Alexis Meyer

K-12 Administrator

Alexis L. Meyer is an accomplished and dedicated servant leader with over 27 years of experience as an educator and educational leader, retiring in July of 2022 as Superintendent of Schools in East Greenwich, RI.  Alexis’ vast experience started with serving as a paraeducator at Archie R. Cole Junior High School.  She went on to teach social studies and serve as assistant principal and principal at Archie R. Cole Middle School.   She led the building of a new middle school and the addition of Grade 6 to the middle school.   She served as a Leadership Fellow for the Rhode Island Department of Education, helping to facilitate the development of the new Rhode Island Standards for Educational Leaders (RISEL).    Ms. Meyer completed the NISL Executive Development Program and is a NISL-trained Facilitator. 

She then served as Director of Teaching and Learning and Superintendent of Schools for East Greenwich Public Schools.   For many years, she was a member of the  RI Association of School Principals  (RIASP). She served on the Board of Directors in several capacities, including RI Coordinator for the  National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and President-elect.

Alexis Meyer earned a BA from the University of Rhode Island M.ed in Administration from Providence College

Daniel Kelley is an Associate Teaching Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Rhode Island. He previously served as the principal of Smithfield High School in Smithfield, RI. During his tenure, he successfully implemented sustainable change initiatives that profoundly impacted the school’s learning culture.

Dan’s contributions to education extend to national leadership roles as well. He served as the president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) during the 2017-2018 school year and was a member of the NASSP Board of Directors for five years. His broad experience in education includes positions as a high school assistant principal, a high school and middle school special education teacher, and a middle school math and science teacher. In recognition of his outstanding leadership, he was named the Rhode Island Secondary Principal of the Year in 2012. Learn more at www.danielpkelley.net.

Cheri Sacco has spent her career in education in many capacities. She has a vast experience having taught elementary, middle, and high school students, and served as a Literacy Specialist. Having functioned as a teacher leader throughout her career, she took the leap and has been an Elementary principal for over 13 years with a focus on building a strong culture and a superior education experience that supports all stakeholders. One of her proudest accomplishments is working with her school team where their Title I School attained a four star rating and was identified in the Providence Journal as an "Inspiring RI School" based on the belief that all students can. Cheri makes it a priority to connect with colleagues throughout the state in order to improve her own practice and has served on the RIASP Board as an Elementary Director and State and Federal Relations Coordinator. She completed the NISL Executive Development Training and holds a BS from Rhode Island College in English and Elementary Education, along with her Middle School Endorsement in English and Social Studies, and her Reading Specialist Certification. and attained an MEd from Providence College. Equity continues to be a high priority. Cheri worked with One Cranston as the district representative for the Steering Committee for Working Cities Challenge from the Boston Fed. She believes that being an administrator is truly a calling.

Suzette has 24 years of experience as an elementary administrator (currently as Principal of Pocasset Elementary School, a Title 1 school in Tiverton), as well as 4 years experience as a RIASP Coach. She attended RIC (B.S. and M.Ed) as well as Salve Regina (M.Ed.) and Capella University (Ed.D.). In 2021, she was named RIASP Elementary Principal of the Year and NAESP National Distinguished Principal. She is a NISL (National Institute for School Leaders) trained Principal, and is able to coach all aspects of the elementary principalship, with a specialization in women school leadership, transformative leadership, and rural/suburban school leadership. 

Danny Smith has been an educator for 29 years. He has a BA in History with minors in Math, Political Science and Philosophy from Rhode Island College, a MA from University of New Mexico (Curriculum and Instruction in Multi-Cultural Teacher Education) and a MA from Western New Mexico University (Educational Leadership). Danny has served in the US Peace Corps in Malawi as a secondary math and history teacher. He then went on to teach in Gallup, New Mexico as well as a serve as school principal, where most of his students were Navajo or Mexican-American. While working Malawi and New Mexico, helping people who were often marginalized, Danny solidified his values of equity and a belief in the power of public education. In 2010, he returned to RI as a MS AP in Coventry. In 2013, he was selected as a fellow in the NYC Leadership Academy. Through his internships in Central Falls and Pawtucket, he developed additional skills to continue his work to improve systems that engage with under-served children. After his time with NYCLA, he joined the Providence School District as an elementary principal where he has worked for six years, most recently at Harry Kizirian Elementary. 

