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2008 TTC Institutes
Trainers & Coordinators |
 Debbie
Welch is
the Director of the TTC and is an educational consultant
located in Boulder, Colorado. Deb recently returned to the US to work for the TTC as well as engage in other international consulting work. From 1997-2006 she was Deputy Head of the School for Learning at the International School Bangkok where her responsibilities included all aspects of student learning, school improvement, curriculum and professional development. Prior to ISB, she taught middle school and held various administrative positions in the U.S. Deb first learned about international schools as a consultant and now, after nine years in Bangkok, believes that the international experience was transformational for her family. Debbie holds a Masters degree in curriculum and administration and a PhD in human and organizational development.
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 Jennifer
Abrams is a national
and international education consultant for public and
private schools, colleges and organizations. A former high
school English teacher, Jennifer now trains and coaches
teachers and administrators on successful teaching
practices, new teacher support, supervision and evaluation,
and collaboration skills. She presents at annual conferences
such as NSDC, ASCD, NCTE and at the New Teacher Center at UC
Santa Cruz Annual Symposium, as well as working with
graduate students and administrative credential candidates.
Jennifer's current professional development sessions include
"Having Hard Conversations", "The Voice of the Collaborative
Teacher", "Habits of Mind for the School Savvy Leader" and
"Being Generationally Savvy". She considers herself a 'voice
coach' helping teachers and administrators learn how to best
use their voices, be it in a group, in front of a classroom,
coaching a colleague, or in a supervisory role.
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 Elliott Asp has
been a classroom teacher in both traditional and alternative
settings, curriculum developer, university professor, and an
administrator at the building and district level. He
has contributed to books, edited volumes, and research and
professional journals on a wide variety of subjects.
Dr. Asp has consulted with school districts and educational
agencies in a number of states on standards-based education
and assessment design and has made numerous presentations to
state and national audiences. He has been appointed by
the Governor to a number of state commissions and task
forces dealing with assessment, accountability, and
standards-based education. Elliott is currently
Assistant Superintendent for Performance Improvement in the
Cherry Creek School District in suburban Denver. His
professional interests include the relationship between
curriculum, assessment, and instruction in promoting student
achievement and data-based decision-making in the classroom,
school and district. |
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 Mary
Jeanne (MJ) Farris is
currently the Technology Coordinator at the American Community School
Beirut. She taught middle school math, social studies and
English in the United States before starting her international career.
After teaching in Stavanger, Norway, and Taipei, Taiwan, she
returned to the US to receive her degree in Instructional
Technology and Media from Columbia Teacher's College.
She spent five years at the International School of Brussels,
first as a Technology Facilitator, then as the Head of
Educational Technology, taking the leadership of the
integration of technology and curriculum. She has just
completed her first year in Beirut. |
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 Madeleine Maceda Heide
is a specialist in Early
Childhood Education and Early Literacy Instruction. She
completed an M.S. degree in Early Childhood Education as well as an
Ed.S. in Reading and Language Education from Indiana University.
She has had a range of experiences as a student, teacher,
administrator and parent in international schools in the
Philippines, Brazil, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Belgium and the United
States. She is currently in her eighth year as the Principal
of the Lower Primary division of Hong Kong International School.
Prior to that she was the founding Head of the Early Childhood
Center of the International School of Brussels where she worked for
six years. Madeleine has taught all of the early childhood
grades from two-year-olds through eight-year-olds and has led
numerous presentations and workshops for educators and parents of
young children. She worked as the Education Coordinator of a
six-county Head Start program in southern Indiana and taught
undergraduate Education majors at Indiana University.
Madeleine counts it a privilege to have worked alongside many highly
skilled teachers and administrators who have informed her knowledge
of best practices for the youngest learners. Her most
important informant has been her daughter, who is now a busy college
student!
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Ochan Kusuma-Powell
is co-founder and director of Education Across
Frontiers, an organization that promotes teacher education towards
the development of professional learning communities. A graduate of
Columbia University with a doctorate in international education
development, she has more than 25 years experience in international
education and has been actively involved in developing inclusive special education programs
internationally. Together with her husband,
Bill, she co-authored an OSAC publication entitled Count Me In! Bill
and Ochan are currently working on a project to support
differentiated instruction in international schools, supported by a
grant from the US Department of State. They are focusing their
attention on teacher professional development in the areas of
differentiated instruction, collaboration, Cognitive Coaching (SM),
school leadership and governance training.
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 Karen Moreau
has been involved in curriculum and professional development
since 1987 and in international curriculum since 1998.
