Noor Ali
(Ed.D.) is an assistant professor at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, and leads the Transformative School Leadership concentration in the Ed.D. Program. Specializing in MusCrit, a subset of Critical Race Theory, she authored Counter-narratives of Muslim American Women: Making Space for MusCrit. With publications on MusCrit, racialization of religion, Critical Race Theory, leadership, and social justice, Dr. Ali is also the principal of Al-Hamra Academy, championing equity and experiential learning. She serves as an NEASC Commissioner. She has contributed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, serving on the DEI Taskforce and as a Trustee for the Shrewsbury Public Library.
Eisa Al-Shamma
(M.Sp.Ed.) has a master’s degree in special education, with a focus on students with Extensive Support Needs, from San Francisco State University. They are currently a teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District.
Carol Battle
(Ed.D.) is Director of San Diego Teacher Residency at High Tech High Graduate School of Education where her goals include increasing the diversity of the teacher workforce by infusing Justice and Deeper Learning throughout the Residency experience. She has been an educator for over 20 years in K–8 and higher education environments and has a passion for storytelling across the disciplines as a vehicle of inclusivity and student agency. Her research area of interest is recruitment and retention of a diverse teacher workforce.
Anne René Elsbree
(Ph.D.) is an out lesbian Professor of Education and LGBTQ+ advocate at California State University San Marcos. Her research emphasizes the educator’s role in confronting school inequities by engaging in social justice activism, good trouble.
Ana M. Hernández
(Ed.D.) is Professor of Multilingual and Multicultural Education at California State University San Marcos. She has been Project Director of two 5-year U.S. Department of Education National Professional Development Grants to improve the education of emergent bilinguals in PreK–8th grade. Her
Mark Hevert
(M.A.T.) is an Ed.D. candidate at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. He is also a tenured English teacher at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Massachusetts. He has previously published in the Virginia Woolf Miscellany.
Edward D. Kim
(Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. His research is in geometric combinatorics and optimization.
Viviane King-Adas
(M.A.) received her master’s in teaching from the Graduate School of Education at Northeastern University and teaches in the Boston Public Schools.
Amanda Moody Maestranzi
(Ph.D.) is a Doctoral Lecturer (TESOL) in the Middle and High School Education Department at Lehman College of the City University of New York. She is interested in and has published work in self-study and qualitative inquiry in teacher education. She is committed to engaging in self-work and the use of arts-based, creative methods to explore lessons learned from her teaching and mentoring experiences. She regularly presents her research and enjoys collaborating with others to grow and learn from multiple perspectives.
Lily Mittnight
(M.S.) received her Master of Science in Creative Practice Leadership from the College of Art, Media, and Design at Northeastern University. Lily has a strong commitment to social justice issues and is deeply involved in theater.
Jaclyn Murawska
(Ed.D.) is a STEM instructional coach in a K–8 school district north of Chicago and a mathematics educator researcher. She is a Past president of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics, former Associate Professor of Mathematics
Sean Nank
(Ph.D.) is a presidential awardee, professor, consultant, and teacher. He contracts for multiple agencies including the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation. Sean was a National Council of Teachers of Mathematics MARC appointee, National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics journal editor, and currently their Regional Director. Sean represented the United States at the International Congress on Mathematical Education. He was a two-term president of the Greater San Diego Mathematics Council. His current research includes creating equitable space for all voices while integrating students’ passions into K–16+ classrooms via empathetic storytelling, technology, curricula, and adaptive Instructional and Language Routines.
Jackie Palmquist
(M.A.) is a national presenter and educational consultant with over 30 years of high school mathematics teaching and leading experience. She is author and creator of Number Talks for High School book series and founder of Thumbs Up Math.
Michael Palmquist
(M.A.) is a career classroom English teacher and reading specialist. He has published on assessment and presented on educational technology, instructional coaching, and innovative methods of teaching Shakespeare.
MJ Palmquist
(C.A.L.) is a special Olympics certified athlete leader who believes in the power of sports to promote inclusion and diversity. Palmquist is a motivational public speaker and a committed athlete in hockey, basketball, soccer and weightlifting.
Rania Saeb
(Ed.D.) is a Palestinian American educator with experience teaching in K–16+. She is Assistant Professor at West Coast University and Lecturer at California State University San Marcos. Her research focuses on cultural identity formation of Arab American students. Her work is centered around making Arab
Karen Toralba
(Ed.D.) is the academic supervisor of the international department of Lertlah School in Thailand. She has worked internationally for over 15 years and conducts research on international educational perspectives and teachers’ lived experiences.
Suzanne M. Van Steenbergen
(Ed.D.) is a former high school English and ELD teacher in San Diego, earning her doctorate from the University of California at San Diego. She lectures at the University of San Diego and at California State University San Marcos, currently co-coordinating the Single-Subject Credential Program at CSUSM. Her research and professional interests include transforming the teaching profession to be more inclusive for both students and teachers of color, addressing systemic constraints to equity and social justice for all students, and supporting multilingual learners across content areas.
Sarah Catherine Vaughan
(P.T., D.P.T.) is a pelvic floor physical therapist at Empowered Wellness in Birmingham, Alabama. She earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Samford University in April 2024, where she studied the experiences of Physical Therapy students in Alabama with learning disabilities. Previously, Sarah Catherine graduated with honors from Birmingham-Southern College with a Bachelor of Science degree and was a student-athlete. She also serves as the Outreach Coordinator at Church of the Highlands-Grants Mill, managing service projects with local ministry partners. Originally from the Mississippi Delta, she now lives in Birmingham with her husband, Ben Vaughan.