Cohort II Coaches
Laura Bang-Knudsen is entering her twentieth year in education. She spent the last 13 as a high school administrator. Under Laura's directorship, three high schools have achieved national recognition by making significant gains in measures of school success, including students from underrepresented groups gaining access to college preparatory curriculum. Laura is a proud participant of the College Board Leadership Institute for Principals Cohort I, and is a trained cognitive coach. She enjoys facilitating the leadership development of school administrators nationwide.
Deborah Binder-Lavender has worked in a variety of educational settings, teaching at the high school and college levels. She served as the athletic director at two large high schools, as a principal at both small and large high schools, and she worked in central administration. In 1997, Deborah was selected as the Colorado Secondary Principal of the Year, and was recognized for increasing students' achievement in a previously low- performing school. She also planned and opened a new high school that has become one of the most highly rated schools in Colorado. Since 2002, she has served as a consultant to districts and principals who are building and opening new schools. Her coaching efforts have been directed toward helping districts improve school-community relations, assisting principals in implementing shared decision making procedures, and helping schools develop a culture of caring while maintaining high behavioral and academic expectations for students. Deborah has a Ph.D. in school administration from the University of Colorado.
Debbie Capra has served in education field for more than 30 years in public schools, pre-k through college. She has worked as a teacher, associate principal, principal, director of secondary schools, executive director of school services, assistant superintendent, area superintendent, deputy superintendent, chief of staff, and college professor. Over the last several years Debbie has led many schools, considered failing, to successful total restructures. Her extensive training, experience, leadership, and collaboration skills continue to support the consulting work she now does for the Colorado Department of Education, North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvements, and several school districts.
Nancy Carter-Hill has 34 years of experience as a teacher, principal, professional developer, coach, mentor, and administrator. She serves as clinical assistant professor in the Urban Leadership Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After nine years as a successful principal, Nancy was area instruction officer for the Chicago Public Schools from 2002 to 2007, supervising 22 underperforming elementary schools in Chicago's West Side. During her tenure, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards in reading and mathematics more than doubled, resulting in three-year gains that exceeded those of the district.
Nancy has a B.S. degree in early childhood education from Southern Illinois University, a M.Ed. in reading and learning disabilities from DePaul University, and an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from Loyola University. She supports school leaders in cultivating strategies and tools that are critical to raising the level of professional learning by establishing a culture of professionalism, increasing teacher and parent involvement in program planning and evaluation, and maintaining clear goals for success. Nancy is committed to creating engaged communities of lifelong learners in schools.
Maria V. Diaz recently joined the College Board as an implementation manager. Leading up to her present position was her phenomenal experience as a coach for Cohort I of CBLIP. Before Maria retired after 32 years of service in the New York City Department of Education, she was as a middle and high school teacher, staff developer, an elementary and middle school assistant principal, and principal. She also served as director of funded programs in a New York City school district, and was a deputy superintendent and director of program review for the Office of English Language Learners. All of Maria's responsibilities have included coaching teachers and administrators to focus on an agenda of academic rigor and equity. Maria is an adjunct professor at Long Island University and at Bank Street College of Education. Her academic preparation includes a doctorate in educational leadership.
Judi Gottschalk has recently been able to devote her work in education to full-time consulting after 30 years in public education. Her educational background includes teaching regular and special education, serving as district level director of curriculum and instruction, and as principal of an urban elementary school in central Phoenix. Essential to her work has been a concentration on sustaining educational systems that center on school improvement. Her leadership has focused on collaborative professional learning environments, intentional trust building, and instructional excellence that lead to improved student learning.
Judi is a national training associate for the Center for Cognitive CoachingSM. She also works on special instructional improvement projects and staff development work locally and nationally. Judi earned her undergraduate degree in education/social sciences at San Diego State University and her M.A. in educational leadership at Northern Arizona University.
Paula Holmes has spent more than 25 years in the public schools as a teacher, coordinator, curriculum specialist, assistant principal and middle and high school principal. Concentrating her focus at middle and high school levels, she is currently the principal of a 6–12 Performing and Visual Arts School. Her career and instructional experiences range from elementary school to college. Additionally, she has served as an adjunct professor in education. She has been a facilitator for the Comer model with Yale University, with several published works related to curriculum, school reform, and professional and whole school community development. Her strong belief in the importance of collaboration has influenced her efforts to assist staff at all levels to understand and experience the benefits of establishing a culture for a professional learning community for staff and parents. Her work and training in the areas of management, collaborative leadership, development of professional learning communities, handling budget constraints, balanced leadership and change has enabled her to understand the context of situations and assess needs while developing cohorts of teams who become skilled and vested in the school community.
Janice Ollarvia is the National Association of Secondary School Principals distinguished principal for secondary school reform. She serves as the association's primary voice for Breaking Ranks II, providing expert consultation on all aspects of its high school and middle level reform frameworks. Before her service with NASSP, Janice served the Chicago Public Schools for more than 35 years as a high school teacher, curriculum coordinator, assistant principal, and principal. She was also an officer of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association.
Janice has extensive experience as a staff developer, specializing in training and coaching principals, aspiring principals, and teachers. She has worked in these capacities for the DePaul University Center for Urban Education, the Chicago Leadership Academy for Supporting Success, and the Illinois Administrators Academy. Janice holds a bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University and she earned master's degrees in educational administration and in communication from Governors State University in Illinois.
Ann Organisciak began her work at the College Board after more than 30 years with the New York City Department of Education. She most recently held the position of local instructional superintendent in Brooklyn as the leader of a network of 17 schools that included pre-k through twelfth grades. Ann's background is primarily in secondary schools. She served as a middle and high school English teacher; a high school assistant principal, supervision of English; a high school principal; and she was the executive assistant to the superintendent for instruction at Queens High Schools.
Ann's expertise is in curriculum and professional development, particularly in the humanities. She is also experienced in the creation of new schools, having started a new high school as its founding principal. Her focus in her work with schools has been on establishing academic rigor in a thinking curriculum and in promoting the vision through learning communities which share that vision.