Board of Directors, Committees, Staff

Board of Directors

Gaynard Brown, Chairperson, Director of Special Education, Paul Bunyan Education Cooperative

Sarah Brown, Vice-chairperson, Unique Learner Manager, St. Croix River Education District, Rusch City, Minnesota

Deb Lyons, Treasurer, Principal, Cottage Grove School, Monona Grove School District, Monona, Wisconsin

Lori Mueller, Secretary, Director of Instruction, School District of Baraboo, Baraboo, Wisconsin

Kathy Bertsch, Associate Professor, Mankato State University, Mankato, Minnesota

Julia Espe, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, St. Cloud Area Schools, St. Cloud, Minnesota

Diane Jensen, Special Education Teacher, Monona Grove High School, Monona, Wisconsin 

Christa Macomber, Data & Assessment Coordinator/School Psychologist, Monona Grove School District, Monona Wisconsin

Hans Ott, Instruction and Intervention Specialist, St. Paul Public Schools, St. Paul, Minnesota

Elisabeth Lodge Rogers, Director, Teacher Leader Program Spalding University – College of Education, Louisville, Kentucky 

Mia Urick, Consultant, St. Paul, Minnesota

Committees

Practice Committee

The mission of the Practice Committee is to improve the education of ALL children by promoting data-based practices in a unified system using evidence-based resources through a collaborative network.  The vision of the practice committee is to design and deliver high quality professional development that supports the mission of the Midwest Instructional Leadership Council (miLc).  The main avenues to pursue vision and mission are planning professional development and building professional development infrastructures.

The Practice Committee focuses on three (3) main things as it provides direction for the organization.  These three areas are as follows:

1. The Practice Committee is charged with the the planning, development, and delivery of the Midwest Leadership Summit, the signature professional development conference of the Midwest Instructional Leadership Council, as long as the Midwest Leadership Summit is deemed necessary to meet the vision and mission of the organization.
2. The Practice Committee is charged with identifying and assisting in the planning and delivery of other professional development opportunities that assist the organization in meeting its vision and mission.  Such professional development opportunities include, but are not limited to topical or focused conferences, workshops, webinars, or other forms of professional development that may be delivered in-person or through the use of technology.
3. The Practice Committee is charged with identifying opportunities for establishing learning networks; learning communities that are both lateral and vertical in nature; and supporting ongoing group learning through the establishment of cohorts and communities of practice.  Finally, the Practice Committee is charged with identifying opportunities for provision of on-the-ground assessment of needs and embedded coaching and support needs.

Innovation Committee

The mission of the Innovation Committee is to improve the education of ALL children by promoting data-based practices in a unified system using evidence-based resources through a collaborative network.  The vision of the Innovations Committee is to scan, interpret, and translate current research and science that supports the vision and mission of the Midwest Instructional Leadership Council (miLc).  The main avenues to pursue vision and mission occur through awareness of the current research and science of effective leadership and instructional practices; assessing the urgency of data take-up; translating data into driveable initiatives; and developing and sustaining a library of online resources.

The Innovation Committee focuses on three (3) main things as it provides direction for the organization.  These three areas are as follows:

1. Scanning the landscape to be aware of the current status of research and science on effective leadership and instructional practices.
2. Assessing the urgency for data take-up.
3. Disseminating information that is useful for educational leaders and practitioners by translating data into driveable initiatives and developing and sustaining a library of online resources.

Community Committee

The mission of the Community Committee is to improve the education of ALL children by promoting data-based practices in a unified system using evidence-based resources through a collaborative network.  The vision of the Community Committee is to develop and maintain a community of stakeholders that supports the vision and mission of the Midwest Instructional Leadership Council (miLc).  The main avenues to pursue vision and mission are developing communication vehicles and providing information and resources for the wider community.

The Community Committee focuses on three (3) main things as it provides direction for the organization.  These three areas are as follows:

1. The Community Committee establishes relationships and partnerships by identifying people, organizations, and initiatives with which to connect, and a strategy for making those connections.
2. The Community Committee is charged with communication and developing communication vehicles that promote the vision, mission, and core beliefs and values of the organization that promote effective leadership practices and effective instructional practices so that increases in student achievement and outcomes for ALL students is realized.
3. The Community Committee is charged with issues of public policy through the monitoring of government activity affecting leadership and instruction.  The Community Committee is also charged with identifying opportunities for providing objective, research-based consultation to state and federal level stakeholders.  This consultation is informational in nature and is not to be construed as lobbying any particular position.

Staff

Elizabeth Witter Freeman, Ph.D.  

Dr. Elizabeth Witter Freeman received her doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She most recently worked as a school psychologist in the Monona Grove School District (in Monona, Wisconsin) pioneering practical application of Response-to-Instruction (RtI) at the secondary level. Dr. Freeman has extensive experience presenting, training, and collaborating on systems-change in the schools on topics such as problem-solving, data-based decision making, data infrastructure, consultation, RtI, and special features of secondary school best practice. She has been involved in research investigating the evidence-base for school-based interventions, the impact of interventions for students from diverse backgrounds, the treatment acceptability of school-based interventions for families, and data decision-rules for monitoring secondary student growth. Her interests include training of pre-service school psychologists and secondary application of Response-to-Instruction systems of service delivery.

 Click here to learn more about Elizabeth Elizabeth Freeman, Ph.D. - Vita 

 Contact Elizabeth via email: Elizabeth Witter Freeman 

Bradley C. Niebling, Ph.D.

Brad is an educational consultant and instructional data coach for the Midwest Instructional Leadership Council as of July 2011. Brad recently spent eight (8) years as school psychologist, Regional Staff Support Specialist, and Alignment Specialist for Heartland Area Education Agency 11 in Johnston, Iowa. Brad’s primary professional interests include intended, enacted, assessed, and learned curriculum alignment issues; response to intervention (RtI); school wide decision-making frameworks; program evaluation; large-scale accountability programs; research-based practices; and the inclusion of students with disabilities in each of these contexts. Additional areas of professional interest for Brad include mentoring and supervision of school psychologists, consultation, non-traditional roles for school psychologists, and working with children with challenging behaviors and anxiety disorders. Brad earned both his Master's and doctoral degrees. in educational psychology, with an emphasis in school psychology, from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.   

Click here to learn more about Brad: Brad Niebling Vita 

Contact Brad via email: Brad Niebling 

Ed O'Connor, Ph.D.

Ed is the lead organizational consultant and instructional data coach for the Midwest Instructional Leadership Council.  Previously, Ed served the Monona Grove School District in Wisconsin for 15 years as a school psychologist and most recently as the Director of Continuous Improvement and Assessment. Ed has worked in the schools at all levels from 4K-12. Ed also has worked at the collegiate level as he frequently is a lecturer in the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ed earned his undergraduate, masters, and doctorate degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ed has longstanding research interests in the areas of reading instruction, bridging the research-practice gap, systems change and models of continuous improvement in education, problem solving/response to instruction. Ed has published several articles in professional journals and newsletters and is a frequent presenter on these topics at state and national conferences.

Click here to learn more about Ed Ed O'Connor Vita 

Contact Ed via email: Ed O'Connor 

Event Planner

 Larry Iwen, Quest Educational Services, Hastings, Minnesota