Dr. Michelle Frazier is an Independent Educational Consultant specializing in Magnet School Design and Curriculum Development. She retired from the Chicago Public School System (CPS) where she served as a teacher, Magnet Coordinator, and Grants Manager. Dr. Frazier oversaw and supported the opening of over 35 new schools and programs throughout the district including Montessori, International Baccalaureate programs, and STEM schools.

Dr. Frazier also serves as a consultant with the National Institute of Magnet School Leaders (NIMSL) where she conducts reviews and evaluations of magnet programs and coaches schools participating in the National Magnet School certification process.

Dr. Frazier is a native of Chicago and a graduate of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). She says, “It was an honor and a privilege to live my lifelong dream and teach students in the system in which I was educated”.

"Edupreneur", international keynote speaker and presenter, Maria S. Hersey, Ph.D. is dedicated to making a difference for all children. She is the founder and Principal Advisor of Global Education Advisors (GEA), an educational collaborative dedicated to supporting innovation and equity in educational practice. With 20+ years of professional experience, Maria has worked alongside public and international school communities around the world.

A repeat presenter at MSA conferences and other educational conferences, Dr. Hersey has extensive experience in curriculum planning, social-emotional learning, program evaluation, professional development design and delivery and instructional coaching, and strategic planning. Maria has worked as a magnet program coordinator within three MSAP grant cycles and has also served as a grant reviewer for the Department of Education. In addition, Dr. Hersey has served on several grant evaluation teams and has designed the professional development plans for a number of MSAP awarded school districts.

Previously, Dr. Hersey worked for the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs for ten years where she served as the Primary Years Programme (PYP) Manager and IB Regional Development Specialist. She is currently an IB Lead Educator, Workshop Leader, Site Visit Team Leader and Workshop Leader. As the Director of Education and training for The Hawn Foundation’s signature program, MindUP, Dr. Hersey has worked with numerous schools and districts to support social-emotional learning (SEL) and well-being for teachers, students and parents.

Dr. Hersey is currently an Adjunct Professor at Florida Atlantic University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Curriculum, Culture & Inquiry. She is certified in the areas of Educational Leadership, Early Childhood Education, Gifted Education and English Speakers of Other Languages. Maria holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Florida Atlantic University and a Master’s and Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Florida."

Ms. Joanna Martin-Warr currently serves as Magnet Director for Schools Choice and Parental Options at Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). She started her teaching career in 1992 at Coral Way K-8 Center, the Nation's first Bilingual School and District's earliest International Studies (IS) school. Finding partiality for internationally benchmarked curriculum and learning second languages as essential to helping students experience a better understanding of other cultures. Ms. Martin-Warr dedicated the last 17 years expanding and moving forward the landscape of International Magnet programs in M-DCPS, aiming to avail programs in all corners of the District, hoping to open doors globally to the diverse population Miami serves. Under her supervision, the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP) expanded from four programs to 24, making it one of the Nation's first Districts to provide a robust number of IB programs.

She later originated and led the District into a groundbreaking international collaboration between M-DCPS and Cambridge International Examinations, part of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Her vision led Miami to be the first major school district in the United States to roll out 80 Cambridge Programs in 70 schools, including the Cambridge Primary Program, the Cambridge Secondary 1 Program, and the Cambridge International General Certification of Secondary Education (Cambridge IGCSE) and the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (Cambridge AICE) Diploma Program. Partaking yet another essential partnership between the American College Board and M-DCPS, Ms. Martin-Warr managed the launch of 14 Advanced Placement (AP) Capstone Programs.

Ms. Martin-Warr's work became most recently noted for having incredible success in leading the District in earning more Magnet Schools of America (MSA) Merit Awards than any other school district in the Nation, including 67 awards in 2020, bringing the total MSA Awards to 373 in 9 years. Under Ms. Martin-Warr's purview, M-DCPS is the only school district in the Nation with 30 Certified National Magnet Schools, and 16 of 30 schools are recognized as Certified National Demonstration Magnet School.

Being a Hispanic learner and having dyslexia, gave Ms. Martin-Warr the advantage and certainty of knowing all children can learn when given the right to an equitable and diverse learning environment. Born and raised in an urban New Jersey city only two miles from Manhattan, she understands the richness of living and learning in a diverse community and how imperative the feeling of belonging was to whether she would succeed (or not) from one academic calendar year to another. Ms. Martin-Warr revels in helping schools and students and wishes to see the public-school system, especially Magnet schools and programs, remain the safest and best option for all students in our country to learn and grow.