Canvas Leadership Series

Dean is from Roosevelt, UT, and currently serves as the Vice President of Student Services for Uintah Basin Technical College. He held many roles in education as a teacher, coach, and administrator, but has a knack for improving student outcomes and building professional learning communities in every school he serves in. His ability to turn a highly impacted school into a high-performing school in only a year landed him the "Teacher of the Year" award in Duchesne County. Following this, under his leadership at Altamont High School, the school went from being an underperforming school to the 6th highest performing public school in the state of Utah within two years. As a lifelong learner himself, Dean holds a Doctorate degree from the University of Wyoming in Educational Leadership. He loves working with the fellow school and district leaders across the country to identify and implement strategies and best practices for both students and staff based on his experience and research in competency-based education.

Nancy is from Charlotte, NC, and has recently come out of retirement as the Assistant Superintendent of Charlotte Mecklenburg School District to serve as the Executive Director of a Turnaround Initiative and the Central 1 Learning Community. As a lifelong educator and learner, she has been sought after to serve as an advisor and thought leader for foundations and agencies such as the Wallace Foundation and the Turnaround Task Force for the US Department of Education. As an elementary administrator, her school, Beverly Woods, was recognized as a School of Excellence each of the five years she was there. Under her leadership at Ransom Middle, the school saw double-digit increases in proficiency. During her three years as a Principal at Mallard Creek High, the school increased its graduation rate to 94%. She holds a M.E.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Administration.

Shara is from Craig, NE and currently holds three positions in Educational Service Unit 2; she’s a Canvas Guru that supports 14 school districts in instructional design, technical support, and training, she’s a professional development consultant for technology integration and BlendED for 16 affiliated school districts, and an Education teacher to high school seniors and aspiring educators. Although she’s worn many hats in her time as an educator, her first 12 years were spent in the classroom teaching secondary math. She has helped several schools and districts successfully implement educational technology tools and knows what it takes to get both educators and students to use these tools in a meaningful way. Shara holds a Master’s Degree in K-12 School Administration.

Todd is from Salt Lake City, UT, and is an award-winning educator and NAESP National Distinguished Principal. He’s proud to have served in a variety of leadership roles over his 20 years in education. As principal of Majestic Elementary in West Jordan, Utah, he rallied his team to transform a failing school into a B-rated school in just one year by implementing mastery-based learning scales and collaborative PLCs. Known for his uncanny ability to bring people together to work toward a common goal and proven school transformation strategies, he now works closely with other educators worldwide who are striving to innovate assessment strategies, teaching practices, and collaboration in their schools and districts. Todd holds two M.Eds in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership.