Alex Merritt is in his first year as assistant principal at Alex Sanger Preparatory School and a grateful member of School Retool. His hacker journey really began when he was an upper elementary classroom teacher for nine years, which he holds forth was the best preparation he had for school leadership. Alex was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. He left for college at UNC Chapel Hill, where he studied English and Spanish. He started his teaching career in Charlotte, where he earned his Master’s of Arts in Teaching at UNC Charlotte. Ready for a new adventure, Alex moved to Austin, TX. After receiving some encouragement toward leadership, he applied to and was accepted into the Principalship Program at UT Austin. The program helped him define his core values of truth, humility, and commitment, and to put them into action for all students, particularly those who have been historically marginalized and underserved. Alex enjoys swimming, long walks, podcasts, public radio, and living the Millennial Dream (that is, subscribing to every streaming service available).

Alfred Rucker is an assistant principal at Zan Wesley Holmes Jr Middle School. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina. Alfred graduated from Baylor University with a bachelor’s in Corporate Communications and completed his master’s in Educational Leadership. Alfred started his teaching career in Waco ISD, he joined the Dallas ISD family in 2017 where he worked at Edison Learning Center with the ACE program. As a transformational leader he has written curriculum, served as an instructional coach, and campus coordinator at the secondary level. Amongst his duties as an assistant principal, he serves as the 8th grade Reading AIM 2.0 facilitator, test coordinator and culture tenets leader. His learning motto is that “If you can teach a child to read you can change their life.“

Dr. Avril El-Amin inspires a love for teaching and learning to students, teachers, and staff at the largest elementary school in Dallas ISD, Anne Frank Elementary School. She completed the Dallas ISD Alternative Certification program in 2002 and began her public-school teaching career as 7th grade reading teacher at Benjamin Franklin Middle School. During her career, Dr. El-Amin has served the needs of others in a variety of roles—as 7th grade instructional team lead, ELA department chairperson, campus behavior management chairperson, new teacher mentor chairperson, ELA curriculum specialist, campus instructional coach, and now assistant principal. Regardless of the position, she is forever a teacher, a role that allows her to share her love for learning and her passion for bringing out the best in herself and others. The role she cherishes the most though is that of mother to her son, Lincoln who is currently pursuing his MFA in creative writing at Butler University.

Bridgett Ladipo is originally from Dallas, Texas and raised in Lewisville, Texas home of the Fighting Farmers. She received her undergraduate and graduate degree from Texas Woman's University. This is currently her 9th year in education. It all started at Balch Springs Middle School now known as Young Women’s STEAM Academy where she spent five years as an 8th grade science teacher and four years as an administrator. In 2015, after Bridgett was awarded campus teacher of the year and included in Dallas ISD’s Top 100 teachers she decided to pursue administration. When she’s not working on the campus’ master schedule or providing observation & feedback she likes to spend time with her Australian Shepherd Minx and try all the new restaurants in Dallas because eating food is her hobby.

Christina Rodriguez attended Dallas ISD schools from kindergarten through 12th grade and grew up in Dallas's Oak Cliff neighborhood. She attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she received bachelor's degrees in Government and History. She received her first Master's in Education from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth in Second Language Education and Culture. She was part of Dallas ISD's first cohort in the Texas Principal Leadership Academy through the University of Texas at Austin, where she received her Master's in Education Leadership and Policy. Ms. Rodriguez has taught in Dallas, Fort Worth, Peru, and Ecuador. She currently serves as an Assistant Principal at North Dallas High School. She is active in her community through LULAC, Latinos En Accion, and Social Venture Partners Dana Juett Residency. Her goal as an educator is to create passionate student leaders in their communities through learning experiences, self-empowerment, mentorship, and inquiry.

