Parents as Partners 2021-2022

Formerly a high school English teacher and a new teacher coach, Jennifer Abrams is currently a communications consultant who focuses on adult to adult communication in schools. Her publications include Having Hard Conversations, The Multigenerational Workplace: Communicate, Collaborate & Create Community and Hard Conversations Unpacked - the Whos, Whens and What Ifs and Swimming in the Deep End: Four Foundational Skills for Leading Successful School Initiatives. Her newest book is Stretching Your Learning Edges: Growing (Up) at Work.

Internationally, Jennifer has presented at schools and with organizations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, South America and North America. More about Jennifer’s work can be found at her website, www.jenniferabrams.com, and on Twitter @jenniferabrams.

Mark Church works with schools throughout the world wishing to create cultures of thinking in their classrooms. He believes in the difference teachers can make for students when they strive to make thinking visible, valued, and actively promoted as part of the day-to-day experience of their learners. Mark encourages teachers to become students of their students, and more broadly, students of themselves and the choices they make to leverage the power of making thinking visible.

Mark is currently a consultant with Harvard Project Zero's Making Thinking Visible and Cultures of Thinking initiatives, drawing upon his own classroom teaching experience and from the perspectives he has gained working with educators throughout the world. Together with Ron Ritchhart, Mark is co-author of the book Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners (Jossey-Bass, 2011) and The Power of Making Thinking Visible: Practices to Engage and Empower All Learners (Jossey-Bass, 2020).

Carolyn McKanders is Director Emeritus for Thinking Collaborative, the home of the Adaptive Schools Seminars and Cognitive Coaching Seminars®. As an educational consultant, Carolyn specializes in individual, group and organization development. Her passion is supporting quality human relationships through promoting self-love, communication, collaboration and leadership-skills development.

Carolyn’s background includes 28 years in the Detroit Public Schools as a teacher, counselor, program administrator, and staff-development specialist. Presently, she presents seminars internationally on developing Adaptive Schools and Organizations, Cognitive CoachingSM, enhancing presentation effectiveness, meeting facilitation skills, and honoring diverse voices.

She also provides polarity management training, which supports individuals and organizations in identifying and managing competing tensions inherent in social systems.

In addition to her work in educational settings, she is a family and women’s counselor. From her counseling experience she brings to her work a deep belief in the unlimited capacity and resilience of the human spirit.

Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A., international educator, author, and CBK Associates founder, brings learning to life with high-level engagement and content that matters. Through in-person and virtual experiences, Cathryn travels globally to engage school communities ~ administrators, educators, youth, parents ~ in opportunities for growth, expansion, and action. With her consultant team, she brings expertise on service learning, social-emotional dynamics/advisory, curriculum design, leadership, strategic planning, and JEDI-justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Cathryn has authored numerous articles and four books including The Complete Guide to Service Learning.

Cathryn and her colleagues at CBK Associates launched Documentar in May 2020 to establish a platform for youth voice initially regarding the pandemic when the narrative was solely from an adult perspective. By creating a process and global platform, youth responded with their concerns, visions, and dreams, expressed in art, photography, poetry, video, and more. Their voice resonates with authenticity and urgency as a call to action. Preview @documentar_ (with an underscore) on Instagram, DocumentarNOW on Facebook, and @DocumentarNOW on Twitter to connect with youth expression around the world. Learn more at cbkassociates.com.

The founder, president and senior consultant of The Learning Collaborative, FRAN PROLMAN is an internationally recognized teacher, administrator, author, consultant and keynote speaker. She is known for her depth of knowledge, dynamism, energy, practical application and proven track record of results.

Fran earned her doctorate in teacher training and international education from George Washington University and a master’s degree in educational administration and curriculum and instruction from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a two-time Fulbright Scholar in India and Israel and has presented numerous papers and workshops nationally and internationally.

She brings 30 years of experience providing multifaceted work with organizations and school systems throughout the United States and the world. Fran was a member of the first Understanding by Design trainer cadre for ASCD designing curriculum training throughout the U.S., a faculty member for ASCD and a senior consultant at Research for Better Teaching training trainers and educating thousands of administrators and teachers in effective learning practice.

Fran focuses on building human capacity through a variety of avenues. She facilitates leadership retreats for teachers, administrators and executives; delivers organization-wide keynote speeches and workshops, coaches to build highly functional teams; assists organizations and teams in the appropriate use of data, designs professional growth and evaluation systems and brings insight to the change process.

