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Instructor Bio :Dana Ashlock has spent most of her career in the nonprofit sector. For over 20 years, she worked at a disability rights organization in Ann Arbor where, among other things, she helped write grant proposals and complete grant reports. Since 2011, she has overseen the Jackson Community Foundation’s competitive grantmaking and scholarship programs. During that time, she moved the application and review processes to an online system and helped develop new types of grant opportunities. She feels fortunate that through this role she has met so many residents passionate about improving the quality of life in Jackson County and ambitious young people pursuing their college dreams.
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Instructor Bio :Jack R. Baker was born and raised in Shelby, a small farming community in Western Michigan, and is an author, professor, and amateur writing-shed builder. He is an advocate for education and localism and has written about such in his book Wendell Berry and Higher Education: Cultivating Virtues of Place (University Press of Kentucky, 2017) and for Inside Higher Ed. His children—Owen, Silvia, and Griffin—are students in the Western School District.
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Instructor Bio :Wendy Bell has been working in Early Childhood Education for more than twenty years. She achieved her Masters Degree in Education with a concentration in Early Childhood Education. She is currently an Early Childhood Specialist for the Jackson County Intermediate School District supporting thirteen of the county's Great Start Readiness Program classrooms.
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Instructor Bio :Cindy is a lifelong resident of Jackson, Michigan. She graduated from Michigan State University and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She worked in a local school district for 7 years. Her career with the Jackson Community Foundation began in 2013 where she focuses on assisting students to obtain scholarships, coordinates the Teacher Fund grant round, and the Youth Advisory Committee Grant rounds. Cindy is anxiously awaiting the end of COVID-19 in order to resume singing with the Bad Penny Band.
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Instructor Bio :A native of Pennsylvania, Berkey began her teaching career in Wetzel County, WV following graduation from Slippery Rock State University in 1976. An elementary physical education teacher and a high school coach, she became a strong advocate for physical education through her efforts as a teacher, coach, official and, later, a university professor and administrator. Berkey was a dedicated teacher educator at WMU incorporating best practice, applied research, technology and advocacy in applied settings across her career. Her work with teachers and students was grounded in practical application. She also served as the Chair of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department from 1994-2007. Deb served on department, college and University curriculum committees. She retired in June 2018 after 33 years of service. Berkey currently serves as the Executive Director for SHAPE-MICHIGAN.
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Instructor Bio :Marie Bonkowski is recently retired from her position as the Director of Student Affairs at Baker College of Jackson. She was a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council of the Baker College System and the majority of her 20 plus years at Baker was in the position of Dean of Health Sciences. Marie is an enthusiastic facilitator of the Cross-Cultural Conversations Training. Her goal is to provide information and a safe environment for participants to begin conversations that lead to understanding biases and disparities in their own lives and in their communities. She looks forward to providing awareness and some tools for carrying on these sometimes difficult conversations.
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Instructor Bio :Cathy Brubaker has worked in the Early Childhood field for over 25 years. Most of those years were working with 3 different Head Start programs in different capacities from teaching to overseeing the educational component as Education Manager. Her current role at the JCISD has her supporting the State funded GSRP programs/classrooms as an Early Childhood Specialist.
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Instructor Bio :
Janelle has been with the ISD for 4 years. She works to support our local districts in addressing the whole child needs of students. Janelle has extensive experience in, and understanding of, systems change and spent the majority of her career in the community health sector as a Prevention Consultant and Health Educator. She provides coaching and consultation to schools and community partners to develop effective systems that meet the needs of all students and helps to build capacity around whole child within a multi tiered system of support.
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Instructor Bio :I have been in education since 1995. I have been a Special Education Teacher, Drop-out Prevention Coordinator, At-Risk Specialist, Chair of Jackson School Justice Partnership, an Assistant Principal and Principal. My goal is to be an advocate for our students in Jackson County.
