Liz Cho is the Director of Learning Development at Vientiane International School in Laos. An educator since 2004, Liz's years of experience in the U.S. public schools and various international schools have instilled in her the value of a competent, empathic leader who models lifelong learning. In addition to being a curricular and professional learning leader, Liz is a passionate believer in creating welcoming and belonging spaces for everyone in schools. As such, she is committed to the work of honouring diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice within international schools. She strives to amplify diverse voices, especially of those traditionally marginalized, finding ways to listen to them as invaluable thought leaders and change makers of the future. As an Apple Distinguished Educator certified in Educational Technology, Liz also believes in using innovative approaches to inspire all learners. These aspects of Liz as an educator are evident in her professional sharing at various international conferences in the East Asia region as a creative keynoter and workshop leader. More on Liz can be found at lizcho.org.
Sarah Park Dahlen 박사라, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is also affiliate faculty in the Department of Asian American Studies and the Center for East Asian & Pacific Studies. Her research is on Asian American youth literature and transracial Korean adoption. She co-edits Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, co-created the Diversity in Children’s Books infographics, and co-edited Harry Potter and the Other: Race, Justice, and Difference in the Wizarding World with Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. Her next book with Paul Lai addresses Asian American youth literature. She is represented by Tricia Toney Lawrence of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. sarahpark.com @readingspark
MaryAnn DeRosa, Ed.D is a passionate progressive educator with over 24 years of experience working in the classroom as a lead classroom teacher, special educator, and instructional and SEL/Equity coach. As a teacher leader and teacher trainer, she has led professional development on topics including SEL, Equity and Inclusion, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, UDL, and Cultivating Creativity. MaryAnn earned her doctorate from Northeastern University in Boston, with coursework focused on social justice and equity in education. Always from a change agent lens, her research centers on fostering creativity and designing inclusive, justice-centered engaging learning environments.
MaryAnn has spent her career teaching in Washington DC charter and public schools as well as in international schools in China, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and in Milan, Italy. MaryAnn is a member of AIELOC and an ASCD Champion in Education. Currently, MaryAnn is an education consultant and Professor and Curriculum Designer for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners at Relay Graduate School of Education. Visit her website to learn more https://www.maryannderosa.com/
Tricia is proud to be entering into her 21st year in education. She has a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and has worked globally as a classroom teacher, service-learning coordinator, and as an instructional coach. For the first 15 years of her education career, she lived and taught internationally in six International Baccalaureate (IBO) schools in Europe and Asia, and also served as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Morocco. She loves exploring and curating conversations between educators that directly lead to change in the classroom, schools, and in the broader ‘culture of learning.’ As aproud queer educator, Tricia authors the Be a Better Ally newsletter and podcast to continue the dialogue about what an LGBTQ+ inclusive school might be. In 2019, she moved to Canada and made a career shift to Consulting, Workshops, and Content Design for K-12 schools in the US and abroad. She now lives in Ontario with her wife and their adorable dog, Tashi, who reminds her that every day is a great day for a walk.
Tricia is the founder of AllyEd.org and the Director of Learning Content and Strategy for Shifting Schools.
Dr. Darnell Fine is a middle school deputy principal in Singapore. He is an experienced facilitator of adult learning, focusing on curriculum, assessment, and culturally responsive teaching. He has provided hundreds of workshops and keynote presentations for conferences throughout the U.S. as well as Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. He has also collaborated with international organizations like EARCOS, NESA, ECIS, AAIE, AISA, AMISA, CEESA, and Tri-Association, impacting educational communities worldwide. As a curriculum consultant, he reviews manuscripts and curricula for publishing companies, arts organizations, and universities. Darnell is a 2012 recipient of the Learning for Justice Award for Excellence in Culturally Responsive Teaching and was named a 2021 Emerging Leader by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. After earning his Bachelor’s in Africana Studies and Education at Brown University, Darnell obtained his Teacher Support Specialist Endorsement at Georgia State University and his Master’s in Creative Writing in London. Dr. Fine holds an EdD in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California.
Ceci (she.her.ella) is a collaborator, coach and advocate who empowers educators to create equitable learning opportunities for all language learners. Born and raised in Guatemala City, Ceci grew up in a unique bilingual household nurtured by her family who valued languages equally. Inspired by her own upbringing and her extensive experience in international schools, Ceci now leads a support program for multilingual learners based on practices which ensure culturally responsive teaching and equitable access. You can connect with Ceci through her professional portfolio cgomez.mystrikingly.com and follow her on X and Instagram @cecigomez_g.
Margaret Park is an education equity consultant who works with organizations to make positive changes for all community members. She is committed to fostering leadership development with experience in facilitating professional development, training leadership teams, counseling, mentoring, coaching, and curating innovative learning spaces. Margaret is a Fulbright scholar and holds a Masters of Education and Certificate of Advanced Studies from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Margaret is particularly interested in thinking about leadership through an Equity and Justice lens.
Jessica Wei Huang is an educator & school leader with 20+ years of experience as a classroom teacher, school administrator and leadership coach/facilitator. She has a wide range of knowledge for how to build equitable school communities through her on-the-ground work in schools and her support and coaching of educator leaders and teams. Jessica believes in building healing-centered, student-focused spaces where students of all backgrounds can thrive. Her experience in both the public school system in the US and in international schools equips her to lead in a wide-variety of cultural-contexts. Jessica leads and facilitates through a lens of equity, inclusion, and justice. She currently lives in San Francisco with her family and two Taiwanese mountain dogs.
Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Ph.D. (she/her) is a Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2024, she was recognized with the prestigious Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Yolanda is co-editor of five books including the forthcoming All About Black Girl Love: bell hooks and Pedagogies of Love (July, 2024), and is co-author of the multiple award-winning book Advancing Racial Literacies in Teacher Education: Activism for Equity in Digital Spaces (2021) where she examines her concept of Archeology of Self TM in education. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Love from the Vortex & Other Poems, was published in March 2020. Her sophomore book of poetry, The Peace Chronicles, was published in July, 2021. Yolanda opened the 2022 TEDx UPENN conference at the University of Pennsylvania with her TEDx Talk: Truth, Love & Racial Literacy.
Daniel Wickner (he/him) is the founder of Identity-Centered Learning (www.identitycentered.com), a framework for supporting students’ healthy identity development in schools. This work builds on culturally-relevant, responsive, and sustaining pedagogies and is informed by his own biracial, multicultural, and multilingual identity, along with his fifteen years in international education. He is currently an elementary PYP teacher at Branksome Hall Asia in Jeju, South Korea and supports schools as a consultant in the areas of identity and DEIJ. Daniel holds a B.S.E. from Princeton University, an M.S.E. from Keio University, and an Ed.M. in Independent School Leadership at Columbia University Teachers College.