Noah Bookman is the Chief Strategy Officer of CORE Districts. In his role, Noah leads CORE’s strategic initiatives, including CORE’s newly launched cross-district improvement community focused on math achievement gaps for African American and Hispanic/Latino youth, and CORE’s multi-district continuous improvement, holistic data system serving 1.8 million students. Among his other accomplishments, as Chief Accountability Officer at CORE from 2013 to 2016, Noah oversaw the implementation of the CORE No Child Left Behind Waiver, which included a first of its kind whole child approach to school accountability, emphasizing academic success, social-emotional development and positive school culture-climate.
Kamilah Drummond-Forrester is the Director at Open Circle, which equips elementary schools with evidence-based curriculum and training to improve school climate and teach children essential social and emotional skills. Kamilah’s professional career has fueled her passion for SEL, equity and youth development. She was previously Co-Founder and Director of Wellness at a Boston charter school and Director of an award-winning, educationally-based re-entry program at Suffolk County House of Correction. Kamilah received her Bachelors in Psychology and African American Studies from Brandeis University and earned a Masters in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling as well as a Certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies from Assumption College.
Bridget Hamre, Ph.D. is co-founder and Chief Impact Officer at Teachstone. She also holds a position as Associate Research Professor at the University of Virginia’s Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL). Dr. Hamre’s expertise include student-teacher relationships and classroom processes that promote positive academic and social development. Her current work focuses on developing and testing scalable solutions to support teachers and improve their interactions with students. As Chief Impact Officer Hamre is committed to ensuring that Teachstone delivers, communicates, and engages others in the collective work of transforming children’s lives through the power of great teaching. Dr. Hamre received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her masters and doctorate in clinical and school psychology from the University of Virginia.
Beth Hollenberg has 20 years of experience in education, with more than ten years' experience running online, campus, and hybrid education programs. Most recently, Ms. Hollenberg was President and COO of Kaplan Higher Education's Campus division. Prior to that role, she was the Executive Vice President and General Manager of SCORE! Educational Centers, a network of 170 technology-enabled tutoring centers nationwide. Ms.Hollenberg started her career as a consultant to the Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked on effectively scaling federally funded programs for children and youth. She was an associate with the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) in Washington, D.C., where she focused on social services and education reform. Trained as an attorney, Ms. Hollenberg holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School, an MA in Sociology, and BA in Psychology with distinction from Stanford University.
Kim Petrasek is Superintendent of Mannheim School District 83 in Franklin Park, Illinois. District 83 is known for its commitment to student excellence, strong K – 8 curriculum and instruction, child-centered philosophy, collaboration among staff/families/community, and outstanding faculty members to meet the needs of a diverse population. For the past five years, Mrs. Petrasek has led the development of data-informed social and emotional learning programming. Before becoming Superintendent, Mrs. Petrasek held many leadership positions, including as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in Villa Park School District 45, and as a principal, assistant principal, and classroom teacher.
Michael J. Strambler, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Medicine and Director of Child Wellbeing and Education Research at The Consultation Center within the Division of Prevention and Community Research in the Department of Psychiatry. His work has two main themes. One theme focuses on the role of social environments in the academic, psychological, social, and behavioral wellbeing of children and youth. A second theme examines whether and how school-based programs and practices improve the academic performance and health of children and emphasizes practical approaches for how to use data to inform practices and policies. Dr. Strambler has received funding support from several agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the William T. Grant Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from University of California at Berkeley.
Catherine Wang, Ph.D. is Superintendent of Glencoe District 35 in Glencoe, Illinois. In her tenure at District 35, Dr. Wang has worked diligently to align English, language arts and math curriculum across the grade levels to the Common Core State Standards, among other efforts. Dr. Wang and her team have also integrated social and emotional learning instruction and in that work, are committed to using assessment data to inform what they do. Before becoming Superintendent, Dr. Wang held key leadership positions, including as a director of curriculum and instruction, director of technology, and principal.
Roger P. Weissberg is Emeritus University/LAS Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Education and NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is also Chief Knowledge Officer of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), an organization committed to making evidence-based social, emotional, and academic learning an essential part of education. For the past 38 years, he has trained scholars and practitioners about innovative ways to design, implement and evaluate family, school and community interventions. Weissberg has authored 250 publications focusing on preventive interventions with children. He has received several awards including: the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Contribution Award for Applications of Psychology to Education and Training, the Society for Community Research and Action’s Distinguished Contribution to Theory and Research Award, and the "Daring Dozen" award from the George Lucas Educational Foundation for being 1 of 12 people who are reshaping the future of education. He is also a member of the National Academy of Education for contributions to education research and policy.