She is currently the Director of Curriculum of Professional
Development at Taipei American School (TAS). Prior to
this she was Director of Curriculum and Professional
Development at Academia Cotopaxi in Quito, Ecuador;
Curriculum Coordinator at International School of Bangkok;
and Curriculum Coordinator in Federal Way school district in
Washington State. She has been an international
consultant in curriculum, assessment and differentiated
instruction as well as presenting workshops at numerous
conferences around the world. She has worked with
schools to develop curricula based on the principles of
American education, international education and the three IB
programs. She has taught at all levels of education -
elementary, middle, high school and college. Karen
resides with her husband, Paul and two cats in Taipei,
Taiwan. |
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Gini Rojas
As an ASCD Faculty
member and independent consultant, Dr. Rojas develops language
programs and conducts professional training on effective strategies
for English Language Learners. This year Dr. Rojas is working with
international schools in South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia as
well as U.S. districts around the country. She is recognized for
her leadership and her commitment to the development of second
language proficiency among school populations, especially within an
inclusionary context.
It is her belief that strategies which assist English Language
Learners in K-12 settings are beneficial for all learners and that
ESL and classroom teachers need to work together to provide a
seamless language-development and educational education program. This is her
message
forthcoming book Success with English Language Learners: An
ASCD Toolkit for Classroom and ESL Teachers.
Dr Rojas is the author of ESLWISE!-
a regular column in The International Educator and teaches summer
courses sponsored by the Office of Overseas Schools (OMNI) and the
Teacher Training Center (TTC) in Miami and London, respectively.
She is married to Thomas Matts, an employee of
the College Board where he directs the World Language Initiative
program. Guess what they talk about!
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 Jane
Shartzer is the
Elementary Principal at the American Community School of Abu
Dhabi. She has held administrative positions in Abu Dhabi,
U.A.E., Venezuela and Burundi, in addition to teaching in
London, Sudan, Zaire and the U.S. Jane has presented
workshops on supervision/evaluation, differentiating
instruction, team-building, and ESL instruction. She
holds a Masters in Education and a Masters in
Education/Supervision. Jane is a graduate of the PTC's
Essential Skills program and has both trained and
coordinated for the Teacher Training Center since 2003.
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 Ann
Straub has been the Director of
Curriculum and Staff Development at the International School
of Bangkok for the past seven years. Prior to working in
Thailand, Ann was an educator in Vermont working with
learners ranging from elementary school to adult graduate school
students. Previously, Ann has been a co-trainer for the Principals'
Training Center course "Creating and Administering an Effective
School." Most
recently, she has presented sessions on Collaboration for
Learning, Differentiated Instruction, and Writing Across the
Curriculum at the European Council for International Schools
Conference, the East Asia Teachers Conference, the
Associate for the Advancement for International Schools, and
the National Staff Development Council. Ann consults
with International Schools to build teacher leadership
skills, enabling teams to focus on student learning. While residing
with her husband Peter in Bangkok, she maintains long
distance contact with her four children all living in the
U.S. |
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Jaye Zola
has taught social studies/humanities for 30 years. She has
worked in junior high, middle and high schools and helped
design and open New Vista High School in Boulder, Colorado.
For a number of years, Jaye was a Senior Instructor for
secondary Social Studies methods at the University of
Colorado. Jaye is currently an educational consultant and
curriculum developer. Among other projects, she wrote a
high school U.S. history textbook, worked with National
Geographic, wrote teaching materials for the Project for
Teaching East Asia, and served as a consultant to the
Colorado Department of Education as they developed the
Colorado Model Content Standards. In her local district,
Jaye is a teacher trainer for equity and diversity. Working
with teachers overseas, nationally, and locally, Jaye’s
workshops offer teachers the opportunity to develop and
deepen their thinking, as they enrich their classroom
strategies and skills. |
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John Zola spent 31 years as a high school social studies
teacher, most recently at New Vista High School, a “break
the mold” public high school in Boulder, Colorado. There, he
developed a wide variety of courses and implemented Socratic
seminars on a regular basis. John also served as a Senior
Instructor in the School of Education at the University of
Colorado where he taught the secondary Social Studies
methods course. He also was the Director of School and
University Partnerships where he directed an innovative
program that focused on new teacher induction.
Throughout his career, John has developed interactive
teaching materials and trained colleagues in active learning
strategies and Socratic seminars. He has presented
workshops that help teachers make the voice and work of
students central in the classroom. Many of these workshops
were presented in countries of the former Soviet Union where
they helped to promote the skills and dispositions needed in
the new democracies. John currently conducts in-service
trainings on civic education and teaching strategies in a
variety of locations around the United States, Central
Europe, and Asia. |
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