Summer Conference Program

7:00 a.m. BREAKFAST — MARINA DINING ROOM

8:30 a.m. FIRST GENERAL SESSION — WHITEBIRCH ROOM

Welcome: Ehren Zimmermann, President Principal, Perham High School

Keynote: Pause. Breathe. Flourish.: Living Your Best Life as an Educator

Will Parker, Author and Speaker

When you fly on an airplane, if the cabin loses pressure, you are reminded to place your oxygen mask on first before helping others. But educators are especially prone to helping others before taking care of themselves. The result is often anxiety and burnout. In his newest book, William D. Parker unpacks the root issues surrounding your motivations for serving students and school communities. Will shares ten essential principles all educators need for personal and professional growth. Spend time in guided  exploration, discussion, and consultation on goal-setting, self-improvement, and strategies for self-care. Discover ways to live your best life now as an educator and individual so that you can continue helping your school community to flourish!

10:15 a.m. REFRESHMENT BREAK — WHITEBIRCH LOBBY

10:30 a.m. FIRST CONCURRENT SESSIONS

All sessions repeated at 11:30 a.m.

1. Straight Talk from Student Leaders – GOVERNORS

Doug Erickson, Coordinator of Student Activities, MASSP, Minnesota Association of Student Councils/Honor Societies Members

Listen to student leaders from around the state discuss their experiences during the virtual/hybrid/in-person 2020-21 school year. Students will discuss the impact of racial equity discussions. They will relate their experiences of distant learning. Finally, the students will answer questions from the principals.

2. Building Resilience and Self-Care for Your Educators – A Key Strategy to Help Support Teachers AND Students – LAKESIDE B

Katie Dorn, CEO/Co-Founder, EMPOWERU
Jill Tessman, Director of Student Support, White Bear Lake High School

EmpowerU is proving to be a revolutionary tool in the battle against student and educator anxiety and depression - successfully helping build resilience and confidence. Hear how White Bear Lake School District utilized the Self-Care and Resilience Professional Development version of EmpowerU to support their teachers during a year of fear and stress. They will present outcomes and processes, and how investing in your educator’s mental health can improve school culture.. and student outcomes.

3. Improving School Climate Using Relationships and Data – HEARTLAND I & II

Coleman McDonough, Principal, North Branch Area High School
Robert Laney, Trainer and Advocate, Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR)

Students’ life experiences often show up as disengagement and lack of motivation leading to poor school climate. Utilizing North Branch Area High School as a case study, this interactive session explains how classroom relationship-building strategies transform student motivation resulting in improved academic performance and school climate. Experiencing the I-Time curriculum of the evidence-based Building Assets, Reducing Risks

(BARR) model, attendees will learn how to: 1) Improve student-student and student-teacher communication; 2) Give students voice; 3) Enhance a sense of student connectedness to school and 4) Improve academic achievement.

4. Getting REAL About Career and College Readiness at Big Lake High School – PELICAN

Robert Dockendorf, Principal, Big Lake High School
April Schnell, Consultant, Positive Changes for Career Leadership, April Schnell Inc.

What happens to learners after graduation? This presentation details Big Lake’s process of making systemic changes in how learners are seen, heard, and encouraged in their career awareness, exploration, education and training. Bob will share the REAL recipe, along with newly approved plans to implement a developmental approach to career and college readiness. April will talk about regional partners in every school’s ecosystem, experiential learning, and career development as one strategy for addressing equity.

5. The Innocent Classroom: Dismantling Racial Bias in Our Schools – MINNESOTA II

Jaimee Wolcott, M.Ed., Assistant Vice President
Matthew Brandt, Ph.D., Vice President, Innocent Technologies, LLC

Every student should know what it is like to feel innocent, to believe that this world is open to them. Society’s racist sterotypes stand in the way. Learn how you can dismantle racism in your school by helping educators construct relationships connecting each child to their unlimited potential. Participants will explore strategies that interrupt patterns where implicit racial bias rests. Patterns that interfere with a teacher's greatest efforts to reach their students.

6. Interventions – Dyslexia & Mental Health – MINNESOTA I

Joel Heitkamp, Principal
Katie Schnider, Dyslexia Specialist
Susan Keranen, Dyslexia Specialist, St. Cloud Area Public Schools

In this session, the St. Cloud Area School District will share their five-year plan for meeting the new Dyslexia mandates with limited resources. They will briefly review their district’s selected dyslexia assessment protocols, including considerations for immersion and EL. And then move into the implementation of dyslexia intervention curriculum, that will include professional development, funding, staffing/licensure and scheduling. Looking forward to discussing the challenges and successes of supporting struggling readers in our secondary schools.