Denice Villa serves as the assistant principal of T.W. Browne Middle School. Ms. Villa has served as a Dallas ISD, Distinguished Teacher and Campus Instructional Coach. In these roles, she led several departments and initiatives including: Reading Language Arts, English Language Learner Services, Dyslexia/504, TEI Expert, Fast Forward Services, RTI Services, Pod Leader, and New Teacher Support. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northwood University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. While teaching middle school, she furthered her love of learning and earned a Master's of Science in Education from Texas A&M University with a 4.00 GPA. Additionally, Ms. Villa holds the following professional certifications; Principal EC-12, Language Arts and Reading 4-8, English as a second language 4-12, Career & Technology Business Office Vocational Education 6-12, Career and Technology Education- Career Investigation/Career Connections. Ms. Villa has several years of experience working with innovative school systems, the students, and communities of Dallas ISD. As a professional educator, she has experience teaching elementary, middle, and high school students in the classroom and after-school programs. She has served for more than 20 years in various leadership capacities including, Administrative Intern, Faculty Advisory Committee, Board of Control, Campus Leadership Team, Instructional Leadership Team, Testing Coordinator Planner, Campus Activities Coordinator, AVID, Gifted and Talented Coordinator, Transition Camp and UIL sponsor. Throughout her academic career she has earned various honors, and held leadership positions at the district and campus level. Ms. Villa is excited to combine all her unique academic, business, and life experiences to create a model educational program dedicated to bringing out the best in every child to build a legacy of excellence.

Donita White is currently serving as an assistant principal at Solar Preparatory School for Girls. Donita’s educational career began as a second grade teacher in Detroit. During her career as a teacher, she taught grades 2 through 8 in all content areas. Education has been paramount in the development of who she has become. Because of effective, nurturing, and inspirational educators, Donita knew that she would aspire to do the same. She passionately engages with teachers and students to build leadership capacity. Donita has been devoted to education and her drive continues to ignite others into action. Donita holds a Texas Teaching and Principal Certification. She also earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Oral Roberts University in Elementary Education and a Master's of Arts Degree from Central Michigan University in Educational Leadership. She is currently working on her doctorate at Dallas Baptist University in Educational Leadership.

Earl Addison was born, raised, and educated in New Orleans, LA. He graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans, LA with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences. He then graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a Master's in Science Education and later in education administration from Stephen F. Austin State University. He has served as a middle school science teacher, athletics coach, and administrator in several ISDs across the metroplex. He is currently and proudly serving as an assistant principal at Sarah Zumwalt Middle School, where excellence is not only the goal, but the standard!

Heather Mays is the assistant principal at Longfellow Career Exploration Academy. She graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas where she earned her Bachelor in Interdisciplinary studies and her Master's in Educational Leadership. Heather's educational journey began as an 8th grade teacher in Arlington ISD, she then moved on to teach high school U.S. History and Economics before landing at Longfellow as the campus instructional coach.

Jacob Nunez serves as the assistant principal at Justin F. Kimball High School. Mr. Nunez has served the students and community of Dallas ISD for the past 16 years. Mr. Nunez is a former teacher at Kimball High School and current resident of the Oak Cliff community. He graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio and completed his Master's degree at Concordia University in Austin, Texas. Mr. Nunez's passion is his family and working with students and teachers. In his spare time he really enjoys camping and spending time with his family.

Katherine ‘Kats’ Mockler is a K-5 Bilingual Literacy Administrator at Wilmer-Hutchins Elementary School. She was born and raised in Dublin, Ohio before attending the University of Cincinnati graduating with a BA in Political Science and a minor in Journalism. Upon graduating, Kats moved to Cleveland, Ohio where she served as a 6th – 8th grade math and science teacher and a Teach for America corps member from 2013 – 2015. In 2015, Kats moved to Dallas, Texas and taught Algebra I and Geometry at IDEA High School and then 7th Grade Math and Science at Hulcy STEAM Middle School. During this time, she earned a M.S.Ed in Secondary STEM Educational Studies from Johns Hopkins University. Since 2017, Kats has served as a Campus Instructional Coach, Coordinator, and Assistant Principal over math and science before transitioning to bilingual literacy and earning an M.Ed. in Urban Educational Leadership from Southern Methodist University in the Spring of 2020.

Kevin Williams is a proud educator from the great Oak Cliff, Texas. It is his calling as an assistant principal to encourage and maintain a campus culture that fosters an environment that is safe, positive, and nurturing. Lastly, his greatest strength as an administrator is the ability to build relationships. This ability allows Kevin to inspire and empower every stakeholder to invest in a campus and community-wide goal of creating lifelong learners. Kevin looks forward to utilizing my experience as a Servant Leader to make a valuable impact on my school and community on a daily basis.

