Venola Mason is the CEO and Founder of AchieveIt Educational Services and is an Associate Partner and Author at International Center for Leadership in Education. In her role as an ICLE associate partner, Venola works with education leaders across the country supporting them with making transformational change in their school districts by developing and implementing policies and practices that increase student achievement and wellness.

Nicholas Cassius Clay is the founder of Being One World LLC, a mindfulness company Nicholas started in October 2020 so that he could offer mindfulness teaching and coaching to those looking for a holistic path to clarity, inner peace, and increased business performance, among many other benefits. The mission of Being One World is to empower and support people to be their most powerful expression of themselves while maintaining a clear and balanced state of mind.

Dr. Kristy Somerville-Midgette is the Division Superintendent for Brunswick County Public Schools. In her tenure as Division Superintendent, she has increased student engagement across the curriculum, provided access and opportunities for all and built capacity for long-term sustainability and success.

Dr. Anthony Lewis began his career as a Special Education Teacher in Montgomery, Alabama. After which, he was appointed to Assistant Principal then became an awarding winning Principal of E. D. Nixon Elementary School. While at E. D. Nixon, the school became a two-time Alabama Torchbearer School during the 2007-2008 school year - one of only nine in the state and again during the 2010- 2011 school year – one of only eleven in the state.

Launching her career as a substitute teacher in New York City’s Department of Education, Dr. Chase has 30 years of experience as an educator. Dr. Chase is widely known as a fierce advocate for all children. She believes every child deserves a world class education and their social/emotional needs addressed, regardless of his or her family’s economic tier, zip code, ethnicity or immigration status.

Dr. Pedro A. Noguera is the Distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and Faculty Director for the Center for the Transformation of Schools at UCLA. He is a sociologist whose scholarship and research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions as well as by demographic trends in local, regional and global contexts.

Frank Polen is beginning his ninth year as the Assistant Superintendent, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Adult Education Director at Buckeye Career Center in New Philadelphia, Ohio. Mr. Polen is committed to schools, community development, and leadership initiatives. He has helped students of all ages Discover Their Passion and Prepare for Their Future through career and technical education.

Dr. Sabba Quidwai gives you the skills and strategies to build your human advantage and be irreplaceable in a world with AI. For the past decade she's been doing this with schools and businesses using a method called design thinking. By marrying design thinking with futures thinking, she helps organizations create a culture of innovation that's not only responsive but also preparatory. While we can't predict the future, design thinking and design sprints allow us to be well-prepared for multiple scenarios. 

David is the Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Assembly. He started with the UA in 2014 as the Director of Social-Emotional Learning, where he created the Resilient Scholars Program (RSP), a unique approach to integrating SEL into curriculum and classroom practices across the UA network. As the Senior Director of Strategy, David led the expansion of the organization into a model provider of school support, with an emphasis on innovation and equity in public education.

Dr. Donna Vallese's entire career has been dedicated to improving outcomes for students by supporting educators in implementing game-changing and innovative practices. I have had the opportunity to work at all levels of education (state, university, district, school, and classroom) and those settings have been in urban, charter, sub-urban, and rural schools.