NATIONAL TEACHER FELLOWS

Danielle is a National Board Certified teacher at Colonel Johnston Elementary School in the Fort Huachuca Accommodation School District, where she serves on the District Instructional Leadership Team. In 2013-2014, she was a participant in the State Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Group. Danielle has received grants from the Arizona Technology in Education Association and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. In 2010, Danielle was named as the Cochise County New Teacher of the year. Danielle has a BA in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona and is currently pursuing a Masters in Educational Leadership.

Jill teaches Social Studies at Gateway HS, Aurora Public Schools. In her 28-year career she’s served as an instructional leader in various capacities, conducted training in 4 different countries and been an educational professor in Bogota, Colombia. Jill authored part of the introduction for Minding the Achievement Gap. She has worked with the Center for Teaching Quality, Professional Association of Colorado Educators and other organizations to improve education through public policy. She was her school’s Teacher of the Year and has a BA in History from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Colorado Christian University.

David is a Peer Collaborative Teacher at Union Square Academy for Health Sciences (USA) in New York City. He provides instructional coaching, mentoring and professional learning to teachers at USA, in addition to teaching Economics, Participation in Government and AP US History. David’s classroom serves as a learning lab and demonstration classroom to foster schoolwide collaboration. David graduated from The University of Michigan with a BA in Economics, received his Masters in Education from Hofstra University and served in AmeriCorps NCCC, a yearlong national community service program that responds to education improvement programs. David wrote social studies curriculum as a NYC Common Core Fellow and recently graduated from the NYC Leaders in Education Apprenticeship Program.

Meghan is a K6 Math TOSA in the Salt Lake City School District. She previously taught in Alabama at George Hall Elementary, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Turn-Around Model and at Daphne Elementary. This is Meghan’s fifth year blogging for Scholastic’s Top Teaching site. She is an ASCD Influence Leader, is co-creator of the #EdAdvBecause chat, and was Alabama’s Elementary Teacher of the Year for 2013. Meghan has both a BA and MA in Advertising and PR from the University of Alabama, and a M.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of South Alabama. She plans per pursue her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction.

Robyn teaches at Mount Pleasant High School in Brandywine School District. She is the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Coordinator and a member of the BRINC consortium for her district. Robyn is also a member of the Rodel Teacher Council, which created the Blueprint for Personalized Learning in Delaware. She has worked with the Delaware Writing Project to create high- quality professional development. Robyn has a BS in Education from Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville, a Master’s Degree in Education – Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership from Lindenwood University and is a National Board Certified Teacher.

Stephanie Michelle Johnson is an educator in the South Carolina public school system. She has been teaching for ten years and is currently a third grade teacher at HB Rhame Elementary in Richland County School District One, Columbia, SC. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the South Carolina Education Association. Stephanie received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Arts in Teaching degree from the University of South Carolina. Stephanie is also a National Board Certified teacher and was a Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching South Carolina State finalist in 2010.

Tabitha is a National Board Certified Teacher. She started her career teaching students with disabilities in a traditional brick and mortar school setting. She is now using her teaching skills to reach students throughout the state of Utah by working for a Virtual Academy in the special education department as an Instructional Facilitator. In 2013, Tabitha was awarded the Utah State Office Education “Significant Disabilities Teacher of the Year” for her outstanding leadership and commitment to students with significant disabilities. Tabitha has a BA from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and a Post- Baccalaureate Degree in Special Education from BYU.

Lauren is a National Board Certified English Language Arts teacher at El Rodeo School in the Beverly Hills Unified School District. She began teaching in 2007 with the Los Angeles Unified School District. In 2011 she collaborated with teachers from Shanghai with support from the California International Education Foundation. For the past four years, she’s been implementing the co-teaching model in her classroom. She currently teaches 8th grade and serves on the Instructional Leadership Team and the district GATE committee. Lauren has a BA in Communication Studies from the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Education from Pepperdine University.

Terri teaches secondary psychology, English and social studies at Twinfield Union School in Plainfield, Vermont, and psychology in the Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative, an online school. In her 35 years, Terri has taught elementary, middle and secondary. She is a Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellent winner, an NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellow, and an America Achieves Fellow. She serves on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards board of directors. Terri has a BSE (English) and MSE (psychology) from Arkansas State University and an MA and MLitt (English) from Middlebury College and is a National Board certified teacher.

Amanda Zullo, NBCT is a Chemistry teacher at Saranac Lake High School in New York, where she is grant coordinator with ADK Farm to School Initiative and on the professional development team. Amanda served as associate editor for POGIL project books. Amanda is a National Board CSP, a New York State Master Teacher, #TeachStrong Ambassador and NYS Ed Voice Fellow. Recent honors include 2016 ASCD Emerging Leader and 2015 State Finalist for Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science. Amanda has a B.S. in Organizational Communication/Pre-Medical Studies from SUNY at Geneseo and a Master’s in Science Education from Clarkson.

