The Speakers
Parker Baxter
Parker Baxter, J.D., MPA, is Scholar in Residence and Director of the Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) at University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs. Parker has worked as a district and state administrator, charter school authorizer, policy analyst and researcher, legislative counsel, youth advocate, attorney and teacher.
Bill Kottenstette
Bill Kottenstette is CDE's director of the Schools of Choice Office, with experience as a teacher, an administrator, and the executive director of Compass Montessori, a K-12 public Montessori school. He has experience working in government on education issues, developing systems, and as a federal grants manager.
Katy Anthes
Dr. Katy Anthes is the Colorado Commissioner on Education after serving as interim commissioner, chief of staff, interim associate commissioner for achievement and strategy and executive director of educator effectiveness for CDE. She is widely respected for her commitment to listen to diverse perspectives and develop solutions that are founded on productive middle ground.
Susan Leach
Dr. Susan Leach is the Chief Student Success Office for Jeffco Public Schools. Prior to Jeffco, she was the Director of Exceptional Education and Student Services with Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) in Jacksonville, FL for 12 years, the twentieth largest school system in the U.S.
Megan Ohlssen
Megan Ohlssen is the Managing Director of Programs for the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools. With a vision of equity and inclusion, she focuses on the multiple identities of students and educators to dismantle the silo of special education.
Lauren Morando Rhim
Lauren Morando Rhim is Executive Director and Co-Founder of the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools. A researcher, consultant, and advocate, she has spent the last 25 years striving to identify strategies to create and sustain high quality public schools for all students.
Amy McCart
Dr. Amy McCart is an Associate Research Professor with Life Span Institute and Adjunct Faculty status with the Department of Special Education at the University of Kansas. She is the Co-Director for the Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation (SWIFT) Education Center.