About

Jessica Coles is a School Improvement Specialist for Equity on the Quality Schools and Districts team. Passionate about educational equity, Coles believes in the innate potential of every student to learn and flourish. In her role, she provides professional learning, technical assistance, coaching, and consultation, spearheading initiatives that promote equitable experiences and outcomes for all students. In partnership with state education agencies, district and school-based leaders, and educators, Coles is dedicated to forging equitable systems that honor diversity in culture and identity, such as race, ability, gender, and social class.

Prior to joining WestEd, Coles worked as a Senior Professional Development Specialist focused on culturally responsive practices. She collaborated closely with the New York State Education Department’s Office of Special Education. Her foundational experiences are rooted in her tenure as a Special Education elementary school teacher and literacy educator.

Beyond her direct engagements in schools, Coles has enriched the academic community by teaching university-level teacher preparation courses on subjects including Educational Psychology, Adolescent Development, Contemporary Issues in the American Education System, Introduction to Human Exceptionalities, and Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in the American Education System. Coles has not only shared her profound understanding of education but has also underscored the pivotal role of inclusivity and cultural responsiveness in molding the educators of tomorrow.

Coles holds a BA in Elementary Education from Saint Peter’s University and pursued an MA in Special Education and Literacy from the University at Albany. She is currently on her journey toward achieving a doctorate in Educational Psychology and Methodology with a focus on Special Education from the University at Albany.

As a Senior School and District Improvement Facilitator at WestEd, Contann Dabney leads services that support effective school improvement projects within and across schools, districts, and states. With a wealth of experience in leadership, collaboration, and coaching, she has developed a strong background and expertise in transformational leadership, culturally responsive leadership practices, and data-driven practices for school improvement.

With a focus on empowering educational institutions to reach their full potential, Dabney leverages her wealth of experience to help her clients develop effective strategies for driving meaningful change. Her keen attention to detail, coupled with her ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders at all levels, ensures that her clients are equipped with the tools and knowledge necessary to achieve their goals.

As a trusted advisor within the education community, Dabney is committed to helping her clients achieve optimal outcomes. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and providing customized support tailored to the unique needs of each institution, she is helping to transform the educational landscape and improve outcomes for students across the country.

In her previous role as Associate Superintendent of School Leadership, she managed school improvement, operations, and leadership development, which was a pivotal position in the district’s efforts to enhance the quality of education provided to students in all schools and turn around its lowest-performing schools. As a thought partner, problem-solver, and change agent, Dabney worked closely with internal and external stakeholders and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to school improvement.

Terry Hofer is a Director of School Improvement at WestEd and helps lead WestEd’s Center for School Turnaround and Improvement. He has worked with educators at all levels to support school improvement in more than 27 states. In various roles at WestEd, Terry has provided leadership coaching and school transformation support to numerous SIG and CSI schools using aspects of WestEd’s Four Domains of Rapid School Improvement Framework. Evidence of impact has been noted with schools exiting priority school status, meeting demonstrable indicators, and increasing leading indicators tracked using the Four Domains Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning (CALL).

Terry has also led projects with the Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center, Region 2 Comprehensive Center, Center on School Turnaround, Center for Education Equity and REL-Northeast. Before joining WestEd in 2013, Terry worked in rural, suburban, and urban districts in roles including a teacher, instructional coach, principal, and director of grant and program accountability. He also served as senior vice president for an education management organization. Terry earned his doctoral degree in executive leadership in 2008 from St. John Fisher University.

Beth Jackson is a Program Associate with the Quality Schools and Districts team at WestEd. Jackson provides support for the continuous improvement efforts of state education agencies (SEAs), local education agencies (LEAs), and school leaders. In this capacity, she focuses on improving learning experiences and outcomes for students. She aids school leaders in implementing the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement framework to bolster ongoing improvement initiatives.

Jackson’s role also involves a blend of organizational, managerial, and content-creation responsibilities. Her contributions are integral to the efficient functioning of the team and the successful implementation of projects aimed at improving education at various levels.

Before her current position, Beth Jackson garnered valuable experience as a principal in various schools in Tallahassee, Florida. She has a comprehensive understanding of school leadership and administration, which contributes to her effectiveness in supporting educational institutions through WestEd. Her journey in education began as a middle school science teacher and then expanded to high school biology and Advanced Placement (AP) environmental science.

