2024 Annual Summit

Ana-Paula Correia, Ph.D., is the director of the Center on Education and Training for Employment. She has more than 25 years of experience in learning design and instructional systems technology. Specifically, Dr. Correia’s expertise lies in learning design, online and mobile learning, collaborative learning, and entrepreneurial education. Her work has been published in top-tier academic journals, such as Educational Technology Research & Development, Teachers College Record, British Journal of Educational Technology, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Computers in Human Behavior, and Distance Education. She has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters in three different languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish. In 2018 she published the book, Teaching Online Simplified: A Quick Guide for Instructors, intended to serve as a practical guide or “handbook” for those with limited or no prior knowledge of teaching and education but are interested in online teaching.

Dr. Correia is also a Professor of Learning Technologies in the Department of Educational Studies at The Ohio State University. She leads the Learning and Experience Design Research Group, a group dedicated to investigating learning design processes and pedagogies to create deep learning. She was the Faculty Co-Coordinator of the Masters of Learning Technologies until September 2021. Launched in August 2016, this program is ranked 10^th in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.

Dr. Correia has been involved with research projects funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Pappajohn Center/Kauffman Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education. Her research was awarded for excellence several times by the Association for Educational Communication and Technology as well as the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. She has delivered innumerable presentations at local, national, and international conferences.

Dr. Correia earned her Masters and Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University-Bloomington. For more information, visit her professional website. 

Research Interests

• Learning Technologies
  • Learning Design
  • Learner Experience Design
  • Collaborative Learning
  • Online Learning and Teaching
  • Entrepreneurship in Learning Technologies
• Educational Statistics and Research Methods
  • Mixed Method
  • Correlational Studies
  • Naturalistic Inquiry

Barbara Boone, Ph.D., is the Program Director for Family Engagement Programs at The Ohio State University, Center on Education and Training for Employment and is the Director of the federally funded Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center. In this role, Barbara leads a team conducting family engagement initiatives creating professional development and tools, providing technical assistance, and conducting research to promote high impact family engagement for all Ohio students. Barbara has enjoyed helping thousands of families and educational professionals grow, and her own family of five, and local schools too. A New Jersey native, Barbara is an avid hiker and beekeeper. You can reach her at boone.32@osu.edu, and find her on Twitter at @boonebbuzz.

Preparing students for success means understanding the connections between the classroom, real-world experiences, and the knowledge, skills, and opportunities needed for a bright future. With more than 40 years working in multiple educational settings, Stephen D. Dackin has amassed extensive experience in state education policy, instructional leadership, postsecondary education, and workforce readiness.

Director Dackin’s career has been guided by a personal focus to work in service to children and families. Prior to being appointed as director of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Director Dackin served in roles ranging from a classroom educator, school and district leader, and at the former Ohio Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and in higher education.

At the local level, Director Dackin worked in central Ohio school districts to advance achievement opportunities for all students. During his time in Reynoldsburg City Schools, he worked as a high school principal, assistant superintendent, and the district superintendent. Under his leadership, the district markedly improved student performance, including performance among minority and economically disadvantaged students, while reducing spending. During his tenure, the district developed one of the nation’s largest science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs, which served more than a third of the district’s students. He led a districtwide transformation of Reynoldsburg’s large, comprehensive high school into four, grades 9-14 college and career academies, each aligned to clusters of careers that are important to Ohio’s economic development plans.

Director Dackin understands the challenges and opportunities our young people and their parents and guardians face in effectively navigating the educational and workforce systems for their children. He brought this expertise to his position as superintendent of school and community partnerships for Columbus State Community College. He bolstered initiatives to grow a number of Columbus State Community College partnerships and programs originating from the Central Ohio Compact, a regional strategy initiative focused on a goal that 60% of central Ohio adults hold postsecondary degrees or credentials by 2025.

He continues to elevate the role partnerships play in achieving statewide goals, and is a member of several education, community, and workforce boards.

Education is part of the fabric of the Dackin family. Director Dackin’s wife, Susan, is a retired educator and they are the proud parents of two daughters, one of whom is an educator and the other an attorney, both in Central Ohio. Director Dackin enjoys golfing, cycling, and spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. 

Katie Novak, Ed.D., is an internationally renowned education consultant, author, graduate instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, and a former Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Massachusetts. With 20 years of experience in teaching and administration, an earned doctorate in curriculum and teaching, and fourteen published books, Katie designs and presents workshops both nationally and internationally focusing on the implementation of inclusive practices, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and universally designed leadership. Novak’s work has impacted educators worldwide as her contributions and collaborations have built upon the foundation for an educational framework that is critical for student success.

