Presenter Information

Jenna Shim, Dean of the University of Wyoming’s College of Education 

Jenna Shim currently serves as the John P. "Jack" Ellbogen Interim Dean of the College of Education, the Executive Director of the Trustees' Education Initiative, and a professor in the School of Teacher Education. She served as associate dean for the past three years after joining the UW faculty in 2009 and also has served as associate director in the School of Education; and program coordinator for the English as a Second Language (ESL) graduate program in the School of Teacher Education; and founder of the annual Wyoming ESL and DLI (dual language immersion) Conference.

She earned a B.A. in piano performance at California State University (1994) and an M.M. in piano performance from Manhattan School of Music (1996). She received her teaching certificate in TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) from the University of California-Los Angeles (2001); and an M.S. in literacy education (2006), a CAS in literacy education (2007), and a Ph.D. in language and literacy education (2009), all from the University at Albany, State University of New York. 

Her research interests include Psychoanalysis and Education, Intercultural and Multicultural Education, Cross-Cultural Pedagogies, The Sociology of Education, and Second Language Teaching and Learning.

Vicki Phillips, CEO of the National Center on Education and the Economy

Dr. Vicki Phillips is CEO of the National Center on Education and the Economy where she leads NCEE’s work to help states, districts, and schools discover, design, and lead high-performing education systems. Formerly, Dr. Phillips served as the chief education officer at the National Geographic Society. At the Society, she designed and led the global education strategy focused on providing game-changing tools for educators and transforming the learning experience for millions of young people, inspiring them to become the next generation of planetary stewards.

Dr. Phillips’s career in education spans more than three decades, driven by a fierce determination to help all students realize their dreams. She has tirelessly championed students’ rights to a high-quality education through her many leadership roles, including as a teacher, state-level policymaker, nonprofit leader, superintendent of schools, state secretary of basic and higher education, and as the director of education, College Ready, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gretchen Morgan, Center of Innovative Education

Gretchen Morgan is the Managing Partner at Center for Innovation in Education (C!E) where she and her team lead work within and across states focused on learner centered assessment for learning, family partnership, and inclusive design as a foundation for rebuilding public trust and reimagining school and district accountability.  She was previously the President at CareerWise Colorado where she led the launch of a state-wide youth apprenticeship system. Morgan also served as the Associate Commissioner of Innovation at the Colorado Department of Education where she led strategic initiatives including design of an assessment pilot and competency-based learning, as well as overseeing the state's charter, postsecondary, and student re-engagement work. Morgan has also worked as a principal, curriculum and program developer, instructional and leadership coach, and an elementary school teacher. 

Dr. Bethany Bernasconi, Senior Consultant 2Revolutions

Bethany is the 2012 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year, a 2013 ASCD Emerging Leader, a 2014 Milken Fellow, a 2017 School ReTool Fellow and was the recipient of the NH Excellence in Education Outstanding Leadership award in 2019. Bethany earned a BA in Biology and a MAT in Secondary Science Education, both from Boston University, and an Ed.D in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment through Walden University. 

Her areas of expertise include: designing and implementing competency-based learning systems, performance assessment, personalized learning, student-centered instructional design, and STEM Education. Bethany believes that in supporting the growth of educators we can empower them to create personalized learning, engage as an integral part of a community of practice, and create joyful and equitable opportunities for all learners. She is an advocate of increased student agency and champions the uniqueness and value of students and educators alike.

Adam Rubin, Founder and Partner 2Revolutions

Adam has spent over two decades catalyzing change through the design and launch of social enterprises across the education and community development sectors. He started 2Revolutions to feed this love and to reinforce a belief that two critical levers we can pull are the birth and scaling of innovative ventures as a way to affect real change. At 2Rev, Adam is able to feed his love of both systems change and practice innovation.

Adam graduated with a B.A. in Government/Race Relations from Colby College. He holds an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. A combination of wanderlust and intellectual curiosity find him exploring the world through travel and wilderness adventure.

Keri Melmed, 2Revolutions Coach

Keri is an experienced, innovative and passionate educational leader with a strong track record of empowering leaders and their organizations to create environments where all students thrive. She has been working in education for over 28 years, both as a classroom teacher and in school leadership; in various organizations in California, New York, and Colorado. Keri is driven by what is possible and she challenges the status quo to intentionally design equitable communities that elevate all members of the organization to support student success. Ms. Melmed graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and later attended Columbia University, Teachers College where she earned her Master of Arts degree in  Education. Keri holds an Executive Coaching certification from the University of Colorado and currently works as both consultant and leadership coach.