Ali teaches fourth grade dual language at Perez Elementary in Austin, Texas. In her five years at Perez, she’s served as a grade level leader and represented teachers on the Campus and District Advisory Councils. Previously, she’s coached new teachers as a program director at Teach For America and has held various leadership roles at its training institute, most recently managing a group of summer school directors. As a Board Certified teacher, Ali mentors candidates pursuing National Board Certification through cohort programs in her district and at TFA. She has degrees from Boston College and Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Anna Baldwin is a high school English teacher at Arlee High School and has been teaching on the Flathead Indian Reservation for the past 16 years. She designed and teaches Native American Studies for the Montana Digital Academy and teaches English methods courses at the University of Montana as an adjunct instructor. Dr. Baldwin is the recipient of several awards, including the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Distinguished Educator Award and the Award for Excellence in Culturally Responsive Teaching from Teaching Tolerance. She is the 2014 Montana Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Mullen is a seventh grade Science teacher in Gwinnett County, Georgia. He began teaching after years in the private and US government sectors. Dr. Mullen is a National Board certified teacher, GA Master Teacher. He currently serves on advisory councils at his local school, district superintendent, and Governor to representing teachers’ ideas, accolades, and concerns. He served on Georgia Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE, an 84,000-member organization) on the Board of Directors, then as President. Dr. Mullen has been named his school’s Teacher of the Year on two separate occasions. He attained his B.S at Penn State University and PhD at University of Georgia.

Cody teaches at Marie Reed Elementary School in DC Public Schools, where he leads the 1st grade team through the Teach Plus Turnaround Teacher Teams (T3) Initiative. He is a member of the Academic Leadership Team, where his work has focused on infusing themes of race and equity into the curriculum and creating an Instructional Rounds program. He began his teaching career in 2011 as a Teach For America corps member in Washington, DC. He has a BA in Sociology from Ithaca College and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction: Early Childhood Education from George Mason University.

Beth has been teaching at J. C. McKenna Middle School for over 17 years. She serves on an advisory board for the Wisconsin Department of Instruction and is a student council advisor who has received the Leadership Award and Region V Advisor of the Year recognition from the Wisconsin Association of School Councils. Beth was a 2007 Herb Kohl Teacher Fellow and 2008 Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year, has been a Smithsonian Teacher Ambassador, and is an advisor for the Smithsonian Quests Program. Beth holds a BA in History and Education from Beloit College and an MA in Education and Professional Development from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.

Ben teaches at Tri-County Early College High School in Murphy, where he serves as lead teacher and facilitator of Project Based Learning efforts. Ben grew up the son of educators in rural Northeast Georgia and worked for ~20 years as an engineer for a Fortune 15 company. He eventually left the corporate world and returned to rural Appalachia to teach. Ben lives with his wife in a “green” home they designed as part of a sustainable farm community and has co-authored two e-books on bicycle touring. He attended North Georgia College and Georgia Tech, earning degrees in Physics and Mechanical Engineering. Ben holds an MA in Teaching from Marshall University.

Christopher teaches at Joel Barlow High School in Redding, while serving as a Teacher-Leader in Residence at the Connecticut Department of Education. He is National Board Certified and was named Connecticut’s 2007 Teacher of the Year. Chris serves on the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council and the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, and is an AFT Public Education Advocate and member of NEA’s Expert Teacher Panel. He was also an Aspen Teacher-Leader Fellow. Chris holds a BA in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond and a Master’s in Spanish Teaching from Columbia. He also completed an Administrator Preparation Program at the University of Connecticut.

Brandy is a National Board Certified teacher at Ingenium Charter School in Canoga Park. Her interests include teacher development through action research, transforming pedagogy in the age of the Common Core, and implementing problems-based learning in the elementary classroom. Recently, Brandy worked with Educators4Excellence to develop and present to LAUSD a policy paper on teacher career pathways. She is also a consultant for the National Writing Project. After graduating from UCLA’s Teacher Education Program, Brandy went on to teach nearly every grade from kindergarten through adult education. She attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School, earning a J.D. and a Certificate in Business and Public Policy from Wharton.

Mark has been a teacher in Colorado’s Adams Five Star School District for 18 years. He was part of the leadership team that helped open Legacy High School, where he currently teaches American History and U.S. Government and serves as a teacher leader, the RtI coordinator, the AP coordinator, and the intervention coordinator. Mark has been instrumental in bringing Professional Learning Communities to the district. He is a member of the LEAD Compact, blogged for EdNews Colorado, and was named a “best of” education reformer in Colorado by Education Reform Now. He was also a member of the inaugural class of The Aspen Teacher Leader Fellowship.

Christian teaches at Aiea High School in Oahu, where he leads the Freshmen Small Learning Community and his department’s data team. In addition, he teaches Global Studies courses through the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council. Christian is a Teach for America corps member and was recently recognized as the Central District of Oahu’s Teacher of Promise by National Milken Educators Hawaii. Christian was a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and was an inaugural Race to the Top Fellow working with the Hawaii Department of Education’s Office of Strategic Reform and Leadership Institute. Christian earned his BA in History from Vanderbilt University.

Melissa is a National Board Certified educator in Wilmington at Conrad Schools of Science. She teaches AP Human Geography in a distance-learning lab, along with world history, personal finance, and legal process. Melissa is a Delaware Teacher Institute fellow and serves on the Rodel Teacher Council. She was recognized by D.E.L.R.E.C., the National Council for Geographic Education, and the Delaware Geographic Alliance for her excellence in teaching. Melissa earned a BA in History from Tulane University and a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in Social Studies from the University of Delaware. She is currently pursuing an MA in History at Villanova University as a James Madison fellow.

Rebecca teaches at Warrensburg-Latham High School. During her teaching career, she has been actively involved in improving education by writing multiple grants to purchase technology to enhance the Chemistry curriculum. She is a member of a variety of committees, including the College Readiness Alliance, and has received multiple awards, including National City Teacher of the Year Award, National Radio Shack Teacher of the Year, Piatt County Farm Bureau Teacher of the Year. She was also a 2011 finalist for Illinois’ Teacher of the Year Award. Rebecca earned her Master’s in Education Administration from Eastern Illinois University and a Bachelor’s in Chemistry Education from Millikin University.