Jackson’s love for teaching and learning is a testament to her passion for education. This passion fuels her dedication to supporting continuous improvement efforts, emphasizing her commitment to creating positive educational experiences for school leaders, educators, and students. Overall, Jackson’s professional journey reflects a rich blend of teaching experience, educational leadership, and a commitment to ongoing learning and improvement within the field of education.

Jackson is an alumna of both the University of Florida and the Florida State University.

Smriti Jacob is a School Improvement Program Associate with WestEd’s Quality Schools and Districts team. She assists the Center for School Turnaround and Improvement (CSTI) with its communications needs. A seasoned journalist and editor, Jacob develops and creates materials for CSTI as the center extends its reach and impact.

Jacob remains an active journalist as a co-founder and managing editor of the Rochester Beacon, a digital, nonprofit news platform in Rochester, N.Y.

Edgar Lin is a Senior School Improvement Turnaround Specialist with WestEd’s Quality Schools and Districts team. Lin has over 25 years of experience teaching, leading, and learning in urban schools as a teacher, professional development specialist, assistant principal, and principal.

Lin leverages his past experiences to help district and school leaders ensure high-level learning for all by supporting continuous improvement efforts with the application of the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement.

By working to develop individuals, teams, and systems committed to a common mission and vision for teaching and learning, Lin has led successful school improvement and turnaround efforts in some of New York City’s most underserved schools.

Born in Kenya and raised in Taiwan, Lin now calls Brooklyn, NY, home. Lin holds a BA in political science from Temple University and an MA in organizational leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Lin began his career as a middle school math teacher through Teach for America, and his daughter would say that since then, he’s never gotten out of the 7th grade.

Jeannine Medvedich has served close to 30 years in education. She has experience in the K-12 Public Schools as well as the BIE and Tribal State Compact Schools. Throughout her career she has taught elementary, secondary, and special education. She has been a school building administrator for many elementary and secondary schools.

At the district level, she served as Special Education Director, Director of Instructional Leadership overseeing Open Educational Resources, Digital Resources, and Curriculum Instruction, and most recently served at Chief Leschi Schools as Chief Academic Officer. Her areas of expertise include Behavior SEL, Effective Discipline Practices including blended Neural Education and PBIS, Curriculum and Instruction, Principal Leadership, Federal and State Finance Grants and reporting for Tribal Compact Schools, Data and Assessment, Professional Learning Communities, and Professional Development.

Medvedich’s heart is with neural education and turnaround schools. Her most recent success was moving the cohort graduation rate of Indigenous youth from 53 percent to 100 percent in the span of 4 years. During a pandemic, where most schools were experiencing learning loss, her schools experienced learning gains.

Medvedich has been featured in many articles and studies and has been published in the book “The Neural Teaching Guide, Authentic Strategies for Brain-Based Classrooms.” She has received national honors and has been invited by numerous organizations over the past few years to travel the nation speaking about systems and practices that level the playing field for all students to learn at high levels.

Mario Molina is the Native American Education Technical Assistance Specialist for Region 13. His role includes providing technical assistance to the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and the states of Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Before joining WestEd, Molina served as a Tribal Education Director in Southern Arizona where his emphasis was improving education for tribal members in the areas of preschool, K–12 education, higher education, and adult education. Prior to that, Molina was a teacher and school administrator within BIE Tribally Controlled Schools and in private, public, and charter schools.

Molina has also served as a consultant for tribal communities and school systems in their efforts to pursue self-determination, exercise tribal sovereignty, promote language revitalization and nation rebuilding through education. In each consultation, Molina has introduced his own methodology that promotes the retention of tribal culture, indigenous language, tribal heritage, and tribal identity.

He received his PhD from Arizona State University where his focus was Red Pedagogy and Life Span Developmental Psychology. Molina is a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Southern Arizona with maternal ties to the Akimel O’odham of the Gila River Indian Community.

Kevin Perks is the Director of School and District Services for WestEd’s Quality Schools and Districts (QSD) team.

As the Director of QSD, Perks leads a team that provides coaching, training, and technical assistance support to schools, districts, and state departments of education around school turnaround and improvement.

Perks is the author of Motivation to Learn: Transforming Classroom Culture to Support Student Achievement. He is also the editor of Transformational Leadership for Rapid School Improvement from Teachers College Press. Kevin has also written many articles for a range of magazines and journals and is the series editor for LEAF, Inc’s subscription service for educational leaders provided by the New York State Council of State Superintendents.

