Coaches

My name is Dr. Robert A. Bennett & I am glad to be part of this learning journey.  I was raised in Detroit, Michigan and now live in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I know many people wonder… who really lives in Vegas.  We truly have a large city here and lots of shows, restaurants and glitz.  I have lived here for 31 years.  Prior to living in Nevada my vocational path has taken me through Michigan, Montana, Florida and Idaho.   

I earned my Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University, a dual degree in Elementary Education and Special Education for the Blind & Visually Impaired.  I left Michigan after graduation, going west.  My first teaching position was at the Montana State School for the Deaf & Blind.  I worked out of Eastern Montana College located in Billings, Montana.  I took advantage of the hiking, backpacking & fly fishing.  It was truly a paradise.  I then moved to Southern Florida to work with family as a Superintendent in a light construction company.  I was not fulfilled in construction and after 3 years, moved back out west to Idaho.  

I earned my Master’s Degree from Idaho State University in Educational Administration.  I remained there working for the Idaho School for the Deaf & Blind for 10 years before moving to Las Vegas.  Here in Vegas, I worked in a classroom for the blind for 2 years before becoming a school administrator.  During my time here, I earned my Educational Doctorate from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.  My degree focus was in educational leadership and my dissertation focused on education finance.  I was an elementary school principal for 23 years, until my retirement in 2014.  Since then, I continued to teach for several universities, UNLV, Nova Southwestern University & University of Phoenix and now Coaching Interns for the Teachers College of Columbia University.  

I have truly enjoyed the field of education and my privilege of “Paying It Forward” to future school leaders  I have also been very fortunate to work for wonderful learning institutions like the Teachers College of Columbia University.   

PJ Caposey is the Illinois State Superintendent of the Year and a Finalist for the National Superintendent of the Year through the American Association of School Administrators. PJ is a best-selling author, dynamic speaker, and a transformational leader and educator with an incredible track record of success. 

PJ began his career as an award-winning teacher in the inner-city of Chicago and has subsequently led significant change in every administrative post he has held. He became a principal at the age of 28 and within three years was able to lead a small-town / rural school with a history of achieving near the bottom of its county to multiple national recognitions. After four years, PJ moved to his current district, Meridian CUSD 223, as superintendent, and has since led a similar turnaround leading to several national recognitions for numerous efforts.

PJ is a best-selling author and has written eight books for various publishers. His work and commentary has been featured on sites such as The Washington Post, NPR, CBS This Morning, ASCD, Edutopia, The Huffington Post (HuffPost), and was featured in a Global Leaders Forum thinkpiece alongside the likes of General Petraeus and General McChrystal. He works in the Education Department of three universities, including one within the Ivy League, and in a myriad of capacities with the Illinois Principals Association, including as a principal coach and author of the first complete stack of MicroCredentials offered in Illinois.

PJ has been fortunate to be honored with many personal awards and accolades in addition to the various district recognitions which have been earned under his leadership. Additionally, he has been asked to serve in an advisory or consulting capacity for many education-related companies and organizations. 

PERSONAL ACCOLADES

• Top 30 EdTech Influencer, EdTech Magazine, 2023
• Illinois State Superintendent of the Year, 2022
• ISTE Making IT Happen, 2019
• Regional Superintendent of the Year, 2017
• Tech and Learning Leader of the Year - Runner Up, 2017
• INSPRA Distinguished Service Award, 2016
• 40 Under 40, 2016 
• NSPRA 25 Superintendents to Watch, 2016
• EIU Distinguished Alumnus, 2016
• Those Who Excel - Award of Merit, 2015
• Regional Principal of the Year, 2014
• ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Honoree, 2013
• ASCD Emerging Leader, 2013
• Horace Mann Partners in Education, 2012

DISTRICT ACCOLADES

• US News and World Report recognition, 2017-22
• IASB Governance Award, 2016-22
• EduJedi award from the Learning Counsel, 2019
• Illinois Performance Excellence Bronze Award, 2018
• National School of Opportunity, 2017
• District Administration Magazine District of Distinction, 2016

ADVISORY/EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER or CONSULTANT (all current unless otherwise stated; individual school districts excluded from list)

• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Institute for Education Innovation
• Total School Solutions
• Resonance Education
• Sarah Williamson PR Group
• MB Simple Solutions
• GenParenting
• Performance Learning
• ThoughtExchange, 2019-21
• Illinois ASCD, 2012-18

PJ is a sought after keynote presenter, consultant, and provider of professional development. He has recently keynoted several national conferences with expertise in time management, the tyranny of the status quo, school culture, continuous improvement, social media, and teacher evaluation. PJ lives in Northwest Illinois with his wife, who is also an educator, and their four children.

Ana M. Escobedo was born and raised in Los Angeles and is a proud product of Los Angeles  Unified School District. She has served as an educational professional for 28 years. Ms. Escobedo started as a Bilingual Teacher Assistant and worked her way up from there, teaching every  elementary grade level, kindergarten through fifth grade, then becoming a Coordinator, Assistant  Principal, Principal, Administrative Coordinator for Human Resources supporting new and aspiring  administrators throughout LAUSD. Ms. Escobedo also served as Assistant Superintendent of  Elementary for Santa Barbara Unified for two years before returning to LAUSD in her current role as  the Downtown Community of Schools Administrator/Director, in the very neighborhood she grew  up. Her passion to support adult educators and administrators has led her to serve as a mentor for  several university teaching and administrative credentialing programs. Ms. Escobedo had the great  honor of representing over 400 elementary principals when she served as President for the  Elementary Principals Organization (EPO) in LAUSD. She served on EPO board for seven years as  well as an Administrative Assessor for the California Administrator Performance Assessment  (CalAPA) and a Coach for the Summer Principals Academy at Teachers College, Columbia  University since 2017. Her professional purpose and dedication has been as an advocate for  students to ensure they have equitable opportunities to make all their dreams come true. 

