2026 Speakers

“My name is Michael. I can hop. Do you want to see me hop?” That’s how I introduced myself to bemused strangers at the supermarket when I was three. Honestly, not much has changed. Here’s the formal bio, with the best bits at the end.

Michael Bungay Stanier has shaped how organizations around the world make being coach-like an essential leadership competency. His book The Coaching Habit is the best-selling coaching book of this century, with over a million copies sold and more than fifteen thousand five-star reviews on Amazon.

In 2019, he was named the #1 thought leader in coaching, and in 2023, he won the coaching award from Thinkers 50, “the Oscars of management.” Michael was the first Canadian Coach of the Year, has been named a Global Coaching Guru since 2014, and was a Rhodes Scholar. His most recent book, How to Work with (Almost) Anyone , shows how to create psychological safety by building the Best Possible Relationship with the key people at work.

Michael is the host of the Change Signal podcast, which cuts through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change management. TheChangeSignal.com

Michael founded Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that had helped hundreds of organizations transform from advice-driven to curiosity-led. BoxOfCrayons.com

Michael is a compelling speaker and facilitator who combines practicality, humour, and an unprecedented degree of engagement with the audience. He’s spoken on stages and screens around the world in front of crowds of ten to ten thousand, and his TEDx talks have been watched by more than two million people. MBS.works.

En route to today—and these are essential parts of his origin story—Michael knocked himself unconscious as a labourer by hitting himself in the head with a shovel, mastered stagecraft at law school by appearing in a skit called Synchronized Nude Male Modelling , and his first paid piece of writing was a Harlequin Romance-esque story involving a misdelivered letter… and called The Male Delivery . Learn more at MBS.works Updated

Dr. Rachel Edoho-Eket is a wife, mother, principal, TEDx speaker, author, and the President of the Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals. With decades as a teacher and leader in public education, she has earned the reputation as a strong instructional leader, passionate educational advocate, and dedicated mentor. As the Principal of a National Blue Ribbon school in Maryland, she is a life-long learner who strives for excellence not only for herself, but also for everyone she serves. She also serves as an adjunct professor at McDaniel College helping to support the personal and professional growth of aspiring and current school leaders, and is an ASCD faculty member.

Named as one of the Top 100 Influencers in Education by District Administration magazine, Dr. Edoho-Eket has dedicated her life’s work to supporting all stakeholders in public education. She is a highly sought-after thought leader, keynote speaker, and featured speaker at many prominent educational events including TEDx, TLC, ISTE/ASCD, and The Future of Education Technology Conference.

Dr. Edoho-Eket’s first bestselling book, “The Principal’s Journey: Navigating the Path to School Leadership” provides a helpful and practical blueprint for educators to follow as they transition into new leadership roles. Her second bestselling book, “Relational Intelligence: The Key to Exceptional School Leadership” centers on the importance of trusting and authentic relationships as the driver of school success. Dr. Edoho-Eket holds a B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Temple University, a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from McDaniel College, and a Doctorate in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University.

Dr. Jim Knight, Founder and Senior Partner of Instructional Coaching Group (ICG), is also a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than two decades studying professional learning and instructional coaching.

Jim earned his PhD in Education from the University of Kansas and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards. The pioneering work Jim and his colleagues have conducted has led to many innovations that are now central to professional development in schools.

Jim wrote the first major article about instructional coaching for the Journal of Staff Development, and his book Instructional Coaching (2007) offered the first extended description
of instructional coaching. Jim’s book Focus on Teaching (2014) was the first extended description of how video should be used for professional learning. Recently, writing with Ann Hoffman, Michelle Harris, and Sharon Thomas, Jim introduced the idea of instructional playbooks with their book on that topic. Jim has written several books in addition to those described above, including Unmistakable Impact (2011), High-Impact Instruction (2013), Better Conversations (2015), The Impact Cycle (2018), The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching (2021), Data Rules (2024), and The IC Toolkit (2024).

Jim has also authored articles on instructional coaching and professional learning in publications such as “Educational Leadership”, “The Journal of Staff Development”, “Principal Leadership”, “The School Administrator”, and “Kappan”. Jim is also a columnist for “Educational Leadership”.

Through ICG, Jim conducts coaching workshops, hosts “Coaching Conversations” podcast, and provides consulting for coaching programs around the world.

Dr. Christian van Nieuwerburgh is Professor of Coaching and Positive Psychology at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences where he leads the Centre for Positive Health Sciences. He is also Consulting Professor with Growth Coaching International. Considered a thought leader in the areas of coaching in education and the integration of coaching and positive psychology. Christian is passionate about the creation of positive learning environments and works with schools, colleges, and universities all over the world.

