Workshop Presenters’ Biographies

VIRGINIA BLAIS Virginia is a lower school EAL teacher at Taipei American School. She has been teaching EAL for 15 years and has taught in the USA, Spain, Nepal, and Taiwan. Virginia has also worked as a curriculum consultant for WIDA and developed professional learning opportunities for the implementation of the WIDA framework in international school settings. She has helped to pilot an academic language portfolio for English language learners and trains teachers in developing inter-rater reliability for working with the WIDA rubrics and assessments. She has facilitated an EARCOS Weekend Workshop and the WIDA Summer Academy for international school teachers. She has a BS in biology and Spanish from Syracuse University, a BS in multi-disciplinary studies, and a MAT in ESOL with a certificate in professional development and teacher training from the School for International Training.

LORI BOLL Lori is an experienced special education leader with a personal connection to individuals with disabilities. In 2003, her son Braden was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This milestone event changed her focus from teaching elementary students to advocating for all children and all learners. In Shanghai Lori worked as a program director for a school focused on students with special needs and went on to co-found another school, SHINE Academy (www.ShineAcademy.Asia), also for students with special needs. Lori has two graduate degrees, one in reading education and the other in special education and has been teaching for over 20 years in international schools around the world and in the United States. She is currently an academic support counselor at Concordia International School, Shanghai, but has accepted a new position as middle school learning support teacher at International School Bangkok beginning in August 2015.

JILL BROMENSCHENKEL Jill is a teaching and learning specialist with a passion for student engagement, professional collaboration, and serving diverse learners. She has teaching, administration, and instructional coaching experience in the US and international schools in Asia. Jill began her career as a classroom teacher and has been an ELL teacher, K12 ELL coordinator, district literacy and integration coordinator, regional specialist, and middle school principal. She now works closely with schools to develop systems for student language immersion and academic access, social media and technology connections, and collaborative professional learning. She is also a part of Alan November’s November Learning Team and a presenter at local, regional. and international conferences. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in learning technologies with Pepperdine University. Jill claims many places around the world as ‘home’, is never done traveling and connecting, and is happy to be tracked down on twitter as @jillbromen.

KATHY CASSIDY Kathy is an award-winning grade one teacher from Canada who is passionate about literacy and about connecting her classroom with the world. Her students regularly learn from and with people and classrooms from around the world. Kathy has a classroom blog and her students each have their own blogs which are digital portfolios reflecting their learning in all subject areas. These portfolios include images, video, podcasts, and other evidence of their learning. Kathy is an Apple Distinguished Educator, an author, and speaker.

MARILYN GEORGE Marilyn has been the associate executive director of the Accrediting Commission for Schools, the Western Association for Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC), since 1987. In addition to her knowledge of international accreditation and ongoing school improvement her areas of expertise are school curriculum/instruction/assessment and professional development. As the associate executive director, her responsibilities for the entire ACS WASC region include: working with international, national, and state governments, ACS WASC partner associations, school districts and individual schools in developing and refinement of overall policies, understandings, and detailed procedures; creating/ refining accreditation criteria, materials and processes; developing/ conducting/ facilitating training for all visiting committees/school leaders; training of trainers; supervising and organizing visiting committees and improving related office operations; advising and working with educators and professional associations; and assisting the executive director with numerous tasks/issues. Prior to joining ACS WASC, she has taught at the K-12 and college levels and has been a professional development specialist, a trainer, a consultant, and a high school district administrator of professional development and state/federal programs. She has given presentations and written articles and other publications in the areas of staff development, mentoring, and accreditation. Her degrees are from Westminster College (B.S.), University of Wisconsin, Madison (M.S.), and University of California Los Angeles, UCLA, (Ed.D.).

