Rebecca Stilwell is an Organizational Psychologist who independently consults with schools, districts, and other for- and non-profit organizations. Her work ranges from managing change, developing school culture, professional collaboration, leadership development, strategic planning, curriculum design as well as research and evaluation. She is dedicated to working collaboratively with stakeholders in organizations to co-create and implement comprehensive change plans for organizational development. Prior to becoming an Organizational Psychologist, Rebecca taught in public, private, and international schools. Her current research focuses on leader behaviors that support effective change and approaches to change in education. Rebecca earned her Ph.D and M.A. in Social-Organizational Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University and her B.A. in Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Brian K. Perkins is the Director of the Summer Principals Academy Master’s Degree Program offered by Teachers College Columbia University in New Orleans and New York City. He was previously the director of the Urban Education Leadership Program at Teachers College where he was responsible for designing and gaining accreditation of the doctoral program with a new conceptual framework. He is the former Chair and Professor of Education Law and Policy at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut. As Chair, Dr. Perkins successfully led his department through the accreditation and licensure of the university’s first doctoral program and was the university’s youngest full, tenured professor in it’s 112-year history. Dr. Perkins is a distinguished Yale alumnus and was named a Timothy Dwight Fellow in 2004. During his studies at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Perkins was named a Wilbur G.H. Downs International Health Fellow. He was a member of a research unit at the Yale University School of Medicine at the Child Study Center. Dr. Perkins was an instructor in the Yale University Department of Chemistry and was awarded the distinguished teaching award for instruction in Inorganic Chemistry Problems. Dr. Perkins also served as the Director of Education Programs within the Yale University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. He has served as a consultant to schools and districts throughout the U.S., Brazil, Israel, Indonesia, Thailand, the People’s Republic of China, India, Venezuela, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the Republic of South Africa. Dr. Perkins has previously served as a visiting professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa for more than a decade. Dr. Perkins is the host of his own radio show, The Perkins Platform, which is a monthly online forum on education leadership topics with thousands of listeners.
Dr. Perkins was the President of the New Haven (CT) Board of Education where he served for 11 years. He also served for four years on the Board of Directors of the National School Boards Association. Dr. Perkins served two terms as national chair for CUBE: Council of Urban Boards of Education and was the chair for the National Black Caucus of School Board Members. Dr. Perkins was also the national chair of the Leadership for Healthy Communities initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Perkins has served as an executive leadership consultant to Escola SESC en Ensino Médio in Rio de Janeiro and provided consulting services to the Municipal Secretariat of Education in Rio de Janeiro. He also served as a leadership development consultant to Escola Eleva, an innovative for-profit school in Rio.
Dr. Perkins is the author of several published articles and book chapters and serves as the Principal Investigator and Author of Where We Learn (2006), Where We Teach (2007) and What We Think (2008) – the largest studies on urban school climate in the history of public education. Dr. Perkins led a groundbreaking study and improvement initiative of school climate in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His forthcoming manuscript, Improving School Climate from the Inside Out, is under review and is scheduled for release later next year. His instrument, the American School Climate Inventory, has been developed into an iPad, iPhone and Android device application and boasts worldwide distribution. He is the developer of Privilege Beads, a copy-written diversity exercise, for use with students and adults in a variety of settings.
Dr. Perkins received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Grambling State University, a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the Yale University School of Medicine and his Doctor of Education Degree from Columbia University Teachers College. He has a graduate certificate in executive coaching from the Columbia Business School. Dr. Perkins is a registered provider of continuing education for school board members by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and a nationally certified principal mentor by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. He is certified administrator of the Neethling Brain Inventory, the Intercultural Development Inventory, the Leadership Practices Inventory, the DiSC profile and a Gallup-certified Strengths-based Leadership Coach.
Dr. Joseph Daschbach earned a B.S. in Engineering Science from Trinity University, San Antonio, in 1995. In 2001, after a brief career as an engineer and project manager, Joe earned his teaching certificate in high school science & mathematics from the University of New Orleans and began teaching in public high schools. In the decades since, he has continued to work in public schools as both a teacher and a leader in New Orleans and New York City. He has contributed to numerous articles and a book chapter exploring the financial and organizational aspects of the charter school system in New Orleans. Joe earned his Ed. D. in Leadership, Policy and Politics at Teachers College, Columbia University, in 2018, and has been a member of the Summer Principals Academy faculty since 2013.
Joe currently works as a finance specialist for EdOps, a Washington DC based consulting firm, where he assists clients with all aspects managing school financial systems, including annual budget development, HR strategy and payroll, federal grants management, and strategic planning and problem solving, with a goal toward maximizing the resources that reach students in the classroom.
Jay Worona is deputy executive director and general counsel for the New York State School Boards Association. He joined the Association in 1984, was appointed General Counsel in 1990 and appointed deputy executive director in 2014.
Mr. Worona is responsible for representing the New York State School Boards Association and its membership of approximately 700 school districts in both direct and amicus curiae (friend‐ of‐the Court) litigation on wide‐ranging legal topics such as tenure and seniority rights of school employees, special education, the constitutional separation of church and state as it applies to the operation of public schools and the legal authority of school boards.
Mr. Worona regularly presents at conferences throughout the state and nation on a range of legal topics affecting the operation of public education. In this regard, Mr. Worona is considered a national expert and has regularly appeared in the national media, including FOX National News, CNN, NPR and PBS.
Worona served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Council of School Attorneys (COSA) in 2007. This organization represents the interests of school lawyers throughout the nation.
Serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Law, Youth & Citizenship Committee of the New York State Bar Association, as well as the North American Association of Educational Negotiators.
Mr. Worona is a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians.
He also serves as an adjunct professor at the School of Educational Administration and Policy Studies at the State University of New York at Albany. In 2003 and again in 2014, Jay received the Excellence in Part‐Time Teaching Award for his service.
Mr. Worona has been admitted to practice law by the New York State Bar; the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Northern District of New York, and Western District of New York; the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Sixth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit; and the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Worona successfully argued and won a case before the United States Supreme Court involving the separation of church and state entitled, Board of Education of the Kiryas Joel Union Free School District v. Grumet.
Dr. Chanika R. Perry has been working in the field of youth development and education for over 20 years, holding positions ranging from camp counselor and IB English teacher to high school principal and Director of Education Programs. She holds a BA in English Literature from her beloved alma mater, Agnes Scott College; an MA in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University; an MA in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University; and an Ed.S. and Ed.D in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University. All of her teaching experience occurred in the NYC Department of Education, but her leadership experience spans from NYC to include districts in metro Atlanta where she currently resides. Chanika also leverages her experience as an equity-minded, inclusive, and antiracist educator in the organization she co-founded with her colleague Dr. Lance W. Ozier, Conversation Forward. Besides embracing all things education-related, Chanika also values being a big sister, a world traveler, and a wellness enthusiast.
Dr. Chase McLaurin is an educational consultant, innovative leader, and author. He is the proud product of Louisiana Title I schools and a dyslexic learner with a unique educational perspective that has led him to become an award-winning educator and educational leader with an outstanding track record for improving school and student outcomes. Chase is a former U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon School Award-winning principal, Model Dual Language Immersion School Principal, Elementary Principal of the Year, Founding Early College High School Principal, and charter network executive director. He specializes in building the capacity of future-focused organizations through strategic planning, academic structures, instructional coherence, adult learning, innovative programming, team building, and culture.