This work is led by Nancy Williams, the Founder and President of Fortified Education.

Nancy Williams is a Director of Professional Learning for Savvas Learning Company, engaged in the work of designing professional development provided to teachers, district leadership, and Savvas specialists. Her work highlights diversity, inclusion, and equitable practices, as well as effective teaching practices that engage students in science and math practices. Through her work with Fortified Education Consulting she hopes to deepen the research around STEM education for students from historically marginalized backgrounds. Her mission is to open doors and windows to STEM experiences and careers, and to continue to have a long-lasting positive impact on education by improving learning opportunities and outcomes for all students no matter their background. She graduated with her BS in Elementary Education from Ohio University and MS in Special Education from Baldwin Wallace University and is obtaining her Global Executive Education doctoral degree from University of Southern California. She started her teaching career working with NASA’s Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aeronautics Academy (S.E.M.A.A.) and envisioned being “the Black Mrs. Frizzle” from the Magic School Bus. As a classroom teacher, Nancy loved keeping her elementary students engaged in science and math projects. From creating worm compost bins and water filtration systems, she has always enjoyed the wonder in students’ eyes as they learned something new. She left the classroom to join Pearson Education as a math specialist and coached teachers across the nation, helping them engage highly effective instructional practices. She has designed professional learning experiences with school districts leadership teams across the country such as New York City Department of Education, Miami-Dade Schools, Palm Beach Schools, Los Angeles Unified, Seattle Public Schools, Richmond Public Schools and many many others. She also serves on the Board of Directors for The Foundation of Student Opportunity (FSO) in Charlotte, North Carolina.