Laurencio Tamayo is completing his second year as the assistant principal of H. I. Holland Elementary. Although originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, Laurencio completed his schooling in the United States and graduated with Honors from Texas A&M University-Commerce with a bachelor’s in Clinical Psychology and with a Master’s in Educational Administration from Concordia University-Texas. Prior to serving as an administrator, Laurencio served as an instructional coach, a third/fourth grade Reading, Writing, & Social Studies teacher, and a kindergarten teacher, all at Holland. While at Holland, Mr. Tamayo’s main focus has been building academic and social opportunities for students, and he has assisted with multiple student activities including Robotics, Lone Star, UIL, and Yearbook. Laurencio’s mission as an educator is to develop global citizens, and he believes that it is our job to instill knowledge and skills that will enable ALL scholars to be successful, productive, and reflective citizens.

M. Eva Calixto serves as the assistant principal at Preston Hollow Elementary School. She was born in Jalisco, Mexico. Eva completed her schooling in the United States, through the English as a Second Language Program. Eva earned her bachelor’s degree from Texas Woman's University and her Master's in Educational Leadership from Concordia University. Eva has served as a bilingual educator since 2008 and a campus administrator since 2017. Growing up as an English Language Learner and overcoming language barriers and obstacles, she understands the importance of providing equitable opportunities to second language learners. She is very passionate about education and believes that ALL students have the potential and deserve an opportunity to overcome obstacles. Her commitment is to help create a safe and nurturing environment where all students have the ability to develop a growth mindset, goal setting habits and take action as well as pride in their learning.

Marisa Sauls is the assistant principal at Tom C. Gooch Elementary. She was born in Lubbock,Texas and raised in Plainview, Texas. She graduated from Wayland Baptist University with a Bachelor’s of Interdisciplinary Students and later earned her Masters of Educational Leadership from Texas Tech University. She began her career in education teaching 1st grade at Nathan Adams elementary and later served in roles such as Grade Level Administrator, Instructional Coach, and Academic Facilitator before becoming an assistant principal. Marisa believes that through empowerment and equitable experiences, all students can be Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow. Marisa’s favorite part about being an assistant principal is helping staff and students reach their highest potential through positive relationships and magical learning opportunities. When not at work, Marisa enjoys spending time with her husband Beau, 17 month old daughter Gracie, and 2 dogs Zeus and Kyrah.

Mary Nunley has nine years of experience teaching high school mathematics in both traditional-public and public-charter high schools. She is the founding math teacher at CityLab High School, a Dallas Independent School District choice campus. Mary is a continuous learner who takes every opportunity she can to develop her abilities as a classroom teacher and a campus teacher-leader. She entered the teaching profession as a 2012 Dallas-Fort Worth Teach for America corps member after graduating from Lehigh University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. Since then, she has obtained her Master's in Education with a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) instruction from Southern Methodist University and her Master's in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas at Dallas as part of The Future STEM Leaders Academy. When she's not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, her friends and her two dogs, Harvey and Rio.

Melissa James is an assistant principal at George Herbert Walker Bush Elementary. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Education from East Texas State, which is now Texas A&M at Commerce and a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas. She has been with the Dallas Independent School District since 1998. Her passion for her students always transcended beyond the classroom, which led her to be Campus Teacher of the Year. She has served in a variety of settings such as teacher, teacher of Residency, Voyager Site Director and Campus Instructional Coach and led a school wide initiative to improve instructional delivery for African American Students as well as initiated a Campus Mentoring Program due to her overwhelming concern and passion for students. Her passion is developing positive relationships within the community, working with students and watching them grow, supporting teachers and staff so that they can reach their greatest potential and let them know that they are valued, strengthening a connection between school and home, and fostering a positive school culture.

Natalie Crittendon grew up in Oak Cliff and is a proud product of Dallas ISD. She graduated from Texas Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in Education / Interdisciplinary Studies and received her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. Mrs. Crittendon started her teaching career at T.L. Marsalis Elementary School as a Kindergarten instructor. Along her educational journey she has functioned in various roles. She has been an elementary teacher, science instructor, a coach, a project-based learning coach, and an assistant principal. Currently she serves as an assistant principal at her alma mater David W. Carter High School. Her philosophy of education is that all students have the potential to be and do anything they can imagine. They must be given the opportunity, the resources and an instructor that is competent and believes in them and their abilities.

Norma Perez returned this school year to Dallas ISD after serving 5 years as an assistant principal in a neighboring district and with a total of 22 years in education. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master's degree in School Administration from Lamar University. Mrs. Perez has served in the roles of second through fifth grade bilingual teacher, reading specialist, instructional specialist, and assistant principal. She values spending time with her family, running, and she is an avid learner of innovative instructional programs. She feels honored to have the amazing opportunity of being an Assistant Principal at Personalized Learning Preparatory at Sam Houston, which is a school that celebrates diversity, student voice, and excellence for every student.