Christian is the author of the best-selling Introduction to Coaching Skills: A Practical Guide, currently in its third edition (2014; 2017; 2020). He has published 10 books on the topics of coaching and positive psychology. He shares practical strategies and ideas from these fields on his website (www.coachonamotorcycle.com) and social media channels (Youtube: @coachonamotorcycle; Instagram: @coachonamotorcycle; X: @christianvn).

Dr. Mary Webb is a consultant at the Instructional Coaching Group. Mary worked for twenty five years in public education in Texas, dedicating twenty of the years to school leadership in the role of Assistant Principal, Principal, and Director of Instruction in suburban and urban school districts.

Mary is a proud Sooner where she attended the University of Oklahoma to earn her B.S. in Elementary Education. She received her Master’s in Education Administration from Texas A&M Commerce and her Doctorate degree in Education Administration from The University of North Texas. Mary’s dissertation focused on how school systems can create structures for the principal and IC to develop a successful relationship in order to impact student learning.

In addition to her work in public schools, Mary serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Texas. Mary has also facilitated multiple sessions of Courageous Principals at Deloitte University, which focuses on impactful leadership skills for administrators.

Dr. Yong Zhao is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas. He previously served as the Presidential Chair, Associate Dean, and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he was also a Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership. Prior to Oregon, Yong Zhao was University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also served as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, executive director of the Confucius Institute, as well as the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence. Additionally, he worked as a professor of educational leadership in the Faculty of Education at University of Melbourne and senior researcher at the Mitchell Institute of Victoria University in Australia. He was a visiting Global Professor at University of Bath and a visiting scholar at Warwick University in the UK. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a fellow of the International Academy of Education. Yong Zhao has received numerous awards including the Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association, Outstanding Public Educator from Horace Mann League of USA, Distinguished Achievement Award in Professional Development from the Association of Education Publishers, ACEL Nganakarrawa Award, and AECT 2022 Outstanding Digital Learning Artifact Award and AECT Distinguished Development Award. He has been recognized as one of the most influential education scholars.

His works focus on the implications of globalization and technology on education. He has published over 100 articles and nearly 40 books, including Focused: Understanding, Negotiating, and Maximizing Your Influence as a School Leader (w J. Watterston) (2024), Duck and Cover: Confronting and Correcting Dubious Practices in Education (w R. Ginsberg) (2023), Improbable Probabilities: The Unlikely Journey of Yong Zhao (w G. W. McDiarmid) (2023), Learning for Uncertainty: Teaching Students in a Rapidly Evolving World (w G. W. McDiarmid) (2022), Learners without Borders (2021), Teaching Students to Become Self-Determined Learners (w M. Wehmeyer) (2021), An Education Crisis Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: How Radical Changes Can Spark Student Excitement and Success (2019) What Works May Hurt: Side Effects in Education (2018), Reach for Greatness: Personalizable Education for All Children (2018), Counting What Counts: Reframing Education Outcomes(2016), Never Send a Human to Do a Machine’s Job: Correcting Top 5 Ed Tech Mistakes (2015), Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon: Why China has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World (2014), Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization (2009)and World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students (2012). He has also worked with numerous schools to design new models of education within the existing school.

In about four decades of his professional career, Yong Zhao has led large research projects, directed research and practice centers and institutions, designed schools, curricula, and textbooks, and initiated and led the development of software systems for learning and professional purposes. He has worked with teachers, schools, professional organizations, businesses, and governments in many countries in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, North and South America, and Europe.

Zhao was born in China’s Sichuan Province. He received his B.A. in English Language Education from Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages in Chongqing, China in 1986. After teaching English in China for six years, he came to Linfield College as a visiting scholar in 1992. He then began his graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993. He received his masters in Education in 1994 and Ph.D. in 1996. He joined the faculty at MSU in 1996 after working as the Language Center Coordinator at Willamette University and a language specialist at Hamilton College.

John Campbell is the Founding Director of Growth Coaching International (GCI), an organization that provides coaching and coaching services to school leaders and teachers across Australia and now in NZ, the UK, the Middle East, Spain and Central and South America.

John has been a high school teacher, a curriculum development advisor, a management consultant in the corporate sector and from 2004-2018 was involved in leading the GCI work across Australia. During that period over 60,000 school leaders participated in GCI professional learning programs. He has co-authored, with Prof Christian van Nieuwerburgh, The Leaders’ Guide to Coaching in Schools: Creating Conditions for Effective Learning(Corwin, 2017). He is also the author of the chapters, ‘Coaching in Schools’ and ‘The GROWTH Model: A Framework for Practitioners’ in Coaching in Professional Contexts, (Sage,2016), and with Prof Christian van Nieuwerburgh and Dr Jim Knight, ‘Coaching in Education’, in Professional Coaching: Principles and Practice (Springer, 2018). He regularly speaks at ‘coaching in education’ events and conferences across Australia and has led workshops and conference keynotes in NZ, the UK, Spain, Asia and the US.

