Authors & Presenters

Kim Bailey is former director of professional development and instructional support for the Capistrano Unified School District in California. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at Chapman University in California.

Dr. Anisa Baker-Busby was appointed principal of Shirley Hills Elementary in July 2022. She has over 20 years of educational experience serving as a teacher and administrator, and her passion is to help schools build systems of support that ensure high levels of learning for all students.

Mandy Barrett, EdD, currently serves as an elementary school principal in northwest Arkansas. She has over 20 years of experience working in high-poverty schools and schools with large ESL populations.

Tim Brown is an internationally recognized presenter and practitioner who specializes in helping school leaders and teachers align their school improvement efforts across an entire campus and/or district.

Dawn Caruso, EdD, is a former district administrator of assessment and accountability in Florida. She also served as a virtual school administrator as well as a literacy coach at the state and school level.

Lori Cooper, PhD, serves as the assistant superintendent of student achievement in the Fountain–Fort Carson School District in Colorado. She has served in public education for 30 years.

John Darnell is the principal at Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. Throughout his career, he worked across the state of Kentucky in both urban and rural schools as a social studies teacher and principal.

Eileen Depka, PhD, has a background in assessment, common assessment design, rubric development, standards-based assessment, question design, classroom questioning practices, positive practices in grading and reporting, and the implementation of standards-based grading and reporting.

Nicole Dimich works with elementary and secondary educators in presentations, trainings, and consultations that address today’s most critical issues, all in the spirit of facilitating improved support of student learning.

Chad M. V. Dumas, EdD, focuses primarily on collaborating to develop capacity for continuous improvement. An international educational presenter and award-winning researcher, he has led nationally recognized improvements for both students and staff.