She is the author of Building Your Instructional Leadership, Women in Leadership: Self-Trust, Self-Care and Courage, and Transforming Schools: Leading and Learning in Complex Systems. Fran's newest book, Deep Listening: The Art of Ego Management, is now available.

Dr. Jennifer Beckwith has worked in K-12 education for over 30 years with international experiences that span nine countries. Principalships in the Netherlands, UK, Norway, Belgium, Germany, and Japan prepared her for other leadership opportunities. As a Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent, she supervised 18 schools in Italy and 26 schools in Turkey, Bahrain, Spain, and Portugal.

Dr Beckwith holds a PhD in Educational Administration with College Teaching from GPC Vanderbilt University. She began her latest educational venture as Founding Director of the American United School of Kuwait in 2012. Dr. Beckwith is a member of the AAIE Board of Trustees and a Founding Member of the Diversity Collaborative, a joint venture among AAIE, ISS, and AISH. She worked on school improvement as Chair or member on the Accreditation team for NCA/AdvancED, SACS/CASI and served as a Chair/Co-Chair of an MSA virtual visit this fall. Dr. Beckwith has provided DEI-J training for boards of trustees, regional and national conferences and schools.

Garfield Gini-Newman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE, University of Toronto. He explores how to teach through sustained critical inquiry while nurturing deep conceptual understanding and genuine competence. Garfield has worked with thousands of teachers across grades and subjects, helping them to frame learning around engaging and provocative activities and rich, authentic assessments.

Currently, Garfield is engaged with schools across Canada, in South America, and in Europe. Over the past two decades request for Garfield’s services have taken him from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean and across North America. His interest in effective teaching and learning has led him to actively explore the challenges and opportunities presented by teaching and learning in the digital age.

In addition to his work at the University of Toronto and delivering workshops, Garfield has also authored several articles, chapters in books and seven textbooks and has taught in the faculties of education at York University and the University of British Columbia. His most recent book, co-authored with Roland Case, Creating Thinking Classrooms, has received widespread praise from leading educators across Canada and internationally.

Ellen Mahoney is the CEO of Circulus Institute, which provides professional development in Adult SEL and its sister organization, Sea Change Mentoring which builds mentoring programs for international schools. Exploring the intersection of SEL and international education, she is the host of The Sea Change Podcast. Since 2019, she has served as a Council of International Schools Affiliated Consultant and continues to be a frequent contributor to CIS’s wellbeing work.

Ellen has contributed to major youth-mentoring publications such as the National Mentoring Partnership's Research Agenda (2021), the E-Mentoring Supplement for the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, and has co-authored a chapter on university transitions and suicide in a forthcoming book on suicide prevention. She co-authored the award-winning research study, Surveying the Landscape: Common Practices, Challenges and Opportunities in International School Transitions-Care. An international school alumna herself, she lives in New York and California when she is not on the road.

Ellen Mahoney is the CEO of Circulus Institute, which provides professional development in Adult SEL and its sister organization, Sea Change Mentoring which builds mentoring programs for international schools. Exploring the intersection of SEL and international education, she is the host of The Sea Change Podcast. Since 2019, she has served as a Council of International Schools Affiliated Consultant and continues to be a frequent contributor to CIS’s wellbeing work.

Ellen has contributed to major youth-mentoring publications such as the National Mentoring Partnership's Research Agenda (2021), the E-Mentoring Supplement for the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, and has co-authored a chapter on university transitions and suicide in a forthcoming book on suicide prevention. She co-authored the award-winning research study, Surveying the Landscape: Common Practices, Challenges and Opportunities in International School Transitions-Care. An international school alumna herself, she lives in New York and California when she is not on the road.

Andrew Watson has been teaching since 1988, studying brains since 2008, and combining those fields since 2012. As a consultant and conference speaker, he works with teachers, administrators, students, and parents to make learning easier and teaching more effective.

Author of three books – including The Goldilocks Map: A Classroom Teacher’s Quest to Evaluate 'Brain-Based' Teaching Advice and Learning Begins: The Science of Working Memory and Attention for the Classroom Teacher – Andrew writes frequently on memory, attention, motivation, and practical study strategies.

He once managed a Beatles tribute band in Prague.