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Instructor Bio :Katena is a Management Consultant skilled at helping diverse groups and communities think creatively and collaboratively together. She empowers people to translate conflict and differences into creative breakthrough. Her passion is creating environments where individuals, teams, and organizations can transform and shift old ways of doing things. Katena specializes in leadership and team development, board governance, strategic planning and communication. She is skilled in Cognitive Coaching, is a certified Bridges Out of Poverty trainer, and is a co-creator of a statewide Diversity, Inclusion and Equity toolkit. Katena holds a Bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, a Master’s degree in Organizational Management from Spring Arbor University, and a PhD in Organizational Leadership at Grand Canyon University.
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Instructor Bio :Rebecca has worked at LifeWays for 4 years. She is trained in Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid, safeTALK Suicide Prevention and Sources of Strength. She is passionate about mental health and suicide prevention and chairs the Jackson County Suicide Prevention Coalition. She is also on the board of the Jackson Pride Center and a member of the Jackson Trailblazers Toastmasters Club. She graduated from Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in advertising and Full Sail University with a master’s degree in Digital Marketing.
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Instructor Bio :Learning Services Education Consultant
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Instructor Bio :Jared is currently a school social worker at Warner Elementary in Western School District and this is his 6th year in Education. Jared received his Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan. He is trained as a Michigan ACEs Community Champion Trauma Trainer and has helped develop PBIS and Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) across three counties.
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Instructor Bio :Abby is a Jackson, Michigan native and a two-time Eastern Michigan University (EMU) alumna having earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management and a master's degree in Educational Leadership. Her background is supporting first-year college students of color and high school students from historically minoritized populations. She currently the coordinator of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative at the Jackson County Health Department where she implements and facilitates programing for teens at local high schools. She is passionate about providing students with the knowledge and resources they need to become thriving, fulfilled members of society.
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Instructor Bio :Kellie is an educational technology consultant for Jackson ISD technology consortium. Kellie also works closely with the Hillsdale County Schools in the consortium.
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Instructor Bio :Lucy is the Youth Services Coordinator for Jackson District Library. During her time at JDL, she's worked with a variety of classrooms to improve research and provide access to reading materials.
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Instructor Bio :Laura began her career as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in 1999 and has worked to make the world a friendlier place ever since. Much of Laura’s career has been spent working in adult education, both as an Adjunct Professor of Sociology and as an Extension Educator. Most recently, Laura was a Regional Director for Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Western Region where she managed the teams supporting finance, HR, and IT for nine counties as well as a residential 4-H Summer Camp and her own staff of 21 direct reports. For eight years, Laura served our country as an Ombudsman for the US Navy Reserve, supporting the Great Lakes chain of command beginning in 2003. During this time, she oversaw the mobilization of more than 500 sailors to Iraq and lent a listening ear to their dependents, a service that led directly to her research interests. Laura holds a BA in Women’s Studies with an honors thesis on domestic violence in military families and a MS in Sociology with a focus on Community Development.
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Instructor Bio :Casey Gamble is an Adult Services Librarian at Jackson District Library Carnegie Branch. She received her library degree from University of Michigan. She specializes in technology help, historical research, digitization, craft programs, and outreach. She enjoys learning and sharing about JDL's wonderful research databases for all age groups!
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Instructor Bio :Ben Gilpin is the principal at Warner Elementary in the Western School District. Warner Elementary is located in Spring Arbor, Michigan. He is a student-centered educator that is focused on collaboration, teamwork, student engagement and leadership.
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Instructor Bio :Emilee has worked for the Department of Health and Human Services for the past 12 years supervising Children’s Protective Services, Foster Care Licensing, and Foster Care in multiple counties including Branch, Hillsdale and Kalamazoo counties. Emilee is a 2008 graduate of Spring Arbor University with a Bachelor’s of Social Work. Her current role is that of Foster Care Licensing Supervisor in Jackson County. Emilee has been facilitating and training Mandated Reporter trainings over the past ten years.
