Making Schools Work Conference Keynote and Featured Speakers
See Our 2025 Keynote and Featured Speakers
Check out who will be speaking at our 2025 Making Schools Work Conference.
We will be adding more speakers as the conference dates draw nearer.
Antonio Neves
Keynote Speaker
Antonio Neves is a leadership and development expert,
best-selling author,
award-winning journalist and world-renowned speaker known for
helping people get unstuck and make their next move with
confidence.
The author of four books including Stop Living On Autopilot: Take Responsibility for Your Life and Rediscover a Bolder, Happier You (Penguin Random House), Antonio is also the host of The Antonio Neves Show podcast where he reminds people that no matter where they stand today, their story is far from over.
Katie Greer
Keynote Speaker
In February of 2005, Katie L. Greer began developing an internet safety program to deliver to Massachusetts students. The Corruption, Fraud and Computer Crime Division of the Attorney General’s Office was inundated with requests for Internet safety presentations, and Katie rose to the challenge of expanding the existing program she pioneered.
After leaving the Attorney General’s Office, Katie worked full-time as an Intelligence Analyst for the Massachusetts State Police, where she was assigned to the Missing Children Clearinghouse and subsequently became the Outreach Coordinator for the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Marck Abraham
Marck Abraham is the founder and
CEO of MEA Consultants, LLC, a fast-growing consultancy he
designed to help poorly performing schools and organizations
increase achievement for all students, especially young men of
color.
Craig Boykin
Craig J. Boykin has made a name for himself speaking nationally with his unapologetically REAL approach to systemic poverty and trauma. Craig doesn’t mind speaking the hard truth. He is a seven-time author and decorated army veteran.
Shannon Buerk
Shannon Buerk is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of engage2learn, the leading provider of strategic implementation systems, talent development and technology-enabled solutions for public schools since 2011 and a valued partner to 300+ districts across North America.
Bob Kucher and Alayna Cate
Bob Kucher, Chief Officer of Partnerships and Programs, and Alayna Cate, Director of Partnerships, represent PENCIL (Public Education Needs Community Involvement & Leadership), a Nashville non-profit linking community resources to Metro Nashville Public Schools. For the 2022-23 academic year, PENCIL leveraged the power of 700+ business partnerships which provided $7.3M in community investment to MNPS.
Yanick Hicks
Featured Speaker
An executive director and keynote speaker with the Maxwell leadership team, Yanick is certified to speak in the areas of leadership, teamwork and communication. Yanick inspires and entertains audiences to reach their ultimate potential. Yanick teaches from his professional life, sharing stories about his time spent as a pharmacist with Walgreens. Yanick energizes organizations with values-based, people-centric servant leadership principles that will empower and energize everyone in attendance.
He has over seven years of professional speaking experience. Yanick averages over 80 speaking events per year, and is consistently the highest rated speaker based on participant evaluations. He has enthralled crowds as large as 2,400. A proven speaker for your event!
Robert Jackson
Featured Speaker
For every problem, there is a solution is Mr. Jackson’s motto. He began his teaching career 27 years ago in Indianapolis Public Schools with a No More Excuses teaching approach with all of his students after being cut from the NFL Minnesota Vikings. He set high expectations for his students and expected them to do well by teaching and coaching them how to use their circumstances as stepping stones into their futures. Those same students went from low performing to successful pastors, lawyers, school administrators, teachers, pharmaceutical sales reps, business owners, pro athletes, entertainers and more.
Daniel Jean
Featured Speaker
Dr. Daniel Jean is the CEO of Wordstravel LLC a consulting, edutainment and empowerment agency. He also serves as an Associate Provost at Montclair State University.
Steph Jensen
Steph Jensen joined Boys Town in 2003 after holding positions such as middle school teacher, district reading specialist and school consultant. In her 21 years with Boys Town, she has been overseeing the implementation of external training contracts nationally and internationally.
Baruti Kafele
Featured Speaker
A highly-regarded urban educator in New Jersey for over twenty years, Principal Baruti Kafele distinguished himself as a master teacher and a transformational school leader.
As an elementary school teacher in East Orange, NJ, he was selected as the East Orange School District and Essex County Public Schools Teacher of the Year and New Jersey State Teacher of the Year finalist.
Tommie Mabry
Dr. Tommie Mabry is a renowned international speaker, nationally acclaimed educator and published author, authoring books like “A Dark Journey to a Light Future: A Memoir.”
His story of the trials, success and service has inspired millions around the world. News of Dr. Mabry’s achievements instantly went viral, breaking national headlines. Dr Mabry has appeared on USA Today, PBS Network, BET Soul and many more.
Chaney Mosley
As President of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), Mosley represented over 27,000 members, advocating for innovative CTE practices nationwide. He has published extensively on CTE research and evaluation, delivered numerous workshops, and contributed to state and national assessments. Mosley’s expertise spans teaching, outreach, policy and research, bridging theory with practical applications to advance education. His work has been featured on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and in USA Today.
Shree Walker
Featured Speaker
Society often believes people are products of their environment. As a young woman growing up in a poverty-stricken single-parent home, Dr. Shree Walker refused to be a victim of circumstance.
