Tim Kanold	Author, public speaker and award-winning educator Dr. Timothy D. Kanold infuses his presentations with humor and heart. His extensive experience with professional learning communities (PLC) allows him to bring the concepts to life for teachers and administrators. Currently the superintendent at Adlai E. Stevenson High School District 125, a model PLC in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Dr. Kanold ensures that his staff implements PLC concepts to advance continuous school improvement. His highly motivational presentations have helped thousands of educators do the same. Over the past decade, Dr. Kanold has conducted more than 1,000 talks and seminars worldwide with a focus on systematic change initiatives that create greater equity and access for all children. Before he became superintendent, Dr. Kanold served Stevenson for 17 years as director of mathematics and science. He has co-authored 27 mathematics textbooks for grades 6–12, and he continues to write and present for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM), American Association of School Administrators (AASA), Association for School Curriculum Development (ASCD), National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), National Staff Development Council (NSDC) and a wide variety of state-level leadership organizations. Dr. Kanold earned his bachelor’s degree in education, with a major in mathematics, and his master’s degree in mathematics from Illinois State University. He completed a certificate of advanced study in educational administration at the University of Illinois and received his doctorate in educational leadership and counseling psychology from Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Kanold is the 1982 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching; 1991 recipient of an Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Illinois State University; 2001 recipient of an Outstanding Alumni Award from Addison Trail High School; 1994 recipient of the Outstanding Administrator Award from the Illinois State Board of Education; and the 2002 recipient of the Lee E. Yunker Leadership Award. He currently serves on the board of directors for the NCSM and has served as a primary consultant for PLC development in school districts throughout the country. He is also the lead writer for NCTM’s Evaluation Standards and lead developer for NCSM’s new Academy for Leadership of a Professional Learning Community. Dr. Kanold developed and remains a presenter for New Dimensions in Leadership, a training program for future school administrators. A powerful and entertaining speaker, Dr. Kanold shares innovative ways for educators to move beyond the complexities of change using practical strategies for improving student achievement.
Michael DiSpezio	Michael DiSpezio is one of the most recognized, entertaining and sought-after presenters at educator conferences throughout the world. In addition to offering his unique style of dynamic, theatrical, and often interactive presentations, he is a prolific author with over thirty published trade books and an equal number of science textbook co-authorships. As all agree, his enthusiastic, high-energy style is an infectious vehicle for his delivery of a wide range of topics. Michael's research science background, days on the stage and over a decade in his most noble career as a classroom teacher have produced a speaker's speaker. Exploiting his background as a science writer and educational consultant for organizations that range from the Discovery Channel to the World Bank, Michael DiSpezio carries his messages with validity and resolution. A self-proclaimed "renaissance educator," DiSpezio has been involved in all aspects of science education. He has taught, written and developed curriculum, conducted workshops, and produced videos. And that’s just the beginning. It takes only a brief introduction to DiSpezio to realize that his energy and enthusiasm are contagious. Perhaps it’s the rapid-fire manner in which he speaks, or his animated descriptions. Or maybe it’s his appearance: part Einstein (the hair), part New Yorker (the black clothes), and part Bohemian (the convertible, the suntan, the Birkenstocks year-round). Before he entered the enterprenuerial world, DiSpezio paid his dues in the scientific community. After earning his master’s in biology from Boston University, he spent six summers as research assistant to Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole. After leaving the science laboratory, DiSpezio taught science at the middle, high school, and university level. Following his classroom jobs, DiSpezio became an independent science educator. His clients include The Weather Channel, Children’s Television Workshop, DuPont, and the U.S. Department of Energy. A long-standing affiliation with the National Science Teachers Assocation (NSTA) involving workshop and curriculum development resulted in the 1997 curriculum "The Science of HIV," which earned international acclaim, including an Emmy Award nomination for the accompanying video. DiSpezio also writes curriculum supplements for Discover magazine and the PBS television series "Scientific American Frontiers.
Arthur Eisencraft	Dr. Eisenkraft taught physics at Briarcliff High School in Briarcliff, New York from 1975-84. He continues to teach physics and has been science coordinator at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York since that time. Arthur did his undergraduate work at S.U.N.Y., Stonybrook and received his Ph.D. from New York University. Previously, Arthur served in the Peace Corps in Nepal (1971-72). Dr. Eisenkraft has been involved with a number of NSTA projects, chairing many NSTA sponsored competitions: the Toshiba/NSTA Exploravision Awards (1991 to date); the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants (1990 to date); the Duracell/NSTA Scholarship Competitions (1984 to date). He was also Chair of the NYNEX Awards Program (1993-95); is a columnist and is on the Advisory Board of "Quantum" (a science and math student magazine that is published by NSTA as a joint venture between the U.S.A. and Russia; 1989 to date)--he and a colleague create a monthly contest problem for this magazine. Dr. Eisenkraft has also been involved in a Scope, Sequence and Coordination curriculum project sponsored by NSTA with funding from NSF (1997-1998). In this curriculum, science is taught by spiraling through the curriculum while teaching all four of the science sub-disciplines--earth science, biology, chemistry and physics. The coordination involves showing how the topics are related. Dr. Eisenkraft's additional professional activities include: Project Director of "Active Physics", a thematically based physics course for students who do not ordinarily take physics, which has many "hands-on" activities (1991 to date; units include sports, medicine and transportation). He has held membership on the Curriculum working group developing the National Science Education Standards 1992-96; the Advisory Panel to the Center for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education (CSMEE) and the National Academy of Sciences 1996-98. He was U.S. Academic Director, International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 1986-91; Executive Director XXIV IPhO 1986-91 and was on the Editorial Board of "The Physics Teacher" 1979-85. Dr. Eisenkraft holds U.S. Patent #4447141 for the Laser Vision Testing System (which tests visual acuity for spatial frequency). His publications include: a lab text on laser applications, an audiotape history of the discovery of fission, middle and high school curriculum materials and 70 miscellaneous articles. He has been featured in "Scientific American" and has presented at numerous conferences and workshops. Arthur Eisenkraft has also been recognized with the following awards: Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, 1986; AAPT Distinguished Service Citation, 1989; Science Teacher of the Year, Disney American Teacher Awards, 1991; Honorary Doctor of Science from Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, 1993. This spring, at its national convention in Boston, Arthur was inducted as the President Elect of the National Science Teachers Association. He is an extraordinary educator and a willing colleague.
Kati Haycock	Kati Haycock is one of the nation’s leading child advocates in the field of education. She currently serves as director of the Education Trust. Established in 1992, the Trust does what no other Washington-based education organization seeks to do—speaks up for what’s right for young people, especially those who are poor or members of minority groups. The Trust also provides hands-on assistance to educators who want to work together to improve student achievement, prekindergarten through college. Prior to coming to the Education Trust, Haycock served as executive vice president of the Children’s Defense Fund, the nation’s largest child advocacy organization. A native Californian, Haycock founded and served as president of The Achievement Council, a statewide organization that provides assistance to teachers and principals in predominately minority schools in improving student achievement. Before that, she served as director of the Outreach and Student Affirmative Action programs for the nine-campus University of California system.
Megan Franke	Megan Franke is an Assistant Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Dr. Franke’s work focuses on understanding and supporting teacher learning through professional development, particularly within elementary mathematics.  As part of Center X, she works with UCLA’s Teacher Education Program, the California Subject Matter Projects, University Researchers and Community Administrators and Teachers to create and study the development of learning opportunities for students in Los Angeles’ lowest performing schools. Dr. Franke’s revolutionary new way of viewing mathematics education draws from a background in educational psychology and mathematics to unravel the thinking patterns of children as they solve problems.