Ms. Escobedo considers herself a lifelong learner, starting her college education at the University of  Southern California (USC) where she completed her Bachelors in Education, Multiple Subject  Credential and Bilingual Credential. She continued at USC to complete her Masters in Education  then went on to complete a second Masters in Educational Administration and Administrative  Credential from California State University Los Angeles. Ms. Escobedo also received her GATE  Certification from University of San Diego and is Emotional Intelligence/Social Emotional Learning  certified. Her goal is to one day be a university professor for teaching and administrative credentialing programs in order to help build capacity and ensure support for future educators and  school leaders.

David LaViscount began his career in education in Hyères, France as an English as a Foreign Language teaching assistant. Later, he taught in Baton Rouge, LA as an elementary school teacher. He is currently a K-12 education administrator in Houston, TX. Dr. LaViscount has served as an adjunct assistant professor and principal coach in the Summer Principals Academy at Teachers College of Columbia University. David earned his BA in French from Louisiana State University, an MAT with a concentration in elementary education from Louisiana College, and a PhD in educational leadership from the University of New Orleans. His doctoral research, and ongoing scholarship center around emancipatory research methodologies, African-American student experiences, school environments, and social identity. He recently had a chapter titled Aspiring to a sociogenic phenomenology: A theoretical method in emancipatory research published in The handbook of critical theoretical research methods in education, edited by Cheryl E. Matias. David is originally from East Harlem, NY, and has one son. 

Dr. Sheri L. Miller is a visionary education and business professional with outstanding qualifications in K-12 educational leadership, leadership development, and business operations in both education and business markets. A passionate educator who is committed to revolutionizing the way we deliver education in our schools, Sheri brings extensive experience as a former teacher, elementary and middle school principal, and senior executive in districts across the U.S. She brings extensive experience leading school turnaround and transformation in many of the country’s largest urban epicenters; leading over 150 U.S. and international schools. Sheri’s work is guided by an unyielding commitment to level the educational landscape for black and brown children and that of equipping leaders with the skills and knowledge necessary to change the academic and social-emotional trajectory for students who reside in their schools.

A native Houstonian, Sheri believes in giving back to communities that served her and providing equitable educational opportunities for minority students. Sheri’s perspective and strategic work as a national thought leader and practitioner is grounded by her work leading very ambitious school reform models to improve schools. As Vice President of Educational Services for Edison Schools, her primary focus was to increase student achievement levels in underperforming schools across the nation and breathing life into new schools in urban areas inclusive of leading the design and launch of a charter school post Katrina in New Orleans. Sheri’s work also includes serving as Vice President of Achievement and Vice President of Development while at Edison Schools where she held responsibility for driving national professional development and achievement support systems and accelerating and sustaining school achievement gains via a district partnerships model across the U.S. Sheri was also responsible for the 2008 launch of the Regional Principal Leadership Academy for Houston A+ Challenge as Director of Leadership/School Performance where she designed and executed the development of over 300 school leaders via six leadership academies for aspiring principals, seated principals and executive leaders for seven school districts across the Greater Houston area. 

Sheri’s executive experience also includes serving as Executive Director of the first-of-its kind non-profit education management organization in the country, leading the design and launch of United Providence, a labor-management collaborative in Providence, Rhode Island, and Executive Director for the Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls in St. Louis, Missouri where she led the transformation of the only all-girls school in the State of Missouri. Sheri also served as Superintendent and Regional Vice President for Lighthouse Academies where she led the radical turnaround of historically underperforming charter schools in Chicago, Illinois, Gary Indiana and East Chicago, Indiana. As Deputy Chief of Schools/Leadership and Teacher Professional Learning & High Schools for thirty-six schools in Chicago Public Schools, the third largest district in the U.S., Sheri led the turnaround of historically underperforming schools across the city utilizing a school turn-around model paired with a customized leader and teacher professional development model she designed. 

In 2016 Sheri launched TranscEnDence Educational Partners, LLC. (TEP), a boutique educational consulting firm designed to provide targeted supports to struggling schools via a five-fold focus on campus improvement. In 2019 TEP expanded its reach to include the international education sector with a focus on improving schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grounded by a model of school improvement she designed pairing theory and research with her extensive experience working in urban education arenas. Sheri brings thirty-one years of urban education experience serving schools and districts across thirteen U.S. states and the UAE. As both a researcher and practitioner, Sheri’s research appears in national peer-reviewed journals with her focus being that of exposing the inequities that exist in public education, while she and her team of American-trained consultants work inside of schools with leaders and school teams to improve student achievement outcomes for all students nationally and internationally. Sheri has served as a national speaker and guest lecturer across the country inclusive of Harvard University, Washington University, and currently coaches aspiring school leaders and judges New School Design Exhibitions for Columbia University’s Teachers College. Sheri has a laser-like focus on leading the turn-around and transformation of schools, equipping sitting leaders with the know-how to lead urban schools, and that of changing the landscape of university preparation programs to prepare leaders for a new type of leadership designed to give black and brown kids a fighting chance.