Speakers

Laura serves as a digital innovation coach on the Professional Leading and Learning Collaborative team. She works with school districts across North Carolina to design, develop and deliver professional learning to teachers and administrators. Laura began her career as a middle school science teacher in Iowa and most recently was a Senior Administrator in the Wake County Public School System as a coordinator of a STEM grant for high school students.

Brian Bettis currently serves as Principal of Bethel School in Watauga County, NC. He taught kindergarten & third grade before serving as a Curriculum Technology Coordinator and Assistant Principal in Cleveland County, NC. Brian has also served as an adjunct instructor at Cleveland Community College & the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Brian is a graduate of Appalachian State University (‘05, ‘08, ‘16) and is currently a doctoral student at East Tennessee University. Brian is a National Board Certified Teacher and is passionate about early childhood education. He enjoys facilitating professional development at the school, district, and state levels.

Natalie Beyer is a community volunteer and advocate for equity and excellence in public education. Natalie attended public schools in Durham and she earned a Bachelor’s degree from Rice University in Houston, Texas and a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Natalie has served on the Durham Board of Education since 2010 and serves as the Board’s Legislative Liaison. She is a frequent guest lecturer and was awarded the President’s Award by the North Carolina Association of Educators. Natalie serves on the Board of Public Schools First NC, Durham’s Project Graduation and the Alumni Board of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. Natalie and her husband, John, are the parents of three children who all attended Durham Public Schools since Kindergarten.

Stacy is a Grades 9-12 ELA Consultant. She has over 12 years experience in education as a high school teacher, instructional coach, and consultant. Stacy holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, an M.S. in Literacy K-12, and a B.A. in Secondary English Education.

Kristi is the Section Chief for ELA & Languages and is also serving as a K-5 ELA Consultant. Kristi has over 14 years experience as a teacher and consultant. She holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, an M.A. in Instructional Technology, and a B.S. in Elementary Education.

Deena Hayes-Greene is the Founder and Director of the Racial Equity Institute (REI), an alliance of trainers, organizers, and institutional leaders who work to create racial equity within society.

Deena currently serves as a senior trainer and Managing Director for REI and has worked for over 18 years as a trainer and consultant, focusing on the structure and impacts of race and racism within systems, institutions, and organizations. She has presented keynote speeches, workshops, and seminars across the nation to organizations interested in addressing and eliminating racial and ethnic inequities. She served as a Human Relations Commissioner for the City of Greensboro and board chair for the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. Deena was elected for five terms to the Guilford County School Board, where she is the current chair of the board and has chaired the Achievement Gap Committee, the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Advisory Committee, and the School Safety/Gang Education Committee. In September 2019, Deena was honored at the Council of Urban Boards of Education meeting and named the Benjamin E. Mays Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. Deena currently serves as a member of the Disproportionate Minority Contact (RED) (Subcommittee) of the North Carolina State Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice (SAG).

Recently, Ms. Hayes-Greene testified to the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. The Commission was established in January by President Trump to "better the profession of law enforcement."

Freebird McKinney currently serves as the NC State Board of Education’s Director of Legislative Affairs and Community Outreach. This role has allowed him the opportunity to “build bridges” across NC between the State Board of Education, and the Department of Public Instruction, the Governor’s office, the General Assembly, and each and every school district, as well as the multiple education advocacy groups and organizations who are collectively working to move public education forwards in our state. However, for the last fifteen years, he was also a “Village Teacher.” As the 2018 North Carolina State Teacher of the Year, he had the honor of inspiring countless young men and women inside and outside of the classroom, both in public high schools (for 14 years), and at Elon University, as a School of Education adjunct professor. His mission has been to motivate students to find their own voices and roles as citizens of this world, as well as inspiring fellow teachers to grow their skills by expanding their classrooms into the global community. Once teachers and students actualize the power and purpose of the human spirit, he believes they can create equitable opportunities to indeed become “Educator Diplomats” who shape our collective future through an “Education Culture Transformation.”

Mary is a Grades K-5 ELA Consultant. She has over 18 years of experience as a teacher, literacy specialist, administrator, district instructional coach, and consultant. Mary is bilingual and has ESL experience. Mary holds an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and a B.S. in Elementary Education.

Dr. Betsy Rosenbalm, a National Board Certified Teacher, began her career as an elementary classroom teacher in 2001. She taught 2nd, 4th and 5th grade before becoming an elementary reading specialist and school level instructional coach. She continued her career as an assistant principal in an elementary school, and then became the principal of Conover School for four years. After that, she served as the Director of Exceptional Children and Communication Services, with additional responsibilities as a Testing Director, 504 Coordinator, and ESL Coordinator for a total of 4 years before becoming a NC New Teacher Support Program (NT NTSP) Coach and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Reading Education and Special Education at Appalachian State University in 2017. In 2019, Dr. Rosenbalm became the Director of the Public School Partnership and Regional Director of the NC NTSP in the App State Region. She was a NC Teaching Fellow in her undergraduate program at Appalachian, a top four finalist for Iredell-Statesville Schools’ Teacher of the Year in 2006, and the Newton-Conover and NC Region 7 Principal of the Year in 2012-2013. Her undergraduate and graduate degrees were obtained from Appalachian State University in 2001, 2005, and 2008, and her Educational Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction was obtained from Gardner-Webb University in 2012. Betsy’s three young daughters are her pride and joy!

