Alan November is an international leader in education technology. He began his career as an oceanography teacher and dorm counselor at an island reform school for boys in Boston Harbor. While Alan was a computer science teacher in Lexington, Mass, he was probably the first teacher in the world to have a student project on line in 1984, a database for the handicapped. He has been director of an alternative high school, computer coordinator, technology consultant, and university lecturer.

Dylan Wiliam is one of the world's leading authorities on the ways that assessment can be used to improve student learning and has authored or co-authored over 300 articles, books, and book chapters on education. After 7 years teaching English, mathematics and science in urban secondary schools in London, he joined Chelsea College,University of London, which later merged with King's College London. During his time at King's College London, he ran the mathematics teacher education programme, co-ordinated a large scale testing programme, served for five years as Dean of the School of Education and from 2001 to 2003, was Assistant Principal of the College.

Ron Ritchhart spent years in the classroom as a teacher before joining Harvard Project Zero where he is now a Senior Research Associate. Over the past 16 years, Ron’s research has explored such issues as teaching for understanding, the development of intellectual character, creativity in teaching, and the development of thinking dispositions.

Dr. Lynn Erickson is a private consultant assisting schools and districts nationally and internationally with concept-based curriculum design and instruction. During the past twenty years Lynn has worked extensively with K-12 teachers and administrators on the design of classroom and district level curricula aligned to academic standards.

Kath Murdoch is an experienced teacher, author, university lecturer and popular consultant who has worked for many years in schools throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, America and Europe. She is widely respected for her work in the field of inquiry based learning and integrative curriculum in which she has taught, researched and published for well over 25 years.

Carol Ann Tomlinson is Wiliam Clay Parrish, Jr. Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Policy at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education where she is also Co-Director of the University's Institutes on Academic Diversity. Prior to joining the faculty at UVa, she was a teacher for 21 years. During that time, she taught students in high school, preschool, and middle school and also administered programs for struggling and advanced learners. She was Virginia's Teacher of the Year in 1974.

Jim Knight has spent more than two decades studying professional learning, effective teaching, and instructional coaching. He is a Research Associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and the President of the Instructional Coaching Group.

Dr. Douglas Reeves is a partner with Creative Leadership Solutions, a global consultancy. He has addressed audiences around the world on educational leadership and effective teaching. The author of more than 80 articles and 30 books, he was twice named to the Harvard University Distinguished Authors Series.

Yong Zhao is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas. He is also a professorial fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Health and Education Policy, Victoria University in Australia and Global Chair in Education at East China Normal University. He previously served as the Presidential Chair and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he was also a Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership.

Stephanie Harvey has spent the past forty two years teaching and learning about reading and writing. She received her BA from the University of Denver and her MA from the University of Colorado. After sixteen years of regular elementary and special education teaching in the Jefferson County Schools in Lakewood, Colorado, Stephanie became a staff developer forthe Denver based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), a partnership of leaders from education and business who support innovation in public schools.

Debbie Miller is an experienced teacher, author, and literacy consultant who now works in schools across the United States and Canada. She is known for her work in the field of comprehension instruction, particularly in its application for children in the primary grades.

Veronica Boix Mansilla is a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she directs the Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Project. Drawing on cognitive psychology, epistemology and sociology of knowledge, her research examines the conditions that enable experts and young learners to produce quality interdisciplinary work and global competence addressing problems of contemporary significance. Veronica's group studies the challenges of evaluating interdisciplinary learning and research, programs and collaborations.

I have learned one thing for certain during more than thirty years of experience leading Student Voice and Aspirations work: nothing is constant. At least this is true in regard to the actual implementation of our work and the organizational structure upon which it is based. Without doubt, the mission itself has always never waned.

Dr. Jennifer Chang Wathall is an independent educational consultant, author and part-time instructor for the University of Hong Kong. With over 25 years experience in the education field, Jennifer has worked in several international schools including South Island School, Hong Kong and The United Nations International School, New York and Island School, Hong Kong.

Thomas R. Guskey is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky where he served as Department Chair, Head of the Educational Psychology Area Committee, and President of the Faculty Council. He has been a Visiting Professor at ten universities in the U.S. and a Visiting Scholar at universities in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he began his career in education as a middle school teacher, served as an administrator in the Chicago Public Schools, and was the first director of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning, a national research center.

