Featured Presenters

Jeffrey Bradbury

Jeff Bradbury is an ISTE Award Winning and globally-recognized educator, educational broadcaster, public speaker, and entrepreneur whose powerful message has inspired thousands of educators through the TeacherCast Educational Network.

• www.TeacherCast.net

• www.JeffreyBradbury.com

Richard Cohen

Rick Cohen is an assistant superintendent of Metuchen School District, principal of Moss School, author, co-founder of SELF-Q LLC, and serves as co-adjunct faculty for Rutgers University. He is former principal of Red Bank Primary School in Red Bank, New Jersey, a Title I school with a majority English learner–student population, where he led collaborative school improvement efforts resulting in dramatic increases in student proficiencies. Prior to Red Bank, Rick was the founding director of a new bilingual school, Colegio Americano, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Rick began his teaching career as a Teach for America corps member in 1996 in Phoenix, Arizona. Rick’s first formal teaching assignment was in juvenile detention centers in Washtenaw County, Michigan as a University of Michigan Project Community service-learning student facilitator.

Lauren Lutz-Coleman

Lauren Coleman is a teacher and an educational consultant. She teaches technology courses at North Brunswick Township Middle School, where she was the 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year. She also helps a team to develop reading games for students in grades 3-8 for www.playdreamscape.com. She has presented at conferences including Rhode Island's Blended and Personalized Learning Conference, Florida's Future of Education Tech (FETC) Conference, and EdSurge Fusion.

Chris Hammer

Chris Hammer has a passion for technology and language learning. Over the past decade, Chris was a world language curriculum specialist, conference presenter, and Spanish teacher outside of Chicago. He also developed Charlala, a language-acquisition website used by more than 10,000 educators around the world. When he's not behind a computer, Chris enjoys crafting, video games, and traveling. He is naturally curious and forever learning new things.

Kristine Keefe-Hassan

Kristine Keefe has been teaching Spanish at John P. Stevens High School in Edison since 2001. She has taught level one through Advanced Placement Language and Culture. Kristine has worked on curriculum for a variety of courses offered at the high school level. Kristine has presented workshops for the Edison Public Schools, South Brunswick Summer Technology and Learning Conference, FLENJ (Foreign Language Educators of NJ), NECTFL (Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and GWATFL (Greater Washington Area Teachers of Foreign Languages). She was selected as FLENJ Teacher of the Year for 2019 and a finalist for NECTFL Teacher of the Year 2020.

Sandra Paul

Sandi is presently Director of IT with 20 yrs of experience and a prior Computer Science/Business Education teacher for 5 years in USVI and NJ. Keynote speaker, presenter, conference organizer, ed-tech advocate. She has received several awards for the work done in education technology over the years.

Barbara DeSantis

Barbara DeSantis is the Tech Integration Teacher at the Sayreville School District. Barbara is a STAR Discovery Educator, Certified BrainPOP Educator, and Google for Education Trainer whose award-winning blog showcases practical use of a wide variety of online tools for teaching and learning. A frequent presenter at education, technology and library conferences, Barbara is also Past President of the New Jersey Science Teachers Association.

Dr. Scherz

Dr Scherz is a clinical psychologist, author, and consultant, working with educators for over 30 years. He earned his Master's in Education from Penn State University, becoming an elementary school guidance counselor before gaining his Ph.D. in psychology. Dr. Scherz has worked in both rural and inner-city schools, creating innovative prevention and intervention programs.

Dr. Scherz believes that by supporting educator wellness and organizational health, schools will be better equipped for the challenges of modern-day education. Self-reflective practitioners, who can recognize and meet their needs are the keys to cultivating environments where both academic and psychosocial emotional learning can flourish.

As the CEO of TeacherCoach, our mission is to develop educational ecosystems, bring new revenue streams into school districts, make schools the hub of wellness in their community, and blend personal growth and professional development for faculty. Through the first -ever Learning Engagement System (LES), districts can meet the wants of the individual and the needs of the organization.

Beth Poss

Beth Poss is an educational and technology consultant, accessibility and inclusion advocate, speech/language pathologist, and former assistant principal. In addition to her independent consulting, she is the Director of Educational Programs for LessonPix. Beth is passionate about designing educational environments that support all students in accessing a rigorous curriculum and meeting educational outcomes. In her work with school districts, universities, and national and state-level organizations she focuses on literacy, augmentative and alternative communication, Universal Design for Learning, and inclusive educational practices. She is one of the authors of Inclusive Learning 365: EdTech Strategies for Every Day of the Year, released in August 2021.

Beth Poss, M.A. CCC/SLP

Dr. Florencia Henshaw

Dr. Florencia Henshaw is the Director of Advanced Spanish at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is an award-winning educator who has published and presented nationally and internationally on technology integration and research-based pedagogical practices.