Olga Lara serves as a first-year assistant principal at Highland Meadows Elementary School. Native to Dallas, Mrs. Lara believes that her educational upbringing in Dallas ISD has contributed to her positive influence on the community. Her educational career began through the Dallas ISD Alternative Certification Program. She taught at Arturo Salazar Elementary and Quintanilla Middle School as a bilingual educator and a SPED inclusion/resource teacher. Through the LEAD program, Mrs. Lara was able to obtain her Master's in Educational Leadership from UNT Dallas. Mrs. Lara’s mission statement is to consistently lead people in the direction of professional and personal growth while developing and maintaining a purposeful, respectful and innovative team. In her current role, Mrs. Lara had the privilege to pilot Personalized Learning at Highland Meadows this school year. As a result, the campus has been selected as an Innovation Choice School for Personalized Learning for the upcoming school year.

Pamela Bryant graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. At Xavier, she was a pre-med major and minored in both Biology and Chemistry. After undergraduate school, she attended the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas with the intentions of becoming a doctor. She soon realized that medicine was not the field for her and she changed her career path to the field of education, her true passion. To further her knowledge of educational practices, Mrs. Bryant pursued and received a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington and is currently completing her 2nd Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a STEM emphasis at the University of Texas at Arlington. This education, coupled with the Dallas ISD partnership with SMU for the STEM Collaborative and STEM Leaders Academy, further fueled her passion to spark the minds of students and the hearts and capacity of teachers in Dallas ISD.

During her years in education, Mrs. Bryant has been Teacher of the Year, Testing Coordinator, CILT Team member, Science Department Chair, Debate Team sponsor, New Teacher Support Chair, and AVID Coordinator. These experiences indubitably inform her practice as an administrator and aligns with her focus on building teacher capacity and fostering a robust instructional culture so that ALL students have access to a high quality education.

Ruth Dalma Torres was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She received her whole education, from elementary to college, there. She graduated summa cum laude, with a Bachelor in Education of English as a Second Language Secondary Level degree in 2006. In 2007, she started working with Dallas Independent School District as a 4th grade bilingual teacher. In her second year of teaching, she started writing tests for the district, and in her 3rd year, she applied and was accepted to the National Board Certification cohort, earning her certification in Early to Middle Childhood Literacy with a Spanish Option. During her teaching years she has coached Destination Imagination teams, Chess Teams, TMSCA, and Texas Lone Star Challenge. She earned a Master's degree in Reading from Concordia University in 2013, and a Master's degree in Leadership and School Policies from the University of Texas in Arlington in 2018. Currently, she is an assistant principal at Herbert Marcus Elementary School.

Sarah Foster has served as a multi-faceted educator for nearly 15 years. She began her journey into education as a substitute teacher in Corpus Christi ISD. From there, she was a teacher's assistant for almost four year in both Corpus Christi & Dallas ISD. Ms. Foster’s first year of teaching was at Ann Richards MS in Pleasant Grove. After serving Ann Richards, Ms. Foster discovered her passion in instructional coaching at Pinkston HS in West Dallas. She currently serves the East Dallas community at Bryan Adams HSLA, where she will be graduating her first full cohort of students, the Class of 2021. Ms. Foster considers herself passionate and driven, with a "By Any Means Necessary" attitude about serving students. She believes that the more we pour into our students, the more likely they are to achieve greatness.

Yvette Garcia is currently serving DeGolyer Elementary in the capacity of assistant principal. Yvette has been in the field of education for 7 years. She graduated from Northwood University and received a Bachelor degree in Business Administration. After graduation, she was accepted into the Dallas Alternative Certification program. Yvette recently graduated from Southern Methodist University, where she received a Master's degree in Educational Leadership. Yvette holds an EC-6 and Principal EC-12 certification. Yvette grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas and only left briefly to serve our country in the United States Marine Corps. Her love of learning and education started at a very young age. Her favorite childhood game was playing school. It was no surprise she changed careers to live her dream and become an educator. Yvette’s mission in education was ignited through the positive impact educators made in her life. Her mission is ensuring ALL students receive an equitable education. She believes the way of the future is through our students. Her decisions are based with students as a priority. Yvette is dedicated to ensuring students receive what they need in order to prosper both academically and emotionally.