Jay McTighe brings a wealth of experience developed during a rich and varied career in education. He served as director of the Maryland Assessment Consortium, a state collaboration of school districts working together to develop and share formative performance assessments. Prior to this position, Jay was involved with school improvement projects at the Maryland State Department of Education where he helped lead Maryland’s standards-based reforms, including the development of performance-based statewide assessments.

Ken O'Connor is an independent consultant who specializes in issues related to the communication of student achievement, especially grading and reporting. Through books & articles, presentations and working with small groups, Ken helps individuals, school and school districts to improve communication about student achievement.

Lois A. Lanning, Ph.D., is an author and independent education consultant. She presents and works with districts at the international, national and state levels in the areas of literacy and Concept-Based Curriculum design. Her upcoming 2018 book, co-authored with Tiffanee Brown, is titled, Moving Literacy Beyond Skills to Understanding and Transfer: Designing Concept-Based ELA Lessons, Corwin Press Publisher.

Formerly a high school English teacher and a new teacher coach, Jennifer Abrams is currently a communications consultant who works with educators and others on new teacher and employee support, being generationally savvy, effective collaboration skills, having hard conversations and creating identity safe workplaces.

Jennifer’s publications include Having Hard Conversations, The Multigenerational Workplace: Communicate, Collaborate & Create Community and Hard Conversations Unpacked - the Whos, Whens and What Ifs. Her newest book is Swimming in the Deep End: Four Foundational Skills for Leading Successful School Initiatives.

Alfie Kohn is an American author and lecturer in the areas of education, parenting, and human behavior. He is a proponent of progressive education and has offered critiques of many traditional aspects of parenting, managing, and American society more generally, drawing in each case from social science research.

Fiona Zinn is an Education Consultant based in Australia. Drawing on 25 years experience in the early childhood, primary and tertiary sectors, Fiona works with educators around the world to boldly re-imagine early years pedagogy, curriculum and learning environments in response to research. Much of this work finds resonance with the educational project of Reggio Emilia but is also shaped by interpretation and experience across a wide range of contexts.

Educator and author Jan Chappuis has been an elementary and secondary teacher as well as a curriculum developer in English/language arts, mathematics, social studies, and world languages. For the past twenty-five years, she has written books and developed workshops focused on classroom assessment literacy. A respected expert and thought leader in the area of formative assessment, Jan has presented both nationally and internationally and is best known for her work in translating research into practical classroom applications.

Rick Stiggins is the founder and retired president of the Assessment Training Institute (ATI), a professional development company created and designed to provide teachers, school leaders, policy makers, and communities with the assessment literacy they need to face the assessment challenges that pervade American education today. ATI is now owned by Pearson Education.

Mr. Trevor MacKenzie is a practicing high school English teacher, inquiry learning coach and consultant who works with schools and organizations in their adoption of inquiry. Trevor is the author of two books, Dive into Inquiry: Amplify Learning and Empower Student Voice as well as Inquiry Mindset: Nurturing the Dreams, Wonders and Curiosities of Our Younger Learners published by Elevate Books Edu.

MS SpEd, is an Independent Dr. H. Lynn Erickson and Dr. Lois A. Lanning Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction Presenter and Trainer. She is a National Board Certified English language arts teacher, an educational consultant, and a teacher-leader in her school district. Before transitioning to her current position as the English Language Arts Consultant Teacher for the Burlington-Edison School District, she taught language arts, social studies, reading interventions, service learning, and various middle school elective classes. Tiffanee currently facilitates the development of Concept- Based Curriculum and Instruction, supports K-12 literacy across the district, and assists with the new teacher induction and mentoring program.

Dr. Fran Prolman is an internationally recognized consultant specializing in educational leadership, school improvement and instructional strategies as well as communication skills, critical thinking and organizational development. Fran earned her doctorate in teacher training and international education from George Washington University and a Masters degree in educational administration and curriculum and instruction from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a two-time Fulbright Scholar in both India and Israel, and has presented numerous papers and workshops nationally and internationally.

Martha Horn is a teacher of children and a teacher of teachers. She grew up professionally at a time when Donald Graves’ seminal research at the University of New Hampshire was changing the way we thought about how writing is taught in schools and she helped bring that change around the country—in particular, to New York City and Boston. She was part of the Teachers College Writing project at its inception, co-directed the Writing in Kindergarten Project with Mary Ellen Giacobbe in Boston Public Schools. From that work came their book, Talking, Drawing, Writing: Lessons for Our Youngest Writers (Stenhouse).