Jessica Castro-Verrault (@jessicaverrault)

Jessica Castro-Verrault( A@jessicaverrault) is a teacher in the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District with over 16 years of experience. Jessica attended The College of New Jersey where she earned her B.A. in Spanish and Secondary Education and her M.Ed in ESL. She also holds a certificate in Instructional Supervision from Rowan University. Jessica has taught various levels of Spanish at both middle and high school. In addition to teaching Spanish, Jessica served as Teacher Resource Specialist for Technology for 3 years. An avid user of technology, Jessica believes in leveraging technology to create meaningful student-centered learning experiences that can be differentiated to meet their unique needs. Jessica has presented professional development both in her district and beyond. She has also served as a mentor for ACTFL. Beyond the classroom, Jessica enjoys building relationships with her students and the school community as a class advisor. She currently holds a seat on the FLENJ Board of Directors.

Sharlene Laud

Sharlene Laud (@Sharlene_Laud) is the Assistant Director of the Rutgers Alternate Route. Through her work, she helps aspiring education professionals, including career changers and recent college graduates, become licensed teachers in New Jersey. To retain high-quality teachers, she assists in ensuring that the program’s learning opportunities are engaging and effective , while helping candidates navigate the completion of the program. Sharlene is passionate about raising awareness about the profession and diversifying the teaching workforce.

Ms.Laud is a doctoral candidate at Rutgers University and holds and Masters in Education from Johns Hopkins University.

Marialice B.F.X. Curran,

Dr. Curran is Internationally recognized as a digital citizenship expert, Dr. Marialice B.F.X. Curran is an author, consultant, and speaker who is the global connector behind the Digital Citizenship Institute. Committed to Human-Centered Design, Dr. Curran leads by hand, heart, and mind as she models how to make a positive impact in local, global, and digital communities. She has served as an associate professor, middle school teacher and principal. As a connected educator, her work with school communities around the world has created positive and powerful shifts in how we engage and learn online.

Brian S. Friedlander, Phd

Dr, Friedlander is an associate professor of education at the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, NJ, where he coordinates graduate programs in special education and teaches graduate courses in assistive technology. A school psychologist with expertise in the area of assistive technology, Brian has a passion for using all kinds of technology in his professional work.

Friedlander consults to many school districts in the State of New Jersey and has taught thousands of educators how to utilize the tools and methodologies of mind mapping to improve learning in the classroom. He is also a consultant in private practice in the area of assistive technology and maintains an active blog at http://assistivetek.blogspot.com.

For NPR, Inc., he is co-author of Engaging the Resistant Child Through Computers and author of several laminated reference guides, including Assistive Technology: What Every Educator Needs to Know; Instructional Technology for 21^st Century Skills; iPad: Enhancing Learning & Communication for Students with Special Needs, and Autism & the iPad: Strengthening Communication and Behavior.

In addition, he has written the books Emotionally Intelligent Parenting, and Raising Emotionally Intelligent Teenagers.

Jenna Moniz

Jenna Moniz is an educator, writer, and activist who is passionate about supporting the social-emotional well-being of young people, families, and educators through practices that promote resilience and self-actualization.

As a former Peace Corps community organizer and teacher in developing communities of Southeast Africa, West Africa, and favelas of Southern Brazil, Jenna’s drive is rooted in her desire to empower marginalized communities with tools that connect us to our intuitive voices, our communities, and a purpose-driven sense of agency.

As a school and district-based educator of 20 years in Broward County Schools, Jenna supported the sixth largest school district’s initiatives in mindfulness and the instructional support of diverse learners. In 2019, the district supported her creation of a micro-school, Aspire Academy, an accelerated inter-disciplinary, SEL, Mindfulness, and HeartMath supported curriculum for teenagers.

Jenna’s National Board Certification and graduate studies in Brain-Based Instruction inform her practices as do her certifications with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, the Science of Well-being, and HeartMath Institute’s Resilience and Trauma-Sensitive trainings.

Jenna is a Mat Pilates trainer who enjoys incorporating her brain and heart-focused practices into sessions with body and energy movement.

Her only son is currently studying at the University of Central Florida, and Jenna lives in Charlotte, North Carolina where she works remotely for the HeartMath Institute.

Natasha Hamilton

Born and raised in New Jersey, Natasha attended Seton Hall University and majored in Communication and Business Administration. Upon graduation, she served as a public relations and marketing manager for clients in the education, technology, and non-profit sectors.

Her passion for education led her back to the classroom. She returned to Seton Hall to obtain her Master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology. During this period, she joined Teach for America’s Eastern North Carolina corps. After serving two years in Nash-Rocky Mount schools, she continued her work in both Edgecombe County and Wake County Public Schools.

