Through the lens of her life experiences, Adah Zhang sees that our current approach to education is backwards. Adah wants to flip our approach to education to one that is data-driven and emphasizes learning the soft skills that are needed to solve the challenges of the future.

Zhang recently moved to Albuquerque from Cleveland, where she received a Master’s Degree in Biostatistics from Case Western Reserve University. She is a statistician who is passionate about reevaluating the culture surrounding education. Adah’s experience working as a high school tutor and 5th grade classroom assistant at the central landfill of Guatemala, camp counselor and tutoring different social classes has provided her with a depth of experience relating attitudes surrounding education and changes to shift the culture.

As an educator, entrepreneur, and life-long learner, Daniel wants to engage students in authentic learning experiences. His vision is to involve students in real-world economic opportunities to motivate a desire for learning. He is currently working on an entrepreneurial program that would put students right in the middle of the action with the city’s innovation endeavors and start-up community.

Daniel switched to a career in education after a successful career as an entrepreneur. His passion from both careers has led him to blending his experience to benefit the learning opportunities of his students. Daniel is a first-generation American Latino born in New York City who has made his way to Albuquerque via San Francisco and Austin.  Daniel’s vision has led him to presently serving as the director of SPACE, Sandia Preparatory’s innovation center serving as an academic incubator for future programs both in and out of the classroom.

Marcia knows something that will improve a student’s learning and is safe for kids, takes only 2 minutes and requires no additional budget. It’s movement. Marcia introduces us to the powers of cross-lateral movement and the neuroscience behind brain-body connection and learning.

Marcia Lee Unnever is the creator of Kids Focus, the brain-based program that helps kids focus using movement in the classroom. Marcia has 30 years of experience teaching, movement and using neuroscience to find healthy, medication-free answers to children’s behavioral and developmental challenges. She offers Kids Focus trainings to teachers, counselors, and parents across New Mexico and California.  She also gives private sessions for children in Albuquerque, NM. She is a New Mexico certified Educational Trainer, Reading Specialist, ADHD Consultant, speaker and writer.

Want to learn how to AMP up your classroom? Three simple words can make a bigger impact than you think: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. As a technologist and leader, Rick explains how these three words from Dan Pink’s book “Drive” have transformed his team into a highly productive and motivated unit and how it can work for you.

Rick is a successful manager who enjoys supporting his teams to excel and collaborate to innovate and problem solve. Rick’s leadership style is focused on autonomy, mastery and purpose which supports his style to connect with people he manages in a personal way. This approach creates a highly productive and motivated people who are engaged in their work. Rick has a Master’s in Business Administration from UNM and is a lean six sigma master black belt.

Can gratitude be a source of positive change for a school? Melinda Forward has a simple, yet powerful, challenge to empower students and teachers with gratitude. Melinda invites you to create a radical opportunity for students to engage campus-wide to build a school climate of positivity so everyone thrives.

27 years in education, with the past 11 in high-poverty Title 1 schools, Melinda Forward knows there is a crisis with teacher and student retention. Melinda believes it is time for schools to get serious about helping students empower themselves, inspire others, and help their schools shift the way they care for their teachers and students. Every teacher and student deserves an innovative school where positivity is the rule, not the exception.  To empower teachers and students to inspire one another, Melinda is building a global network of schools connected with enthusiasm and excitement about the present and future.

In the face of low teacher morale, severe teacher shortages, and other challenges facing educators today, Zachary proposes a new model to transform the culture of the teaching profession. Known as the 60/40 model, he showcases a structural change that both catalyzes progress and increases teacher engagement based on his work as a STEM professional in Northern New Mexico schools.

Zachary A. Leonard is a STEM education professional with a passion for creating positive change. Dr. Leonard has had a varied career spanning the disciplines of engineering, science and math education over the last 23 years. His current work with the Los Alamos National Laboratory Math and Science Academy (LANL MSA) is focused on areas of STEM professional learning, school leadership, and school professional culture. He works to develop the individual and collective capacity of teachers and school leaders in schools around northern New Mexico.

Indigenous languages are being lost around the world and our Native American communities are no exception. Can 21st century technology curb this trend? Using the power of play, Russ demonstrates a new approach to learning language using Native American voice controlled robots known as NAVCAR.

Russ Fisher-Ives’s experiences as a prospector for gold and geologist in Alaska, instructor of High School math & science in Albuquerque and leader of a cutting edge Science Academy at Rio Rancho High School has now led him to be a global voice for robotics in education. Russ is Co-Founder of RoboRAVE International, a 16 year old robotics education & competition program that has expanded to 17 countries on 5 continents. His latest endeavor is an exciting product that reengages kids in education, language, and culture through a robot.

Nearly everyone will say that technology is important in education, but can anyone answer how best to do so? Rachel Thomas and Steven Lamb, the dynamic duo pioneering Virtual Team Teaching in ABQ, want to show you how to take technology from buzzword to an essential, daily, classroom inspiration.

Rachel is a National Board Certified Teacher and Steven is an award winning elementary educator and together they believe in making ludicrous brainstorming ideas into positive learning experiences. Together they passionately explore Virtual Team Teaching, a method in which two geographically separated teachers digitally collaborate to engage their students in continuous shared learning experiences. One driving reason to connect the students to peers across the city is to let them share and learn from each other. Getting students to consider what they know from their own sphere of influence, and asking each other questions about it, is the best way Rachel and Steven know how to guide teaching and learning.

Chad McDaniel knows first hand why traditional education is failing the modern student…he was one. Students are disengaged by a system that rewards repetition and memorization. Chad underscores the need for mentors and aligning education with the modern student so they will stay engaged and develop an ability to adapt to their rapidly evolving world.

Is summer vacation standing in the way of providing students the opportunity to thrive in school? Sean Ritchel examines this question from the perspective of his own experience in school and recent research. Sean unfolds this simple, but effective way to create an environment that uses the entire year to help our students to learn and grow.

Sean Ritchel is a professional youth speaker, rapper, and activist with a passion for student success. Sean’s message emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance, encouraging students to “Look in the mirror. Love it. Now go above it.” Sean advocates for education reform and believes positive change can only happen if we speak loud about things that matter. He often uses rapping to speak loud and is also known as “The Motivational Rapper.”