Jessica Abrams is a middle school STEM teacher at Liberty Avenue Middle School in Brooklyn. She wrote and obtained grants providing $250,000 for technology in STEM equipment and $175,000 to start a hydroponics lab in the school. She has recently petitioned the NYC Parks Department to dedicate an outdoor space next to the school so she can expand the hydroponics lab and create a sustainable community garden for the families and the broader community.

Having been trained in Culturally Responsive Team techniques, Abrams piloted student-led restorative justice circles. She also facilitates a girl’s group called Girls Empowerment Movement (GEM). Some of the GEMs joined Jessica when she took 25 students to Europe in May to submerge themselves in different cultures and life experiences as part of a leadership program culminating in a service learning project based on what they learned as global citizens.

Michael Driskill spent ten years in the classroom, teaching each grade from 6-12 and courses ranging from Introductory Algebra to Linear Algebra. His teaching experience includes both public and independent schools, where he has held positions as a classroom teacher, teacher researcher, instructional specialist, and dean. He studied teacher selection and professional development in Tokyo and Nagaoka, as a recipient of the Japan Memorial Fulbright Grant.

Michael received his M.A. in Secondary Mathematics Education from The City University of New York, Brooklyn College, and a B.S. in Physics with a minor in Mathematics from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has pursued graduate-level studies in mathematics and school administration at NYU and Hunter College, respectively. He is interested in the ways that teachers continue to learn about their subject, the craft of teaching, and the students they teach.

Bob Hughes oversees the work to ensure that we prepare all students for success in college and career.

Before joining the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, Bob was president of New Visions for Public Schools, a New York City school network of 70 district schools serving approximately 45,000 students. Bob has also led or been involved in individual and class action litigation in special education and state school finance. He started his career providing legal representation to homeless parents and students in the New York City public school system and worked extensively with community organizers around education issues.

Bob serves as a board member of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Prior board affiliations include Advocates for Children of New York, Fund For Teachers, and Projects in Education, the nonprofit publisher of Education Week.

Nisa Mackie is passionate about arts learning and its potential to provide tools to navigate our increasingly complex world. She is particularly excited by designing experiences with and for young people. Mackie joined the Museum of Modern Art after holding several roles at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, first as Director and Curator of Education and Public Programs and, most recently, as Head of Public Engagement, Learning, and Impact. In her leadership roles at various institutions she has developed and managed innovative artist residencies, public programs, teen learning, children and family programs, and experiments in on-site and online engagement and interpretation, infusing community capacity-building and culturally responsive learning strategies to build deeper relationships with audiences locally, nationally, and internationally. She recently co-edited the book “How-to Kit” with Simona Zappas and Yolanda Majors, published by the Walker Art Center. It is a compendium designed to support museum educators to design teen programs at their institutions.

Dr. Betty A. Rosa is the Commissioner of Education and President of the University of the State of New York. Prior to serving as Commissioner and Interim Commissioner, she served as the Chancellor and Member of the Board of Regents. Dr. Rosa is a nationally recognized education leader and received an Ed. M. and Ed. D. in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University.

She also holds two other Master of Science in Education degrees, one in Administration and Supervision and the other in Bilingual Education from the City College of New York and Lehman College, respectively, and a B.A. in psychology from the City College of New York. She has more than 30 years of instructional and administrative experience with an expertise in inclusive education, cooperative teaching models, student achievement, and policy implementation.