Bruce Hansen

Bruce Hansen is a veteran of twenty-five years as a classroom teacher. His teaching experiences include every grade level from first through ninth. Over the course of his teaching, Bruce realized that many of his students were not achieving in the reading and writing areas using the standard curriculum. Through experience he developed a highly successful method of teaching which not only raised these students' achievement levels, but had them writing like the masters. Over the course of four years, he taught in American schools in Germany, where he received the Sustained Superior Performance Award. Currently he is teaching a fifth grade class. He has written and published articles in state, national and international professional journals. In addition, he has acted as a teacher trainer and consultant for other districts in Oregon. He was the 1989 and 1997 recipient of Golden Apple Award for educational excellence in the Beaverton School District.

Laurie Lane

Laurie Lane has been a school psychologist for 25 years working in both Washington and Oregon. Her experiences range from kindergarten through 8th grade. Laurie's main assignment for over twenty years has been to work with Beaverton's behavior learning centers. The school district recognizes her as an expert who can successfully help teachers work with students whose behaviors interfere with their learning. Her successes range from developing community within the classrooms to helping provide differentiated education for the students within special education and regular education classrooms.

Pat Webb

Patrick Webb is a teacher at the elementary level in the Beaverton School District. He is a mentor for interns enrolled in the Mathematics/Science Cohort for the Lewis & Clark M.A.T. program. Within his school he is the founder and director of the Sexton Mountain Raptor Education Program, a facility to house injured birds of prey. He is one of the few people who has a license to work with injured birds of prey in Oregon. He has worked with Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve on the Tualatin Watershed Involvement Program, funded by the Governor's Enhancement Program of Oregon. He has developed a wetlands on his school site and will be expanding this program with the Tualatin Valley Parks and Recreation purchase of a property adjacent to his school.

Sheri Polito

Sheri Polito is an Instructional Coordinator in the Beaverton School District, Beaverton, Oregon. She has an MA in Early Childhood and has been trained in many literacy programs including, Soar To Success, First Steps, and ELIC. Her teaching experiences of more than 20 years, range from Kindergarten through sixth grade. Sheri currently coordinates programs for students who are at risk academically, providing inservice training to teachers, coordinating staff interventions, and working directly with students.

Linda Campbell

Linda Campbell, Ph.D., has been a professor in the Graduate Education Programs at Antioch University Seattle for 12 years. She is currently the director of the Center for Community and Professional Learning at the University. Linda’s teaching experience prior to being at the university ranged from primary through high school. She has authored twelve books, including the best seller, Teaching and Learning Through The Multiple Intelligences, and she has worked extensively with diverse K-12 and adult populations. Linda has used her educational expertise as a consultant for government agencies, for professional organizations such as ASCD, and as a grant writer for K-12 schools, tribal heritage programs, and higher education pilot programs.

Crisann Breed

Crisann Breed is a school psychologist in the Beaverton School District. During the past 25 years, she has assisted students, who encounter unique challenges on a daily basis, create ways to make their role as a student in the school community a positive experience. She believes that many behaviors and/or characteristics of an individual can be viewed as either positive or negative, depending on whether or not these personal factors accentuate or hinder the individual's goals; not that these behaviors/characteristics are always inherently a plus or minus in one's life. Crisann has implemented the Effective Behavior Support (EBS) system, which was developed at the University of Oregon, in the elementary school she currently serves. The EBS process is a school-wide system that establishes a proactive approach for consistency in teaching and improving prosocial behaviors in all students.

Vince Ruggiano

Vince Ruggiano is a Technology Specialist for the Beaverton School District in Beaverton, Oregon. He helps teachers, administrators, technology facilitators, and building technology teams use technology with curriculum. Vince has taught in K12 classrooms and colleges in the Portland, OR area. He has worked on regional and national technology-in-education conferences and, as a participant of the TSSA writing team, he helped draft national technology standards for school administrators.

Barry Nemec

The past three years Barry Nemec has designed and implemented five model programs serving students with high functioning autism and/or Asperger1s Syndrome. Barry has been trained and certified by the Teatment and Education of Autistic and other Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) program and has extensive experience using behavior modification techniques, sensory integration, and structured teaching.