11:30 a.m. SECOND CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Repeat of 10:30 Sessions 1-6

1. Straight Talk from Student Leaders — GOVERNORS
2. Building Resilience and Self-Care for Your Educators — LAKESIDE B
3. Improving School Climate Using Relationships and Data — HEARTLAND I & II
4. Getting REAL About Career and College Readiness at Big Lake — PELICAN
5. The Innocent Classroom: Dismantling Racial Bias — MINNESOTA II
6. Interventions – Dyslexia & Mental Health — MINNESOTA I

12:30 p.m. LUNCH — DECK (weather permitting)

1:30 p.m. SECOND GENERAL SESSION — WHITEBIRCH ROOM

Presider: Thomas Brenner, President-Elect, Principal, Cloquet Middle School

Keynote: 7 Effective Paradigms for Learning Recovery

Ashley Carranco, Education Lead Coach and Consultant, FranklinCovey

Pandemic-related learning loss and recovery is a challenge that will be with us for years to come. Our focus on this area is also a real opportunity to make advances in closing the opportunity gap, more effectively preventing the summer slide, and creating learning communities in which every student can achieve and thrive.

A successful learning recovery strategy will require a holistic approach that weaves together equity, whole-person wellness, empowered instruction, and time-tested goal achievement systems to develop a culture that fosters academic achievement. Join us as we explore 7 Effective Paradigms for Learning Recovery and think into how they can help our schools and districts across the state to tackle this urgent crisis.

2:30 p.m. FREE PONTOONS AND HALF-PRICE GOLF

Furnished by Breezy Point Resort

6:00 p.m. DINNER AND AWARDS BANQUET — WHITEBIRCH ROOM

Star of Innovation – Sponsored by Horace Mann
Division Presidents
Board of Directors – Awards donated by Jostens
Executive Committee
Division High School Principals of the Year
Division Middle Level Principals of the Year
Division Assistant Principals of the Year
Minnesota High School Principal of the Year – Awards donated by Jostens
Minnesota Middle Level Principal of the Year – Awards donated by Jostens
Minnesota Assistant Principal of the Year – Awards donated by Jostens
Years of Service Awards
Retirements

Photographer courtesy of Lifetouch

7:00 a.m. BREAKFAST — MARINA DINING ROOM

8:30 a.m. THIRD GENERAL SESSION — WHITEBIRCH ROOM

Presider: Mary Pat Cumming, Secretary, Principal, FAIR School Downtown, Minneapolis

Keynote: Leading for Equity: Building a Race Equity Culture

Bukata Hayes, Speaker, Love & Struggle, LLC
Stacy Wells, Speaker, Love & Struggle, LLC

To build a school and district that meets the needs of all students, families, and staff the organizational culture must embrace racial equity. Leaders need to set the tone and drive the progress of the work. So how do you, as a leader, develop and integrate your racial consciousness into efforts to advance educational equity?

A first and critical step—consciousness—involves becoming aware of one’s own biases, understanding how life experiences with race have shaped those biases, and what this means for your leadership. We will introduce WRITE on RACE™ and share how we will use it to reflect and talk deeply and openly about connections between race, racism, historical injustice, and disparities between educational outcomes of students of different races.

10:15 a.m. BREAK — WHITEBIRCH LOBBY

10:30 a.m. FIRST CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Sessions 1-5 repeated at 11:30 a.m.

1. MSHSL – Looking Forward to the 2021-2022 School Year — MINNESOTA I

Erich Martens, Executive Director, Minnesota State High School League

MSHSL staff will share the challenges and successes of the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff will also discuss moving forward to the 2021-2022 school year including: MSHSL financial status; MSHSL Constitutional vote; adding an additional class in four activities; Administrative Region, Competitive Section, and District Football placement; continuation of LEAD Network; and new initiatives. Time will be allowed at the end of the presentation for questions from attendees.

2. Engaging All Stakeholders During and After a Pandemic — LAKESIDE A

Jason Harris, Principal
Jesús Sandoval, Assistant Principal
Molly Kensy, Assistant Principal
Cynthia Patten, Assistant Principal, Technical High School, St. Cloud

Over the past school year, the administrative team at Tech High School has been working diligently to provide opportunities for student, staff, and family engagement. The team will walk you through methods to incorporate strategies in engaging all stakeholders while in distance, hybrid and in person learning.

