Partnership Advisors

Traci Davis

Educational Equity

Urban Educational Leadership CEO & AASA’s 2019 National Superintendent of the Year; Former Superintendent, Washoe County Schools

Dwight Jones

Education Policy & Reform

Urban Educational Leadership CEO & former Colorado State Commissioner of Education; Former Superintendent, Clark County Schools

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Ben Necaise

Workforce Development & Community Partnerships

Superintendent of Schools, Zachary Community School District; Former Deputy Associate Supt. for Workforce Development & Community Partnerships, East Baton Rouge Parish Schools

Rashard Wright

School Climate & Culture

Chief People Officer, An Achievable Dream

Michael Connor

Dr. MIchael Conner

Innovation, Disruptive Design, EdTech Partnerships & Development, Ed Leadership

Educational Equity, Educational Leadership, CEO, Education Systems Expert, Award Winning Superintendent, Author, Researcher, Advanced Analytics, EdTech Strategist, and International Award-Winning Innovator

MAX BROOKS

Learner Engagement & Community Partnerships

Educational Equity CEO; EdTech Business Development Strategist; Speaker; Former Managing Director for Open Up Resources and VP of Partnerships & Strategic Growth for CT3; STEM & Fine Arts Education Expert; Award-Winning Robotics Coach

MATT MONJAN

Learner Engagement, District, State, EdTech Partnerships

Educational Equity CEO; EdTech Business Development Strategist; Speaker; Former Managing Director at ASCD and VP of Partnerships at Discovery Education Renowned PBL Educational Leader, Speaker & Curriculum Architect; Former Editor & Chief and Head of Product Development for the Buck Institute & PBL Works

Jay McTighe

Understanding by Design

Esteemed Educational Leader, Speaker, Award-Winning Author & Architect of Understanding by Design; Former Head of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment for the Maryland State DOE

John larmer

PBL Expert and Advisor

Internationally recognized expert in project-based learning (PBL), author, speaker, writer, editor, curriculum developer, and professional learning designer. Co-developer of the model for Gold Standard PBL. Author of several books on PBL. Senior PBL Advisor at Defined.

“Equity is the foundation of Defined. It’s not one lens through which we work or a strategic position we take; equity is the driver of everything we do.”

- Ms. Traci Davis, Chief Equity Advisor for Defined

Former Superintendent of Schools for Washoe County, Nevada, AASA’s 2019 Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Awardee, and lead professor for AASA’s Equity in Action Cohort and Urban Superintendent Academy with Howard University, Traci is truly the heartbeat of Defined’s work in Urban Education.Her expertise and lifelong dedication to serving our nation’s children, with an intentionality to uplift the most vulnerable communities, is the embodiment of our NorthStar and the “why” that drives our work every day.