Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center Presenters' Bios

Dr. Skelton is Director of Operations of the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center. As Director of Operations, she works in collaboration with the Center’s executive director to plan, direct, and manage projects and services offered to state and local education agencies throughout the Center’s thirteen-state region. Dr. Skelton has worked as an educational consultant for a regional special education resource center in southwest Ohio, a lead consultant for three state-wide school improvement initiatives funded by the Ohio Department of Education, and as an co- director of professional learning and technical assistance at the Equity Alliance at Arizona State University and assistant director of professional learning and technical assistance at the Great Lakes Equity Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She has garnered more than 15 years of experience working in the areas of systems change, school improvement, and educational equity. Dr. Skelton has been an adjunct professor at Northern Kentucky University, the University of Cincinnati, the College of Mount Saint Joseph and IUPUI. She has co-authored book chapters on implementing systemic change for improved student outcomes, and regularly presents at numerous local, state, and national conferences on various topics related to promoting the success of historically marginalized students.

Dr. Kyser is the Associate Director for Engagement and Partnerships at the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (MAP Center) within the Great Lakes Equity Center. In this role, Dr. Kyser leads the coordination of technical assistance support and collaboration with the MAP Center’s service provision team to plan, direct, and manage supports and professional learning experiences offered to state and local education agencies throughout the MAP Center’s thirteen-state region. Dr. Kyser has over thirteen years experience in outreach education, K-12 teaching and administration, higher education administration, authorizing, and education policy. Her research and work is rooted in collaboration, design thinking, and change management. Dr. Kyser has received executive training at Harvard, Stanford, and Indiana Universities. She is a graduate of Culver Girls Academy of the Culver Academies. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education, a Master of Arts in English, and a PhD of Philosophy in Urban Education Studies from Indiana University.

Dr. Payno-Simmons (formally Ruth Riddle) provides consulting and technical assistance for various state and local educational entities. Her work involves collaborating with a team of experts at the state and national level in developing and delivering professional learning content and resources to address significant disproportionality involving discipline, race, and ethnicity in PBIS schools. Dr. Payno-Simmons supports educators in centering equity in their work as they recognize institutionally oppressive and supportive practices that shape school climate and the identities of students they serve. Dr. Payno-Simmons' experience as a researcher, teacher, principal, and central office administrator has provided her with a broad depth of knowledge and expertise in culturally sustaining practices, multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS), school-wide positive behavior supports (SWPBIS), and implementing sustainable educational systems. In her role as building principal, Dr. Payno-Simmons worked with her staff to implement sustainable systems that focused on promoting equitable learning which earned the state designation of Rewards School for closing the opportunity gap between the top 30% and bottom 30% students performing on the state assessment. Dr. Payno-Simmons leadership experiences over the last decade include coordination of K-12 educational programs, instruction, curriculum, staff professional development at all levels, school improvement, district accreditation, and evaluation of systems, assessment, and processes.