Robin Fogarty is President of RFA: A Robin Fogarty Company, a Chicago-based, minority-owned, educational publishing/consulting company. Robin received her doctorate in curriculum and human resource development from Loyola University of Chicago. A leading proponent of the thoughtful classroom, Robin has trained educators throughout the world in curriculum, instruction and assessment strategies. She has taught at all levels, from kindergarten to college, served as an administrator, and consulted with state departments and ministries of education in the United States, Puerto Rico, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Great Britain, Singapore, South Korea, the Netherlands , the… Kingdom of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Robin has published articles in nbsp; Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan , The nbsp; Journal of Staff Development andnbsp;The Middle School Lournal. She is the author of numerous publications, including nbsp; Brain-Compatible Classrooms, Literacy Matters, Ten Things New Teachers Need, How to Integrate the Curricula, The Adult Learner, A Look at Transfer, Close the Achievement Gap, Twelve Brain Principles, Nine Best Practices, and nbsp; From Staff Room to Classroom: Planning and Coaching Professional Learning, How to Teach Thinking Skills Within the Common Core: nbsp; 7 Key Student Proficiencies of the New National Standards, Invite! Excite! Ignite! 13 Principles for Teaching, Learning and Leading K-12 classrooms Robin received her Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education at SUNY, Potsdam, NY, and her Masters in Instructional Strategies from National Louis University in Evanston, IL.nbsp; She is known as the teachers' teacher and has mentored numerous colleagues in the art and science of working with the adult learner. She brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to all endeavors, has a wealth of knowledge in the field and conducts highly interactive PD sessions.Brian M. Pete , co-founder of Robin Fogarty  Associates, comes from a family ofnbsp;educators-college professors, schoolnbsp;superintendents, teachers and teachers ofnbsp;teachers. He has a rich background innbsp;professional development. Brian hasnbsp;worked with the adult learner in districtsnbsp;and educational agencies throughout thenbsp;United States, Europe, Asia, Australia andnbsp;New Zealand and the GCC in the Middle East. nbsp;He has an eye for thenbsp;"teachable moment" and the words tonbsp;describe what he sees as skillful teaching.nbsp;He delivers dynamic, humor-filled sessionsnbsp;that energize the audiences with engagingnbsp;strategies that transfer into immediate andnbsp;practical on site applications. Commentsnbsp;fromnbsp;school leaders often say that it is thenbsp;best PD the staff nbsp; has ever had. ? Brian is co-author of: How to Teachnbsp;Students to Think Within the Common Core, School Leaders Guide to Common Corenbsp;Achieving Results,Supporting Differentiated Instruction: A PLCnbsp;Approach, From Staffnbsp;Room to Classroom: A Guide to Planningnbsp;and Coaching Professional Learning, From Staff Room to Classroom II: The One-Minute PD Planner and nbsp; The Right to Be Literate: 6 Literacy Strategies for the 21 st Century. His works in progress include two pieces, one on inquiry learning with a focus on Problem-based Learning and the other on how to explicitly teach thinking skills in IB International Schools.
Catherine Sambo is vice president of Kinney and Associates where she supervises site-based and field-based staff, provides a leadership role in all sales/marketing presentations, and designs and implements workshops relating to the relationships between curriculum, standards-based assessments, and student achievement. With more than a decade of educational consulting experience in over 300 schools Sambo offers her expertise in the collection and use of data for improving classroom instruction and student performance. She received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Loras College and a master's degree in educational administration from Governors State University.