Dr. Ruth Hellams, 2Revolutions Coach

Dr. Ruth Hellams is an educational consultant and retired school and district administrator with a mission to inspire joy in scholars through the exploration of innovative educational ideas that enrich the lives of learners and leaders.  One of the hallmarks of Ruth’s tenure as a leader was serving as a high school principal at a non-traditional school whose principles for teaching and learning were rooted in CBE, PBL, Restorative practices, and a deep commitment to building connections between the school and its community through real-world teaching and learning opportunities for students and staff.  The promise of exploring the boundaries of what’s possible when schools and communities commit to a culture of excellence serves as the foundation of her work.

Dr. Carmen Coleman, OVEC Chief of Transformational Leading and Learning 

Dr. Carmen Coleman serves the districts in the OVEC region as the Chief of Transformational Leading and Learning. Prior to this role, she served as Chief Academic Information Officer for Jefferson County Public Schools, and Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies. In addition, Dr. Coleman has served as Superintendent, Director of Elementary Schools, principal and teacher in a variety of district contexts. Her work has focused on transforming the school experience from one developed to meet the needs of the Industrial Age to a system that will equip learners for success in the world today. As Superintendent, her work was featured by the Harvard Letter, PBS NewsHour, Getting Smart and District Administration. She has worked with hundreds of leaders to inspire a different way of thinking about the learner experience and is now working to scale the benefits of deeper learning across the region for 155,000 students. 

Furman Brown, TEGY

A specialist in whole-school design thinking and transformational scheduling, Furman is often described as an organizational puzzle builder. He helps public schools (district and charter) find uncommon yet practical solutions for organizing their talent, time, technology, and space. He began his career in education as a member of the first group of Teach For America over 30 years ago. 

He won a prestigious Echoing Green Prize for his concepts on school innovation.  Since 2012, he has focused on supporting existing schools nationwide as they develop sustainable whole-school solutions that make sense for their community. 

Dr. Cory Steiner, Superintendent of Northern Cass School District

Dr. Cory Steiner is currently the Superintendent of the Northern Cass School District for the past 9 years. He has been an administrator for 16 years. In his current role, he has worked with a dedicated and passionate group of educators to shift their entire system to personalized competency-based learning. He has served on the Governor’s Task Force on Innovation which has challenged North Dakota’s education system to think differently. During this past year, Northern Cass was a finalist for the Yass Prize and they received $500,000 to develop a Full-Service Community School.  Dr. Steiner believes every learner can change the world; therefore, we must provide a world-class education. It is a moral imperative we change our educational system to one which is uncompromisingly learner-centered. He also serves on the Education Standards and Practices Board, The Village Family Service Center, Rural Cass Special Education, and the Southeast Education Cooperative Board of directors. He is an adjunct professor for the University of Jamestown for teacher leadership. He is married to his wife, Jess, and has two children, DelRae (21), and Kelsa (18).

Nathan Driskell, Chief of Policy at the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE)

Nathan Driskell is the Chief, Policy at the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE). NCEE is a leading nonprofit dedicated to helping educators and policymakers build equitable, high-performing and sustainable education systems through global, future-facing insights.  Nathan has spent nearly 10 years at NCEE studying the policies of education systems all over the world and providing expert strategic advice to U.S. policymakers in the US based on insights gained from those systems and how they are adapting to face the future.  Nathan has over 15 years of experience in education policy. Prior to NCEE, he worked in education philanthropy, early childhood education research, and family and community engagement. Nathan holds a Master’s in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Brown University.

Jack Elsey, Founder and CEO of Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative & partners

Jack is the founder and CEO of the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative (MEWI), an organization dedicated to improving Michigan's educator pipeline through innovative programs and close partnerships with schools and districts.  Prior to founding MEWI, Jack led the Detroit Children's Fund, a non-profit dedicated to improving Detroit's public schools.  Jack has been a middle school teacher in the South Bronx, is the former Chief Innovation Officer for Chicago Public Schools, and a former Assistant Superintendent for Detroit Public Schools.  He is an alumnus of Chiefs for Change, the Broad Residency, Teach For America, cheers for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons every Saturday during the fall.  He lives in Detroit with his wife and two school-aged daughters.