Dr. Novak is the author of the best-selling books, UDL Now! A Teacher’s Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning in Today’s Classrooms, Innovate Inside the Box, with George Couros, Equity by Design, with Mirko Chardin, and The Shift to Student-Led with Catlin Tucker.

Brett Zyromski is an Associate Professor and Program Chair of the Counselor Education Program at The Ohio State University. His scholarship focuses on how school-based counselors can enhance protective factors and positive childhood experiences for students that have experienced adverse childhood experiences, while at the same time deconstructing the systems that create the need for such interventions. His research also explores the impact of socially-just evidence-based interventions in school counseling. Dr. Zyromski has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters related to school counseling issues, delivered over 150 international, national, regional, and local presentations and has served as numerous international and state conference keynote. He co-founded and is co-chair of the annual Evidence-Based School Counseling Conference (http://www.ebscc.org) and has served as co-primary investigator or project manager for over $12,000,000 worth of federal grants.

Hadley Bachman, Ph.D., is a Research Administration Management Consultant at the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center, where she spearheads efforts to advance research, professional development, and the acquisition of grants and sponsored projects. In her role, she manages and implements large-scale professional learning projects of state, national, and international significance. Hadley holds a Ph.D. (2023) in Educational Studies specializing in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University. Before joining Ohio State, she was an English teacher and principal, serving in these roles for 14 years. When she’s not working, Hadley spends time outdoors with her husband, daughter, and dog. You can reach her at bachman.33@osu.edu, and find her online on LinkedIn and Twitter at @HadleyBachman

Rachel Renbarger, PhD, is an educational researcher at FHI360, a global nonprofit focused on improving human wellbeing. Raised in a rural and low-income household, Renbarger obtained her teaching licensure to serve the students from her hometown. Upon recognizing the need for increased support for teachers and schools to ensure all students succeed, she obtained her PhD in Educational Psychology from Baylor University to study resilience and systemic change. Renbarger now works to improve research methods in education, prioritizing equity and criticality. Her current work includes systematic review, meta-analysis, and mixed methods research along with evaluation all for the goal of improving public education. She lives in Durham, North Carolina with her husband, baby daughter Lily, and two cats. In her free time she loves trying new foods, reading, hiking, kayaking, and traveling the world. You can email her at rrenbarger@fhi360.org.

Felix Fernandez, PhD, Principal Research Scientist at FHI 360, has over 15 years conducting research on education technologies, dropout prevention, college and career readiness, and family and community collaboration with specific focus towards underserved communities. Dr. Fernandez is an expert at translating research findings to practical applications, data visualizations, and the design and implementation of rigorous multi-method program evaluations.

Prof. Florrie Ng is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Educational Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She received a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was a postdoctoral fellow at New York University and the City University of New York Graduate Center. She was an Associate Editor of Child Development, the flagship journal of the Society for Research in Child Development. Prof. Ng grew up in Hong Kong and has lived in the U.S. for a number of years. Her research is concerned with understanding the role of parents in children’s development across cultures. She is particularly interested in how parents’ cultural values may shape their cognitions and practices and thereby, contribute to children’s academic and socioemotional functioning. Her research has been featured in overseas and local media, including the ABC, BBC, New York Times, and Al Jazeera English.

Sarah DeShon joined the Center on Education and Training for Employment as a Family Engagement Learning Coordinator with the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center. As a learning coordinator, her primary role is designing and facilitating research-based professional development for out-of-school-time personnel and other family-facing professionals. She seeks to build their capacity for equitable family engagement. As a former classroom teacher, Sarah has learned and experienced the important role all families, schools, and communities play in the success of student achievement and wellness.

Jingyang (Max) Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate in the Educational Psychology program at OSU’s College of Education and Human Ecology. Max previously worked as a graduate research associate at the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center, where he studied and wrote about (1) the roles and voices of adolescent students in family-school partnerships and (2) strategies based on family-school partnerships for addressing chronic absenteeism and improving student attendance. Currently working as a lab coordinator in the Educational Psychology program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong while conducting his dissertation study, Max is also passionate about how family engagement and school-family partnerships shape the academic and occupational aspirations and motivation of middle- and high-school students across cultures.

