Jay McTighe

Jay is an accomplished author, having co-authored 17 books, including the award-winning and best-selling Understanding by Design series with Grant Wiggins. Jay has an extensive background in professional development and is a regular speaker at national, state, and district conferences and workshops.

Erica Buddington

Erica Buddington is the Founder/CEO of Langston League, a multi-consultant curriculum firm. Erica has been a Brave New Voices slam champion, HBO Def Poet, and spent a decade in the classroom. Erica is also the author of four books and has been featured on The Steve Harvey Show, Forbes, Buzzfeed, Black Enterprise, and more.

Julie Stern

Julie Stern is the best-selling author of Tools for Teaching Conceptual Understanding, Elementary and Secondary, Visible Learning for Social Studies, and Learning That Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World. She is the thought leader behind the global workshop series Making Sense of Learning Transfer.

Anthony Gabriele

Anthony Gabriele is the District Director of Learning & Innovation for the Centennial School District. He is also Senior Adjunct Faculty & Technology Coordinator–University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education: Penn Literacy Network. He has done curriculum work as an Official U.S. Dept of Education #GoOpen District- infusing Open Educational Resources into our Curriculum Cycle and Pennsylvania Learns.

A.J. Juliani

A.J. Juliani is the Founder of Adaptable Learning and Curriculum Camp. He is the author of the upcoming book, Adaptable, as well as many other education books including Empower and Launch with John Spencer. A.J. has worked as a teacher and school administrator at all K-12 levels, most recently as Director of Learning. He also serves as Faculty at UPenn GSE PLN, and has word as NextLesson’s Head of Learning.

Heidi Hayes Jacobs

Heidi Hayes Jacobs is the founder and president of Curriculum Designers. Her models on curriculum mapping and curriculum design have been featured in numerous books and software solutions throughout the world. She has taught courses at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York City since 1981.

Nichelle Pinkney

Nichelle Pinkney currently serves as the K-12 Social Studies Program Coordinator for Klein Independent School district in Klein,TX. In her 15 year career in education she’s served as a high school history teacher, department chair, AVID Coordinator, online instructor and course creator and intermediate instructional specialist. She has helped review and edit many books in the field of social studies comprehension. She coaches and consults with other schools and teachers around Texas.

Nathalie Lauriault

Nathalie Lauriault is the best-selling author of Tools for Teaching Conceptual Understanding, Elementary and is a teacher in Ontario, Canada. Having taught for 30 years, she has specialized in teaching young children in mostly bilingual classroom settings. She has conducted research on conceptual learning in her classroom and previously served as the Primary Years Programme Coordinator at the Toronto French School. In this role, she became a certified trainer in Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction.

Julia Briggs

Julia Briggs is the co-author of the On Your Feet Guide to Learning Transfer. She lives and works in Bogotá, Colombia, she teaches Science and Chemistry and is the Head of IB Chemistry at Colegio Anglo Colombiano where she also works with departments and individual teachers as a coach and certified trainer of Concept Based Curriculum and Instruction.

Erin Leininger

Erin Leininger is the Middle School Curriculum Coordinator at International School Manila. She is a Doctor of Education Leadership and the co-author of the book Teaching Adolescent English Language Learners. She has taught diverse groups of adolescents in national and international contexts, including California, Rhode Island, Kuwait, China, and the Philippines. She is passionate about the science of teaching and learning and is dedicated to fostering collaborative, innovative, and reflective learning environments for both teachers and students.

Kayla Duncan

Kayla Duncan is a co-author of Learning That Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World. She is a personalized instruction coach for Forsyth County Schools in Cumming, Georgia. Her passion centers around empowering student voice through meaningful, authentic experiences and increased ownership.

Kayla currently supports personalized learning schools in creating their new vision for education through the design thinking process.

Trevor Aleo

Trevor Aleo is a co-author of Learning That Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World. He is a middle school English teacher in Wilton, Connecticut, where he designs meaningful learning experiences while reading and writing alongside his students. Prior to his current position, he taught high school and was a grade-level lead in Prince William County, Virginia. In addition to leading teams at his own school, he’s drafted curriculum at the district level, created instructional resources for the Virginia Department of Education, and presented at local, state, and national conferences.