Child centred learning has been Anne's passion for more than 25 years. Anne has worked in schools in the Netherlands, China, Singapore and Switzerland, where she took on various positions such as team leader, PYP coordinator and director. Anne used to work at the Canadian International School (Singapore) where she was part of the team that took the school to IB authorisation Anne has been an IB workshop leader since 2005, sharing her passion for young children and play with educators in international schools.

Dr. Rojas conducts professional training on effective programs and strategies for English learners from pre-school through grade 12 for ESL (EAL) and classroom teachers. She has worked with over 300 international schools on language education policies, programs, and instructional practices. Dr. Rojas specializes in developing academic English as an Additional Language (EAL) and in providing access for English learners through teacher collaboration and effective instructional practices for teaching English learners in mainstream classrooms. She provides professional development sessions, job-embedded coaching, demonstration lessons, and conducts linguistic audits of ESL/ EAL programs.

A nationally-recognized presenter, author, and humorist, Jack Berckemeyer, began his career as a middle school teacher in Denver, Colorado. After two years of teaching he was named as an outstanding educator at his school, and shortly thereafter he was identified as one of the outstanding educators in the district. In 2003, he received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Falcon School District. Jack brings his energy, humor, and expertise to all staff development as he helps teachers and administrators remember why this job makes a difference.

Ralph Fletcher has been a mentor to teachers and young writers everywhere. He frequently works with young writers in schools, and speaks at education conferences in the US and abroad, helping teachers find wiser ways of teaching writing. Ralph is the author of many bestselling teacher professional books including Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide; Craft Lessons; What a Writer Needs, 2nd edition; and Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices.His most recent professional books include Joy Write: Cultivating High-Impact Low-Stakes Writing (April 2017) and The Writing Teacher’s Companion: Embracing Choice, Voice, Purpose and Play (July 2017).

Kathy Collins works in schools and presents in conferences all over the world to support teachers in developing high-quality, effective literacy instruction in the early childhood settings through middle school. She is the co-author, along with Janine Bempechat of Not This But That: No More Mindless Homework (Heinemann, 2017). She co-authored, with Matt Glover, I Am Reading: Nurture Meaning-Making and Joyful Engagement with Texts (Heinemann, 2015). Kathy's other books include Reading for Real: Teach Children to Read With Power, Intention, and Joy in K-3 Classrooms (Stenhouse, 2008) and Growing Readers: Units of Study in Primary Classrooms (Stenhouse, 2004). Kathy has worked closely with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University, and she taught in Brooklyn, New York. Kathy and her family live in Durham, New Hampshire.

Kimberly, author of Experience Inquiry, is an internationally-recognized speaker on student-driven learning and inquiry-based instruction. Her workshops and videos are well-known throughout the international school community, and she is praised for her “accessible, engaging, and practical” approach to inquiry.

Matt Glover has been an educator for over 30 years, as a teacher, a principal, author and consultant. He is the author and co-author of several books on teaching writing and reading including Projecting Possibilities for Writers.

Susan Harris MacKay is Pedagogical Director at Opal School (opalschool.org) and Portland Children’s Museum, where she has worked with children and teachers since 2001. As a teacher, researcher, author, and parent, Susan relies on the strong relationship between beauty and justice to shape learning environments that promote freedom.

Tara Papandrew has worked with Opal School since its inception in a variety of leadership roles: Director of Museum Programs & Outreach (2002-2008), Director of Opal School (2010-2014), and Teacher-Administrator (2014-present). This path has been fueled by her curiosity about children: who they are, what they imagine, and how they interact with the world. She seeks connections among children, materials and ideas. In this work, she thrives on playing with her creativity and her understanding of systems-thinking.

As Director of Professional Development, Matt Karlsen supports Opal School's mission to use learning experiences in its small lab in Portland to transform educational opportunities around the world.

Guy Claxton is a cognitive scientist with a long-standing passion for bringing the mind sciences to bear on the improvement of schools. His main research interest is in the expandability of human intelligence in all its forms: intellectual, practical, social, emotional and spiritual.

