 years in the Clark County School District. She facilitates meaningful learning experiences with students using project-based learning (PBL) and social-emotional learning (SEL) to foster student reflection and advocacy. She is passionate about teacher leadership and has engaged in local, statewide, national, and global fellowships. She is the 2024 Nevada State Teacher of the Year and the recipient of the 2024-25 NASDTEC Forward Fund Award for the country’s western region.

Advocacy and Teacher Leadership Strengthening Your Advocacy Muscles Through Fellowships

Holly Howard is a National Board certified teacher who has taught English Language Arts in Arkansas for the past 18 years. She serves as department chair at Bentonville High School and is a former member of TeachPlus Arkansas and TeachPlus’ National Policy Advisory Board.

Advocacy and Teacher Leadership

John Arthur is the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year Finalist. He is also Director of Candidate Recruitment for the Utah National Board Coalition and Co-Director of the Teacher Fellows, a nonprofit developing the next generation of Utah teacher leaders. In 2023, John Arthur was recognized as one of Utah’s Most Valuable Educators by Instructure and the Utah Jazz, a K-12 Hero Award recipient from eSchool News, and this year was named the 2024 General Education Teacher of the Year by the Council for Exceptional Children Utah for his work supporting students with disabilities.

Navigating Your National Board Journey

Tammy Kirkland is the Coordinator of the World Class Teaching Program (National Board Candidate Support Program) and an instructor at the University of Mississippi. Mrs. Kirkland holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, is a licensed administrator, an NBCT, and served as a National Board Fellow in 2019-2020. Mrs. Kirkland’s focus is to make National Board Certification achievable and attainable for all teachers. She is a National Board consultant and has developed many national partnerships and collaborations.

Navigating Your National Board Journey: Introduction to National Board Certification

I became a NBCT in 2001, certifying in Early Adolescence English Language Arts, and I have completed two renewals. I am a webinar consultant with NBCT, as well as I have served as an Atlas Tagger and on National Board Committees. I am also an adjunct professor, teaching courses in the National Board process and serving on committees to recruit diverse candidates.

Equity at the Core Fostering Dialogue: Navigating Critical Conversations in the Classroom

As the Director, Candidate Experience Jacquelyn works to ensure the National Board candidate experience is grounded in equitable practices and cultivates a sense of belonging for all educators. Jacquelyn achieved certification in 2019 in Adolescent/Young Adulthood English/Language Arts and was an ELA and Social Studies classroom educator for 13 years. In addition to her work at the National Board, Jacquelyn currently engages in speaking opportunities for organizations centered on equity initiatives, advocates for improving and expanding the teacher pipeline for the Hispanic/Latine community, serves as a mentor for Edifying Teachers, and is a member of the Teach to Change Collaborative. When she isn’t working, she hosts a podcast, Unapologetically, goes on long walks and runs around Chicago, and spends time with family, friends, and her senior dog, Romeo.

Navigating Your National Board Journey: Introduction to National Board Certification

Blanca Gálvez-Pérez is an NBCT bilingual educator with more than 20 years of experience teaching in Austin ISD, TX. She is passionate about multilingualism and literacy, the mother of Alan and Manuela, wife, daughter, and friend. She loves mentoring NBCT candidates and international teachers starting their journey in the USA. She serves on the TX National Board Coalition for Teaching, TABE, and AAABE Boards.

As Senior Manager, Products and Services, Caitlin Wilson serves as a member of the ATLAS team, where she provides training and support for ATLAS users and leads ongoing efforts to increase awareness and implementation of the ATLAS library. Caitlin also supports third-party payers who provide fee support for National Board candidates. Caitlin has dedicated her career to supporting innovation and equity in teaching and learning. She started her career as a classroom teacher in Marietta, Georgia. Caitlin has expertise in leading teacher professional development, improvement coaching, and designing and implementing networked improvement communities focused on the following topics: reducing the special education teacher shortage, recruiting and retaining men of color into the teaching profession, and increasing the number of Board-certified teachers across the country. Caitlin also has expertise in federal grant management. Caitlin holds a master’s degree in teaching from Georgia College and State University. She earned an undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of Georgia. Caitlin is an alumna of the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Educational Policy Fellowship Program.

Marcia Foster joined the National Board in August 2013 as the Director of New Products and Services. In this role, Foster manages the design and development of key programs and services for Accomplished Teaching, Learning, and Schools (ATLAS) and other new products and services focused on supporting the National Board’s mission.

Prior to joining the National Board, Foster was the product and marketing director for PBS’ Education products. In this role, she led the development of Peer Connection, an online resource library for instructional coaches, mentors, and teacher leaders. She also managed PBS TeacherLine’s online professional development courses for PreK-12 teachers. Foster has taught as an adjunct at Maryland and Virginia colleges and universities. She began her career as a brand manager for multinational consumer product companies, including Campbell Soup Company and Oscar Mayer Foods Corporation.

Foster earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in business from Atlanta University.

Dr. Beth Edwards currently serves as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program. She is a passionate advocate for educator development, dedicated to empowering novice teachers and National Board Certification candidates. Committed to fostering a supportive environment that nurtures growth and excellence in teaching. Dr. Edwards believes in the transformative power of mentorship and tailored support to cultivate the next generation of exceptional educators.

Rebecca Oravec is a middle school National Board Certified Teacher in southern Arizona, going into her eighth year in education. Oravec pursued NB certification in the 2021-2022 school year, completing all four components. She believes in a classroom foundation of embracing student identity, building community, and celebrating the joy and love of learning in school.

Staci Hayes is a National Board Certified Teacher with 20 years of experience and currently works as an instructional coach in Maricopa, Arizona. She holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Arizona and an M.Ed in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University. Staci also hosts The 30 Minute PD, a podcast offering quick, high-quality professional development tips for busy teachers.

NB2B: Keynote: Candidate Fireside Chat

Katie McClain, born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, holds a degree in broadcast journalism and is pursuing her master’s in Mass Media. She teaches video production at Northwest Career and Technical Academy High School, where she inspires students with her industry expertise. Katie is pursuing National Board Certification for Career Technical Education, having completed all components and eagerly awaiting the results. Her dedication to education and media is evident in her commitment to professional growth and student success.

NB2B: Getting Started

Danielle Brown, NBCT is the Senior Manager of Candidate Experience for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Her experience includes kindergarten teacher, Arts Integration Specialist, and Professional Learning Director whose focused on supporting districts statewide to build induction and mentoring supports for beginning teachers.