Independent consultant and ASCD faculty member with 40+ years of service.

Areas of Expertise:

• Building Teacher Capacity Cadre Member
• Understanding by Design Cadre Member
• Systems Audits, Strategic Planning & Coaching
• Instructional Leadership
• Formative Assessment
• Equity

Ann Cunningham-Morris has served educators for over 40 years. She is the former director of professional learning for ASCD. She has also been a district-level administrator, school-based administrator, teacher leader, and classroom teacher in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, and California. Additionally, Cunningham-Morris is an ASCD faculty member and independent consultant. She has served many school systems throughout the world in the areas of leadership development, social-emotional learning, equity best practices, classroom management best practices, instructional best practices, unit/lesson/curriculum development, effective PLCs, instructional coaching/teacher leadership, formative assessment, and strategic planning. She has written articles, blogs, and provided expert interviews on these topics for a variety of professional publications. Cunningham-Morris is also co-author of the book, The Principal Influence: A Framework for Developing Leadership Capacity in Principals, published by ASCD.

Cunningham-Morris received a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Georgia State University. She has completed the Certificate of Advanced Studies/Ed.S program and post-graduate work in educational leadership at Illinois State University, the nonprofit executive leadership program at Georgetown University and most recently, a certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida MUMA College of Business.

Understanding by Design is a registered trademark of Backward Design LLC.

Author, educational consultant, leadership coach, and award-winning retired PreK–5 public Montessori school principal with nearly 30 years of experience.

Areas of Expertise: 

• Understanding by Design Cadre Member
• Data-Driven Instruction
• PD In Focus/PD Online
• Assessment
• Instructional Coaching
• Equity

Opal Davis Dawson is an author, educational consultant, coach, and retired award-winning PreK–5 public Montessori school principal with nearly 30 years of experience in education. While principal, she led her school in the implementation of the Understanding by Design® (UbD™) framework, with a focus on early childhood and primary school. During her tenure, Dawson also led her school's implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students. She has worked extensively with educators to adapt protocols for use when analyzing student work to help them understand the effects of their professional practices and plan their instructional next steps.

Dawson has taught, led, and consulted in Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools, and her work spans small, large, urban, rural, and suburban districts. She supports school leaders, district leaders, and teachers nationally and internationally in planning and implementing improvement initiatives, capacity building, and supporting high academic achievement for diverse student populations and instructional best practices. She has presented at conferences and major meetings on topics such as data-driven instruction, formative assessment, professional learning communities, classroom management, school culture, and leadership.

Dawson holds master's and bachelor's degrees in elementary education from the University of Louisville. She also holds an Administration Certification K–8 from the University of Louisville.

She's the co-author of Best College Match (BK Royston Publishers, 2016), which focuses on college and career readiness for middle and high school students, and helps them find the right college at the right price.

Understanding by Design is a registered trademark of Backward Design LLC, and UbD is a trademark of Backward Design LLC.

Experienced PreK–20 educator and international education consultant.

Areas of Expertise:

• Whole Child
• Instructional Best Practices
• Leadership
• Family and Community Engagement
• Equity
• Culturally Relevant Teaching

Alicia S. Monroe, Ed.D., is an experienced PreK–20 educator and international education consultant. Her nationally recognized research, "Co-Creative Dialogue in Culturally Proficient Schools," provides a glimpse into the socio-dynamics of school communities and methods of self-correction that will support student achievement. Her notable success in creating a culture of belonging and achievement in schools, along with her expertise in developing equity and access models that frame educational opportunities for all students, are the core of the ongoing professional learning and support she provides to school districts. A sought-after speaker and facilitator, Monroe has presented her research at several international and national conferences.