3. Resilience for Educators: Stress Management Techniques for Reducing Physical Tension, Quieting the Minds and Igniting the Higher Self — PELICAN

Dr. Heidi Kopacek, Licensed Psychologist, Healthwise Behavioral Health

This workshop sets aside curriculum goals and classroom standards. It is about you, your self-care, and your emotional well-being. Spend time with licensed psychologist Dr. Heidi Kopacek and study a whole health approach to cultivating resilience as an educator. Examine both proactive lifestyle habits, as well as in-the-heat-of-the-moment techniques, for reducing the impact of stress on the body. Study innovative and fun-to-implement ways, based on the principles of mindfulness, to quiet anxious thinking and improve focus. Master perspective-shifting techniques that connect you to your deepest values as an educator. Take away a formula for resilience that can be applied to your most challenging work days.

4. Building a Unified School District – Bemidji’s Journey — LAKESIDE B

Dr. Jason Stanoch, Principal
Jackie Stoffel, Teacher, Bemidji High School

Unified Champion schools is a program through Special Olympics Minnesota. This presentation will show all the opportunities offered through the Unified Champion Schools program as well as the benefits to school culture and inclusion. This inclusive programming helps schools provide an authentic environment for students to learn about disability awareness and understanding for others. Our program was the recipient of the 2019-2020 MASSP/Horace Mann Gold Star of Innovation Award.

5. Mindfulness: Trauma-Responsiveness, SEL & Equity — HEARTLAND I & II

William Drew, Owner/Consultant, Mindful i Consulting LLC

Far from just silent stillness, mindfulness can be that missing tool for linking SEL to Trauma-Responsiveness and Equity while reducing feelings of guilt, shame and anger that may often arise when dealing with these matters. Participants will be taken through evidence-based practices and reminded of the latest research on why and how mindfulness, when properly introduced and integrated, can help us manage current day changes and help us all stay ready to learn.

11:30 a.m. SECOND CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Sessions 1-5 repeated; additional 6-8 that are repeated again at 1:35 p.m.

1. MSHSL – Looking Forward to the 2021-2022 School Year — MINNESOTA I
2. Engaging All Stakeholders During and After a Pandemic — LAKESIDE A
3. Resilience for Educators: ...Igniting the Higher Self — PELICAN
4. Building a Unified School District – Bemidji’s Journey — LAKESIDE B
5. Mindfulness: Trauma-Responsiveness, SEL & Equity — HEARTLAND I & II

6.  Helping Kids Make Smart, Safe and Ethical Choices While Using Technology — HEARTLAND III & IV

Kent Mollberg, Information Technology Consultant

Are you finding that you are spending more and more of your valuable time putting out “fires” because of students making poor choices when using technology? Are you constantly having to “deal with” issues revolving around sexting, bullying, and inappropriate use of technology? If the answer is YES, Kent can help make your job easier, and help improve the lives and future choices of your students.

7. I.S.S. Room Intervention, Support and Success to REACH Students — MINNESOTA II

Mike Schmidt, Principal, Staples-Motley Middle School/High School

A creative setting for students in need of extra attention, support, a place to be and belong, blended with staff support and accountabilities. Every school has the students and the staff. Perhaps this will help you blend them together for results you can measure.

8. Bold Leadership – Smart, Stop, Continue? — GOVERNORS

Staci Allmaras, Center Director
Todd Van Erp, Principal Leadership Support, Western Lakes Regional Center of Excellence
Liz Vaught, Principal Leadership Support, Minnesota Department of Education

Listen to student leaders from around the state discuss their experiences during the virtual/hybrid/in-person 2020-21 school year. Students will discuss the impact of racial equity discussions. They will relate their experiences of distant learning and will express their frustrations with decisions made that impacted their high school experience. Finally, the students will answer questions from the principals.