Catherine Thomas, M.Ed. serves as the Director of Universal Pre-Kindergarten with Starting Point, the leading expert in quality child care, early education, and out of school time resources in Northeast Ohio. Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK), funded by Invest in Children, is Cuyahoga County’s award-winning program that helps 3-5-year-olds have access to high quality preschool. Catherine has worked with the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program since its inception in 2007. In her previous role as the UPK Family Engagement Coordinator, Catherine provided training and technical assistance to principals, administrators, teachers, and families members on the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) family engagement framework. Under her leadership, UPK has received 6 Organization Awards from NNPS for excellence in school, family, and community partnership activities and has been highlighted in seven NNPS Promising Practices Publications. Catherine has presented at national conferences on various topics including involving fathers.

Stancy Sykes began her educational career at the university level, guiding students from orientation to graduation. She has worked as an educational specialist, college access advocate, and recruiter, promoting college-going culture in various communities. Currently, Ms. Sykes is with Akron Public Schools, focusing on systemic and sustainable family-school partnerships at the district level. Previously, she served as an elementary school administrator and intervention specialist. Ms. Sykes has represented the district on several committees, including Harvard University’s Proving Ground network, the Ohio Department of Education’s Mathematics Content Advisory Committee, and the Cleveland Browns Foundation’s Stay in the Game initiative. She is also a board member of the Salvation Army and Child Guidance & Family Solutions.

Dr. Holly Christie is starting her 32nd year in education with the Mansfield City Schools. She has served as the Director of Student Support Programs for the last seven years. In addition to her responsibilities for monitoring state and federal funding, she is responsible for supporting students in the district experiencing homelessness, learning English, with gifted identification, and in the justice system. Dr. Christie has experience consulting with non-public schools, 21st Century Community Learning Center programming, Open Doors Academy (ODA) programs, and assisted in implementing a School-Based Health Care in one of the schools in her district. She is passionate about engaging families and community partners through a partnership process she learned when training with Dr. Joyce Epstein,  Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center, and the National Network Partnership Schools (NNPS). Her classroom experience teaching kindergarten and first grade laid the foundation for her work as a Teacher Leader later in her teaching career. She has found her work as an administrator of State and Federal funding to be challenging but just as rewarding as being in the classroom.

Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D. in sociology from Johns Hopkins University, is Director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships and Professor of Education in the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. In 1995,she established the National Network of Partnership Schools(NNPS), which provides professional development for leaders to develop research-based programs of family and community engagement. She has over one hundred fifty publications including School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, 4th Edition (2019)and a textbook for college courses, School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools, 2nd Edition. (2011). Dr. Epstein was named a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association in 2009 and received the Elizabeth Cohen Award for Applied Research (2009) from AERA’s Sociology of Education Special Interest Group. In all of her work she is interested in the connections of research, policy, and practice.

Dr. Gabrielle Johnson is a Research Administration Management Consultant at the Center on Education and Training for Employment (CETE) where she works as a member of the Equity, Engagement, and Evaluation Team. Dr. Johnson possesses a longtime passion for the pursuit of equity, social justice, and systemic change in education which led her to earn her PhD in Educational Studies, with a focus on School Psychology from The Ohio State University. Dr. Johnson is a core leader of CETE’s Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) Movement and serves as an advisory member of the REDI Steering Team. Dr. Johnson is an Ohio Licensed School Psychologist and leverages her experience in this field as director of the Parent Mentor Oversight & Professional Development Program, CETE’s leadership of Ohio’s Parent Mentor Project.

Krisa Rhodes is a Parent Mentor of 3 years. But, first and foremost, she is the mother of 3 children: Mikayla (24) who received her master’s in special education this year and is teaching in Logan, Ohio; Zain (20) who attends the Adult Success Program-Transition Program through the Muskingum Valley ESC, and Ashtin (15), a sophomore at Sheridan High School. Krisa has been a social worker for over 25 years serving children’s services in Fairfield County in multiple positions such as long-term care case management and Parent Project Instructor for the Visitation Center that served at-risk youth and their families. Krisa has found the Parent Mentor position to be her dream job as it finally meets her personal goal of assisting families of Special Needs children as she describes being a Special Needs parent as one of the toughest and most rewarding roles a person can have.

