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Tim Brown has been a principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels and has implemented the Professional Learning Communities at Work™ model in his district. At his last school, Campbell Elementary in Springfield, Missouri, where 87 percent of the student population was eligible for free and reduced lunch, Tim and his staff instituted the principles of PLCs with amazing results. The school became a flagship of success and has been recognized as one of Missouri’s Most Improved Schools. The school also received recognition as an Exemplary Practices School and gained national recognition for its unique model of connecting the school to the business community.

Carolyn is an internationally known speaker, author, trainer, consultant and educator. In her workshops, professional development courses, seminars and keynotes, she is an enthusiastic, motivating and energetic presenter. Carolyn works with teachers, parents and students offering practical strategies for raising student achievement, differentiating curriculum, implementing a variety of assessment strategies, and dealing with the problems and challenges associated with preparing ourselves and our children for living and working in the 21st Century.

Rebecca DuFour has served as a teacher, school administrator, and central office coordinator. As a former elementary principal, Becky helped her school earn state and national recognition as a model professional learning community. She is one of the featured principals in the Video Journal of Education program “Leadership in an Age of Standards and High Stakes” (2001). She is also the lead consultant and featured principal for the Video Journal of Education program “Elementary Principals as Leaders of Learning” (2003). Becky is coauthor of many books and video series on the topic of PLCs.

Richard DuFour, EdD, was a public school educator for 34 years, serving as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. He served as the principal of Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, from 1983 to 1991 and as superintendent of the district from 1991 to 2002. During his tenure, Stevenson became what the United States Department of Education (USDE) has described as “the most recognized and celebrated school in America.” It is one of three schools in the nation to win the USDE Blue Ribbon Award on four occasions and one of the first comprehensive schools designated a New America High School by USDE as a model of successful school reform. Stevenson has been repeatedly cited in the popular press as one of America’s best schools and referenced in professional literature as an exemplar of best practices in education.

Abigail Graham (B.Sc., Grad. Dip. Ed., Grad. Dip. IT) is an experienced educator with over 25 years experience as a teacher and teacher leader. Her work is has included a focus on leadership coaching of school leaders in collaborative evidence-based team practice, facilitating teacher professional learning and coaching mathematics instruction with students of all ages. She also has extensive experience in school leadership roles and as a classroom teacher of mathematics, science and IT in secondary schools.

Gavin Grift has worked extensively as a classroom teacher, assistant principal and educational consultant. Gavin has led a team of teachers to develop an online Curriculum Planning Process that is being used by primary and secondary schools throughout Victoria, Australia. He has worked with schools, teachers and students in Australia and the United Kingdom in a variety of roles including: teacher, researcher, consultant and facilitator for change and improvement.

Tammy Heflebower, EdD, is vice president of Marzano Research Laboratory in Englewood, Colorado. She is a consultant with experience in urban, rural, and suburban regions throughout North America. Dr. Heflebower has served as a classroom teacher, building-level leader, district leader, regional professional development director, and national trainer. She has also been an adjunct professor of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at several universities. Dr. Heflebower began her teaching career in Kansas City, Kansas, and later moved to Nebraska, where she received the District Distinguished Teacher Award. She has worked as a national educational trainer for the National Resource and Training Center at Girls and Boys Town in Nebraska.

Jane A. G. Kise, Ed. D., is an educational consultant, specialising in teambuilding, coaching, and school staff development for differentiated instruction, especially in mathematics. She is also the coauthor of over 20 books, including Creating a Coaching Culture for Professional Learning Communities, Differentiated Coaching: A Framework for Helping Teachers Change, Differentiated School Leadership, Differentiation Through Personality Types, Introduction to Type and Coaching, LifeKeys and Work it Out. She holds an MBA in finance from the Carlson School of Management and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of St. Thomas.

Kylie Lipscombe, formerly a classroom teacher, has fulfilled a range of roles all focusing on teaching and learning and building teacher capacity across both primary and secondary, public and Catholic schools.  These include regional literacy coach and project officer, assistant principal, educational consultant and currently lecturer/tutor at the University of Wollongong.

 Her research, academic study and practice focus on the implementation of training programs and networks, coaching and facilitation in schools on building school capacity. Learn More