12:30 p.m. LUNCH — DECK (weather permitting)

12:45 p.m. ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT – WHITEBIRCH COURSE

Sponsored by Lifetouch

1:35 p.m. THIRD CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Sessions 6-8 repeated

6. Helping Kids Make Smart, Safe and Ethical Choices — HEARTLAND III & IV
7. "I.S.S. Room" Intervention, Support, Success — MINNESOTA II
8. Bold Leadership – Smart, Stop, Continue? — GOVERNORS

2:30 p.m. FREE PONTOONS AND HALF-PRICE GOLF

Furnished by Breezy Point Resort

6:30 p.m. FISH FRY — DECK (weather permitting)

8:00 p.m. BOAT CRUISE ON THE BREEZY BELL — MEET AT THE MARINA*

Sponsored by e-hallpass by Eduspire Solutions
*Must be 21 years or older to attend

7:00 a.m. BREAKFAST — MARINA DINING ROOM

8:00 a.m. FOURTH GENERAL SESSION — WHITEBIRCH ROOM

Presider: Ehren Zimmermann, President, Principal, Perham High School

Address: Strategic Plan Update

Mark Larson, M/J Larson Consulting

Keynote: The Seasons of Life: Change, Attitude and Perseverance

Richard Coffey, Speaker

Our lives consist of ever-changing seasons. One season, never lasting forever. In this program, you will learn how your mindset impacts every step of your journey. Richard delivers a thought-provoking experience that will challenge, inspire, and motivate you to take the next step in living out your purpose. He will challenge you to push past your fear, tap into your personal power and develop a strategic plan. Richard teaches how we are all more alike than we are different. You will learn the importance of self-evaluation and why your personal development is key to your success and the success of your students.

Address: 2021 Legislative Session Update

Roger Aronson with invited Legislators

Find out what happened in the 2021 Legislative Session. Take a look at the “behind the scenes” work during the session with Roger Aronson. Roger will offer participants practical information with editorial asides providing an entertaining and information filled session. As always, his session is a “can’t miss” opportunity.

11:00 a.m. Closing Remarks

Ehren Zimmermann, President

Staci Allmaras is the Director of the Western Lakes Regional Center of Excellence at Lakes Country Service Cooperative in Fergus Falls. She has served as a classroom teacher and school administrator prior to her work at the Western Lakes RCE. Staci is also an Adjunct Faculty member in the Educational Leadership program at Minnesota State University-Moorhead. In each of her roles, Staci shares great passion for growing leaders in their work to serve each and every student within our education system.

Roger Aronson has been MASSP’s legal counsel and lobbyist since 1981. Roger is a graduate of St. John’s University and the University of Minnesota School of Law. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer on school law topics. Roger is co-chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s School Law Conference and is on the executive committee of the education lobbyist’s group, BELL. In addition, Roger is Special Projects Counsel for the MSHSL, represents the Minneapolis Principals’ Forum, St. Paul Principals’ Association, and MESPA. He is a member of both the Minnesota and National Councils of School Attorneys.

Matthew Brandt is the Vice President at Innocent Technologies. He helped create the Innocent Classroom with Alexsw Pate. Previously, Matthew was the Vice President at the Minnesota Humanities Center where he produced award winning programs, documentaries and exhibits, including the Bdote Memory Map site and the traveling exhibit Why Treaties Matter.

Thomas Brenner is the principal of Cloquet Middle School and the President-Elect of MASSP.

Ashley Carranco for the past six years, she has had both the honor and privilege of serving as a Lead Coach and Consultant for the Education Division of FranklinCovey. She has certifications in the Leader in Me Centerline Content and Coaching in the Elementary, Middle and High School levels. Ms. Carranco has coached and consulted in both urban and rural, east and west coast schools, affluent and high poverty populations with great success. “The work that we do daily through Leader in Me fuels my passion and purpose – leaving the world better than I found it.”

Richard Coffey is a native of North Carolina. A businessman and former professional athlete. He served three years in the United States Army as an Airborne Paratrooper, a member of the first to fight, last to fall 82nd Airborne.

Richard is a former college basketball player with a degree in business. After graduating from college, he played professional basketball in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Following the NBA, he continued his basketball career playing and coaching abroad in Europe and Asia. Richard worked as a leader in the corporate sales industry for over 20 years after finishing his basketball career.

Mary Pat Cumming is the MASSP Secretary and the principal of the FAIR School Downtown in Minneapolis.

Kristin Daniels has a B.A. in Psychology from Northwestern University and a M.Ed in Elementary Education from DePaul University in Chicago, IL. She is a licensed educator and has worked as a classroom teacher, technology integration specialist, innovation coordinator, and is currently the Executive Director of InnovateK12.

Robert Dockendorf is the principal at Big Lake High School.

Katie Dorn, MA, LSC, MFT Co-Founder, CEO is a licensed school counselor and therapist that has a reputation as a bold leader, an empathetic and highly-skilled clinician and trustworthy partner that creates student change.