Paul Andersen is an educational consultant and YouTube creator living in Bozeman, MT. Paul is an experienced educator having taught science in Montana for 20 years. Paul was the 2011 Montana Teacher of the Year, and was also one of four finalists for the 2011 National Teacher of the Year.

All children are born with the potential to become musical. With inappropriate or no music experiences children can loose their intuitions for music. This workshop will provide a bridge from research to practice by demonstrating how a repertoire of traditional children's songs, rhymes, games and dances as well as movement with classical music can develop the next generation of tuneful, beatful and artful citizens.

Co-teaching has become an integral part of educators' efforts to include students with special needs in typical classes while at the same time improving their learning and reducing the gap between their achievement and that of their peers. However, co-teaching is far more than assigning two teachers to a classroom. In this workshop, essential topics for building strong co-teaching partnerships and refining instructional practices will be explored.

Howie Knoff, Ph.D. is an international consultant who, for over 35 years, has helped departments of education, provinces / districts, and schools succeed in the areas of school improvement and strategic planning, school discipline and classroom management, and multi-tiered systems of support—including strategic and intensive interventions for socially, emotionally, and behaviorally challenging students.

Following 15 years teaching elementary and middle school in the US, Peru, Malaysia, and China, Steve now specializes in working with schools, teachers, and students to contextualize and integrate elements of the transformative Inspire Citizens' Global Impact School model and Empathy to Impact methodology into learning experiences. He guides educators towards seamlessly embedding compassionate empathy, deep thinking, and global and intercultural competencies into relevant, action-driven learning outcomes linked to disciplinary, technology, social-emotional-ethical and literacy objectives.

Following 10 years of supporting teachers and students in inclusive education and success strategies for remedial readers and English Language Learners, Aaron brings this frame into his work with administrators, teachers, students, and community members within the three Inspire Citizens’ Impact Frameworks for school-wide visioning and strategic planning, teacher professional learning, and student global leadership and collaboration. Aaron’s experience at the innovative Futures Academy at the International School of Beijing also developed his expertise in Project-Based Learning, Inquiry, Design Thinking, and best practice pedagogies for implementing authentic and impactful action.

Lucy (Hoiyin) Wong, Ph.D., is a certified Dr H. Lynn Erickson and Dr Lois A. Lanning Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction Trainer and Presenter, a teacher, an author and an action research coordinator.

Before transitioning to her current position, she taught as a PYP bilingual classroom teacher. Lucy currently facilitates the development of Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction, supports K-12 literacy across the schools, and assists with the teacher induction and mentoring program.

Carl Anderson is an internationally recognized expert in writing instruction for Grades K-8, working as a consultant in schools and districts around the world.  A long-time Staff Developer for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Carl is the author of numerous books on teaching writing, including the bestselling How’s It Going? A Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers, Assessing Writers and A Teacher’s Guide to Writing Conferences.

Dan Feigelson has worked extensively in New York City schools as a teacher, staff developer, curriculum writer, principal, and local superintendent. An early member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, he leads institutes, workshops and lab-sites around the world on the teaching of reading and writing.

Jared Cooney Horvath (PhD, MEd) is a neuroscientist, educator, and author of the best-selling book Stop Talking, Start Influencing: 12 Insights from Brain Science to Make Your Message Stick. He has conducted research and lectured at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, the University of Melbourne, and over 200 schools internationally.

Lainie Rowell is an educator, author, and international speaker who specializes in working with other educators to find innovative and sustainable ways to transform teaching and learning. Her areas of expertise include online/blended learning, designing innovative learning experiences, professional learning, and community building.

Sarah Gilmore is educators, education consultants and authors who work to support teachers and schools to embed and use technology holistically and sustainably in schools to achieve its true purpose in education: enhancing and supporting student learning.

Katierose Deos is educators, education consultants and authors who work to support teachers and schools to embed and use technology holistically and sustainably in schools to achieve its true purpose in education: enhancing and supporting student learning.

Holly is an education thought-leader, international speaker, best selling author and an advocate for students. She is a twenty-plus year educator who has spent over 15 years teaching in a 1:1 classroom and over five years as an administrator in both public and private schools.

Jessica Martin is a former classroom teacher, Resident Advisor at University of California at Los Angeles Teacher Education Program, staff developer at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Columbia University, and CEO of the education consulting organizationat Growing Educators.

