Marion Baldwin

Marion Baldwin is a Program Associate with SEDL's Afterschool, Family, and Community unit. Ms. Baldwin works with the Illinois State Board of Education to provide technical assistance and professional development to the state's 21st Century Community Learning Center grantees. As part of this work, she assists the state department in building the capacity of grantees to provide high-quality afterschool programming for student participants in grades K–12.
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Chuck Benigno

Chuck Benigno currently serves as the Superintendent for the Laurel School District, in Laurel, Mississippi, which has moved from At-Risk of Failing to Successful. Previously, he was the Vice President for Students at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and served as principal of West Jones Middle School and North Forrest High School.
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Francisco Guajardo

Francisco Guajardo is a Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Texas Pan American. He is a founder of the Llano Grande Center for Research and Development and a founding member of the Center for Bilingual Studies at U.T. Pan American. He graduated from Edcouch-Elsa High School, has B.A. degree in English, a Master's degree in History, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Guajardo is Vice Chair of the board of the Rural School and Community Trust and Vice Chair of the Center for Rural Strategies.

John E. Hill

John Hill is the Executive Director of the National Rural Education Association. He has served as a middle school mathematics teacher, middle and high school principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. His primary interests are those issues that impact rural schools and the role of instructional leaders at the district and building levels. He is also involved In the Purdue Educational Leadership Initiative for Small and Rural Schools and the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship program.

Jenelle Leonard

Jenelle Leonard serves as Director for the Office of School Support and Rural programs. Her responsibilities include providing financial assistance for educational technology, comprehensive education centers, rural education programs, and comprehensive reform to state and local educational agencies. She provides advice to senior management on the formulation of policy, the design of operating programs, and all issues relevant to the programs. She has over twenty-five years of experience as an educator as a public school teacher and administrator, technology implementation and training consultant, college professor, and a regional and state education department administrator.
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Carlas McCauley

Carlas McCauley is the newly appointed Director of the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd. He has over six years of previous experience at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), where he most recently oversaw the administration of the federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) Program in the Office of School Turnaround. Since 2007, he helped administer approximately $6 billion dedicated to improving low-performing schools across the country. He is nationally recognized for his work developing, supporting, and monitoring SIG and other education improvement initiatives within ED.
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Doris Terry Williams

Doris Terry Williams is Executive Director of the Rural School and Community Trust. With more than 30 years of experience in education and community development, Dr. Williams was previously an Assistant Dean and Associate Professor at North Carolina Central University. She serves as lead consultant, trainer, and national expert for numerous school and community reform efforts and has authored publications on topics ranging from early childhood education and care to K-16 education reform. She recently served on the U.S. Department of Education Rural Dropout Prevention Working Group and the U.S. Commission on Educational Equity and Excellence.
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Heather Zavadsky

Heather Zavadsky is a Research Scientist for the Building State Capacity and Productivity Center (BSCP) at Edvance Research and director of EdPractice Connect, an organization created to improve education systems through practical, field-based research and evaluation. Focus topics covered over her twenty-five years of research include systemic district reform and turnaround, effective human capital strategies, district data and accountability systems, and special education. She recently published her second book on district reform for Harvard Education Press (HEP) entitled “School Turnarounds: The Essential Role of Districts,” and her current focus is on restructuring district central offices to better support school improvement. Prior to her research career, Dr. Zavadsky taught for six years in the area of special education, and tutored students with autism. In addition to teaching, she is trained and certified as a principal and superintendent.