We partner with a team of educators across the country to design and implement our work. Our collaborators include teachers, professors of education, and leaders of schools, districts, and non-profits. They are experts in standards-aligned content and curricula, as well as leadership development, special education, dual language instruction, and assessment.
Jessica develops training and materials for teachers and leaders focused on high-quality instructional materials and standards-aligned instructional topics in elementary ELA/literacy and K-2 foundational reading skills. Prior to her role at SchoolKit, Jessica was a staff developer as well as an elementary teacher and team leader with Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. Jessica has several years of experience coaching teachers, designing and delivering professional development, and creating instructional frameworks for anti-racist teaching and learning best practices. Jessica has an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with emphases in Teacher Leadership and Minority and Urban Education and a B.S. in Elementary Education, both earned from the University of Maryland, College Park. In her free time, Jessica loves to exercise outdoors, travel, and try new restaurants.
Elizabeth leads on the creation and oversight of internal systems for SchoolKit, as well as project management of professional learning programs for states, districts, and cohorts of educators. She has designed and managed programs for educators in large urban districts, including Denver Public Schools and she is the project lead for the Louisiana Department of Education’s ELA Content Leader Initiative. Prior to her current role, Elizabeth managed the programming and operations for a $1.2 million, 13-school Race to the Top grant consortium focused on implementation of the Common Core Standards and trained new teachers on pedagogy, classroom management, and diversity and inclusiveness with Teach for America. A former 11th and 12th grade teacher, Elizabeth taught chemistry and physics at an alternative placement charter school in Stamford, Connecticut. Elizabeth has an M.S. in Education from Southern Connecticut State University and a B.A. from the College of William and Mary. When she’s not working with leaders and teachers, she loves hiking and enjoying the Colorado sunshine.
Nazo works with district and school leaders to improve student outcomes through training, coaching, and strategic planning. She was previously principal of the Petworth Campus of Center City Public Charter Schools in Washington, DC, where, over an eight period, she led the campus to becoming a Tier 1 school. She began her career in education as Teach For America elementary classroom teacher in Miami, Florida. Nazo earned her Ed.S. in Early Childhood Special Education from The George Washington University, her Ed.M. in School Leadership from The Harvard Graduate School of Education, and B.A. from Washington and Lee University. When she’s not supporting the work of teachers and leaders, she enjoys playing tennis and finding the best new restaurant in any city.
With previous large scale event planning experience and a passion for the public education system, Callie handles the logistical aspects of Schoolkit's trainings. Previously, Callie worked in higher education and political campaigns in coordination capacities as well, and moved to Schoolkit to pursue a career in education and further Schoolkit's mission. Callie received her B.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in history and political science. Callie spends her spare time volunteering on campaigns, reading fiction, and hiking with her dog.
Manny oversees talent recruitment and human resources for SchoolKit. Prior to joining SchoolKit, he led full-time staff recruitment at Teach For America - New York, and oversaw the staffing of their regional Summer institute. During his time at TFA, Manny supported the region and its hiring managers to create hiring processes with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Prior to TFA, Manny was the Director of Recruitment at a small charter school network in the Northeast where he led talent strategy around hiring teachers, administrators, and staff, while also overseeing the recruitment and onboarding of 270 Americorps members yearly. Manny was born and raised in the South Bronx and is committed to working for organizations that help improve outcomes for the most vulnerable students in our society.
Julia leads the development and delivery of standards-aligned professional learning for ELA and disciplinary literacy teachers. Prior to her role with SchoolKit, Julia helped to design and implement a new Common Core-aligned curriculum as the English Language Arts Curriculum Manager for Center City Public Charter Schools, a network of six schools in Washington, DC. In this role, she developed curricular materials for literacy in grades 4 - 8, and provided content and curriculum-specific professional development and coaching to teachers and leaders. An experienced teacher, Julia taught middle school ELA for 6 years in South Louisiana, Washington, DC, and was a founding staff member of KIPP Whittier Middle School in Camden, NJ. A Philadelphia native, Julia left the City of Brotherly Love to study English at the University of Virginia, but has since returned. Outside of leading teacher training, Julia’s an avid cook and loves taking road trips to explore new cities.