MATTHEW GLOVER Matt is a full time author and consultant. He is the author of four books, including most recently, Projecting Possibilities for Writers: The How, What, and Why of Designing Units of Study, K-5 which supports teachers in designing units of study based on a stack of mentor texts. He is also the author of Engaging Young Writers, and the co-author with Katie Wood Ray of Already Ready and Sit Down and Teach Up, a video enhanced e-book that includes video clips of writing conferences with young children. Mr. Glover is currently working on a book with Kathy Collins focused on emergent readers. He is a frequent presenter at conferences and in school districts across the US on topics related to supporting children’s intellectual growth and development. Matt has been an educator for over 20 years, including 12 years as the principal and instructional leader of Creekside Early Childhood School. mattglover@me.com

DOUG GOODKIN Doug is an internationally recognized teacher of Orff Schulwerk, having taught courses in over 40 countries worldwide. He is currently in his 40th year at The San Francisco School, teaching children between three years old and eighth grade. He also teaches regularly at the Orff Institut in Salzburg, directs The San Francisco International Orff Certification Course, and teaches his own course on Jazz and Orff Schulwerk throughout the world. He is the author of eight books, keeps an ongoing blog titled Confessions of a Traveling Music Teacher and was featured on a TEDx talk about “Why Music in Schools?” Doug’s eclectic musical studies include jazz piano, Bulgarian bagpipe, Balinese gamelan, South Indian drumming, Ghanaian xylophone and drumming, cross-cultural body music and more. He taught numerous courses on Orff Schulwerk and world music throughout the world.

ANN HELMUS Ann is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist who has practiced for more than 16 years. In 1996, Dr. Helmus jointly founded the Children’s Evaluation Center (CEC) in Newton, MA, and then served as co-director there for almost ten years. In 2007, Dr. Helmus established NESCA (Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents), a client and family-centered group of seasoned neuropsychologists and allied staff, many of whom she trained, striving to create and refine innovative clinical protocols and dedicated to setting new standards of care in the field. She is also an active participant in the Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative, a collaborative effort between Massachusetts Advocates for Children and the Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, a project involving a multi-disciplinary group of professionals working together to better define the educational needs of children who have been traumatized. She received her undergraduate degree in neural science from Brown University and earned her doctorate at Boston University School of Medicine. Ann specializes in the evaluation of children with learning disabilities and attention deficits, as well as primary neurological disorders. In addition to assessing children, she also provides consultation and training to both public and private school systems. She frequently makes presentations to groups of parents, particularly on the topics of non-verbal learning disability and executive functioning. She is the mother of two adolescents in high school.

DOUG JOHNSON Doug is the director of technology for the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage (MN) Public Schools. His teaching experience includes work in grades K-12. He is the author of nine books, columns in Educational Leadership and Library Media Connection, the Blue Skunk Blog, and articles published in over 40 books and periodicals. Doug has worked with over 200 organizations around the world and has held leadership positions in state and national organizations, including ISTE and AASL.

KATHRYN LANE Kath, a recent arrival to the Compass Education Team, is a primary school teacher from Britain who has a passion for educating children about nature and sustainability. She worked at Green School in Bali, Indonesia, and has completed a master’s of education in educating for sustainability at Antioch University in the United States. She currently works as a grade 5 teacher in United World College of South East Asia-East, in Singapore, where she is a member of the sustainability leadership team and is actively involved in infusing sustainability education across the primary grades and beyond. She believes that through curriculum, outdoor education, service, and personal/social education children can develop the passion, skills, and qualities needed to make the right choices and find sustainable solutions for our world.

LORI LANGER DE RAMIREZ Lori began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French, and ESL. She holds a master’s degree in applied linguistics and a doctorate in curriculum and teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the director of world and classical languages and global language initiatives at the Dalton School in New York City. Lori has authored several books, including Empower English Language Learners with Tools from the Web and Voices of Diversity, as well as several Spanish-language textbooks and articles about second language pedagogy and methodology. Her website (www.miscositas.com) offers virtual picturebooks, videos, thematic units, and other curricular materials for teaching languages. Lori’s areas of research and curriculum development are diversity education, folktales and authentic materials, and technology in language teaching, with an emphasis on webtools.