Tara McAuliffe has served as an Elementary level principal for over twenty years. She has dedicated much of her career to the support, advocacy and development of School Leaders. Tara has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), as well as a board member and Past President of the Rhode Island Association of School Principals (RIASP). She believes school leaders need to develop a school culture that combines rigorous academics with strong relationships to ensure high achievement for every student. She holds a BS from Northeastern University and an MEd from Rhode Island College.

Courtney Monterecy is the principal of Mary E. Fogarty Elementary School in Providence, RI. This is Courtney’s seventh year as principal of Fogarty, and her twenty-first year as an educator in Providence. Prior to becoming principal, Courtney was an ESL classroom teacher, a Reading Coach, and an elementary ELL specialist for the school district. Fogarty is an urban school that services over 500 students, more than half of which are English Language Learners. In July of 2014, Courtney began a school transformation journey to improve culture and climate, improve both teacher and student attendance, and raise student achievement. During her seven years leading Fogarty, the school received an Empowerment Grant which gave the school several autonomies focused on building teacher capacity. With this opportunity, Courtney was able to begin a Newcomer Program for multilingual learners with limited or interrupted formal education, and was also able to create a laboratory leadership team of teachers who receive, create, and facilitate professional development opportunities for the entire staff. In 2018 the school was taken out of transformation status due to growth in ELA and math, specifically with ELLs.  Fogarty also received its highest SurveyWorks scores of all time in 2021: 86% of students say that there is a positive energy in the school, which places Fogarty in the 80th percentile, nationally.  82% of parents report that their children enjoy coming to school, which is higher than the state average. Courtney was named the Rhode Island Elementary Principal of the Year in 2020. Courtney is a member of RIASP, ASCD, and is a National Distinguished Principal. She is also a mentor to aspiring principals at Providence College, and has also been a mentor in the Principal Residency Network program with CLEE. Courtney was recently selected to be a Host Principal for the Providence Public Schools' TNTP Leadership Cohort, which is aimed at training top-performing educators who want to become transformational school leaders 

Arzinia Gill is the principal of DelSesto Middle School in Providence, RI. DelSesto is an urban school serving close to 1000 students, largely BIPOC of Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Central American cultural descent; and like nearly half of our students, Arzinia is multilingual with literacy in English, Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi. Arzinia embarked upon a school transformation effort to boost student engagement and create a positive school culture in 2014 when she first took over as DelSesto's principal. She is a former English teacher and ELA instructional coach/specialist with Providence Public Schools’ District Assistance Team (DAT). She grew up in India and has a BA (Hon) English Literature from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, India, B.Ed. from Isabella Thoburn College, India, an MA in Literature from Punjab University, India. Arzinia was accepted in the Providence Public School District’s aspiring principals’ program, part of the Wallace Foundation leadership initiative, and graduated with a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the University of Rhode Island. Arzinia taught ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) in London, England prior to her educational career in Rhode Island in 2002. As part of the school transformation effort, she redesigned her school into three learning communities, PEAK (Personalized Education to Access Knowledge) Academy, STEM Academy, and STEAM Academy in 2016. Personalized Learning was scaled up with PEAK in 2016, STEM in 2017 and STEAM in 2018. She has presented on personalized learning and school transformation efforts at various national events such as the Council of Great City Schools, MassCue, Tech & Learning and Blended and Personalized Learning conferences. She graduated from the National Institute for School Leaders (NISL), Executive Development program, as well as Public Education Leadership Project (PELP) at Harvard University. Arzinia believes that every child can learn and be successful in the right learning environment, with appropriate resources and support.

Deb DiBiase has been an educator for 27 years as a mathematics teacher, Mathematics Coach, Curriculum Coordinator, and in 2009 she was selected by the RI Department of Education to be a Secondary-Redesign-Fellow, conducting professional development workshops supporting districts in their implementation of Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements. She holds a BA in Secondary Mathematics from Rhode Island College, a Masters in mathematics from Providence College, a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Johnson and Wales University, and has been an administrator for 14 years.

