Featured Speakers

Keynote Speaker - Adam Welcome

Adam has been a teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal and Director of Innovation for a district with 35,000 students.

He was a '20 To Watch' with the National School Board Association, Principal of the Year in his region, a Fellow with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and has been blogging about education for the past 15 years.

Adam is passionate about connecting with other educators from across the country and makes it clear that kids come first and has preached the message of Team Kid for many years.

He is also the co-founder of Kids Deserve It, the best-selling author of four books and he has three podcasts.

Adam has an amazing wife (Stacy) and two young children (Greta and Tilden) that keep life at home exciting and active. Adam also loves to run and has finished 30 marathons.

Keynote Speaker - Cornelius Minor

Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator and part-time Pokemon trainer. He works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support equitable literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. His latest book, We Got This, explores how the work of creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday choices — specifically in the choice to really listen to kids. 

Cornelius has been featured in Education Week, Brooklyn Magazine, and Learning for Justice. He has partnered with The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, The New York City Department of Education, The International Literacy Association, Scholastic, and Lesley University’s Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative. Out of Print, a documentary featuring Cornelius, made its way around the film festival circuit, and he has been a featured speaker at conferences all over the world. He is a dedicated Hip hop fan, and on some evenings, you can find him online saving the universe with his PlayStation or on paper saving the realm in Dungeons & Dragons. 

Spotlight Speaker - Dr. Buddy Berry

Dr. Buddy Berry will take us through some of his journey in reimagining Eminence Independent Schools to design a next generation “Dream School” rooted in personalized learning, and centered around innovation and creativity. The Eminence Independent school district has redesigned its instructional experience for kindergarten through 12th-grade students with its Framework of Innovation for Reinventing Education model using online, blended and competency-based education in their quest to be the Disney World of Schools.

Questions? Please contact us for more info.