JON NORDMEYER Jon is a middle school learning xoach and EAL department head at International School Bangkok. He has been teaching EAL for 20 years and has worked in international schools in Ecuador, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and China. He has also taught graduate seminars at the School for International Training, Harvard Graduate School of Education, University of the Netherlands Antilles, and Tibet University. Jon believes collaboration has the potential to serve ELLs and transform schools. He has written for International Schools Journal and Journal of Staff Development, and is the co-editor of the book Integrating Language and Content. He has also contributed chapters to several books, including Co-teaching and Other Collaborative Practices in the EFL/ESL Classroom. Jon has a BA in classical archaeology from Dartmouth College and an MA in TESOL from the School for International Training.

KAY ODDONE Kay is an educator with over 16 years’ experience across a range of settings. She is currently the librarian for ResourceLink, Brisbane Catholic Education’s information and resourcing centre, which services all office staff and staff of the 137 schools within the Brisbane Archdiocese. Kay has held the roles of education officer: digital learning, assistant principal, teacher librarian, and classroom teacher. She has presented at a number of national and international conferences, and her interests include contemporary libraries and resourcing, content curation and social media and copyright, Creative Commons, and open source initiatives.

ANNE SIBLEY O’BRIEN (Keynote Speaker) see page 25

KATE O’CONNELL Kate is a passionate educator and learner with 17 years of classroom experience, teaching a variety of age levels including: 4-year olds, 5-year olds, grades 1-3 and 7th grade science. She is originally from the United States and has taught both at home and abroad in China, Tanzania, and now Thailand. She received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in elementary education in 1995 and her master of arts in curriculum and instruction in 2001 also from Michigan State University. She currently teaches grade 2 at Prem Tinsulanonda International School, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where she is also the first steps coordinator. Accompanying her abroad are her husband, who is also a teacher and sustainability coordinator, and her two young children. Kate is an IB Primary Years Program workshop leader and also leads other workshops including Compass Education, First Steps Writing, and Developing Your Own PLN. Kate regularly leads workshops for teachers throughout the Asia-Pacific Region. Online she has coached courses through Harvard Graduate School of Education’s WIDE

GREG O’CONNOR Greg inspires, challenges, and coaches others to explore the possibilities that exist for ALL students through the use of technology, whatever their diverse learning needs, and wherever and however teaching and learning takes place. For over 30 years he has been a teacher, consultant, coach, and presenter in the area of technology and students with diverse learning needs. He has provided consultancy, workshops, presentations, and conference keynotes across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, and the U.S.A. For a complete CV see http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/online/profile/greg-oconnor/

JOEL PRESTI Joel is the associate director for international implementation at the College Board. Based at the College Board national headquarters in New York City, Joel works closely with both U.S. and international higher education institutions in an effort to increase awareness and understanding of College Board programs, services, and not-for-profit mission to connect students to college opportunity and success. Prior to joining the College Board, he worked in college admissions for six years at Oberlin College, a highly selective liberal arts and sciences college in the U.S., specializing in international student recruitment, admissions, and financial aid. Originally from Lafayette, Indiana, Joel has also lived and worked in Maine, New York, Ohio, Northern Ireland, and Germany, and has traveled to over 60 countries. He holds a bachelor’s degree cum laude from Bowdoin College and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

STEVI QUATE For over 25 years, Stevi Quate taught English/language arts to middle and high students and was the recipient of the “Outstanding Writing Teacher” award. After leaving the high school classroom, she was the state literacy coordinator at Colorado Department of Education and for another seven years a faculty member at the School of Education, University of Colorado at Denver (UCD). At UCD, she helped initiate the Secondary Literacy Network. Along with being the president of both the state affiliates for the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the International Reading Association (IRA), she directed Colorado Writing Project for ten years, continues to co-direct Colorado Critical Friends Group, and served on the advisory board for the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Along with her state work, she is a consultant on adolescent literacy with the Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC) and has worked with schools throughout the nation and in international schools. She has written articles for many publications and has a chapter on Critical Friends in the Learning Forward’s book, Powerful Designs for Professional Learning. She is the former co-editor of Colorado Reading Council Journal and has co-written two books with John McDermott: Clock Watchers: Six Steps for Motivating and Engaging the Disengaged across Content Areas (2009) and The Just-Right Challenge (2013).