Deb proudly led Mt. Hope High School for eight years as Principal after serving as Assistant Principal for two years, and is currently the Director of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for Bristol Warren Regional Schools. She was formerly Director of Instruction at Segue Institute in Central Falls, and Principal at Jamestown Middle School, both for two years. She has facilitated professional learning in multiple districts and presented at conferences on topics such as Empowering Teachers and Students. She was named Rhode Island Secondary Principal of the Year in 2021. Deb loves her job and continues to cultivate an environment where teachers, students, families and the community work together ensuring all students are ready for college, career and life; where school is not a place, but a community where we focus on the whole child; where every student is inspired to learn, and where students and adults are safe to innovate, problem solve, and aspire to make the world a better place. 

Buddy Comet has been a school administrator in Rhode Island for the past six years and has led schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In his ninth year of teaching in West Warwick, he left the classroom to join the newly formed Induction team at the Rhode Island Department of Education. For over two years, he served as an Induction Coach to new teachers throughout our state. In his third year as a state level coach, he joined the leadership team at Central Falls High School as Dean of Pedagogy.  After two years leading teacher development in curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning at Central Falls High School, he stepped up to lead redesign efforts at Calcutt Middle School. He is currently serving as Principal of Ella Risk School, also in Central Falls. Buddy is a strong advocate for equity, empowerment and excellence, and believes those values can be accomplished through designing and implementing systems that lead to them. He lives and works by the mantra, “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.”  His coaching goal is to empower leaders to see themselves as agents of change and to help them draw on their own courage to act in accordance with that view.

Amy Burns has been a school administrator in Rhode Island for the past eight years, leading schools at both the elementary and high school levels. She is currently the principal of North Smithfield High School and has also proudly served in a leadership capacity in the districts of Central Falls, Providence, and Johnston. Prior to her role as a PK-12 building administrator, Amy worked for over a decade in educational research and evaluation at the University of Rhode Island and Brown University. She was also an adjunct professor, teaching the undergraduate course, “The Psychology of Learning,” as well as “Educational Statistics” in the joint URI-RIC Doctoral Program. Amy has applied her experience in grant writing, program design, and data collection and analysis to her leadership roles.  She believes in the power of building trusting relationships with students, families, and staff, and the importance of cultivating a strong network of community partnerships.  Amy has served as an aspiring principal mentor for Providence College, and has also been a mentor in the Principal Residency Network program with CLEE. Amy holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Rhode Island.

A dedicated public learner, Liz McGuire, is the principal of Matunuck Elementary School in South Kingstown.  She began her career working in Woonsocket, RI where she was a Middle School Science Teacher.  Liz took on various leadership roles as an instructor for RI Teaching Fellows and then working with beginning teachers as a RIDE Induction Coach. This work taught her the significance of continual growth and reflection and sparked her desire to become a building administrator.  Liz co-leads EdCamp RI across the state each year and has just completed the National Institute of School Leadership (NISL). She believes in strengthening school leadership to produce outcomes for ALL students.  As a coach, Liz is solutions based and committed to supporting educational leaders find joy, results and continuous improvement.

Edie is so pleased to be part of this RIASP coaching cohort. Her work as a school principal began at Fishing Cove School in North Kingstown, RI in 1999, with a detour to Frenchtown School in East Greenwich before returning to North Kingstown in 2005. Those years in early elementary configurations ( all K, K-3, K-5) served to anchor her in the ever changing landscape of suburban public schools. From 2011-2021 Edie led two K-6 schools in Vermont. It was there that she quickly learned about the unique school funding structures and school board configurations guiding that state. New principals to that state were provided a mentor coach for two years, and she was fortunate to be assigned one of the best! Edie learned much about how coaching looks and sounds at the receiving end. Upon her return to RI in 2021 as a retired principal, she attended a coaches training at the Connecticut Center for School Change. There she connected with some amazing educators prior to her substitute principal work in Norwich CT. Edie is back in the classroom now as a day to day guest teacher, and that work allows her a unique lens to the role of principal. Edie looks forward to connecting with those new to the work of school leadership. Her three grown sons live in Denver, Asheville, and Washington, DC so travel is always on the horizon for her. Yoga is her sport and the daily practice anchors her for the challenges ahead.

