Keynote Speakers

April 14-17, 2013 Big Plans – Small Buildings The Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs, WV

Connecting Instruction and Construction: What 21st Century Teaching and Learning Mean for 21st Century Facilities

Dr. Cathy Mincberg

The Center for Reform of School Systems

Cathy Mincberg is the president and chief executive officer of the Center for Reform of School Systems. She has worked at the forefront of public education reform both as a long-term school board member in the Houston Independent School District and as a Chief Operating Officer in two urban districts. Mincberg served as COO for four years in the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools, where she led a massive reconfiguration of the district's schools designed to improve student achievement and deal with budget constraints. She also completed four years as CBO of the Houston ISD, transforming the business operations of the country's seventh largest school system into a high-performing operation. In addition, Mincberg has worked as the CAO of KC Distance Learning in Portland.

Mincberg was a member of the Houston ISD Board of Education from 1982-1995, serving as president in 1987 and 1990. During her tenure, she co-authored the board's A Declaration of Beliefs and Visions, with fellow board members Don McAdams and Rod Paige. The reforms defined in this policy document led to Houston ISD's winning the first Broad Prize in 2002.

Sam Wilson, REFP

Jacobs

Sam is a Registered Educational Facility Professional with 28 years of experience in facility planning. For the past 15 years he has been dedicated to the K-12 learning environment, providing educational planning, educational adequacy and facility condition assessments, enrollment projections, capacity analysis, and program management services to districts large and small. In recent years he has provided consulting services to some of the largest school districts in the country including Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, Houston Independent School District, New Orleans Recovery School District, Portland Public Schools, Fort Worth Independent School District, Milwaukee Public Schools, and Baltimore City Public Schools. Most notably, Sam led the Department of Defense Education Activity's 21st century school design and delivery re-visioning, which includes the replacement or renovation of over 130 schools around the world.

Within Jacobs, Sam is the company's National K-12 Operations Leader. In this role, he is responsible for major K-12 Program assignments which currently exceed $4 Billion in ongoing construction nationwide. During mobilization he brings best practices and national trends from across the nation to provide comprehensive program delivery solutions to Jacobs clients.

A Learning and Teaching Roadmap

Glenn E. Meeks

Meeks Educational Technologies

With seventeen years of experience as a technology contractor and twenty years as a consultant for schools, Mr. Meeks is a nationally recognized leader regarding 21st Century Learning and Teaching environment s. His deep levels of expertise and understanding of how educational requirements and processes drive facility and technology needs is based on eight hundred and fifty projects while working with more than one hundred educational organizations. Mr. Meeks provides his clients with a very unique set of strategic planning and tactical implementation capabilities focused on enabling 21st Century Learning and Teaching environments to flourish. Whether the organization needs assistance with developing a clear vision for 21st Century Learning which drives professional development and policies/processes; creating a culture of support, instructional and technological; or implementing systems which support that learning environment; Mr. Meeks knows how to interconnect all of the silos to create a sustainable learning environment which maximizes student achievement and teacher efficacy.

School Safety Fears versus Facts

Dewey Cornell

Dewey G. Cornell is a forensic clinical psychologist and professor of education in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. He holds the Bunker Chair in Education. Cornell is director of the UVA Youth Violence Project, a Project Director for Youth-Nex, The Center to Promote Effective Youth Development and a faculty associate of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy. Cornell has worked with juvenile and adult violent offenders, testified in criminal proceedings and legislative hearings, and consulted on violence prevention efforts. He has authored more than 100 publications in psychology and education, including studies of juvenile homicide, school safety, bullying and psychological assessment of psychopathy and violence. His books include School Violence: Fears Versus Facts and Guidelines for Responding to Student Threats of Violence. His current projects include studies of bullying, school climate and school safety.