STEPHEN SHORE Diagnosed with “atypical development and strong autistic tendencies” and “too sick” for outpatient treatment Dr. Shore was recommended for institutionalization. Nonverbal until four, and with much support from his parents, teachers, wife, and others, Stephen is now a professor at Adelphi University where his research focuses on matching best practice to the needs of people with autism. In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Stephen presents and consults internationally on adult issues pertinent to education, relationships, employment, advocacy, and disclosure as discussed in his books Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Ask and Tell: Self-advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum, the critically acclaimed Understanding Autism for Dummies, and the newly released DVD Living along the Autism Spectrum: What it means to have Autism or Asperger Syndrome. President emeritus of the Asperger’s Association of New England and former board member of the Autism Society, Dr. Shore serves on the boards of the Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association, the Autism Services Association, and other autism related organizations.

BONNIE SINGER Bonnie is the founder and CEO of Architects For Learning, where she provides teacher professional development and school consultation internationally and directs a staff that provides academic intervention, assessment, and consultation services. Formerly, she was an instructor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders department at Emerson College. With expertise in language, learning, and literacy in school-age children, she is passionate about working with students who struggle academically, especially with written expression. In partnership with Dr. Anthony Bashir, she developed EmPOWER™, a method for teaching expository writing, as well as Brain Frames®, graphic scaffolds for language, literacy, teaching, and learning. Her primary research and numerous publications focus on the relationship between spoken and written language, cognition, spatial processing, and self-regulated learning. Dr. Singer currently holds an adjunct teaching position in graduate and professional studies at Endicott College.

JAMES STRONGE (Keynote Speaker) see page 37

JEFF UTECHT From 2002 -2012 Jeff taught at international schools in the Middle East and Asia. He then moved from the classroom into technology facilitator roles and administrative positions. Jeff began sharing his passion for learning via his blog The Thinking Stick. In 2007, he was invited to create an innovative conference focusing on learning and technology, the Learning 2.0 conference. (www.learning2.org). Continuing to share his vision, Jeff provided regular articles and blog posts for numerous publications, authored chapters in books, worked as the educational consultant for a wiki company, and began speaking at schools and educational events around the globe. He has worked with politicians in Washington, DC, and participated in The Educational Project at the invitation of the Prince of Bahrain. In 2009 he co-founded the Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy Program for international educators (www.coetail.com). In 2010 Jeff was invited to present at the first TEDx conference in Bangkok, Thailand, and in 2012 co-founded Eduro Learning (www.edurolearning.com) a company providing online courses, weekend workshops, institutes, and long term consultancy work with schools around the world.

DANA SPECKER WATTS Dana began her career in higher education teaching English literature for SUNY Buffalo in the mid 1990s. Life brought her overseas where she taught IB English at International School Bangkok, and there she developed a passion for ePortfolios and information literacy through post graduate work via COETAIL. While working at the American Embassy School in New Delhi, Dana constructed the 1:1 iPad program across the middle school with an integrated Digital Citizenship Camp and later designed and facilitated the iPad Summit conference in India. Currently a doctoral student through the CASTLE program at the University of Kentucky; Dana is also the author of iPads for Learning, a COETAIL instructor for SUNY Buffalo, and she works with various international schools. Dana has recently become an Apple Distinguished Educator and a Google Certified Teacher through the Google Teachers’ Academy in London.

JOHN WOOD (Keynote Speaker) see page 13

This is a ‘NO BAG CONFERENCE.’ For several years delegates have been telling us not to provide a conference bag, so this year we have responded. In lieu of bags, EARCOS will donate $1,500 dollars to Operation Smile, dedicated in providing free surgeries to repair cleft palates and other facial deformities for children around the globe.