Mark Church works with schools throughout the world wishing to create cultures of thinking in their classrooms. He believes in the difference teachers can make for students when they strive to make thinking visible, valued, and actively promoted as part of the day-to-day experience of their learners. Mark encourages teachers to become students of their students, and more broadly, students of themselves and the choices they make to leverage the power of making thinking visible.

Mark is currently a consultant with Harvard Project Zero's Making Thinking Visible and Cultures of Thinking initiatives, drawing upon his own classroom teaching experience and from the perspectives he has gained working with educators throughout the world. Together with Ron Ritchhart, Mark is co-author of the book Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners (Jossey-Bass, 2011) and The Power of Making Thinking Visible: Practices to Engage and Empower All Learners (Jossey-Bass, 2020).

Kim Marshall was sixth-grade teacher, central office curriculum director, and elementary principal in the Boston Public Schools for 32 years. Since 2002, Kim has provided one-on-one coaching for principals, mostly in New York City in affiliation with New Leaders (www.newleaders.org), a non-profit that recruits, trains, and supports urban principals.
In addition, Kim consults, speaks, and teaches courses for school leaders, with a special focus on teacher supervision and evaluation, time management, the effective use of student assessments, and curriculum unit design (in collaboration with Jay McTighe and Associates).
Kim is the author of a number of articles and books, including The Best of the Marshall Memo (Epigraph, 2019) and Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation (Jossey-Bass, second edition, 2013). Kim also writes The Marshall Memo, a weekly summary of helpful articles for principals, teachers, superintendents, and other educators (www.marshallmemo.com). Kim is married and has two children, both teachers.

Joy Marchese is a global educational consultant, author, keynote speaker, parent coach, and emotional architect. For 25 years Joy has worked with thousands of children, parents, teachers, and professionals to help foster a happy and flourishing environment in the home, in schools, and in the workplace.

Joy is the Founder of Positive Discipline UK and co-author of Positive Discipline for Today’s Busy (& Overwhelmed) Parent. She runs a successful global educational consultancy and coaching practice, and develops SEL courses and products to teach social-emotional skills in homes, schools, and multiple organizations throughout the world.

Joy sees herself as an agent of change. With her combined passion and experience in education, parenting, professional development, and wellness she is able to give you a comprehensive look into the modern world of parenting, relationships, and personal and professional development.

Kavita Tanna is the founder of social enterprise Globally Reconnect and facilitator of mission-driven work with communities around the world. She is guided by the philosophy accredited to Mahatma Gandhi: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Kavita's mission is to connect with like-minded individuals who wish to empower all people through inspiring, interconnected, and globally-minded conversations.

In regular one-to-one meetings, facilitation of team gatherings and large group workshops, Kavita coaches educators to recognize the roles they play in shaping the identities, attitudes and behaviors of all learners. By co-designing learning experiences, she offers practical ideas for global and intercultural-mindedness for all learners, including parents, educators and leaders.

Through her work as a passionate advocate and mentor for social-emotional-ethical intelligence and wellbeing integration in education for all people, including admin, teachers, parents and students, Kavita’s vision is to create a harmonious world in which we can all flourish.

Dr. David Gleason has over 30 years of experience in professional clinical psychology. Dr. Gleason earned a B.A. in Psychology (1982) and an M.A. in Counseling Children & Adolescents (1987) – both from Boston College, and then a Psy.D. at William James College (1993). Since that time, Dr. Gleason has served as a clinical neuropsychologist, a psychotherapist and as a school consultant in numerous public, independent and international schools. In addition, Dr. Gleason has taught psychology at the secondary, undergraduate and graduate levels, and he presents workshops and professional development seminars at schools, national conferences in the US, and at international school conferences around the world. Dr. Gleason’s book, At What Cost? Defending Adolescent Development in Fiercely Competitive Schools, was published in January of 2017.

Kristin Lowe is a former international school teacher now working as an Organizational Psychologist and Positive Psychology Coach. She helps international school leaders build a positive school culture through strengths-based team development, positive peer coach training, and schoolwide Positive Education programs.

Kristin is the Visible Wellbeing Program Leader at American School of The Hague, and she is the founder of the Positivity Playground, a global peer coaching network supporting adult wellbeing in international schools around the world. Learn more about Kristin and her work at www.solrosdevelopment.com.