SEEing to Lead

Sam Tarell is a serial entrepreneur and TEDx speaker. He's the founder of Divergent U, a one year alternative to college in Orlando, Florida to help students discover their professional purpose and achieve their dream lifestyle.  Key Takeaways: Setting a quick timer to design or reach a goal turns off the critic in our head and silences the negativity so that we can enter a state of divergent thin...

Sam Tarell is a serial entrepreneur and TEDx speaker. He's the founder of Divergent U, a one year alternative to college in Orlando, Florida to help students discover their professional purpose and achieve their dream lifestyle.  Key Takeaways: Nine limitations, we all face. Clarity Discipline Beliefs Culture Location Rules Connections Money Time The first three are internal. The second three exte...

Sam Tarell is a serial entrepreneur and TEDx speaker. He's the founder of Divergent U, a one year alternative to college in Orlando, Florida to help students discover their professional purpose and achieve their dream lifestyle.  Key Takeaways: Values, goals, and process is a key framework to follow when getting into Divergent thinking. This is an important framework because it teaches leaders, or...

Sam Tarell is a serial entrepreneur and TEDx speaker. He's the founder of Divergent U, a one year alternative to college in Orlando, Florida to help students discover their professional purpose and achieve their dream lifestyle.  Key Takeaways: Divergent thinking is what's required for complex problem solving and discovering personal values and philosophies and passions. You can tell what someone...

Harvey Hazen was a public school educator for 37 years. He was a teacher, counselor, high school principal and vice principal, middle school principal and district superintendent. During that time Harvey followed the progress of many students' careers as they went off to college. Many of them were less than successful even though they left high school with great academic records. Over the years he...

Dr. Melinda Vandevort is a dynamic educator, career transition coach, and podcast host. With a passion for professional development, she guides educators on their journey to leadership roles through her podcast, Empowered Educator. As a former teacher who successfully transitioned into a leadership position, Dr. Mel offers valuable insights and actionable advice to help educators realize their lea...

I had the opportunity to speak with Charle Peck from the Thriving Educator Podcast about the mental health issues we are seeing in schools and possible ways to assist both students and staff. Charle Peck is not just a podcast host, but also the co-creator of Thriving School Community, co-author of Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution, and a global keynote speaker...

Dr. Karavedas is an experienced leader with over 25 years of executive-level leadership in independent schools and nonprofits.  With a Masters in Education and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, Dr. Karavedas actively teaches as a Professor at Bachelors and Masters levels.  She currently holds the position of Director of Research and New Program Development at Orange Lutheran High School wh...

As the CITES Project Director, Christine Fox manages the planning and implementation of CITES activities. In coordination with the center’s Principal Investigator (PI) and CAST Director of Technical Assistance, Christine coordinates  the evaluation and reporting, budgeting, and leveraging of internal and external partnerships related to this project.  Prior to joining CAST, Christine was the Senio...

Charle Peck is the co-creator of Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program designed for schools to improve mental health. With over 20 years of education and mental health leadership experience, she has the unique lens of both a certified teacher and a licensed clinical therapist specializing in trauma. Charle holds an MS in Education and an MS in Social Work. Her role as a high school te...

I had a great opportunity to speak with Lainie Rowell about how we breath gratitude into our lives each day by becoming a grateful person Check out her podcast Evolving with Gratitude wherever you listen.! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance and IXL.  Learn more about Renaissance:   As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed...

Innovative business management professional experienced in academics, education, admissions, and non-profit development. An energetic creative visionary and strategic organizational leader, possessing a growth-oriented solution driven mindset, and effective communication, relationship building, project planning, complex problem solving, and change management skills. Analytical, decisive, and influ...

Julia Briggs was an educator for 12+ years, taught science and chemistry in the United Kingdom and then in Colombia, where she led the Chemistry team. Julia  has worked as an adult learning facilitator for the past 3 years and now works as head of operations for Education to Change the World. She has a master's degree in educational leadership from Tampere University of Applied Sciences in Finland...

Some Key Takeaways Teachers need to be given the opportunity to creatively educate students rather than being told what and how to teach and talk. Help teachers reengage with their why by scaling back restriction and amplifying autonomy General structures need to be present for teachers to act creatively and if we are going to offer autonomy. Increasing opportunities for collaboration among teache...

Cassandra Williams is an accomplished educator, administrator, and entrepreneur with a passion for transforming education and supporting teachers. She holds a Master's degree in Educational Administration from California State University, Northridge, and a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Southern Illinois University. As the CEO and Founder of Educational Innovation 360°, Cassandra l...

Johnathan has seven years of experience as a special education teacher at a therapeutic campus for students with emotional disturbance and four more years as an in-school suspension teacher at two middle schools. After discovering how in-school suspension programs are failing to meet the needs of our most at-risk students, Johnathan created a successful in-school suspension program to address the...

Naphtali Hoff, PsyD, is an accomplished executive coach, organizational consultant, and sought after trainer and lecturer. He is passionate about leadership and writes about what makes leaders most successful. Naphtali is a former educator and school leader who loves to teach, learn and garden. He is the proud father of six and is married to a woman who he doesn't deserve. Naphtali Hoff is a forme...

As a guest on Defacto Leaders by Karen Dudek-Brannan, I had a great conversation covering a wide range of topics relating to how leaders can better empower their staff, including: ✅What it means to be “teacher-centered”, and why being “student-centered” isn’t always the most effective way to run a school. ✅Are constraints a bad thing? Or can they lead to more creativity? How can school leaders g...

Over 30 years of experience developing winning high-school basketball teams, including 428 career victories, sets the stage for the unique credibility and power of Coach Jim Johnson’s message. Many speakers talk about leadership, but it’s rare to find a speaker who has, quite literally, led thousands. In a moment later celebrated all over the world, Coach weighed risk with the potential for great...

Over 30 years of experience developing winning high-school basketball teams, including 428 career victories, sets the stage for the unique credibility and power of Coach Jim Johnson’s message. Many speakers talk about leadership, but it’s rare to find a speaker who has, quite literally, led thousands. In a moment later celebrated all over the world, Coach weighed risk with the potential for great...

Vicki Wilson is an educator, author, consultant, and professional development presenter who has served children and educators for over 30 years as a teacher and principal. She is passionate about education - especially about adult learning and the value/impact it has on student learning.  Vicki's interests include educator learning, leadership, organizational change, progressive and innovative pra...

Vicki Wilson is an educator, author, consultant, and professional development presenter who has served children and educators for over 30 years as a teacher and principal. She is passionate about education - especially about adult learning and the value/impact it has on student learning.  Vicki's interests include educator learning, leadership, organizational change, progressive and innovative pra...

I had the opportunity to be on Monday Mornings With Dr. Nick. Nick Davies does a lot of qualitative research about leadership. We had a great conversation where I spoke about three things: Learning to prioritize. There is no such thing as a work-life balance. Move up with yourself first. Enjoy! Don't forget to check out Monday Mornings With Dr. Nick! We’re thrilled to be sponsored by Renaissance a...

Tara Martin is an enthusiastic educator, national speaker, and author who thrives on change and refuses to settle for the status quo. She has served as a classroom teacher, an instructional coach for several years, and most recently, a district administrator.  As the founder of #BookSnaps, the latest reading comprehension strategy currently implemented in seventeen countries, she is always seeking...

Carla Mayrink is the director and co-founder of The Community for Learning, an International School in the Dominican Republic. For the past 32 years she has worked as a secondary language arts teacher, an academic coach, and school director. She presents workshops on new initiatives in education including restorative practices, student-led learning, coaching, leadership skills, and professional de...