Morning Keynote:
Afternoon Keynote:
Workshop Presenter: Robin Fawcett is a theatre arts educator and director devoted to fueling the urge for artful expression in others. For 40 years she’s taught for organizations including The University of Iowa, University of Vermont, The Flynn Center, Skinner Barn Musical Theatre, New England Youth Theatre, and Champlain Valley Union High School. In addition to directing plays in schools and professional settings, Robin regularly offers an origami of workshops, private coaching sessions, and professional development in-services, igniting possibility with the transformative power of play.
Workshop Presenter: Lucinda Garthwaite is the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Liberatory Innovation, a VT- based nonprofit with a mission to generate and implement innovative strategies so that more people thrive in an ever more peaceful world. The ILI builds solutions to create environments where compassion leads to action, curiosity inspires change, and accountability ensures sustained progress. Before founding the ILI in 2019, Lucinda worked in youth-serving organizations and taught writing and social change at the University of New Hampshire and Goddard College, where she also co-directed the undergraduate program and served as Academic Dean. Lucinda hold Doctorate in Leadership for Change from the Fielding Graduate University, an M.Ed. in Counseling from the University of New Hampshire and an MFA in Creative writing from Goddard College. She is a Fellow of Fielding Institute for Social Innovation, and the author of Bumbling Humans: Reflections on Liberatory Change (2023). She posts regularly in the ILI Newsletter.
Workshop Presenter: Superintendent, Dr. Jennifer Norell leads East Aurora School District in Illinois. Before joining the district on July 1, 2018, Dr. Norrell served as assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction, assessments and grants for Bloom Township High School District 206. In that role, Dr. Norrell led all district and state partnerships under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Waiver and ESSA, including activities for both Priority and Focus status schools, district wide. She also served as the district’s Title 1 director and bilingual education director. Dr. Norrell also served as transformation office leader for the federal School Improvement Grant, and led the board of education’s curriculum committee. She created an annual parenting conference for the district’s Parent University, and quarterly parent engagement series. Dr. Norrell has led the development and implementation of the teacher Performance Evaluation Act student growth components, evaluated district principals, including PERA student growth model component, and evaluated district coordinators for all major content areas and ELL program.
Workshop Presenter:
Featured Lunchtime Speaker: Jane Lindholm, journalist, podcast producer and host of But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids. She joined Vermont Public in 2007 to host Vermont Edition and has been recognized with regional national journalism accolades and awards.
Featured Lunchtime Speaker: Esther Charlestin, consultant, speaker and politician, Esther was the democratic nomination for Vermont Governor in the 2024 election. She also has an extensive background in Educational leadership.
Featured Lunchtime Speaker:
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