Educator Express

LaTanya Pattillo

Teacher Advisor to the Governor, Office of Governor Roy Cooper

LaTanya Pattillo joined The Office of Governor Roy Cooper in 2017 from Columbus County Schools, where she was awarded Teacher of the Year. Her primary role is to serve as the voice of the practitioner in the Office of the Governor and inform the Governor’s policies and priorities. LaTanya has been able to impact education policy at a local, state, and national level. She graduated from American University and is a Kenan Fellow at NC State University.

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Sonya Castellino

Deputy Director, Read Charlotte

Sonya Castellino joined Read Charlotte as Deputy Director in July 2018. She has worked as an educator in New York City, Eastern North Carolina, and in Charlotte. She has served a variety of roles, from classroom teacher to Resident Principal, since 2002. She’s coached teachers to improve instructional practices in grades K-12, with subjects ranging from Music to Chemistry. Most recently, she was a Curriculum Coordinator for Project L.I.F.T.

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Brian Kingsley

Chief Academic Officer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Brian Kingsley was appointed Chief Academic Officer for CMS in August 2018. Brian had previously been the assistant superintendent of academics at Wake County Public School System.

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Dr. Tisha Greene

Assistant Dean, Office of School and Community Partnerships, UNC Charlotte Cato College of Education

Tisha Greene is the Assistant Dean for School and Community Partnerships in the Cato College at UNC Charlotte. Tisha is a two-time graduate of UNC Charlotte, having received both a BA and MA in English and English Education in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is a North Carolina Teaching Fellows alumna.

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Dr. Cassandra Herring

President & Chief Executive Officer, Founder, Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity, Inc.

Dr. Herring’s passion about equity-driven education reform fuels her work. Her career spans all levels of education, with professional experiences in Head Start thru higher education and leading state education policy. She currently works as President, CEO & Founder of BranchED.

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Kiera Busching

Dean of Students, McClintock Middle School

Kiera Busching grew up with missionary parents, living internationally. She became a Teach For America corp member in 2015, entering the field of education. She currently works as Dean of Students at McClintock Middle School in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

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Anthony Graham

Former Dean, College of Education at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Dr. Anthony Graham is now the Provost at Winston-Salem State University, after serving as dean of the College of Education at N.C. A&T State University. As an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill, Anthony found his passion in education, and it has never felt like “work.”

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Deepti Panjabi

Former Data and Research Manager, Read Charlotte

Deepti Panjabi is now the Director of Continuous Quality Improvement at Ready for School, Ready for Life in Greensboro, after serving as Read Charlotte’s Data and Research Manager.

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Mebane Rash

CEO and Editor-in-chief, EducationNC

Mebane Rash is the CEO and Editor-in-chief of EducationNC, a collection of nonprofits, including the education-focused daily, on-line newspaper EdNC and a non-partisan think-tank called the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.

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Ralph Smith

Managing Director, The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Throughout his distinguished career, Ralph Smith has been a leader who brings together unusual allies. Ralph is the managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a national network of communities focused on ensuring children read on grade level by the end of third grade.

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