Jessica designs and facilitates professional learning content and provides coaching support to teachers and school leaders in K-5 mathematics. Jessica has wide-ranging experience facilitating school and district-based professional development that equips educators in achieving more equitable learning outcomes for students of all backgrounds. Jessica began her career as an upper elementary teacher in Detroit, Michigan before transitioning into a math instructional coaching role. Her love of learning led her back to Georgia for graduate school, where she most recently served as a Teacher Leader for KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools. Jessica has a M.Ed in Early Childhood Education from the University of Georgia and a B.A. from Spelman College. When not working, Jessica loves to travel, spend time with her family, and cross new Atlanta brunch spots off of her bucket list.
Amanda is an Elementary Math Specialist at SchoolKit. Previously, Amanda has worked at both the school and regional level to develop curriculum, design and deliver teacher/leader professional development sessions, and coach school leaders to increase impact on student experiences and outcomes. Amanda formerly served as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Uncommon Schools Public Charter School in Camden, New Jersey, where she developed both math and literacy curriculum, coached teachers, and used data to drive instructional decisions at the school and regional level. Amanda began her educational career in New York City, where she worked as a grade team lead and content coach at Success Academy Charter Schools in Brooklyn. In this capacity, she taught full-time while leading a group of educators on her grade level around Common Core and data driven instruction. Amanda is passionate about educational equality and supporting both teachers and leaders in delivering a world class education to ALL students.
Bio coming soon.
Meredith is a Literacy Content Specialist at SchoolKit. In this role, Meredith designs and delivers literacy professional learning and provides teacher coaching and support. Prior to joining SchoolKit, Meredith worked with schools across the nation on aligning curriculum and assessments to Common Core and supporting teachers and leaders with successful curriculum implementation. She supported New York City Public Schools as an ELA coach through content-specific professional development, data inquiry cycles, and leadership team development. She also served as a Literature Curriculum Specialist for a national charter network where she crafted Common Core-aligned curriculum for grades 6-8. Meredith began her career in DC Public Schools, serving for 9 years as a middle school ELA teacher and instructional coach. Each educational capacity in which Meredith has served has cultivated her interest in supporting educators to deliver equitable, high-quality instruction in classroom environments that are both challenging and supportive. Meredith lives in Washington, DC, and spends her free time exploring her favorite city and traveling to see her family on the Jersey Shore.
Anders is a systems-oriented thinker who helps organizations think through strategic operations and find the right balance between processes and relationships; innovation and stability; analysis and action. Before joining the SchoolKit team, Anders served as the Founding Director of Operations for a charter school in Baltimore, growing the school from an enrollment of 175 to 500 in four years while consistently outperforming the district. Anders was also named a 2015 Venture for America Fellow, and used the opportunity to consider the role of entrepreneurship in education while building a school from the ground up. Anders has a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College. When he’s not pursuing his dual passions of educational equity and operational excellence, you can find him trying to make it to every national park.
Rachel develops, delivers, and coaches the delivery of professional development focused upon best practices in ELA/literacy instruction. Over a decade and a half ago, Rachel fell in love with literacy instruction and its impact on students when she taught high school English in rural Arkansas. Since, she has taught or led literacy for every grade K-12, working predominantly in schools but also in a nonprofit organization for alternative teacher certification and at the Tennessee Department of Education. From her time as an assistant principal and instructional coach in Memphis, her proudest work was leading the adoption and implementation of high-quality instructional materials for foundational skills in grades K-2 and for knowledge-building in grades 5-8. These initiatives, she deeply believes, fostered unparalleled learning for students, teachers, and leaders. As a result, she was thrilled to champion this work at the state level with TDOE and, now, across multiple states with SchoolKit. Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in English from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Master of Education from Vanderbilt University. Mom to two exuberant toddlers, outside of work, you can find her finger painting or exploring parks and playgrounds.
