Julie Stern is passionate about synthesizing the best of education research into practical tools that support educators in breaking free of the industrial model of schooling and moving toward teaching and learning that promotes sustainability, equity, and well-being. She is the best-selling author of Learning that Transfers, Visible Learning for Social Studies, and Tools for Teaching Conceptual Understanding, Elementary and Secondary. She is the thought leader behind the global workshop series Making Sense of Learning Transfer and is a certified trainer in Visible Learning Plus. She is a James Madison Constitutional Fellow and taught social studies for many years in Washington, DC and her native Louisiana. Julie moves internationally every few years with her husband, a US diplomat, and her two young sons.

Bryan Manditsch discovered teaching by accident in 1984, left the UK to teach in Kenya in 1990, and then had a succession of Headships in Kuwait, Qatar, China and now Vietnam. Both his children were born and raised outside Europe, but both went there for university, and he lives in Bulgaria (when Covid-19 allows) during the school holidays. Having just finished his seventh year at the helm of an international school in Hanoi, Vietnam, Bryan has no interest in leaving the campus environment and has given workshops on the importance of understanding the impact of culture on international schools. Having said that, despite many kind offers, Bryan usually politely declines offers to give workshops, preferring to use his limited time on his job as Head of School and his family. As a leader, Bryan feels children and staff should have non-threatening work surroundings to produce to their optimum, and that successful schools ensure all members of the school community have an understanding of all the other stakeholders.

Kimberly L. Mitchell is an internationally-recognized speaker on inquiry-based instruction and author of Experience Inquiry. She is the Founder Inquiry Partners and teaches at the University of Washington’s College of Education. Kimberly received her MA in Education Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University and is a former PYP principal and IB Americas Regional Council Chair.

Marc brings a wide range of experience spanning five countries, including Canada, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, India, and Japan. He is currently a doctoral student studying at the University of Calgary. His studies focus on educational leadership, student engagement, and school development. Marc is the Principal of Osaka YMCA International School and founding director for their new campus. Marc is passionate about school development and has lead multiple MYP / DP authorizations. He is an IB workshop leader and evaluation leader. Marc has just started a new journey as an instructor for university programs. He is working with the National Taiwan Normal University in Taiwan and the University of Tsukuba in Japan.

Jennifer Swinehart is the Research, Development and Communications Director at Hong Kong Academy. In her 20 years as an educator, Jennifer has worked as a teacher, literacy coach, department head, curriculum coordinator, assistant principal and programme director. As an advocate for nurturing diverse and inclusive communities, she believes all learners should be empowered to pursue their passions as inquirers, collaborators and innovators. In addition to constructing authentic learning experiences for children and adults at HKA, Jennifer trains teacher leaders at the Principals’ Training Center and delivers workshops on cognitive coaching and adaptive leadership.

Dr. Moss is an early childhood expert with more than 15 years in the field of education. With degrees and experience in teaching, administration, and international leadership, Aleksa applies her knowledge working as a school leader and workshop presenter. She is Montessori certified, IB PYP trained, and is a technology coach. She works as a school administrator in Guangzhou, but also maintains ties to the international school community in China and Asia through work with ACAMIS and EARCOS.

Leda is a highly experienced educator with a demonstrated history of curriculum development, teacher training, and change leadership. She is skilled in best practices that promote educational philosophy and pedagogy for global schools. Her most recent work with teaching teams has focused on learning data-driven systems and practices, transdisciplinary and concept-based planning and teaching, balanced literacy and math programs, inclusion practices, and designing learning environments. Leda has been an educator for 25 years, working with students and teachers from preschool to high school. She is currently an Assistant Principal at Shekou International School in China, and previously served schools in South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. She is an IB workshop leader and visitor, and has facilitated teacher trainings and school visits across the Asia Pacific.

Born in Scotland and raised around the world, Kirsten is a truly global thinker. Her educational training spans Scotland, USA, Australia and more. She undertook MA studies in International Education with Bath University After 27 years of international education experience across 7 countries and leadership positions in 5 schools, she now works as an independent consultant, creating individually tailored PD for schools, developing online learning events and coaching educators. Her educational interests range through assessment based practice, responsive teaching, conceptual transdisciplinary learning, constructivist inquiry practices, uplevelling technology for learning, developing writing structures and mathematical understandings. Her passions though are driving collaboration, uplifting teacher voice, and spreading good practice. Kirsten is a PYP workshop leader and online facilitator for the International Baccalaureate. She is also a Concept Based Curriculum and Instruction trainer in the Lynn Erickson approach and a trained cognitive coach. As the founder of one of the most popular educator professional learning networks on Facebook, she supports 130,000 global educators to share resources and support and inspire one another. All are welcome to join the group and take advantage of the network. Global Educator Collective.

Darnell Fine is an experienced facilitator of adult learning focusing on curriculum & assessment, diversity, equity, inclusion, and culturally responsive teaching. He has led sessions for national and international conferences, numerous US public, independent and international schools, as well as the Pew Center and the US Department of Education. In addition to facilitation, he serves as a curriculum consultant, reviewing manuscripts and curricula for publishing companies, national arts organizations, and universities. After earning his Bachelor’s in Africana Studies and Education at Brown University, Darnell obtained his Teacher Support Specialist Endorsement through Georgia State University and his Master’s in Creative Writing in London. He is currently an instructional coach and chairs the faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) planning team at Singapore American School. He is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California, studying educational leadership through a lens of equity and social justice. Darnell is a 2012 recipient of the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Culturally Responsive Teaching and a former advisory board member with Teaching Tolerance.

Terry is an experienced educator with lengthy tenure in China and Indonesia. Terry is a compassionate communicator with diverse skills in organizing change in multilingual and multicultural environments. Terry’s focus is on middle leadership and developing capacity in distributed leadership organizations.  Terry is the Assistant Head of Middle School at Keystone Academy in Beijing. Before this role, Terry was the Middle school principal at Beanstalk International  Bilingual School (BIBS), Changying campus in Beijing. He teaches mathematics and has taught sciences and individuals and societies. Terry led schools successfully through candidacy, authorization and evaluation for the International Baccalaureate (IB) and accreditation for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Terry is a Concept-Based trainer, certified by Lynne Erickson and Lois Lanning.