William Drew has leveraged experience in project management within corporate spaces and over 9,000 hours of teaching mindfulness/meditation to benefit those in education and healthcare since 2012. Drew’s work has allowed him to present the benefits of Mindfulness/Mindful Movement to a wide variety of schools, organizations and businesses across the country.

Doug Erickson is the MASSP Coordinator of Student Activities and has served as part of the MASSP staff for nine years. Doug is a leadership presenter throughout middle and high schools in Minnesota. The students were part of discussion on racial equity, school climate and student stress throughout the 2020-21 school year.

Jason Harris is currently the principal at Tech High School in St. Cloud. He earned his bachelor's degree at Minnesota State, Moorhead, master's degree and K-12 Administrators Licensure at Saint Mary’s University. He is currently a doctoral student at St. Cloud State University in Educational Leadership.

Bukata Hayes – The most important thing about Bukata is that he is the son of Dia Damani and Karen Hayes, husband to Lisa and father to Damani, Jalen, Zavier, and Zuri. In addition to this, he recently became the first VP for Racial and Health Equity at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Prior to that, he served for 15 years as the Executive Director of the Greater Mankato Diversity Council, a non-profit, focused on diversity, inclusion and equity in Southern Minnesota since September, 2006. In March 2020, Bukata co-authored a book titled, WRITE on RACE to be RIGHT on RACE Resource Journaling Guide which is a self-study on race highlighting its many impacts on our communities. He is the co-founder of Love & Struggle, LLC, a consulting collaborative that offers a variety of services to assist organizations in embedding equity and creating racially just environments. He also co-hosts a local radio show and podcast called DEI: Engaged Exchanges which discusses issues with diversity, equity and inclusion with local and statewide leaders. Bukata received his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. He has membership and/or is on the board of numerous organizations such as the Mankato Chapter of the NAACP (Executive Committee), Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Board (President), Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation Board (Vice President) and the Blandin Foundation Board.

Joel Heitkamp is currently the principal at South Junior School in St. Cloud.

Molly Kensy earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from St. Cloud State University, a master’s degree in Educational Administration and Leadership from St. Cloud State University and completed her K-12 Principal and Superintendent license.

Susan Keranen is the Elementary Dyslexia Specialist for the St. Cloud Area Public School District. Her role focuses on district-wide dyslexia program, training and implementation, and is providing reading intervention.  Sue’s educational experience includes teaching reading in special education as well as a dyslexia specialist/consultant.

Dr. Heidi Kopacek is a licensed psychologist who practices an integrative approach to emotional health. Author of the book: Soothe: Your Mind Body Spirit Guide for Dealing with Crappy Emotions. Dr. Kopacek has travelled and taught on mindfulness, yoga, and a whole health approach to resilience.

Robert Laney began his career with St. Louis Park Schools in 1986. In 1996, he became the high school principal, during which the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model was developed. In 2007, he was promoted to assistant superintendent. Bob then became superintendent of St. Anthony-New Brighton schools in 2012, retiring at the end of the 2017-18 school year. He currently serves as a BARR Trainer and Advocate.

Mark Larson is a consultant with M/J Consulting.

Erich Martens, MSHSL Executive Director, is responsible for providing leadership in development and enforcement of policies, procedures, and practices that maintain and improve the quality of the MSHSL education-based activities and athletics. Erich has been a proud member of MASSP since 1999 and has served as a principal at Sauk Centre and Sauk Rapids-Rice prior to joining the MSHSL staff in March of 2018.

Coleman McDonough became principal at North Branch Area High School in 2010. Prior to that, he spent 15 years with the Saint Paul Public schools serving as a social studies teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal. He has been a member of MASSP since 2000; served as Capital division president in 2010 and 2018 and served 7 years on MASSP board. In 2010, he was selected as the Minnesota Middle School Principal of the Year.

Mark McIlmoyle has a B.A. in History/Political Science from Trent University, a Bachelors of Education from Queen’s University, Masters of Education from St. Mary’s University. He has served as Social Studies/English teacher, Instructional Coach, Assistant Principal and Principal. He is passionate about amplifying the voices of students and staff as a core vehicle for school improvement and believes Crowdsourcing is an important tool to achieve a culture of inclusion.

Kent Mollberg is the author of a presentation on Internet and Technology Safety that he thinks could easily be presented in every school in America. He has been in education for 30+ years and it has been the best thing he has ever done for students. Kent has a master’s degree in information technology and has used his life experiences as an educator and parent to create this entertaining and educational seminar.