Anne Maxham

Anne Maxham, Ph.D. has been a professor in the Center for Programs in Education at Antioch University Seattle for the past 3 years where she teaches literature courses. Prior to this position, Anne was Associate Director of Composition at Washington State University-Pullman for 10 years, where she directed the undergraduate composition program and supervised the instructional pool of TAs and instructors. Anne’s teaching experience also included teaching English at the high School level for 13 years. There, she taught all levels of high school English classes as well as electives such as journalism, world and American literature, and creative writing. Se has written and given presentations on adult literacy, composition theory and practice, and as worked extensively in diversity initiatives and higher education reform.

Shawn Jenkins

Shawn Jenkins has been an educator for 16 years. Her experiences range from 1st through 5th grade, multiage, hi-cap, learning support, and technology resource specialist. Shawn dabbled in administration, working as a vice principal for two years. She served as an adjunct faculty member for City University Seattle, and she has mentored and guided students through final projects in their Masters in Education Program. Besides her husband and three children, Shawn’s pleasures include working in the mentoring new teacher’s program in her district, and 7 years of coaching/managing Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination Teams. Shawn currently teaches 3rd grade in the Marysville Cooperative Education Program in Marysville, Washington.

Eric McGuire

Eric McGuire has been a social studies teacher at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon, since 1994. Of particular interest to him is the development of critical reading and writing skills for his students coupled with the ability to become historians. Through history, they are able to analyze different historians views and realize that no one historical account can suffice when trying to understand history. Eric runs the Sunset Advisory Council, which works with state law makers to propose their own legislation and follow its introduction into Oregon's Legislature. Getting students involved in the issues that affect them and giving them a sense of how important it is to participate in their local governments is a large emphasis of his teaching. Being the Social Studies Department Chair at Sunset, gives him the unique view of curriculum development and delivery.

Gabor Muskat

Gabor Muskat been teaching high school social studies at Sunset High School in Beaverton. While teaching a variety of social science courses, his primary focus at Sunset High has been Global Studies which encompasses world history and geography. Drawing on his experiences as an immigrant from Hungary, he feels well equipped to introduce high school students to world history, culture and geography. In addition to working with high school students, he mentors fellow teachers in developing lesson plans and critically evaluating secondary teaching practices.

Ayesha Freeman

After studying history at Vassar College and earning a M.Ed. at the University of Michigan, Ayesha taught secondary social studies for ten years.  She taught U.S. History, World History and Geography, Peace and Conflict Studies, and I.B. Cultural Anthropology.  She most recently taught social studies at Sunset High School in the Beaverton School District.  Currently, Ayesha is an Assistant Principal at Gresham High School. She keeps her love of history alive by working with the Social Studies department at GHS and maintaining memberships with the Oregon and National Council for the Social Studies.

Matt Hiefield

After studying history and French at Whitman College, Matt Hiefield spent over 2 years working for the Peace Corps in a small village in Mauritania, West Africa as a health volunteer. At the end of his service, he also worked as a trainer for new volunteers. Living in a foreign country gave him the opportunity to reflect on our country's history and the responsibilities of being a citizen in a democracy. Upon returning, he studied in a Masters program at Lewis and Clark and received a M.A.T. with emphasize in Social Studies. Over the course of his teaching career, he has served as a trainer in systems thinking for a grant from the National Science Foundation, has been the speech and debate coach, and he currently serves as the Talented and Gifted Coordinator, the Model United Nations Coordinator, an Oral History Project Coordinator, and a member of his school's climate committee. Most important to him, however, are his classes and students. He currently teaches History of the Americas, Theory of Knowledge, and Religion and Philosophy.

Amit Kobrowski

Upon graduating from the University of Illinois in 1994, Amit Kobrowski moved to Oregon and began working for the Beaverton school district. Since joining the district, he has worked for the last seven years at Sunset High School. Amit has taught a number of classes in the social studies department. Currently, he teach Honors Western Civilization, IB 20th Century History, Middle East Regional Studies, and an independent study course on Feminism.

Heidi Sobotka

Heidi Sobotka is currently teaching 2nd grade for the Centennial School District.  Her classroom experience includes teaching 3rd grade and a 2/3 blended class. Prior to her classroom experience, Heidi was the learning specialist/special education teacher for a K-6 elementary building. Her special education experience includes working in an early intervention program and working at a private learning, language and behavior clinic.  Heidi received her MEd. from the University of Portland.  She is currently an active member of her school and district literacy committees. Heidi has presented at numerous events and conferences including presentations for the International Reading Association Regional Conference.