Tori Sparks is a highly motivated and enthusiastic educator with 11+ years of experience creating lesson plans, integrating modern instructional techniques, and school-based teacher leadership. She is passionate about building relationships with students and stakeholders. She is also committed to bringing creativity to the delivery of Social Studies content in the classroom.

Laura Kmetz just finished her 31st year of teaching. She is the Social Studies Department Chair at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, TX, where she has taught AP Human Geography for 12 years. Since 2019, she has written standards-based activities for APHG published weekly by the National Council for Geographic Education. Laura has served as an AP Exam Reader since 2017 and has held leadership positions since 2021, including as an Exam Leader in 2025. She received an award for Distinguished Teaching in AP Human Geography in 2023 from the National Council for Geographic Education and has been designated as a recognized teacher by the State of Texas and a distinguished teacher by Dallas ISD. Laura received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Education degree in Counseling from the University of North Texas.

In this APSI, participants will closely examine the Course and Exam Description (CED) and make a yearlong instructional plan that incorporates all units, topics, and skills referenced in the CED. Instructional strategies and tools, including AP Daily videos and other resources available in AP Classroom, as well as model lesson plans and activities that support and engage students with varied needs and interests will be shared by the APSI instructor. Participants will explore a variety of resources and tools that can be used to create engaging lessons. Time will be devoted to discussing strategies for encouraging students, especially those who are underrepresented in AP classes, to participate in the AP program. Time will also be dedicated to understanding how free-response questions (FRQs) are scored and how to use class time to build students’ skills in responding successfully to FRQs. Finally, participants will learn to use the data in AP Classroom and the Instructional Planning Report to assess, reflect on, and guide instruction.

Dr. Joseph Swope (Joe) has been teaching AP Psychology for over 20 years. He has been an AP Reader and Table Leader for 10 years. He was asked by The College Board to make review videos for AP Psychology students during the pandemic. Also, many of his instructional videos are on AP Classroom. He is the author of Cliff's Notes Guide to AP Psychology. Joe has 2 daughters, 1 wife, 1 turtle, 1 hamster, and the world's best mutt He is an avowed comic book nut.  

Thomas has taught Social Studies at Mundelein High School for 31 years. He has taught AP US Government and Politics for 20 years, and began teaching AP Comparative Government in 2017. He has also taught AP US History since 2012. Thomas sponsors the Mikva Challenge Civics Fair at Mundelein High School. Thomas is a co-author of the Teachers Edition for the textbook, "American Government: Stories of a Nation." He also contributed multiple choice questions to the test bank for "American Government: Stories of a Nation" last year. He has served as an AP Exam Reader in AP US Government Politics for 16 years, scoring the Argumentative essay for 6 years, as well as AP US History for 3. He has served as a virtual table leader for the AP US Government Exam for the past two years. Thomas has co-taught several AP Summer Institutes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Professor David Canon. He became an AP US Government consultant for the College Board in 2018, and AP Comparative Government in 2019. 

     Hello, my name is Matt McGregor, and I am very excited to meet and work with all of you this summer at the AP Summer Institute.  I was born in Zanesville, Ohio and raised in Newark, Ohio. My sister is a teacher and my parents are both retired high school teachers. I graduated from Newark high school in 1988 and attended Muskingum College (now University) graduating in 1992 with a BA in History and minor(s) in social studies and education. After graduating from college I moved to Columbus, Ohio and started substitute teaching for one year while attending The Ohio State University to earn my Political Science certification. I just finished 18 Graduate Credit hours in Political Science (May 2024 to May 2025) through Ashland University which certifies me to teach College Credit Plus government classes at my high school or at the local community colleges.

      In 1993 I  was hired to teach social studies back at Newark high school until 1996 when I quit teaching and moved 700 miles away from home to become an NCAA Division 2 graduate assistant women’s soccer coach at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.  After graduating  from SCSU in 1998 where I earned my MS in Sports Management, I moved to the Cleveland area and started teaching in the Berea city school district at Midpark high school. Additionally,  I attended Cleveland State University and earned my Principal Licensure certificate in 2012.  I have two adult sons, Owen who is in real estate and Cullen who will graduate in May with degrees in Finance, Business and Accounting.

AP Experience

     I started teaching AP Government in 2000 at Midpark high school and was invited to be an AP Reader in 2007 in Daytona, Florida.  I became a Table leader in 2016 and then an early Table leader in 2019 when the scoring moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. For the last several years I have served as a Question Leader or Early Table Leader. I will again serve as a Question Leader this year in Cincinnati, Ohio in late May/early June.

     Besides 1 day online and 4 day in person APSI’s, I know that scoring in May/June is one of the BEST Professional Development opportunities I have experienced and it has made me a better AP Government teacher.  I am very lucky to be asked to score every year.  This is my 5th year teaching a summer institute but my 25th year teaching AP Government and Politics at the high school level.  In addition to teaching AP Government, I also teach regular or on level government and serve as the Berea-Midpark high school Social Studies Department Chairperson. Finally, I have been elected to 7 straight terms as Ward 2 City Councilman in my hometown of Middleburg Heights, Ohio. I am very excited to meet all of you and share my AP Government experience with you.

Christine Custred has taught Advanced Placement (AP) United States History and AP World History in Oklahoma for over 20 years.   She holds a Master’s degree in Education Administration and in school counseling (M.Ed.) and is a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT).

Ms. Custred has been a College Board consultant since 2000, presenting at numerous College Board institutes including international institutes.  She has been an AP Summer Institute consultant since 2003, presenting at well over 50 summer institutes.  She co-authored the Research and Education Association (REA) test prep book for AP United States History, she wrote the AP review questions for the AP edition of the Making America textbook, she co-authored the Fast Track to a 5 for AP World History and was a contributing author of the teacher’s edition of the Ways of the World textbook.  She has developed and team taught a combination course that bridges AP U. S. History and AP English Language and has co-presented at a Southwest Regional College Board conference and presented at the AP annual conference in Orlando in July, 2019.   She served as an AP mentor from 2015-2017, this mentoring program, designed and offered by the College Board, entailed conducting once a month webinars with new AP United States history teachers.  She has served as a member of the consultant advisory panel for the College Board. She has served as a reader for the AP World History exam and is currently a table leader at the AP United States History reading. 

Bill Zeigler lives in San Diego with his wife, Marianne. He earned his BA in history and MA in education from San Diego State University. He is a veteran history-social sciences and English teacher with over 35 years of experience. Bill currently serves as the Assistant to the Chief Reader for AP World History.

Bill has always had a keen interest in world history. He was a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson National Foundation at Princeton, studying the “long nineteenth century” in world history, and a fellow in a two-year NEH program to explore India and China at Cal Poly Pomona. Bill has worked with QFI and the Solanki Project to increase historical awareness of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, respectively. He has led national and international sessions in History-Social Science and Vertical Teaming in Social Sciences for the College Board since 2000. Bill has presented at the World History Association, National Council for the Social Studies, and the AP Annual Conference, and is a College Board consultant in World and US History and Pre-AP World History and Geography with presentations worldwide. He also serves as a Mentor for World History and was a lead developer for the Project-Based Learning curriculum in AP World History. Bill has served as a member of the program committee and the executive board of the World History Association and the program committee for the AP Annual Conference.