Paula Drummer is a Parent Mentor with a passion for supporting families as they navigate through the complexities of the special education system. With firsthand experience as a parent of a child with exceptional needs, she understands the unique challenges and emotions that come with advocating for a child’s educational rights. Her passion lies in supporting and providing resources to families, particularly those with students who have more complex needs. Before entering this field, Paula built a career in the pharmaceutical industry, holding a BA in Chemistry. This background provides her with a strong analytical and problem-solving skill set, which she now applies to her work in special education. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Janis Bellon has worked with English Learner populations for nearly two decades, across three states and from people that have lived on every continent. The one commonality that Bellon finds amongst students and families from various nations is this – they all have needs to be met, and they want someone who will listen to their stories. Bellon has worked with Princeton City Schools and Hamilton County ESC for four years, and enjoys working with the English Learner community, and its teachers, in the Cincinnati area.

Ana Martinez. With over 25 years of experience working with the community and 15 years in education, my journey began in a diverse community in New York City. I later brought my expertise to Cincinnati, Ohio, where I have been actively engaged with the community for over 19 years. My personal challenges in navigating the education system highlighted the need for support, inspiring me to become a family engagement leader and parent advocate. I co-host various successful family engagement programs focused on education and community empowerment. I introduced and co-lead several successful family and community engagement programs that address the diverse needs of our community. Some notable programs include the Hispanic Heritage Festival, 2nd Cup of Coffee, and Parent Academy. I am excited to share my experiences and learn from all of you. Thank you for the opportunity to connect.

Eric Anderman is Professor of Educational Psychology at The Ohio State University. His research focuses on student academic motivation. He has several programs of research, including studies of (a) adolescent risk-taking behavior, (b) academic integrity (i.e., cheating), and (c) academic success in domestically and internationally adopted youth. He also conducts research on violence perpetrated against educators. He is a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association. He is the editor of the journal Theory into Practice, and he co-edited the Visible Learning Guide to Student Achievement with John Hattie, and the 2016 Handbook of Educational Psychology. He is the co-author of three textbooks, and has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and invited chapters. His research has been featured in numerous media outlets, including CBS News, NBC News (Dateline NBC), CNN, NPR, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and New York magazine.

Dr. Meredith Wellman has worked as a Program Manager at the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center since 2014 supporting strong family, school, and community partnerships within Ohio’s education system. She has developed dozens of resources for schools and families to better communicate back and forth about student literacy development and dyslexia. She co-authored the Partnerships for Literacy© program for Elementary Schools with Dr. Barbara Boone. She also conducts program evaluations for educational and community programs, and has been the Principal Investigator for several grant-funded projects. She routinely presents at local, state, and national conferences/events about topics such as family engagement in literacy, mental health, and program evaluation. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2016. Meredith lives in Westerville, OH with her husband and two children, and enjoys biking, hiking, playing frisbee, and baking pies.

Jovanna Tyree is an Early Childhood Education Specialist at Columbus City Schools and a graduate of The Ohio State University, where she earned a B.S. in Early Childhood Education. Throughout her career, she has excelled in both the private and public sectors, starting and leading several quality preschool and Head Start programs. Jovanna also contributed as a Content Coordinator for the OSU Virtual Lab School. Her passion lies in enhancing child development through dynamic family engagement and professional development for educators, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to advancing early childhood education.

Suzy Marquis is an interventionist at Brooklyn City Schools. She holds a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Ashland University and certificates in Autism Spectrum Intervention and Behavior Intervention from Kent State University. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree in interprofessional leadership at Kent State University. Suzy is invested in fostering educational excellence and community engagement. Her commitment to excellence has been further acknowledged through awards such as the NOACC Bright Star Award in 2021, the Franklin B. Walter Outstanding Educator Recipient award in 2002 from the Cuyahoga Special Education Service Center, and a nomination for Ohio Teacher of the Year 2024. With over 29 years of teaching experience, Suzy understands the importance of parent-teacher partnerships and actively fosters collaboration between home and school to support student success in her district.

Rochelle Wilkerson is a Supervisor in the Division of Early Childhood Education for Columbus City Schools. With over two decades of experience, Rochelle brings a wealth of knowledge to over 1,900 early learners served. With a master’s in special education from The Ohio State University (OSU), a masters in educational administration from Ashland University, and completion of The Accelerated Licensure Program for Superintendents also at OSU, Rochelle has strong commitment to lifelong learning. Rochelle’s dedication to high quality early childhood practices shines through her presentations at national and local conferences, including the OAESA and AERA annual conferences and NAEYC Professional Learning Institutes. Rochelle regularly speaks on the topics related to the advocacy of early learners and the adults who serve them; the needs of neurodivergent adults, children, and their families; and providing a trauma informed/person centered approach to leadership. Rochelle lives in Worthington, Ohio with her two children, Alaina and Julia.