Billy Niemeyer is a graduate of Ohio State University, where he studied British Literature.  He later earned his teaching certification as well as his administrative certification from the University of Hawaii.  He was a high school English Teacher for at risk students in a rural community where he and his family lived.  He later went on to become an assistant principal at an elementary school, working with the state on drastic school improvement in what was called a "Zone of Innovation ''.  Billy has since moved back to the east, where he was an assistant principal at Central High School.   He then became the principal of Frank D. Spaziano Elementary, leading that school to be a three star, Dual Language School.  Billy is now Principal of J.H.Gaudet Middle School, in Middletown RI.   

Chris began my teaching career in Needham, Massachusetts as a high school science teacher before pursuing his degree in administration and serving as Assistant Principal at Portsmouth High School. As Assistant Principal, he learned the importance of relationships and partnering with families to support all students. After serving in Portsmouth, Chris became Principal of Tiverton High School for five years. As principal of Tiverton High School he focused on ensuring every student had a plan, was supported, and that teachers had time to work together to review assessment results to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Chris served a brief year as Director of Teaching, Learning and Professional Development in Newport where he had the opportunity of joining a district-level team and working to unite teachers around a clear vision of success for all students. Currently he is the Principal of Barrington High School and enjoys serving in the community he resides in and continuing the work of ensuring all students graduate and are college and career ready.  When not working with students and teachers in school, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife (Alison), their two children and dog Henry, reading, and spending time outdoors. 

Michelle Depot has been in the educational field for 26 years. She was a teacher in the Pawtucket School Department for 19 years. While a teacher, Michelle served as a mentor to new teachers, was a peer evaluator, and the co - chair of numerous school improvement teams. Michelle served on numerous curriculum committees within the Pawtucket School Department, and was Pawtucket’s Teacher of the Year in 2013. Michelle has been an Elementary Principal for the last 7 years. She has been the principal of John Brown Francis Elementary, in Warwick RI, Curvin McCabe Elementary  and currently at Potter-Burns Elementary in Pawtucket. Joanne Rooney said, “ The fundamental pillars of school leadership are relationships; nothing substitutes for building and nurturing them”. Michelle shares in this belief. In order to have a great school, you must have a great school culture, and that starts with relationships. When you have good relationships, you can have those difficult and challenging conversations that lead to change in a building. Michelle resides in Pawtucket with her husband Steven, and their 2 sons, Douglas and Dylan. As a family, they love to travel to Disney, watch Star Wars, and Marvel movies. They are avid fans of the Boston sports teams (Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics). 

Susan Craven is a high school principal in Tiverton Rhode Island. She has worked in the field of education for 24 years as a classroom teacher, middle school principal, district literacy coach, and now high school principal. Sue also serves on the Rhode Island

Interscholastic League Principal Council on Athletics, was a union president for 10 years, and is a certified paralegal. Sue uses the skills acquired throughout her career to navigate the education

system and build better opportunities for students so they receive an educational experience that meets their personal needs. As an instructional leader, Sue has significant training in the development and implementation of Professional Learning Communities, Portrait of a Graduate, curriculum development and alignment, teacher evaluation, action planning, and analysis of assessment data. She also has

negotiated several union contracts so Sue is very familiar with contract language, interpretation, and the grievance process. Sue has a BA degree in English and a M.ed degree in k-12 administration from Rhode Island College. She is currently certified as a Superintendent, k-12 building administrator, 1-6 elementary educator, and is middle school endorsed in English.  

Cassandra Charles is currently the Supervisor of Principal Supports for the Providence Public School district. In this role, she works with the Senior Director of Principal Supports rolling out a robust set of training, tools, and resources for PPSD principals around supervision, providing just-in-time support to principals, and working closely with a small cohort of principals to better understand supervision and evaluation needs and translate those needs into better tools and resources that can be deployed by the central office. Prior to this role, she served as an Instructional Support Leader where she worked assisting site-based leaders with coaching and professional development that built their instructional leadership capacity, such as working with and responding to data, building professional development, and modeling coaching cycles with teachers. Cassandra has also served in the role as Assistant Principal at Carl G. Lauro Elementary School and Governor Christopher DelSesto Middle School, in Providence, where she was responsible for supporting the principal with administering and supervising the total school program by establishing high expectations for student achievement; building a positive school climate that supports the whole student; leveraging research and data to drive initiatives and instruction; and building and developing a high-performing staff and leadership team to achieve the school’s vision and goals.

