Opening Mainstage
Prepare to be inspired as we launch the ASCD Leadership Summit with an electrifying lineup of distinguished voices in education and innovation.
You'll hear from big data expert, award-winning math professor, speaker, and the co-host of the PBS series “NOVA Wonders", Talithia Williams, Ph.D. as well as internationally recognized innovator, learning designer, and the CEO of ASCD and ISTE, Richard Culatta. The session will be emceed by the Superintendent of Warren Township School District and Co-President of the ASCD and ISTE Board of Directors, Matthew Mingle, Ed.D.
Dr. Williams' talk, "Empowered Leadership: Crafting the Soundtrack for Innovative Success", covers three key topics: building a collaborative culture, educator wellness, and leading with passion and purpose. You’ll want to be there to unpack the importance of collaboration in driving innovation; why self-care is critical for effective leadership and sustaining passion; and how to develop and articulate a clear vision for educational transformation. Throughout the session, you’ll discover the many ways a strong sense of purpose can drive personal and collective commitment from students, parents, teachers, and administrators.
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Presidential Ballroom D, Gaylord Opryland
Mainstage
Presented by
Superintendent
Matthew Mingle is the superintendent of Warren Township School District in New Jersey and the co-president of the ASCD + ISTE Board of Directors. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall, Rutgers and Montclair State universities. In 2023, Mingle was named the Somerset County, New Jersey, Superintendent of the Year, a testament to his commitment to education and the impact of his work. He’s also the treasurer of the Somerset County Association of School Administrators, and the former board president of the Morris-Union Jointure Commission and New Jersey ASCD.
Chief Executive Officer
ASCD and ISTE
Richard Culatta is an internationally recognized innovator and learning designer. As the CEO of ASCD + ISTE, Culatta supports education changemakers to create equitable and engaging learning experiences for students around the world. Prior to joining ASCD + ISTE, Culatta served as the chief innovation officer for the state of Rhode Island and executive director of the Office of Educational Technology for the U.S. Department of Education.
Talithia Williams, Ph.D., is a big data expert, award-winning math professor, speaker, and the co-host of the PBS series “NOVA Wonders.” Her popular TED Talk, “Own Your Body’s Data,” extols the value of statistics in quantifying personal health information. Williams demystifies the mathematical process in amusing and insightful ways to excite students, parents, educators, and communities about STEM education and its possibilities.
In 2015, Williams won the Mathematical Association of America’s Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member, which honors faculty members whose teaching is effective and extraordinary, and extends its influence beyond the classroom. This excellence attracted the attention of online educational company The Great Courses, which selected Williams to produce “Learning Statistics: Concepts and Applications in R,” a series of lectures in which she provides tools to evaluate statistical data and determine if it’s used appropriately. Williams is the author of Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics, a book highlighting the influence of women in the mathematical sciences in the last two millennia, and has narrated several science documentary films, including; “Hindenburg: The New Evidence,” “Our Beautiful Planet,” “Secrets in our DNA,” and the joint BBC and NOVA five-part series “The Universe Revealed.”
Williams holds a bachelor’s in mathematics from Spelman College, a master’s from Howard University, and a master’s and doctoral degree from Rice University. Her research involves developing statistical models that emphasize the spatial and temporal structure of data, and applying them to problems in the environment. She’s worked at NASA, National Security Agency, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and has partnered with the World Health Organization on research into cataract surgical rates in African countries. Through her research and community work, she’s helping change the collective mindset regarding STEM in general and math in particular, rebranding the field of mathematics as anything but dry, technical, or male-dominated but, instead, a logical, productive career path that is crucial to the future of the country.
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Presidential Ballroom D, Gaylord Opryland
Mainstage