Karen Valenza has 35 years of experience working in Educational settings in Ohio. She is currently in her fifth year as an Instructional Coach at Brooklyn City Schools, OH. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education from The Ohio State University, a K-8 teaching license, a Masters in Education Administration from John Carroll University, and a K-12 principal’s license. Her prior educational experience includes 2 years as a first grade teacher at St. Rita School in Solon, OH, 2 years teaching fifth grade at St. Gregory the Great School in South Euclid, OH, 7 years as a junior high ELA teacher at Memorial Junior High School in the South Euclid-Lyndhurst City Schools, OH, and 19 years as a Curriculum Coordinator in the South Euclid-Lyndhurst City Schools, OH. 

Mr. Langford served as the Educational Support Specialist at Lomond Elementary School in Shaker Heights for more than three years before creating the structure and foundation for the Office of Family and Community Engagement for Shaker Heights Schools. Before entering education, Langford spent more than eight years in the business world as a finance manager and sales representative for Wells Fargo, Citizens Bank, and Mercedes Benz. Mr. Langford also worked as a Rehabilitation Technician rehabbing stroke patients and joint replacement patients at hospitals and nursing homes in Greater Cleveland for over 12 years. Mr. Langford has spoken Nationally on Family and Community Engagement, Youth Mentoring, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Mr. Langford attended both Cuyahoga Community College and Cleveland State University. Certificates from the following: Asset Based Community Development from Case Western Reserve University, Diversity Equity and Inclusion from Cleveland State University, Family and Community Engagement from Harvard.

Jill Damore is an ELL teacher and FACE Liaison. She enjoys getting to know the international community she serves as well as connecting families with resources.

Whitney Gherman is a Family Engagement Learning Coordinator with the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center at The Ohio State University. She leads efforts to support, develop, and advance professional learning among schools, district leaders, and other family-facing professionals. Based on over a decade of experience as an educator and advocate for youth and families, Whitney supports the Ohio Partnership Schools Network through capacity-building activities that enhance the adoption of research-based practices among district and school leaders who engage with families. Whitney holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan and is currently a Ph.D. student at The Ohio State University. When she’s not working or studying, Whitney connects to the natural world with her partner, Chris, and their 10-year-old daughter, Isa. She loves to read, eat good food, and spend time outdoors. Her sign is Libra, and her Instagram handle is @whitneygherman.

Dr. Fan Xu is a senior learning designer at the Center on Education and Training for Employment. She earned her Ph.D. degree in Education Studies (Learning Technologies) from the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University. She holds a master’s degree in information technologies in Education from The University of Hong Kong. Xu works more than five years in learning design and has experience in designing both online and in-person learning and training experiences with interactive technologies and data-driven assessment. Her research focuses on Artificial intelligence, computational thinking, learning technologies and learning design.

Karla Poole is the Executive Director of the Central Ohio Parent Leadership Training Institute (COPLTI), where she passionately leads initiatives to empower parents and children through leadership development, advocacy, and civic engagement. With a strong background in community organizing and a commitment to social justice, Karla has been instrumental in expanding COPLTI’s impact, including the introduction of Spanish-language cohorts and the development of the Children’s Leadership Training Institute (CLTI). Under her leadership, COPLTI has successfully graduated multiple cohorts, with alumni launching over 70 community projects that address critical issues such as education, health, and economic stability. Karla’s work is driven by her belief in the power of informed, engaged parents to create lasting, positive change in their communities. She continues to inspire and guide families in Central Ohio to become active participants in shaping the future for their children.

Tiana S. Lee, a Columbus, Ohio native, is a dedicated community leader with over a decade of experience in Relationship Marketing. Recognized as “The Networking Princess,” Tiana is passionate about creating safe spaces for personal and professional growth. She operates “The Korner,” a free store providing essential resources to parents in transition. She hosts THE Slumber Party, an empowering event for young girls and teens focused on leadership, self-esteem, and community engagement. A 2022 graduate of Central Ohio Parent Leadership Training Institute (COPLTI), Tiana serves as Alumni President and Coordinator, leading initiatives that amplify parent voices in civic spaces. Her work extends to co-chairing the Parent Leadership Committee with All in For Ohio Kids, advocating for equitable funding in Ohio’s public schools. Tiana’s mission is to connect resources and empower communities, ensuring every individual has the support they need to thrive.