Leaders across the education landscape, our advisors support our ability to innovate. They share best practices and encourage us to push the limits and question the status quo.
Nancy Otero, Director of Learning at Make and Founder-CEO of Kitco
Nancy was the Founding Director of Learning Design at Portfolio School. She was the Director of Professional Development at the Beam Center in NYC, where she created a program that served more than one hundred teachers and thousands of students. She co-founded FAB! a non-profit in Mexico that works with underserved communities.
Tony Wagner, PhD, EIR, Innovation Lab, Harvard University
Tony currently serves as an Expert In Residence at Harvard University’s new Innovation Lab and as a Senior Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute, founded by Linda Darling-Hammond in 2015. Prior to these appointments, Tony was the first Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard.
Paulo Blikstein, PhD, Director, Transformative Learning Technologies Lab, Stanford University
Paulo’s research focuses on how new technologies can deeply transform the learning of science, engineering, and mathematics. He creates and researches cutting-edge educational technologies, such as computer modeling, robotics, digital fabrication, and rapid prototyping.
Vivienne Ming, PhD, Co-Founder, Socos
Named one of 10 Women to Watch in Tech in 2013 by Inc. Magazine, Vivienne is a theoretical neuroscientist, technologist and entrepreneur. She co-founded Socos, where machine learning and cognitive neuroscience combine to maximize students’ life outcomes.
Betsy McKenna, Founder, Exponential Returns
Betsy firm helps professionals in the academic and nonprofit communities advance individual and team performance by deepening conversations, tapping into creative minds and talents, and fostering strategic relationships.
Paula Marra, Educator, United Nations International School; Creativity Catalyst
Paula has been an educator for more than 20 years, and is currently a Junior School teacher and team leader at the United Nations International School (UNIS). She specializes in primary education, using a variety of teaching methods derived from her experience with multiple international curricula, and emphasizing project-based learning /STEAM and design thinking.
Don Buckley, Co-founder, Tools at Schools
Don has transformed learning spaces so they work for teachers and students and not just architects, has transformed textbooks so that they work for students and teachers and not just publishers, and transformed new media resources so that they work for students and teachers and not just programmers.
John Larmer, Editor in Chief, Buck Institute for Education - PBL Done Well
John is Editor in Chief at the Buck Institute for Education, having also served as Director of Product Development and Associate Director since joining BIE in 2001. John writes and edits BIE’s PBL Blog and other website content.
Andy Cavatorta, Inventor/Artist, Andy’s Studio
Andy is a Brooklyn-based inventor and artist working with robotics, music, and theater. His work integrates emerging technologies with traditional crafts to discover new ways to create meaning with sound and motion.
Thom Markham, Founder & CEO, PBL Global
Thom is a psychologist, educator, author, speaker, and internationally-respected consultant to schools focused on project based learning, 21st century skills, innovation, and high performance cultures.
Scott Swaaley, Founder, GRITLab at High Tech High
Scott facilitates complex interdisciplinary STEM projects with a focus on developing GRIT in students. He started his career as a small business owner, electrical engineer, and renewable energy consultant.
Nathan Holbert, Teachers College, Columbia University
I explore how children engage in testing, tinkering, and sense making during play around topics or phenomena that they find personally engaging. In particular I study how children use intuitions about natural phenomena and scientific principles to interpret and assimilate central representations and tools found in play spaces.
Osman Rashid, Founder and CEO, Galxyz
Osman is a seasoned entrepreneur in the field of educational technology. He is currently the Founder & CEO of Galxyz, an intergalactic adventure that gets kids into science. Galxyz’s mission to ignite the fascination of science and unlock the true potential in every student.
Eileen Johnson, School Director, Sara Curry Preschool, and Author of Children’s Bill of Emotional Rights
Eileen was born and educated in Ireland, and there she taught High School and Elementary School children. Working with very young children has been the most fulfilling and rewarding part of her career.
Joni Anderson, Educational Director/Admissions, CP Kids Early Learning Center
Joni has been working in the early childhood space in New York City for over 10 years. She has done it all – teaching, curriculum writing, admissions and administration.
William Stixrud, PhD, Clinical neuropsychologist & Founder, The Stixrud Group
William R. Stixrud, PhD, is a clinical neuropsychologist and founder of The Stixrud Group, a lifespan neuropsychology practice. Dr. Stixrud has been quoted often in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times of London, Scientific American, Time.com, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, Barron’s, and Vogue.
Charles Thornburgh, CEO/Founder, Civitas Learning
Charles founded Civitas Learning with a vision of making the most of the world’s learning data. The company partners with forward-thinking colleges and universities, providing a cloud-based predictive analytics platform and engaging applications to measurably improve student learning, persistence and completion.
Donna Wilson PhD, Author, Psychologist, & Teacher Educator
Donna has codeveloped university graduate programs in the trans-disciplinary domain of psychology, education, and emerging educational neuroscience. She provides educators with dynamic, research-based professional development that integrate concepts from her books.
Katy Kasmai, Founder of Team Exponent, Sr Engineering PM, Google
Katy is passionate about 10x thinking, moonshots, sustainability and the pursuit of change and innovation. She develops and executes strategies to solve complex problems using technology, with a focus on achieving product excellence.
Gary Stager, CEO, CMK Futures
In addition to being a popular keynote speaker at some of the world’s most prestigious education conferences, Gary Stager is a journalist, teacher educator, consultant, professor, software developer, publisher, and school administrator.
Eric Westendorf, Co-founder and CEO, LearnZillion
Eric is the co-founder and CEO of LearnZillion, the next generation curriculum and professional development solution. LearnZillion provides open, digital curricula along with professional development and integration support.
Andrew Garland, Partner, TNTP
Andrew Garland is a Partner for Knowledge Management at TNTP, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing excellent teachers to the students who need them most and advancing policies and practices that ensure effective teaching in every classroom.
Tikvah Weiner, Co-founder/Director
I.D.E.A Schools Network
Tikvah has been in education for twenty years and is currently co-Founder and Director of the I.D.E.A. Schools Network, which helps Jewish and independent schools implement project-based learning.
Ned Johnson, Author & Founder of PrepMatters
Ned Johnson is an author, speaker, and founder of PrepMatters, an educational company providing academic tutoring, educational planning, and standardized test preparation. A professional “tutor-geek” since 1993, Ned has spent nearly 40,000 one-on-one hours helping students conquer an alphabet of standardized tests and honing his insightful interpersonal skills.