Ethan leverages his prior experience as a teacher and principal to help schools, districts, and states meet the expectations of college and career ready standards. He advises educational leaders at all levels to build innovative systems that drive school improvement and student success. In previous roles, he has led highly successful school turnaround projects, helped new schools open, and led a three-year Race to the Top grant for consortium of DC public and charter schools that focused on deepening implementation of the Common Core Standards. Prior to SchoolKit, Ethan was a principal of elementary and high schools in Brooklyn, New York. As a school leader, he led rigorous academic programming that resulted in significant improvements in student outcomes on state assessments and AP exams. Ethan started his career as a New York Teaching Fellow in a bilingual middle school classroom in the Bronx and then worked as a resource room teacher in a Brooklyn high school. He has an Ed.D. in Administration of Special Education Programs from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA from Dartmouth College. When he’s not supporting school leaders, Ethan can be found running through Rock Creek Park with his dog, Zola.
Dr. Jennie Moctezuma works with state leaders to improve student outcomes through training, coaching, and strategic planning. She offers 22 years of leading and developing arts education organizations, schools, government, and non-profit sectors in Louisiana, Honduras, and New York with a focus on social justice. After serving as a teacher, a principal in the Recovery School District in post-Katrina New Orleans, and a program director for Turnaround Arts, she earned her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on teachers who chose to leverage the arts to implement core subjects in turnaround schools. She then moved on to serve as director of Leadership and Evaluation for the Louisiana Department of Education and is thrilled to be joining SchoolKit as a Director of Program Implementation. She has a reputation for leveraging creativity to elevate the voices of those around her. Additionally, Jennie loves being a mother, photographer, and finding off-the-beaten-path adventures.
Patti supports the development and delivery of literacy professional learning. Prior to her role at SchoolKit, Patti was an independent educational consultant supporting schools, CMOs, and national organizations with the implementation of high quality curriculum, ELA curriculum development, and the development and delivery of ELA professional learning opportunities at the local and national level. Through her decades of experience in the field of education across the nation as an elementary school teacher, Special Education teacher, ELL teacher, Literacy Specialist and Literacy Coach, Patti has successfully impacted students’ literacy at all elementary grades levels. Patti also supported leaders and teachers in Arkansas and Tennessee with the implementation of high quality, standards aligned instruction as a Director of School Support for a national partner organization. Patti received her Elementary Education License and B.A. in Social and Rehabilitative Services at Assumption College and her M.S. in Education at University of Wisconsin at Steven Point. Patti enjoys reading, gardening, playing with her dog, and visiting her children.
Brian leads the design and delivery of standards-aligned professional learning in Mathematics. A former upper elementary teacher, Brian was driven to find innovative ways to help teachers grow their practice. This led him to instructional coaching and designing and facilitating professional learning as a Staff Development Coach in Phoenix. At the district level, he created an instructional coaching program across 21 schools and helped build a Teacher Induction Program to strengthen supports for new teachers. In this role, Brian also helped design and support the roll-out of the Common Core State Standards, including professional learning design, facilitation and follow-up coaching. Brian served in other school support and school leader roles in Phoenix before moving to Denver Public Schools to become Principal of an Innovation School. Brian has an M.A. in Educational Administration & Supervision from the University of Phoenix, an M.A. in Elementary Education from Arizona State University, and a B.S in International Relations & Diplomacy from Seton Hall University. When not supporting the work of teachers and leaders, he enjoys the Colorado outdoors, playing volleyball, and spending time with his dog, Bentley.
Amanda oversees the content team and leads the design and delivery of professional learning for SchoolKit. She previously served as the Director of Curriculum for Center City Public Charter Schools in Washington, DC where, over a three year period, she spearheaded the teaching and learning turnaround of the district. This work included the development of a standards-aligned ELA and math curriculum for over 1,400 students in six schools. In this role, she created systems and led a team of coaches to support successful use of these resources, including providing district-wide content and curriculum-specific professional learning. Amanda has presented on standards-aligned content and pedagogy for Student Achievement Partners, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and schools and districts across the country. She began her career in education as a Teach for America elementary classroom teacher in Washington, D.C., before serving as an instructional coach and assistant principal. Amanda earned her Masters in Teaching from American University and B.S. from the University of Mary Washington. An experienced equestrian, Amanda loves spending time at the barn with her horse, Otis.