Monroe also serves as assistant director, strategic initiatives at Rowan University. Notably, in this role, she created and implements the Rowan First Star STEAM Academy, a pre-college transition program that engages foster youth in project-based, experiential learning, college-to-career discovery, and intrusive mentoring and coaching. As adjunct faculty, she teaches undergraduate-, graduate-, and doctoral-level courses. Her partnership with the university's Office of Accessibility Services provides for collaborative planning, mentoring, career coaching, and job placement for differently abled students and alumni. She is also the CEO and founder of Solutions for Sustained Success, LLC, which offers services and professional learning in the areas of education, organizational systems, change management, leadership, diversity and inclusion, and equity and access.

Monroe received a Doctor of Education degree and earned the coveted Larry Marcus Medallion for Excellence in Doctoral Studies from Rowan University, a master's from Pratt Institute, and a bachelor's from the College of the Holy Cross.

Monroe's LinkedIn profile details her leadership, scholarly publications, conference presentations, professional affiliations, and honors.

Professor, educational consultant, and author.

Areas of Expertise:

• Differentiated Instruction Cadre Member
• Understanding by Design Cadre Member
• Assessment
• Math Best Practices
• STEM

Eric M. Carbaugh, Ph.D., is a skilled educator with primary and secondary teaching experience; an award-winning, tenured university professor; and an effective and seasoned member of ASCD's Differentiated Instruction Cadre and Understanding by Design® (UbD™) Cadre. He is currently a professor at James Madison University in the Department of Middle, Secondary, and Math Education where he teaches a variety of education classes across all content areas. A common thread among all of his work is the relationship between the learning environment, curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and how educators can leverage each of these to better meet the needs of diverse learners.

Carbaugh began his career in education as a high school social studies teacher before moving to an elementary school to teach sixth grade language arts and social studies. He also served as a classroom differentiation and curriculum coach, working with middle and high school teachers to help them implement best educational practices in their classrooms.

Recently, Carbaugh's work with schools has focused on the design of high-quality, differentiated performance-based assessments as part of a meaningful curriculum. He has also written and presented extensively on the synergy between differentiation and flipped/blended learning. On behalf of ASCD, he spent three-plus years working with Moffat County Schools in Colorado, helping them transform their entire curriculum. What began as a three-day workshop grew to the point of realizing the vision of powerful learning experiences for all students in the district. Carbaugh also regularly presents at both international and national conferences on school improvement and professional development topics related to assessment, differentiated instruction, UbD framework, and other educational best practices.

Carbaugh holds a Doctor of Philosophy in educational psychology from the University of Virginia, a master's degree in education from Mary Washington College, and a bachelor's degree in government and economics from the University of Virginia.

Along with Jay McTighe and Kristina Doubet, Carbaugh co-authored Designing Authentic Performance Tasks and Projects: Tools for Meaningful Learning and Assessment (ASCD, 2020). He's also the co-author, with Doubet, of Principles and Practices for Effective Blended Learning (ASCD, 2020), and The Differentiated Flipped Classroom: A Practical Guide to Digital Learning (Corwin, 2016). Carbaugh has also authored or co-authored several articles, book chapters, policy briefs, and reviews. He has written several ASCD Express articles, including “Differentiating Instruction Using Mobile Technology Tools” and “A Practical Guide to Personalization in a Standards-Based World” (both co-authored), and “Designing Reliable and Valid Math CCSS Aligned Assessments.” Carbaugh was also a co-author of "Social Studies Curriculum for Middle Grades" and "The Parallel Curriculum Model: Key Elements and Implications for Giftedness" in The Encyclopedia of Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent. He also designed an ASCD PD Online® course on formative assessment for math and English/language arts state standards.

Understanding by Design is a registered trademark of Backward Design LLC, and UbD is a trademark of Backward Design LLC.

President and CEO of Students Matter, with over 35 years of experience as a high school teacher, central office administrator, higher education dean, professional learning director at a large research university, technical support provider, and executive coach.