Scott Delaney

Scott Delaney is a third-grade teacher in Metuchen school district and the host of the Social -Emotional Character Development Committee's podcast, Coffee Talk. The Social Emotional Character Development committee works closely with families across Metuchen to develop social emotional learning skills beyond the classroom to help all students in all grades. The goal of the podcast is to encourage families to have these conversations at home and work on integrating these skills as a whole family. The Social Emotional Character Development committee normally runs community based events in person throughout the year, but due to current circumstances the platform needed to be changed. The purpose of the podcast is to share advice and easy to use at home tips for parents to encourage SEL conversations with their children. The first podcast was released on December 2nd and was embraced with enthusiasm from the community. The first episode was about approaching your child when you first notice they are or are getting upset. Each month different parents, teachers, and administrators participate as guests on the podcast to discuss current issues. Parents are encouraged to send in questions to use on the podcast and provide direct feedback. Podcasting has allowed for the continuous connection between the school district and the community in an asynchronous manner. It may seem intimidating at first, but after the first couple of minutes of recording, it becomes a lot of fun and turns into just a normal conversation. Hopefully, after listening, you will start recording your own.

Metuchen Momentum (Team 7587)

Team 7587 is an award-winning FIRST Robotics Competition team (FRC) with about 30 Metuchen High School students and 10 mentors. 7587’s purpose is to help create the next generation’s STEM workforce, implementing skills of leadership, teamwork, and effective communications. Each spring, the team designs, builds, and fields a robot to compete in FRC Mid-Atlantic District Events.

During their very first competition season in 2019, the team advanced to the Mid-Atlantic District Championships and placed 35th out of 128 teams. This year, the team advanced to the Semifinals of the Bridgewater-Raritan District Event. They are currently enhancing their robot for their next competition in April and are hoping to qualify for the District Championships again.

Kelsee G. Young

Kelsee teaches the Preschool Child with a Disability classes at Moss School in Metuchen. She integrates technology into her Creative Curriculum driven lessons to promote early literacy, math, and social emotional learning skills. Lessons are implemented using Smart Board friendly software including Boom Cards, Scholastic My Big World, and Google Slides. Kelsee uses the Class Dojo platform to create an interactive learning community where student voices are shared, and connections with families are made.

Noah Garcia-Hassell

Noah is an Associate Manager of Community Engagement at Empatico, a non-profit that connects classrooms across the globe through live virtual exchange experiences designed to promote student empathy and social-emotional learning. Noah joined Empatico in 2018 after serving as Education Content and Community Specialist at Tinybop, Inc., an award-winning Brooklyn-based app company that creates whimsical and playful science and STEM apps for kids. Prior to pivoting into the edtech world, Noah was a classroom teacher for 7 years, teaching 4 years of English as a Foreign Language in Madrid, Spain, and 3 years teaching bilingual middle school science through the New York City Department of Education. Noah earned his M.A. in Teaching as a Generalist in Middle Childhood Education from Relay Graduate School of Education, and his B.A. in Philosophy and Spanish and Latin American Literature and Culture from New York University.

Shelley Bartolotti

Shelley is a reading specialist in New Hartford, NY. She is a graduate of Syracuse University (B.S. Education) and State University of New York College at Cortland (M.Ed. Reading). Shelley is devoted to instructing students in literacy, SEL, Culturally Responsive Classrooms and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She has created and implemented a Character Lab in her district which focuses on character education. Shelley’s fellowships with Empatico and the World’s Largest Lesson centered around student awareness of SDG’s and fostered empathy across the globe through live virtual learning exchanges.. Since 2015, she has developed and instructed a summer literacy program for at-risk students.. Shelley is currently part of the New Hartford School district DEI focus group and Teacher Center Policy Board. Shelley has been recognized as an Outstanding Teacher by the Learning Disabilities Association of the Mohawk Valley, an Outstanding Teacher by the Genesis Group in 2018, and was honored as The New York State Literacy Educator of the Year 2020 by NYSRA.

Annie Cleary

Annie is a Senior Manager of Partnerships and Outreach / acleary@empatico.org: Annie Cleary joined Empatico in May of 2021 as Senior Manager, Partnerships and Outreach where she is working to deepen and expand partnerships with like-minded organizations that share Empatico’s vision and commitment for empathy and bridge-building. Prior to joining Empatico, Annie served as Director of Development for the Partnership for After School Education (PASE), building partnerships with community-based organizations, higher education institutions, and corporate and philanthropic institutions to improve the quality of afterschool programs for young people in New York City. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Not Another Child, a grassroots organization working to prevent gun violence and support those that have experienced a traumatic event, and holds a BA from The George Washington University in Anthropology and International Affairs.