Consultants

Jennifer serves as the Director of Special Projects for the Fairfield County School District. Her research interests have focused on the perceptions and impacts of leadership characteristics. She is currently serving on the South Carolina Accountability Advisory Committee, as part of the SC Education Oversight Committee, and as a member of the inaugural cohort for Litmus Policy Solutions, convened by SC Teacher, to help inform education policy conversations. Over the last 32 years, she has served as a classroom teacher, children’s home educational liaison, assistant principal, and principal. She earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of South Carolina and served as a graduate instructor in educational leadership at Winthrop University for 10 years.

Ernie taught students and led educators in Clark County, NV middle school classrooms for 29 years. She currently supports teachers and teacher leadership as the program coordinator for the Nevada National Board Professional Learning Institute: Empowering Teachers as Leaders and Learners. Ernie facilitates virtual learning communities with the National Education Association’s Micro-Credential Certification Bank and supports educators’ professional learning at CTQ. Outside of the education field, she enjoys distance running and serves on the board for the Las Vegas Chapter of the International Association of Women. Ernie is a Southern Nevada Writing Project and a Southern Nevada Science Project fellow, a member of the Jameson Fellowship 2020 cohort as well as a four-time organizer for the ECET2SW Conference sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Jessica (she/hers) has over 15 years of teaching experience in Colorado K-12 schools. While most of her teaching focuses on middle school ELA, she enjoys supporting students of all ages and abilities. Jessica believes literacy is a powerful tool for social justice, equity, and advocacy. She recently has taken a break from the classroom to homeschool her son, an English language learning originally from Ethiopia. Jessica earned her M.Ed from University of Colorado at Denver and was a magna cum laude graduate in communication and sociology from Regis University.

Kris (he/his) is a sixth grade teacher and PBIS and MTSS coach in Southern California. He previously led a variety of initiatives at CTQ designed to elevate and spread the expertise of accomplished teachers in districts and states across the country. As part of CTQ’s global endeavors, Kristoffer worked with educators from several high-achieving nations to develop a series of recommendations for how public education might evolve in the US to meet the demands of the 21st century. He runs a household circus in Irvine, CA with his wife Meredith and two children, Holden and Evelyn.

Jon is the Copple Professor of Educational Leadership at Baylor University. His research includes teaching effectiveness, teacher compensation, and collective leadership development. His publications include Capitol Hill white papers, peer-reviewed journal articles, pieces for Education Week and the Kappan, and Leading together: Teachers and administrators improving student outcomes and The novice advantage: Fearless practice for every teacher. He served as a Teaching Ambassador Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education in both the Bush and Obama administrations, was a teacher outside of Chicago and Nashville for 12 years, and earned a doctorate in educational leadership, policy, and organizations from Vanderbilt University, Peabody College.