Dr. Sabrina Antonelli started in education in 2003. Dr. Antonelli spent her first 13 years in Providence Public Schools. She started her career as a middle school mathematics teacher at Oliver Hazard Perry and then Delsesto Middle School. She received training early on through the Math Matters program and the May Institute to coach teachers on math instruction and behavior management as well as become a model classroom. Dr. Antonelli was a Math Teacher Leader for two years before taking on the role of Math Instructional Coach at William D'Abate Elementary School. While a Math Instructional Coach and Aspiring Principal Dr. Antonelli led a partnership with Roger Williams University focused on teaching and coaching ESL and bilingual elementary teachers best instructional strategies for teaching mathematics to second language learners. She participated on several mathematics curriculum and assessment writing teams. With experience as a math teacher, department head, and instructional coach, Dr. Sabrina Antonelli was well-prepared to take on the role of building-wide instructional leader when she became a principal seven years ago for Warwick Public Schools. She survived school consolidations after her first two years as principal of Randall Holden Elementary School. Now principal of Norwood Elementary School since 2018, Dr. Antonelli is well versed in the art of delivering compassionate, actionable feedback and helping struggling teachers find their way back to their purpose as educators. These talents permeate her approach to continuous professional development, which includes in-class coaching, modeling, training, and administrative classroom coverage to facilitate peer learning. Quality guidance and support also drives Dr. Antonelli’s approach to distributed leadership, as she aims to empower the strengths of others by providing the knowledge, tools, and resources needed to improve practice and reach collective school goals. The fruits of this labor include a data-literate professional culture that seeks to expand learning opportunities for all students and bring families into the learning process in meaningful ways, including through initiatives like themed STEM, Literacy, and Math nights. Attuned to the broader social, emotional, and material needs that shape academic outcomes, Dr. Antonelli is committed to meeting the basic needs of the school’s population through accessible, volunteer-driven food and health access programs. Norwood School is a Title I school with MLL Programming and a range of special education programming. Norwood School is a co-taught school K-5 as well as providing resource support. Norwood school also has a Primary and Intermediate severe and profound program. In 2023, she was named RIASP Elementary Principal of the Year and NAESP National Distinguished Principal. Dr. Antonelli completed the NISL (National Institute for School Leaders) Educator Development Program in 2019. She completed the Principal Residency Program through CLEE (Center for Leadership and Educational Equity). She holds an Ed.D. from Johnson and Wales University. Dr. Antonelli was accepted as one out of ten urban middle school teachers throughout the state to receive a full scholarship to Brown University through a Call to Lead program from the offices of the Education Alliance. She holds a M.A. from Brown University in ESL and Cross Cultural Studies. Dr. Antonelli holds a B.A. from Rhode Island College in Elementary Education with a Math Major Concentration. She also completed a Middle School Endorsement Program at Rhode Island College. Dr. Antonelli is a member of NCTM, ASCD, RIASP and Critical Friends Networks. She is also a professor and learning guide for the ESL Teacher Certification Program at Roger Williams University College since 2018. Dr. Antonelli holds RI certifications in Elementary Education, Middle Level Mathematics, Secondary Mathematics, ESL K-8, Secondary Content ESL, Building Level Administrator, Superintendent. 

Dan Warner was born in Newport Rhode Island and is a graduate of Rogers High School. He received his A BS in Social Studies Education from The Pennsylvania State University and his Masters of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. Dan currently serves as the Principal of The Block Island School after retiring from  a 24 year career as Principal of Narragansett High School. Dan also serves as the Chair of the Principals Committee on Athletics for the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. Dan began his career as a teacher and athletic director at The University of Northern Colorado Laboratory School, a K-12 school in Greeley Colorado. Dan lives with his wife Lisa, and son Eamon, in Kingston Rhode Island