Areas of Expertise:

• Disrupting Poverty Cadre Member
• Instructional Leadership
• Curriculum Development and Installation
• Standards-Based Grading
• School Turnaround

Grant Chandler has designed and led professional learning experiences at many levels of the K–12 arena for a variety of audiences for over a decade. He has often given keynote speeches and presentations, and led professional learning workshops and seminars for schools, school district personnel, executive administrators, state education agencies, and statewide professional educational organizations. Chandler's professional work focuses on district-led rapid turnaround, executive coaching, curriculum, formative assessment, improving classroom instruction, creating high-performing districts, standards-based grading, evaluation, and leadership training. Chandler is a member of ASCD's Disrupting Poverty Cadre.

In addition to serving as a national consultant, Chandler currently serves as the project director of MI Excel, the statewide system of support in Michigan. In that role, he is responsible for developing and installing the coherent approach used by the 50 intermediate school districts who serve Title I priority and focus schools. Prior to this role, he worked for seven years in higher education—four as a community college dean and three as the director of professional learning in one of Michigan's largest public universities where he led statewide school reform conferences as outreach from the university. Chandler spent over 25 years in the K–12 sector where he served as a high school teacher (French, English, speech, theatre, debate, and forensics), building and district-level administrator, and recognized leader in small learning communities.

Chandler holds a Doctor of Philosophy in K–12 educational leadership from Walden University, a master's in teaching from Marygrove College, and a bachelor's in French language and literature from Kalamazoo College.

Educational psychologist, author, and leader.

Areas of Expertise:

• Building Teacher Capacity Cadre Member
• Culturally Responsive Teaching
• Coaching
• Social-Emotional Learning
• Parent and Family Engagement
• Teacher Leadership
• Equity

Ignacio Lopez, Ed.D., is an associate professor of education and higher education administrator at National Louis University in Chicago. His leadership and research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by culturally responsive teaching and family-school-community engagement. He has worked nationally with several school superintendents, principals, and teachers around various topics, including data-driven instruction, teacher leadership, culturally responsive teaching, and family-school-community engagement. In addition to his K–12 work, Lopez engages with higher education leaders to promote best practices within undergraduate programs to support the retention and success of students at the post-secondary level.

Lopez's career in education includes positions as a high school English teacher, reading teacher, curriculum administrator, and now a higher education administrator. Some of his professional successes include implementing teacher-leadership teams focused on evidenced-based collaborative planning, building the capacity of teacher leaders, and designing a tool that measures the culturally relevant teaching "gaps" in a school’s curriculum and pedagogical practices.

Lopez holds a Doctor of Education in educational psychology with a focus on human learning and development and a master's degree in teaching, both from National Louis University in Chicago, as well as a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Illinois in Chicago.

His publications include The EQ Way: How Emotionally Intelligent School Leaders Navigate Turbulent Times (ASCD, 2024) and Keeping it Real and Relevant: Building Authentic Relationships in Your Diverse Classrooms (ASCD, 2017), in addition to numerous online articles, including "The Essential Classroom Management Checklist" and "The Empowerment Approach to Behavior Management."

School-turnaround specialist and veteran educator.

Areas of Expertise:

• Instructional Coaches
• Instructional Leadership
• Teacher Leaders

School-turnaround specialist and veteran educator Alisa Simeral guides school-based reform efforts as a teacher leader, instructional coach, school administrator, professional developer, and instructional leadership consultant, promoting her mantra, "When our teachers succeed, our students succeed." She supports educational organizations worldwide in their efforts to shift from cultures of compliance to cultures of commitment.

Simeral's resolve to help schools develop cultures of reflective practice is a major focus of her research, writing, speaking, and teaching. Her emphasis is, and always has been, improving the adult-input factors that contribute to the betterment of the student-output results.

Simeral is the co-author of numerous books, including several bestsellers. Her most recent include Pursuing Greatness; Empowering Teachers to Take Charge of Their Professional Growth, Creating a Culture of Reflective Practice: Capacity-Building for Schoolwide Success, and The Principal Influence: A Framework for Developing Leadership Capacity in Principals.