Michele Mattoon

Director, National School Reform Faculty

Co-facilitator for July 16, pre-conference

Michele Mattoon has been the director of the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF) since 2010.  She works with schools and national facilitators across the country and overseas to implement Critical Friends Trainings, strategic planning sessions and other work relating to collaborative learning.  Michele has been a national/international facilitator with NSRF for over 15 years and has been a coach since 1996. She has developed many protocols, activities and trainings for Critical Friends Group (CFG) work over the years. Michele is the primary editor of the latest CFG Coaches’ Handbook that is used in all of NSRF’s trainings.

Before becoming NSRF’s director, Michele taught school for over 20 years and was the elementary coordinator for Harmony School for 3 years.  She was awarded the Hoosier Educator Award in 2000 and the Dorothy Johnson Award for Excellence in Education of Young Children in 2001.

Michele is also the president and owner of Coltrain Group, a consulting firm that brings collaborative training to businesses and other organizations outside of the education arena.

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Eric White

Facilitator and Coach

Co-facilitator for July 17-19

Eric is an educator who, above all else, is devoted to student and teacher empowerment. He has performed many roles in education that include serving as a classroom teacher, department head, instructional coach, and Title I / CTAE coordinator. During his tenure, he co-founded multiple academies that focused on design thinking, blended learning, and project-based learning. Eric has presented at many state and national conferences on innovative learning approaches and continues to provide professional development in this area. He also provides coaching and professional learning to assist districts and schools with 1:1 initiatives. In addition to having his blogs published by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning, he co-authored “Design Thinking and the Shift From Refrigerator Projects” for UnBoxed: A Journal of Adult Learning in Schools. Eric was also featured for his work with project-based learning in Edutopia’s Schools That Work series in 2011.

In his spare time Eric loves to go fly fishing, but he admittedly catches more trees than fish.

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Drew Perkins

Director, TeachThought PD

Co-facilitator for July 16, pre-conference and July 17-19

As TeachThought’s Director of Professional Development and co-host of the TeachThought Podcast Drew helps design and deliver workshops and learning both on-site and virtually as well as coordinating PD work with our other Specialists. A graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Political Science in three years, he was decidedly against the idea of being a teacher. With a mother and grandmother both educators, a stint as a substitute teacher lured him back to earn a teaching certificate in secondary social studies. Thus began a journey that includes 15 years in the classroom and leadership in Michigan, California, Texas and most recently Kentucky and spanned middle and high school, Special Education to Advanced Placement and basketball and golf coaching.

Formerly with the Buck Institute for Education and the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning he has designed and contributed to several PBL models, including the TeachThought PBL Model. Drew continues to deliver professional development and speak internationally. He has been light-heartedly referred to as a professional thought stretcher due to his emphasis on leading through inquiry and questioning.

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