Tammy is currently a District Principal in the Greater Victoria School District. She is passionate about side-by-side work with educators to design inclusive learning that engages all students and builds teacher efficacy. Tammy has presented workshops and mentored educators at the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University and Vancouver Island University. Tammy has led workshops and classroom-based learning rounds in BC, AB, the YK and NT.

Erika is an early primary educator in the New Westminster School District. She is currently enrolling a grade one/two class and working as a Teacher Coach for the school district. Erika believes classrooms should be kind, safe, respectful and inclusive learning environments. She uses research-based teaching practices to nurture and support the development of all children. Erika has a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction and has worked as an Early Childhood/Primary Learning Facilitator in the New Westminster school district. Erika has led workshops and classroom-based learning rounds in BC, AB and NT.

Susan is the founder of SmartLearning and leads SmartLearning initiatives in collaboration with a team of K-12 facilitators and learning coaches. Susan engaged in action research related to learning and literacy throughout her career. Findings from the initiatives have been featured in conference keynote addresses, at workshops and in numerous publications. At 27 she and Janice Micklethwaite won the BCTF’s top award for innovative teaching. After retiring from her role as Assistant Superintendent in SD40, New Westminster she received the Todd Rogers award for creating networks of educators committed to evidence-based learning. Susan loves to use research findings to create practices that build learner agency, concepts and competencies for deeper learning. The processes in the SmartLearning Toolkit were inspired by learning science and refined through classroom-based study. Susan sees SmartLearning as a highly engaging, learning-centred way to build the literacy skills needed for success in a fast-paced, ever-changing world.

Patricia is currently a District Curriculum Facilitator for Mentorship in the New Westminster School District, as well as Teacher Coach at Queensborough Middle School. She believes that learning is accessible by all and that ‘everybody can’ when we build strong, trusting, respectful connections and communities where students feel safe. She is passionate about collaboration and has spent most of her career working side by side with teachers in various capacities. She believes that the best learning happens in the presence of others and when we allow ourselves to be ‘comfortably uncomfortable’. Patricia has her Masters Degree in Educational Practice, with a focus on giving students a voice and social justice. She has worked as a Faculty Associate for SFU’s Professional Development Program and an Intermediate District Learning Facilitator for Literacy in New Westminster. She has presented Smart Learning workshops and classroom-based learning rounds with educators in BC, NT, and AB.

Ann has taught Kindergarten through grade 7 learners in the Langley and New Westminster school districts. She enrolled classes and specialized in both music and library arts. Her passion for books and the love of reading shone through every conversation about learning. Ann was a Gr.3-5 and a Gr.3-8 learning facilitator during the 2002-2007 New Westminster Literacy Initiative (English and French). During that time she led conference workshops in many B.C., Northern Territories, and Alberta districts. The professional experiences often included leading multi-day classroom-based professional learning rounds. Teachers loved seeing practices ‘live’ with children. After retiring she became a facilitator and learning coach for SmartLearning. She has written, field-tested over a number of years, and supported teachers to implement a Gr.3-6 guide for implementing SmartLearning. During regular weekdays, Ann can be seen nurturing three young granddaughters.

Heather is a Vice Principal at a secondary school in Greater Victoria School District. She has taught 4-12 spending most of her career in secondary school chemistry and physics. She believes in inclusive design practices that use content as the vehicle for developing competencies for deeper learning and that literacy and numeracy are the collective responsibility of all educators. She has led workshops and classroom-based learning rounds with educators in BC and AB.

A graduate of the University of Victoria Teacher Education Program, Barb began her teaching career in School District No. 81 (Fort Nelson),and after starting a family, moved to SD6 (Rocky Mountain), where she has lived and worked since 1998. She has been a K-7 teacher throughout her career and has always been passionate about literacy learning, particularly in young children.

Barb was appointed Early Reading Advocate for the District in 2012, and in that role facilitated literacy learning for a cohort of teaching colleagues in Changing Results for Young Readers, which was a province-wide initiative introduced by the Ministry of Education under the leadership of Maureen Dockendorf. In connection with this work, Barb also became the Provincial Facilitator for SD71 (Comox Valley) for two years. Following this, Barb became a full-time District Literacy Support Teacher in SD6. This role was envisioned as a means of providing regular, embedded professional development for teachers; an opportunity for teachers across the District to have a colleague work side by side with them and their students to improve literacy learning, in alignment with the goals of the SD6 District Plan. In addition to providing this learning leadership, Barb provides protocol and procedure training on district reading and writing assessments (K-8), organizes and facilitates district book clubs, reviews and advises on acquisitions for the District Resource Centre, and provides a variety of other professional learning opportunities for teachers.

Barb was recognized for her innovative work in the creation of an Intergenerational Learning Program. This involved establishing a primary classroom at Columbia Garden Village, a local seniors’ assisted living facility, and having her primary class learn alongside the residents one day per week. The program operated successfully for 6 years and was the subject of a story in the Globe and Mail entitled “Kindergarten in a retirement home proves at hit with young and old”.

A long-time colleague of Susan Close, Barb facilitates SmartLearning within SD6 and in other School Districts and Divisions in BC and Alberta. She has recently been involved in a research project using the ASK assessment.

Barb has always been a rural educator and enjoys the lifestyle and opportunities available in her home community of Invermere BC. She has two sons who are her pride and joy. Outside of school, her interests include hiking and backpacking, Nordic and downhill skiing, and trail biking.