Will Parker is an author and speaker who uses his expertise in school culture, leadership and communication to equip educators with solutions and strategies for motivating students, inspiring teachers, and reaching communities.

An Oklahoma educator since 1993, Will was named Broken Arrow Public School’s South Intermediate High School Teacher of the Year in 1998. He became an assistant principal in 2004 and was named the Oklahoma Assistant Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary Principals in 2012. He is the former principal of Skiatook High School, near Tulsa, Oklahoma. His books, resources, blog posts and weekly podcast episodes can be found at his website: www.williamdparker.com. As principal of a Title I school, his school’s innovative approaches to collaboration, remediation, and mentoring resulted in marked improvements in student performance.

Cynthia Patten returns to Tech High School for the third year in a row in a new position as assistant principal, after serving as an administrative intern for the past two years. She has been with ISD 742 for five years, beginning as the alternative to suspension teacher at Apollo, and then spending two years as an academic coach at Apollo. She spent the first fifteen years of her career teaching social studies in Litchfield, Minnesota.

Jesús Sandoval is entering his third year as one of the assistant principals at Tech High School. Sandoval received his Bachelor of Science in Education from Bowling Green State University. He received his master's in Administration and Leadership along with his Principal and Superintendent Licensures from Saint Cloud State University.

Mike Schmidt has been in administration for over 10 years as an Activities Director and 5-12 principal. He's served on numerous regional and state committees throughout his tenure and values the relationships he's made through MASSP, MNIAAA and his PLC community.

April Schnell helps people actualize their potential to contribute to the world. She collaborates with leaders to understand their ecosystems, develop effective strategies, and adapt human systems to support learners in owning their career development. April writes, speaks, coaches and consults on learner-centered career education and experiential learning for equity.

Katie Schnider is the St. Cloud Area Schools’ Secondary Dyslexia Specialist. She has taught for 16 years in elementary and middle schools as well as serving as an academic coach. This last school year, Katie served as a secondary district-wide dyslexia specialist while also teaching reading intervention in both the middle and high schools.

Dr. Jason Stanoch is currently the principal at Bemidji High School (BHS). During his five years at BHS, he has supported the leadership of Mrs. Jackie Stoffel in the implementation within the school and community to build a Unified School program. Through his over two decades in education, he has worked to promote inclusive programs for all students.

Jackie Stoffel teaches Physical Education and Developmental Adapted Physical Education at Bemidji High School. She has collaborated with administration, teachers and staff at Bemidji High School to start the Unified Champion Schools Program. Their group is currently working to make our district a Unified Champion District.

Jill Tessman is Director of Student Support at White Bear Lake High School.

Todd Van Erp, Ed.D., is a Principal Leadership Support at the Western Lakes Regional Center of Excellence at Lakes Country Service Cooperative in Fergus Falls. Todd served as a middle and high school Science teacher for 12 years and a school administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school level for 11 years. Todd and his wife Nancy (who is also an educator) have four children, two in college and two in high school.

Liz Vaught, Ed.D., is a Principal Leadership Support team member, serving the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. For over 20 years, she has served in various roles in three different states, including as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal. Elizabeth is committed to serving Minnesota’s leaders by centering equity and student needs.

Stacy Wells is a dedicated educator and equity thought leader with a variety of professional experiences, including leadership in the public and private sector; public school teacher and district wide administrator; higher education faculty, and consultant. She has over twenty years of training and facilitation experience. Her areas of specialty include leadership development and coaching embedded in cultural competence, organizational alignment with DEI strategies, community development to advance racial justice, and teacher preparation. Stacy is the co-author of WRITE on RACE to be RIGHT on RACE Resource Journaling Guide and co-founder of Love & Struggle, LLC. A racial justice and educational equity consulting organization. She is currently the Director of Communications for Mankato Area Public Schools. She earned her B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Drake University, and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of St. Thomas. Stacy and her family live in Bloomington, MN.

Jaimee Wolcott is the Assistant Vice President at Innocent Technologies. She has over 15 years in education, focused on racial equity, as a paraprofessional, OST provider, teacher, coach and non-profit leader. Most recently, Jaimee was the Education Director at Northside Achievement Zone and then the Director of Talent Acquisition at Minneapolis Public Schools.

Ehren Zimmerman is the President of MASSP and the principal of Perham High School.