Heather Wendell, Senior Director Afton Partners

Heather is a Senior Director at Afton Partners supporting school districts and state education agencies as part of the K12 education finance practice area. She began her career in education as a high school teacher in Indiana and joined Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in 2002, most recently serving as the Chief Officer of Budget and Grants Management for six years. In this role, Heather led the annual budget and planning process for CPS and its $8 billion operating budget supporting 320,000 students across 630 district-managed and Charter school sites and oversaw all aspects of local, state, and federal grants including application development, program implementation, monitoring, and management. Heather’s work also included the creation of a School Funding Working Group and Citywide School Budget Public Forums to share data and analysis and solicit diverse stakeholder feedback to inform how CPS can improve equity and transparency in school funding. This work led to the development of an Opportunity Index incorporating student, school, and community factors which was applied as a tool to inform needs-based resource allocation, as well as the creation of a School Resource Strategy team to provide proactive, strategic collaborative consultation to school leaders and communities to align available people, time, and money to best meet student needs.

In addition to her work with budget and grants, Heather has successfully led complex, cross-functional strategic projects for the district and her previous CPS roles include deputy chief of staff to the CEO, director of special projects in the office of college and career success, and business services manager for the office of specialized services.

Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education from Ball State University and a master of arts from Elmhurst College.

Katie Reed, Partner and Managing Director with Afton Partners 

Katie Reed is Partner & Managing Director with Afton Partners, where she oversees Afton's K12 and Early Childhood initiatives. Since joining Afton in 2014, Katie has supported state and local agencies on initiatives at the intersection of finance, strategy, and governance, with a particular interest in engaging diverse stakeholders in major financial change initiatives. Highlights of Katie’s work at Afton include supporting the Illinois State Board of Education’s response to the ESSA Financial Transparency Requirement, the 2023 DC School Funding Study, and the effort to Reimagine School Funding in Boston Public Schools. Katie also facilitated the Great Start for All Minnesota Children Task Force and the Illinois Governor’s Early Childhood Funding Commission. Prior to joining Afton, Katie served as Chief of Staff for Innovation and Incubation at Chicago Public Schools. Earlier in her career, Katie spent nearly a decade in progressing roles in financial and operational management for Baxter Healthcare and Ford Motor Company. She earned an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, and a BBA in finance from the University of Notre Dame. She and her husband live in Charlotte, NC, with their two young children and Katie serves as a board member of the Rare Kidney Disease Foundation. 

Dr. Kadie Wilson, Leader-in-Residence 2Revolutions

Kathryn (Kadie) Wilson is the former Assistant Superintendent of Schools for a set of rural districts located in the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire. She is an experienced educational leader committed to transforming learning systems through the implementation of personalized, competency-based structures.

Kadie earned her BA in Elementary and Special education from Providence College, an MA in Educational Leadership from Framingham State University, and a CAGS in Advanced Educational Leadership from the University of New England. She completed her doctoral studies at Northeastern University, earning her EdD in Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leading.

Kadie is passionate about the potential for high-quality performance assessment to create more equitable educational systems aligned to the needs of today’s students. Her dissertation, “Shifting the Nature of Teaching and Learning with Performance Assessment” allowed her to build skill with action research while identifying the conditions necessary to affect change within her local context.  

Kadie lives in North Conway, New Hampshire with her husband, Tom, and their Bernese mountain dog, Rocky. When not working, she loves spending time golfing, skiing, hiking, and baking.

Catherine Thorn, Senior Consultant 2Revolutions

Catherine has over 17 years of classroom and educational leadership experience. Catherine holds a B.A. in Biology from Boston University and an M. Ed. from the University of Massachusetts. She completed a CAGS in Leading and Learning in a Competency-Based System at Southern New Hampshire University; this program was a product of a collaboration between Southern New Hampshire University and 2Revolutions. 

As a Senior Consultant for 2Revolutions, Catherine has co-facilitated state-level professional learning communities focused on leveraging performance assessment as evidence of graduation readiness and served as an adjunct professor for Spalding University. Catherine leverages her passions and experiences in implementing competency-based, student-centered learning to support our Graduate programs and Communities of Practice.

Daniel Torres-Rangel, Leader-in-Residence 2Revolutions

Daniel comes from a family of teachers. He is the son of two career teachers and long term MESA advisors, who dedicated their years in education to students and families from underserved communities, and his brother is a high school English teacher in Los Angeles. Daniel has worked in public, charter, and private schools in roles including teacher (high school math and ESL), mentor, lead instructor, program manager, school administrator, and district staff. He was also one of four co-hosts for “aka Teacher,” a PBS Wisconsin Education podcast. Daniel is passionate about the intersection of innovation and equity and applying processes such as Liberatory Design to improve educational systems. Daniel holds a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University.

Daniel lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife and two children and enjoys rock climbing, camping, photography, theater, and meditation.