Joe Sims and is a member of the Caldwell County Board of Education, having served on the Board since June of 2013. Mr. Sims is a lifelong resident of Caldwell County and graduated from South Caldwell High School in 1979. He graduated from Lenoir Rhyne College in 1983 and has worked as an agent for North Carolina Farm Bureau since 1985. Mr. Sims and his wife and have four children, two of which graduated from Appalachian State. One was a Teaching Fellow, and the other was a part of the ACES program. With many of Mr. Sims' family members being educators, education is and always has been very important to him. Mr. Sims values educators and how much they advocate for our students, and he applauds you for the profession you are pursuing.

Maureen Stover is the 2020 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year. Prior to her position as the NCTOY, she taught Biology, Earth and Environmental Science, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) at Cumberland International Early College High School in Fayetteville. Maureen has taught at the elementary, middle and high school levels and worked as an educational consultant for the National Science Teaching Association. She earned a B.S. in Biology from the United States Air Force Academy, Class of 1997, a M. Ed. in STEM Curriculum and Instruction from Adams State University, and a M.A. in Secondary Science Teaching from Western Governors University North Carolina. Prior to becoming a teacher, Maureen served as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force.

Matthew Thomas-Reid (he/him/his pronouns) is assistant professor of Educational Foundations and affiliate faculty with Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies. Matthew is faculty advisor for GAPP (Gay and Progressive Pedagogy) and is editor of the South Atlantic Philosophy of Education Society Journal. His areas of research include philosophy of education, social justice education, and queer pedagogy. His current research projects focus on utilizing LGBTQIA histories and narratives with a view toward 'queering' pedagogy, praxis, and, most recently, digital literacies.

Kim Tuttle is a 1996 graduate of Radford University, where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in English with a minor in History, and a 1998 graduate of Radford University, where she received a Masters of Science Degree in American Literature and a degree in Secondary Education. Tuttle was the 1999 recipient of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools 1st Year Teacher of the Year for High Schools and was named the 2019 Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Teacher of the Year. Over the 20 years within CMS, Tuttle has taken on instructional leadership positions within various schools, but she currently teaches English at Levine Middle College High School. Kim Tuttle is also an Educational Consultant for Hairston Education, LLC, where she has worked in implementing the "Trans4mational Leadership" framework to achieve system-wide goals within low-performing schools in districts across the East Coast. Tuttle has always believed that the key to sustaining success in the classroom is knowing that "Teaching is heart-work." In order to help a child reach their full potential, one must teach to the heart before effective instruction takes place. The focus of her educational journey is teaching the whole child approach, because she has consistently seen the effectiveness of sustaining long term student success in her classroom.

Tabari Wallace is the principal of West Craven High School in Craven County and was named the 2018-2019 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year. Wallace has been called the “Drum Major” for the education profession, which bespeaks of his ability to promote and build bridges for excellence in our field. He earned his current state post by placing students at the center of his mission and motivating them to overcome any challenge presented. He embraces the dispositions of ALL students’ ability to succeed.

Wallace, a former math teacher at New Bern High School, has been an educator for 19 years. He has served as principal of H.J. MacDonald Middle School, and of Havelock Middle School. He was an assistant principal at Tucker Creek Middle School and West Craven Middle School. Considered in his county as a transformational specialist, Wallace has successfully turned around the two schools he led, highlighted by closing the achievement gap while at Havelock Middle School. Just last year, his first year as a high school principal, he led his students to increase the growth composite from 41% to 62%. He is currently laying the foundation for West Craven High to become the first Career Academy School in Craven County.

As Wells Fargo Principal of the Year, Wallace has been traveling the state, promoting education while still ensuring the needs of his students and teachers are met at his school. He was the first two-year advisor to the State Board of Education, was appointed by Governor Cooper to the Craven Community College Board of Trustees and by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Tim Moore to the Professional Educator Preparation & Standards Commission. He serves as a former board member of NC Public Forum, NASSP National Principal of the Year Candidate, N.C. Human Capital Roundtable member, SBE Equity Goal Team member, NC Teacher Support Program Board Member, Principal Standards Commission member, former Teaching Fellows Commission, and a New Bern Redevelopment Commission Board member.

Carpe Diem (seize the day) is Mr. Wallace’s favorite quote and in regard to student success he believes in “progress not perfection”. He strongly believes that individuals must take advantage of all opportunities to achieve in every field of human endeavor. Not content to rest on his laurels, he is continuing his own growth in the educational field as a doctoral candidate and is in the final dissertation phase at East Carolina University. Invest in your Human Capital and the results will take care of itself! Ride or Fly!

Blake Wiggs is a research scholar with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. In addition to coaching, much of his work is grounded in organizational behavior, innovation management and community development. He received both his M.A. in teaching and B.A. in anthropology from East Carolina University and is pursuing his doctorate in curriculum & instruction at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Blake is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education program and is committed to the intersection of educational equity, innovation and policy. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and co-authored the book, Rethinking Classroom Design: Create Student Centered Learning Spaces for 6th-12th Grade, with Edutopia blogger Todd Finley.

Rachel is a Grades K-5 ELA Consultant. She has over 10 years of experience as a migrant service provider, teacher, district-level program coordinator, administrator for the NC Migrant Education Program, and consultant. Rachel holds a M.A. in Teaching English/Language Arts and a B.A. in English Language and Literature.