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Instructor Bio :Kelsea is the Data Integration and Medicaid Cost Recovery Coordinator with the Jackson County ISD Whole Child Team. Her roles at the ISD include assisting schools with making data driven decisions, coordinating Medicaid recovery efforts for general education students and working with community members to provide services to youth in Jackson County. Before coming to the ISD, Kelsea was the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coordinator with the Jackson County Health Department where she coordinated programming for alternative high school and middle school youth. She has a passion for equity, mentorship and breaking down barriers for students in Jackson County.
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Instructor Bio :Learning Services Education Consultant
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Instructor Bio :I have worked with the Jackson County Intermediate School Districts Learning Services Department over the past four years in a couple different capacities. When I first joined the team I was a part of the Whole Child Team. My degree and background is in psychology and the work done by this team was such a joy and passion of mine. Then upon the birth of my first child my focus shifted a little bit and I yearned to be home. For the past two years I have been able to do so by working as a contractor for the ISD providing support to the Data and Assessment Side of the Learning Services Team.
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Instructor Bio : Dan was a high school English Teacher for 14 years and a High School Principal for four. He has been in the consultancy for over 10 years where he has worked with school improvement, curriculum development, one-on-one coaching, new teacher development, poverty training and many other areas of professional learning.
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Instructor Bio :Zoe Lyons is the County Director for the Jackson office of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She has worked in the human services field for 30 years. Zoe has worked as a Children’s Protective Services worker and then trainer, an investigator for the Office of Children’s Ombudsman and in the MDHHS Central Office as the Manager over Children’s Protective Services for the entire state. The last 10 years she has been the Director in MDHHS offices in Hillsdale/Branch and Ingham Counties as well as Jackson. Zoe has a degree in Psychology from Michigan State University.
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Instructor Bio :Elementary Math and Science Consultant
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Instructor Bio :Maeghan has been with the JCISD for 20 years. She is a Literacy Consultant and Reading Recovery Teacher Leader. Meaghan organizes and facilitates professional learning for literacy related initiatives in Jackson County.
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Instructor Bio :
Bill Montgomery has been a passionate school educator since he began his "unofficial" journey in 2001. As a secondary mathematics and science teacher for 15 years, Bill has thoroughly enjoyed growing and learning with his students and fellow colleagues. He credits his experiences with them as a teacher, friend, football coach, class sponsor, school improvement team co-chair, and department chair as constantly re-energizing his enthusiasm for public education. For the past 4 years, Bill has been the science consultant for the Jackson County ISD. In his time here, he has been constantly amazed at the levels of collaboration within our county and deeply treasures the experiences he has shared with Jackson County teachers and administrators.
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6700 Browns Lake Road
Jackson, MI, 49201
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jessica.nichols@jcisd.org
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5179908093 (Work)
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5179908093 (Home)
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Instructor Bio :Bob Powell is the Chief Executive Officer for Family Service and Children’s Aid. He has worked in the human services field for over 40 years. Bob has worked in the Jackson community since 1994 as a Children’s Protective Services Worker, Administrator for nonprofits and adjunct faculty for Baker and Spring Arbor University. Bob studied at Michigan State University for his undergraduate degree, Wayne State University for his graduate work and completed his Doctoral degree from Western Michigan University.
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Instructor Bio :I have worked for the Department of Health and Human Services for 20 years in the foster care program and served in multiple counties including Van Buren, Ingham, and currently Jackson county. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Central Michigan University and a Masters in Family Studies from Spring Arbor University. My current role is that of Foster Care Program Manager in Jackson County where I manage five foster care supervisors and 25 foster care staff. I have been facilitating and training Mandated Reporter trainings to the Jackson community over the past ten years.
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Instructor Bio :Eric Swihart is on the JCISD Whole Child Team and serves as the Regional Health Coordinator. He brings over 20 years of experience in local schools as a teacher, coach, and principal. Eric's passion is in preparing students to learn through equitable systems, high expectations, and healthy habits...all while using a sense of humor!
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Instructor Bio :Sandy is a Literacy Consultant for the Jackson County ISD. She has extensive experience in Reading and Writing Workshop and has studied directly under Lucy Calkins and the staff at Teachers College at Columbia University.
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