Andrea Smith taught in Washington, D.C. public schools for more than seventeen years. During her time as a middle school math teacher at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School, Ms. Smith was a founding member of the LearnZillion Dream Team, a group of teachers who began creating a library of Common Core aligned interactive math and language arts lessons, and videos to support teachers, students, and parents. She later served as a Math Curriculum Specialist and Staff Developer at E.L. Haynes where she helped lead the school’s transition to Common Core State Standards of Mathematics. In 2014 she joined the LearnZillion staff full-time as a Math Content Specialist where she collaborated with math instructional coaches and teachers from across the country to design a companion curriculum of rich mathematical task based lesson plans. Ms. Smith has also worked as a Common Core Advocate with Student Achievement Partners. As an EPIC award-winning teacher, she was part of the first cohort of America Achieves teaching fellows where she partnered with education leaders nationwide to raise teacher voice in matters of curriculum, assessment, and policy. Prior to entering the classroom, she worked as a legislative assistant at the Education Trust, advocating for expanding excellence and equity in education for all students. Ms. Smith holds a M.A.T. degree from Trinity University.
Sarah designs and delivers math professional learning and provides coaching and support to teachers and leaders. As an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, Sarah participated in the Americorps program Jumpstart that sparked her passion for educational equity and social justice initiatives. She began her career as a TFA corps member, where she had the opportunity to be a founding member of a first-of-its-kind elementary school in South Carolina focused on providing students and teachers with access to high quality curriculum and reshaping the state’s approach to public education. As a teacher, Sarah supported her students in achieving their goals and was recognized by NWEA for her high level of student growth in mathematics. Sarah has served as a teacher leader, department chair, and instructional coach. She has also worked with Great Minds to support the facilitation of professional learning for teachers and leaders across the country implementing Eureka Math. Sarah lives in Charleston, South Carolina, and enjoys spending her free time out in nature with her dogs, Avery and Sophie, or curled up with a good book.
As Director of School Partnerships, Tammy manages and executes professional learning partnerships with schools and districts. As an undergraduate, a unique interdisciplinary program at Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy helped Tammy develop her passion for social justice and equity. She spent the first 15 years of her career working to close the opportunity gap for students in Washington, DC, as a TFA corps member in D.C. Public Schools and then as a founding teacher, instructional coach, and district leader at E.L. Haynes, an award-winning public charter school. Over the past several years, Tammy has worked with organizations including UnboundEd, Student Achievement Partners, and Learnzillion supporting teachers and leaders with the design and implementation of standards-aligned instructional programs and resources. Tammy earned her Masters in Teaching from American University and is a National Board Certified Teacher. A native Coloradan, Tammy loves spending time hiking and connecting with nature.
Kate supports the design and implementation of operational systems that help SchoolKit deliver services to schools, districts, and states. Before SchoolKit, she worked for a network of seven charter schools in New Orleans in the capacity of Executive Assistant to the CEO where she developed a strong operational mindset managing the CEO’s complex schedule, leading the network team, and coordinating logistics for large-scale events across the network. A native Texan, Kate received her B.A in Anthropology and Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. After taking part in a delegation to Cuba to study the country’s innovative healthcare model, she decided to pursue a degree in public health and moved to New Orleans where she received her MPH from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Outside of work, you can find her fiddling with film cameras, talking to her plants, and doing puzzles.
In his role, Greg sets the vision for SchoolKit’s instructional services with districts and state education agencies across the country. Greg brings over 20 years of experience in education and an extensive background in curriculum and instruction to the SchoolKit team. Prior to his work with SchoolKit, Greg served as Chief Schools Officers with Independence Mission Schools (IMS) in Philadelphia. In this role, Greg supervised 15 PK-8 schools and oversaw Academics for the network. During his tenure, Greg led a comprehensive refresh of the IMS’s academic strategy that resulted in the adoption of high-quality curriculum in both math and ELA, resulting in a 10% improvement in student grade level proficiency. Prior to his experience with IMS, Greg spent over 13 years with TNTP, including eight (8) years as Vice President and Partner. During that time, Greg led the scaling of TNTP’s Teaching Fellows Programs and oversaw a range of consulting engagements with school districts across the country, including some of TNTP’s earliest academic service offerings. Greg started his career as a high school math and science teacher in New York City. When he’s not working with leaders and teachers, he enjoys cooking for his spouse and following the directions of his two children, Annabelle and Quinn, and dog, Daisy.
Our Collaborators