Prior to joining WestEd, Perks served as a Curriculum Coordinator for a large school district in Maine. He helped the district redesign its system of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to better use research and data to prepare students to be college- and career-ready. Perks also taught multiple subject areas at the elementary, middle, high school, and postsecondary levels. He began his career at Marburn Academy, a school dedicated to serving students with special needs, particularly dyslexia.

Perks holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Hampshire and an MA in the art of teaching from the University of Chicago.

Joseph G. Sassone, as School and District Improvement Senior Facilitator at WestEd, is responsible for developing the capacity of schools to transform systems in ways that improve educational outcomes and advance equity.

Sassone facilitates a student-centered transformation model for comprehensive school improvement. Currently, he is working with the Division of Performance and Accountability at the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to utilize WestEd’s Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement with comprehensive and targeted schools.

Previously, Sassone served as the Senior Director of School and District Services at WestEd, where he led complex transformational projects with schools and districts that had been persistently low-performing in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, New York, and Wisconsin. His most successful project was with the Creighton Elementary School District in Phoenix, Arizona. When Creighton began a turnaround process in 2008, it was a struggling, underperforming district. The state had designated the district as “failing” and eight of its nine schools as “underperforming.” By spring 2011, the percentage of students who met or exceeded proficiency in reading had increased from 48.5 to 68 percent and all the schools were performing at state standards. Within three years, student achievement exceeded expectations, and the school district itself had transformed the way it operated.

Recently, Sassone co-authored a peer-reviewed article published in the Journal for Leadership and Instruction, “Accelerate, Don’t Remediate: An Instructional Framework for Meeting the Needs of the Most Vulnerable Students after COVID School Closures.”

Giselle Sherry-Marsh is a School and District Improvement Specialist at WestEd, where she assists SEA, LEA, and school leaders with the application of the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement to support continuous improvement efforts. Sherry-Marsh joined WestEd with over 10 years of successful school turnaround experience within urban and suburban schools and districts. She was a successful school turnaround principal before transitioning to a district office role as the Director of School Improvement, Accountability and Assessment for a southeast school district.

In that role, she coached district and school teams on using data to facilitate school improvement efforts. Her strategic approach to turnaround helped 100 percent of the district’s low performing schools improve their differentiated accountability status. While leading school turnaround for the district, Sherry-Marsh also worked to develop teacher leaders and supported principals navigating their approach to school culture.

Giselle Sherry-Marsh is a graduate of Florida State University where she earned both her BS in science education with a specialization in chemistry and her MS in educational leadership and policy studies.

Ashleigh Tillman is a School Improvement Specialist at WestEd, where she assists state, district, and school leaders with the application of the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement Framework to support continuous improvement efforts. With over 15 years of experience, she specializes in literacy and leadership coaching within urban public and charter school districts.

She recently served as the Systems Improvement Specialist at Washington, DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), where she led literacy initiatives, including the development of the Comprehensive State Literacy Plan, and provided professional learning and technical assistance for K–12 educators and leaders across DC.

Tillman’s achievements include designing professional learning modules and coaching school leaders through implementation and capacity building while narrowing the opportunity gap by 5 percent in literacy during her time as a leadership coach in DC Public Schools. While at OSSE, Tillman solicited feedback of stakeholders and the community to ensure that all aspects of developing the Comprehensive State Literacy Plan focused on the needs of all students, educators, families, and the community.

Tillman is passionate about educational equity and seeks to provide enriching experiences for state, district, and school leaders to build capacity and improve outcomes for students.

Tillman has a BA in English from Hamline University and a MAEd with a concentration in Urban Education. Tillman is an avid reader and lifelong learner and enjoys spending time with family and friends.”

Susan Villani is a Senior Program Associate with the Quality Schools and Districts team at WestEd. She builds educator capacity to ensure that every student has equitable access and opportunities to achieve or exceed academic standards.

She specializes in equity data inquiry, Restorative Practice, teacher quality and teacher evaluation, comprehensive mentoring and induction of new teachers and principals, turnaround leadership, and building collaborative communities. She has led statewide initiatives in ME, NY, NH, NJ, and VT.

Villani coauthored Mentoring New Teachers Through Collaborative Coaching and authored Are You Sure You’re the Principal? A Guide for New and Aspiring Leaders, Comprehensive Mentoring Programs for New Teachers, and Induction Programs that Support New Principals. She has presented and delivered keynotes at national and regional conferences.

Prior to joining WestEd, Villani was a school principal in three districts and an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University. She holds an EdD in educational administration from Northeastern University, an MEd in elementary education from Tufts University, and a BA in business administration from SUNY Binghamton.