Debi Keyte-Hartland MA is an international consultant and artist educator with over 20 plus years of experience working in community settings including health, social and educational organizations primarily with a focus on early learning, the arts and inquiry. She has worked with schools in the UK, Singapore, China, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Romania, Canada, Brazil and Senegal and she is passionate about creative, reflective and transdisciplinary approaches to learning that involve the thinking and interests of young children.

Mark Church works with schools throughout the world wishing to create cultures of thinking in their classrooms. He believes in the difference teachers can make for students when they strive to make thinking visible, valued, and actively promoted as part of the day-to-day experience of their learners. Mark encourages teachers to become students of their students, and more broadly, students of themselves and the choices they make to leverage the power of making thinking visible.

Bernajean Porter, a digital educator, works globally as a futurist, enticing and supporting educators and their communities into NEW stories of possibilities. She is founder of ISTE’s Special Interest Group for Digital StoryTelling [DSN]; a seasoned featured international speaker; strategic conniver disguised as a change agent; creative and renown media-maker; speech and debate coach, online teacher-of-teachers; international workshop leader and artist-in-residence in schools . . . always an enthusiastic promoter of ANYTHING increasing joy, spirit and outrageous possibilities for kids and adults . . . Bernajean’s present mission brings digital storytelling’s KLOUT to youth around-the-world.

Sylvia is an award-winning Canadian teacher and sketchnoter with 32+ years classroom experience. She is a Google Certified Innovator, Apple Distinguished Educator, and author of the books “Sketchnotes for Educators” and “How to Sketchnote: A Step-by-Step Manual for Teachers and Students”. She has been sharing her love of sketchnoting with international audiences for 8 years. You can find her resources at sylviaduckworth.com and her store at sylviaduckworth.shop

As an expert in play-based learning and developing global competence foundations in preK-Kindergarten early elementary aged children, Kavita specializes in facilitating Inspire Citizens’ sustainable thinking, global collaboration, and unit design work in elementary classrooms around the globe. In long-term implementation and in workshops, she co-designs learning experiences and helps coach educators with the roles they play in shaping the attitudes of our youngest learners, offering practical ideas for supporting discovery and foundations for global and intercultural-mindedness.

Melissa comes to CAST with a passion for re-designing schools and curriculum in order to meet the needs of all learners. As an Implementation Specialist, she works with school teams to rethink curriculum, instruction and environments to provide access for all, using the UDL framework as a tool for redesign.

Bill Wilmot comes to CAST with the belief that school can be redesigned for all students. As an Implementation Specialist, he works with school teams to rethink curriculum, instruction, and learning environments to provide access to all, using the UDL framework as a tool for redesign.

Ben Mardell is a principle investigator at Project Zero. He works on the Pedagogy of Play, Children are Citizens and Inspiring Agents of Change projects. Ben has been associated with Project Zero since 1999, initially as a researcher on the Making Learning Visible (MLV) project and helped co-author Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners.

Megina Baker is a Lecturer in the Early Childhood Education program at Boston University's Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, and a researcher on the Pedagogy of Play project at Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero. She holds a Ph.D. from Boston College, where she studied bilingualism, teacher education, and practitioner inquiry.

Jennifer Oxman Ryan is a researcher and senior project manager at Project Zero (PZ), a research organization at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Her current work on the Pedagogy of Play initiative explores how to cultivate school cultures that value and support learning through play.

Luka Lesson is a poet and rapper whose work engages with the Greek mythology of his family homeland, the fiercely political and the vulnerably self-reflective. Luka has performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, released his own musical albums and books, and has been published in a number international poetry collections. Luka has toured with poets such as Shane Koyczan (Canada) and Omar Musa (AUS), with musicians such as Akala (UK) and Nahko (USA), and with thinkers such as Dr Cornel West (USA) and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (USA). Luka Lesson has always used education-based programs as a means for social change both within Australia and abroad, and his work is currently being studied in English departments across the country.

As student director of Inspire Citizens’ Global Youth Media (GYM) and grade 9 student in Beijing, Christina leads the foundational work that ensures student voice is at the forefront of the GYM mission and vision. Following three years of working as an Inspire Citizens’ intern and facilitating relevant learning for both teachers and students to take informed action for sustainable development, social justice and collective well-being, she now hosts and curates the GYM podcast Photo! Bomb, illuminating the power of photography as a storytelling medium for environmental and social justice.