Grace has always had a passion for activism, her school has fostered it and provided her with the tools necessary to act upon her passion. In her school, students are given choice and freedom in their education. Students are able to set up their schedules on a day to day basis, choose electives ranging from photoshop to global cultures, and work in an innovative environment that encourages project-based learning. In her 6th grade year, she was given the opportunity to do a project on plastic pollution, where she connected with a Harvard professor, state legislators, and even people from the other side of the globe. From there her passion for activism exploded, and has continued to find ways to advocate for different issues.

Currently she works as a staff writer for a non-profit, Redefy. Redefy is a teen led social justice advocacy group whose mission is to boldly defy stereotypes, encourage acceptance, redefine perspectives positively, and create an active community.

Alongside working for Redefy, she works with JUV Consulting marketing agency working with companies to more authentically and powerfully engage young audiences. Her job with JUV allows her to express her opinions on how companies market and appeal to Gen Z.

Robyn Vierra leads global education at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. As the largest independent school in the United States, Punahou provides student opportunities for both travel and global curricular connections from Kindergarten through 12th grades. Robyn's research focuses on cross-cultural conceptions of critical thinking. Over the past 16 years of teaching, she has taught kindergarten through graduate school.

https://www.punahou.edu/about/campus-and-learning-environments/wo-international-center

Jeannene Halverson has been teaching since 1988. In 2011 she was a runner up for a $10 million STEM grant for a project I she designed which could be adapted to various levels of high school math. Unfortunately, she was not awarded that grant on the basis that her district, CJUHSD with 8 high schools, did not have the technology in place. They were a year behind in getting ChromeBooks in every classroom.

Since then she has written various projects and adapted others into Project-based learning experiences as that is the best way to teach math.

Glenn Robbins is the Superintendent of the Brigantine Public School District in Brigantine, New Jersey. His passion is harnessing a school culture that thrives on design thinking skills, innovative digital spaces, exponential thinking, BYOD/1to1, Social Emotional Learning Zen Dens, and Makerspaces. In addition, Glenn encourages all students to have a voice, not only in building a school culture, but also in designing student led courses. Glenn is a member of several local and national boards and has been honored and award based on his exceptional endeavors. Glenn has been recognized by numerous organizations for his innovative technology implementation methods, and has been a featured speaker at numerous events across the globe. His extensive travels to various schools across the globe have helped to diversify his views on education and implement new instructional methods to better both students and staff.

Holly Jackson Shelton teaches Leadership and Problem Solving at a Title I middle school in Charlotte, NC. She has a passion for curriculum development and making middle school as enjoyable as possible. After spending her first 6 years in the classroom as a 7th grade Social Studies teacher, PLC leader, and grade level leader, she took on the challenge of creating three elective courses to align with her school’s new leadership magnet program. Now in year two of implementation, and after lots of trial and error, she has created 3 distinct course offerings focused on developing critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, personal leadership, and global perspectives. Some of her students’ favorite lessons include the “I Am Habit” seminar in 6th grade, the zombie apocalypse survival guide in 7th grade, the social media problem unit in 8th grade, and all students love doing her self-created teamwork escape rooms.

Judith or Judy Sandvik is a teacher in Chino Valley Unified School District, located in Southern California. She came into teaching via the business sector. As a teacher, she also leads in-services in a variety of areas for schools and teachers.

Jennifer Appel is a teacher and coach at Enterprise Middle School in West Richland, Washington. She comes to us with 21 years of teaching experience with a passion to help and serve others. Jennifer has written blogs for the site CharacterStong, Teach Better and Award Winning Culture. She has provided lessons for future and current teachers at Heritage University. Jennifer has done a lot, so let’s just provide her an opportunity to share all she does.

Ilham Haddadi is an English as a Foreign Language teacher from Morocco who has been teaching English for 18 years. She is a National Geographic Certified Educator and an International School Award ambassador. She mentors teachers in Morocco to work on international projects with schools from around the world.

She believes and strives to provide equal-quality education for all her students as she believes education is the key to end inequality in Morrocco. She also believes teachers have the power to help students investigate real-world issues and be active citizens

Callie Fleury - Fourth grade educator "You're not going to grow unless you step out of your comfort zone."

Music by Liam Kilby

Cover art by Dave Cardona http://5toolmedia.com 

Charles Rolsky - You have to be an entrepreneur of science 

Music by Liam Kilby

Cover art by Dave Cardona http://5toolmedia.com