In addition to his teaching degrees, he holds master’s degrees in organizational communication (UTS) and in the psychology of coaching from the University of Sydney.

As Founding Director, he is no longer directly involved in the operational side of GCI but rather spends his time writing about and researching ‘coaching in education’ related topics.

Dr. Michael Faggella-Luby is Professor of Special Education at Texas Christian University, where he is a core faculty member of both the Alice Neeley Special Education Research and Service (ANSERS) Institute and the Andrews Institute for Research in Mathematics & Science Education. With more than 25 years of experience designing and leading professional learning for educators, coaches, and school systems, his work bridges research and practice to improve instructional clarity, equity, and outcomes for learners with diverse needs. He also serves as Associate Editor of the Journal for Learning Disabilities and has held national leadership roles focused on learning disabilities and inclusive instruction.

Dr. Faggella-Luby is the co-author of two recent books, Data Rules: Elevating Teaching with Objective Reflection (ASCD/One Fine Bird with Jim Knight) and Specially Designed Instruction: The Definitive Guide (Bloomsbury), which emphasize evidence-based practice, instructional decision-making, and meaningful inclusion. His scholarship and professional learning focus on helping educators and instructional coaches use data as a tool for reflection, partnership, and continuous improvement. At TLC 2026, he joins an international community of educators committed to strengthening teaching and learning through collaborative coaching and research-grounded practice.

Chris Munro is now the Chief Operating Officer for the Australasian operations of Instructional Coaching Group (ICG) and Growth Coaching International (GCI) – both world-leading organizations in the field of coaching in education, now merged. He describes his role as supporting others as they grapple with the intersection of strategy, leadership, learning and relationships – helping them make progress, one conversation at a time.

Chris has held various teaching and educational leadership roles since qualifying as a high school design and technology teacher in the early 1990s. Relocating from Scotland to Australia in 2010, his experience and passion for people development coalesced with discovering coaching.

Chris credits early professional learning experiences with Jim Knight and John Campbell with helping him find the “thing” that would shape the rest of his career as an adult educator – coaching.

Chris is an accredited Senior Practitioner with the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC Global), holds a master’s degree in social and educational research from the University of Aberdeen, and is a fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (Victoria).

Chris has presented at major conferences in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the United States.

Amy Musante is an educator and instructional coach and, at the heart of her work, is a belief in learning with others, building relationships, and helping diversified school communities move into action that authentically suits their unique needs.

She spent 18 years in Oregon as a High School English Language Arts teacher, Instructional Coach, and Secondary Schools Intervention Specialist. She received her MA from Teachers College, Columbia University with a focus on secondary literacy.

In her work with ICG Amy supports districts and leaders nationally and internationally, intentionally focusing on developing long-term partnerships to impact outcomes for all students in all classrooms.

Amy serves on a Board with the State University of New York (SUNY) system focusing on impacting the student experience at the high school and college level.

In her free time, she loves reading, spending time in nature, seeing friends and family, and cheering on Buffalo sports teams!

Coming from a family of educators, Christina Ortega has devoted her career to public education for over 20 years in various capacities. She started her career as a Special Education Teacher teaching full-time learning support students. Christina then transitioned to the regular education classroom where she gained teaching experience at the elementary and middle school levels.

During her time as a classroom teacher and tenure as a technology facilitator, she found her passion for coaching and high impact instruction. In this role, she learned, implemented, and promoted blended learning with high impact instructional strategies in her building and district by way of professional development sessions and facilitative coaching capacities.

Christina transitioned into a full time Instructional Coaching role serving teachers at K-12 levels. It was in this role that she deepened her understanding of the Instructional Coaching Group and their resources as she transformed the district’s coaching program.

Today, Christina is a district level administrator as the Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Coordinator where she continues to expand her impact of empowering and equipping teachers, instructional coaches, and leadership teams with high effect instructional strategies for all students.

Christina lives in Hershey, PA with her husband, daughter, and their chocolate lab, Beauty.

Christina’s favorite quote: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Dr. Maya Angelou

Dr. Jessica Wise began her educational career in Gwinnett County, Georgia, as an elementary school teacher. After seven years of teaching fourth grade, she transitioned into the role of an intervention teacher and instructional coach, where she found her true passion in education.

Becoming a school-based instructional coach opened new possibilities for how to support education. After serving her school for two years as a coach, she joined the Curriculum & Instruction department where she served as a Literacy Instructional Specialist, and then a Leadership & Staff Development Instructional Coach. Jessica’s true passion exists in the learning spaces where adults can explore instructional coaching and facilitation that prioritizes people and energizes educators.

Jessica received her doctoral degree in School Improvement from the University of West Georgia where her focus was facilitation of adult learning.

When not working, Jessica enjoys hiking, movie night with her family, and working on DIY projects around the house.