Office of School Improvement
Office School Improvement
Staff
SREB’s Office of School Improvement has spent decades investigating what works to build and sustain lasting capacity for change in schools nationwide.
Our staff have deep expertise as classroom teachers, school, district and state education leaders, research and evaluation specialists, and policy analysts.
Dale Winkler
Vice President, School Improvement
Dale Winkler was named vice president of school improvement in April 2018. He joined the Southern Regional Education Board in 2015 as special assistant to the senior vice president of the organization’s school improvement team, where he brings more than 19 years of experience working on issues related to leadership and policy in the area of college and career readiness.
Advanced Career
Co-designed with state leaders, postsecondary educators, employers and master teachers to meet workforce demand in high-tech STEM fields, SREB’s exciting, out-of-the-box Advanced Career curricula help students master readiness standards and cultivate the critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and applied academic skills employers value. Contact us to learn more about adopting AC.
Jason Adair
Program Director, Literacy and Mathematics
Jason Adair is the program director for literacy and mathematics in SREB’s School Improvement division. He leads a team of content coaches as they develop and deliver high quality professional development to teachers, instructional coaches, and school and district leaders. Jason joined SREB’s school improvement team in 2011, bringing more than 10 years of experience in the public education sector. He was a middle school and high school mathematics teacher and instructional coach in Florida for eight years before leading K-12 mathematics in Gaston County, North Carolina.
Ivy Coburn
Division Director, Education & Workforce
Ivy Coburn is the division director of Education and Workforce initiatives at SREB, through which she brings K-12, postsecondary, workforce and industry leaders together to adopt policies and practices that expand career development and training opportunities for students, create seamless transitions from high school to further studies, and empower students to enter and advance in the workforce.
Erin Anderson-Williams
School Improvement Leadership Coach
Erin Anderson-Williams joined the SREB School Improvement team in 2021, bringing more than 20 years of educational experience in student support, instructional leadership and development. She served as a student services coordinator and social skills teacher for five years in private school in Tennessee before serving as a high school counselor for six years in the public school sector. She served for ten years as a public school administrator prior to supporting middle and high school principals as an executive director of school support and improvement.
LaTonya Bolden
School Improvement Instructional Coach
LaTonya Bolden works in SREB School Improvement, where she provides coaching and professional development to educators particularly in STEM content areas. She joined SREB in 2021, bringing 22 years of experience in public education and nonprofit organizations. Her experience in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Georgia includes serving as a science and math educator, academic facilitator, curriculum writer and developer, and instructional coach and mentor.
Steve Broome
Senior Director, State & District Partnerships, School Improvement
Steve Broome joined the Southern Regional Education Board in 2006 as the director of state development for high schools and middle grades for High Schools That Work, He brought more than 15 years of experience working on issues of education policy and practice in the public education sector. Steve has worked with state and local leaders in 32 states through HSTW.
Jenn Carter
Contract and Grant Coordinator, School Improvement
Jenn Carter is the contract and grant coordinator for school improvement. She joined the Southern Regional Education Board in 2003 as a graphic designer/editorial assistant in school improvement. From 2008 to 2017, she worked in human resources as administrator and later project manager. In 2017, she returned to school improvement as a data management coordinator and then accounting coordinator. Prior to joining SREB, she designed jewelry and was an inventory manager at an international gold marketplace distributor.
Cena Davis
Senior School Improvement Leadership Coach
Cena Davis is a senior school improvement leadership coach. She joined SREB in 2015 as a leadership consultant with a career pathway focus. Cena brings more than 31 years of educational experience related to teaching, learning and leading change in public education. She previously served as a teacher, principal, Alabama State Department of Education principal coach, and adjunct professor. She also assisted in opening a new school system as a director of curriculum and instruction and CTE coordinator.
Christi Edwards
School Improvement Instructional Coach
Christi Edwards works in SREB School Improvement, where she provides teacher, district and school instructional support through coaching and professional development in mathematics. She joined SREB in 2021, bringing more than 28 years of experience in public education.
Leslie Eaves
Program Director, Project-Based Learning
Leslie Eaves leads the project-based learning program at SREB, where she designs professional learning experiences for teachers to implement PBL. She joined SREB in 2016, bringing more than 16 years of experience in the public education sector. She holds both a technology education and 9-12 math license. Prior to SREB, Leslie taught high school engineering courses in North Carolina. She joined North Carolina New Schools in 2011 as a math content coach and a general instructional coach, where she implemented school-centered learning strategies and STEM practices.
Tokitha McWain-Ferguson
School Improvement Leadership Coach
Tokitha McWain-Ferguson joined SREB’s School Improvement team in 2019, bringing 18 years of educational experience in mathematics, instructional leadership and school improvement. She previously served as an education consultant for six years at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction District & School Transformation Division and as a teacher trainer and school administrator in Doha, Qatar. Throughout her career, her roles have included elementary and high school administrator, middle school teacher, mathematics facilitator and instructional coach.
Linda Floyd
Program Director, Technology Centers That Work
Linda Floyd joined SREB’s school improvement team as director of Technology Centers That Work in 2017. With more than 35 years of experience in education, Linda most recently worked for the Kentucky Department of Education, where she provided leadership, supervision and evaluations of principals in 27 state-operated career and technology centers.
Judy Frank
Director, State and District Partnerships
Judy Frank is director of state and district partnerships. She was previously program director of Making Middle Grades Work initiative, where she coordinated middle grade services across the organization and supported leadership and content coaches in school redesign. She joined SREB in 2015 as a school improvement consultant to the organization’s High Schools That Work/Making Middle Grades Work initiative, bringing more than 33 years of experience working on issues of education policy and practice in the public education sector.
Betty Fry-Ahearn
School Improvement Leadership Coach
Betty Fry-Ahearn is a school improvement leadership coach. She began working with the Southern Regional Education Board in 2001 as a school leadership consultant.
Shelly Gibson
School Improvement Instructional Coach
Shelly Gibson joined SREB’s School Improvement team in the fall of 2019. As a math instructional coach, she provides coaching and professional development support for educators in grades K-12. Shelly has enjoyed more than 25 years in education as both a teacher and as a curriculum facilitator with Gaston County Schools in North Carolina.
Quinton Granville
School Improvement Instructional Coach
Quinton Granville joined SREB’s School Improvement team in 2014. As an instructional coach, he partners with teachers and educational leaders to strengthen instructional practices that are essential to empowering all students to achieve. His work in schools focuses on disciplinary literacy and strategic coaching. He is also a co-leader of SREB SMART (Science and Math Alternative Route to Teaching), a program that helps new and developing teachers thrive in the areas of instructional planning, classroom culture, student engagement and assessment and feedback.
Karen Gray
School Improvement Instructional Coach
Karen Gray is a school improvement instructional coach at SREB, where she provides ongoing coaching, feedback and professional development to teachers as they work to improve their practice. She joined SREB in August 2019, bringing 32 years of experience in the public education system. Her experience with SREB dates to 2014 when as a secondary math supervisor she led Jefferson County Schools in Alabama in the implementation of the principles of SREB’s powerful math practices.