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.
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.
Beth Green
Program Director, Advanced Career
Beth Green leads the Advanced Career initiative at SREB, where she is responsible for implementing AC in states, districts, and schools. She provides leadership for AC implementation, coordinates activities and staff, and organizes and implements AC professional development. Beth joined SREB in 2007 as a school improvement consultant, later facilitating AC curriculum development, and began development of a network of schools implementing AC through academy design.
Pam Hogans
Administrative Specialist
Pam Hogans joined the Southern Regional Education Board in 2010 with more than 20 years of administrative experience in the field of education. Pam serves as an administrative assistant for the Division of Research and Accountability in the Office of School Improvement, where she coordinates and supports research and evaluation projects for SREB’s diverse client base.
Rebecca Holt
Research Associate
Rebecca Holt works with SREB program directors and coaches to manage data collection for school improvement initiatives. She joined the Southern Regional Education Board in 2010. Rebecca has experience in program development, coordination, writing, editing, researching, reporting and database management with nonprofit agencies, including Habitat for Humanity, the Marcus Institute and Partnership Against Domestic Violence. Rebecca holds a master’s in sociology from Georgia Southern University.
George Johnson
School Improvement Leadership Coach
George Johnson is a school improvement leadership coach for the Southern Regional Educational Board and its High Schools That Work program, where he brings 37 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in New Jersey public schools. George has worked in numerous states as a trainer for the Learning Design Collaborative. He is the lead editor for the SREB Literacy Ready transitional readiness course, and he is the lead literacy expert for the writing of the eighth and ninth grade version of High School Ready.
Donn Kirkwood
Senior School Improvement Leadership Coach
Donn Kirkwood joined the Southern Regional Education Board in 2014 as a literacy coach for the Literacy Design Collaborative program, through which he helped teachers and leaders in seven states use LDC practices and backward design techniques to develop exemplary curricula, improve instruction and increase student outcomes.
Debra LaMothe
School Improvement Leadership Coach
Debra LaMothe is a school improvement coach for SREB, where she works with career and technical education teachers and school administrators across the country to improve college and career readiness. She brings many years of CTE education experience as a teacher, administrator and consultant. In her former role as a district CTE Supervisor, Debra supported teachers and administrators with curriculum, work-based learning, instructional technology, and postsecondary alignment and credentialing.
Debra received her doctorate from Oakland University in Michigan.
Connie Lester
School Improvement Instructional Coach
Connie Lester joined SREB’s office of School Improvement as a leadership coach in April 2012. Prior to SREB, she spent 27 years as an English language arts teacher, department chair and high school writing portfolio cluster leader in Kentucky schools. After leaving the classroom, Connie became a member of Kentucky’s Highly Skilled Educator Program, where she provided schoolwide instructional and leadership support to struggling schools.
Rodriquez Leonard
School Improvement Instructional Coach
Rodriquez Leonard joined SREB in 2021, bringing 16 years of experience in public education. He was an English language arts teacher with the Birmingham City Schools district. He also worked as a master teacher, school improvement grant coordinator, and freshman academy coordinator.
Rodriquez holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Montevallo and a Master of Arts in English language arts – secondary education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Kimberly Livengood
School Improvement Instructional Coach
Kimberly Livengood joined SREB as a school improvement instructional coach in July 2019, bringing more than 25 years of teaching experience at the high school level in North Carolina and Tennessee. She began her work with SREB as a math consultant. She earned her National Board Certification, her certification in Teaching the Gifted, and her endorsement to teach AP Calculus while teaching in North Carolina.
Kim holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She lives in North Carolina.
Connie Luper
School Improvement Senior Leadership Coach
Connie Luper joined SREB’s office of School Improvement in 2016. As a senior leadership coach, she brings more than 31 years of experience working on issues of education practice in the public education sector. In this role, Connie helps schools develop rigorous career pathways and CTE programs and blend them with a rigorous academic core. She also leads trainings for teachers and principals in literacy, numeracy, project-based learning and instructional leadership. Connie is currently supporting career academy development efforts in large districts in Alabama and Georgia.