The Out of the Trenches Podcast

Dr. Niki Elliott is a clinical professor and director of the Center for Embodied Equity and Neurodiversity at the University of San Diego. Dr. Elliott is a leading voice in neurodiversity and trauma-informed education, and she has trained thousands of educators and parents worldwide to better support children with learning differences, mental health diagnoses, trauma histories, and behavioral challenges. Her trainings consistently lead to measurable improvements in school climate, reductions in suspensions for students of color, and increased well-being among children, parents, and educators. Her book Heart-Centered Connection: 7 Essential Skills for Helping Neurodiverse and Marginalized Children Thrive is based on decades of research with over 1,000 child-serving professionals and brings clear guidance and a hopeful message: when compassion and trust come first, real learning can begin.

Find Dr. Elliott online: Niki Elliott https://www.sandiego.edu/soles/faculty-and-staff/biography.php?profile_id=14702

www.nikielliott.com & mindfullleadershipproject

Repeat guest Kurtis Hewson is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, author and professional learning facilitator. In addition to being an award-winning teacher, vice-principal, and principal, he has also served as faculty at the post-secondary level. He is the co-founder of Jigsaw Learning, a co-author of the text Collaborative Response: Three Foundational Components That Transform How We Respond to the Needs of Learners (Corwin, 2022), and currently works with districts and schools nationally and internationally establishing Collaborative Response frameworks and interacting with thousands of educators annually.

Find Kurtis & Jigsaw Learning online: Twitter/X: @hewsonk27 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/JigsawLearningAB/

Website: http://www.jigsawlearning.ca/

Dr. Lindsay Whorton is proud to be a founding member of The Holdsworth Center. She helped design the Center’s programming and has served as president since 2019. She is the author of “A New School Leadership Architecture,” which calls for a fundamental redesign of how leadership roles are structured and practiced in schools, offering a bold new blueprint to make jobs sustainable and give teachers the coaching and support they need so that students thrive. Under Lindsay’s leadership, Holdsworth has grown from serving seven public school districts through its initial offering – the Holdsworth Partnership – to serving more than 1,900 leaders in 89 public school districts across several programs, all designed to build a bench of stronger superintendents and principals for Texas public schools. Lindsay’s story with Holdsworth began in 2015, when Charles Butt, Chairman of H-E-B, tapped her to work with an organizing board designing the center’s first programs. At the time, Lindsay was working as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Washington D.C. She officially joined The Holdsworth Center team shortly after its launch in January 2017.In her role as managing director of district support, Lindsay helped create and evolve Holdsworth’s model for supporting partner districts to develop aspiring leaders, place them in leadership roles and support them as they progress along their leadership journey. Lindsay’s dive into education research began in 2009, when she was named a Rhodes Scholar and went on to earn a master’s degree in comparative social policy and a doctorate in social policy from Oxford University. During her time at Oxford, Lindsay spent a year at the University of Helsinki, where she was a Fulbright Scholar. She visited schools and classrooms to understand Finland’s world-renowned teacher education system. In 2016, Routledge published her book “Teachers Unions and Education Reform in Comparative Contexts,” which examined the impact of teachers’ unions on performance-related pay reform in Finland, Switzerland, Texas and Florida. A native of Independence, Missouri, Lindsay earned bachelor’s degree in secondary education and English from Drake University in Iowa.

Find Dr. Whorton online: Book Website: https://holdsworthcenter.org/a-new-school-leadership-architecture/

Holdsworth Website: https://holdsworthcenter.org/

Lindsay’s personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-whorton-9685aa26/

Holdsworth Center on X: https://x.com/HoldsworthCentr/

Holdsworth Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoldsworthCenter/

Holdsworth Center on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holdsworthcenter/

Jeanette Mihalchik is a National Board Certified Elementary General Music Specialist with over 2 decades of experience teaching general music, choir, and music ensembles from PreK to 8th grade. She is a certified music educator and has a Master of Science in Elementary Education with a Specialization in Literacy and has her Orff Certification.

Jeanette has spent her career studying and growing as a music teacher. She studied Arts Integration at The Kennedy Center through their CETA program and at workshops through the Florida Alliance for the Arts. She is constantly trying new methods to help create her happy classroom. She has presented at the county and state level at general music, literacy, and arts integration workshops and has also presented at Artie and Denise Symposiums. Jeanette is the author of Stories That Sing and Stories That Sing Too!

Find her online: website: https://thehappymusicteacher.com

@thehappymusicteacher on all Socials & on YouTube. @mrsmsclassroom (has lots of songs there for any teacher). She has word family songs, etc. on her website

Paris Woods is an award-winning education leader and bestselling author of The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom. Her recently published book, The Student’s Guide to Financial Freedom, speaks directly to a growing concern across K–12 and higher education: how students’ financial instability undermines retention and long-term success.

Dr. Woods has held senior leadership roles across multiple education nonprofits, including College Beyond, where, as Co-Founder and Executive Director, she addressed the critical need for college success among low-income youth. Most recently, she was the Chief Program Officer at Strive Together. She is an adjunct faculty member of educational leadership at Tulane University.

A first-generation college student who grew up working class, Dr. Woods earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard University and her doctorate in education from The University of Texas at Austin. Her work has been featured in Essence, CNN, and Insider, among others.

Find her online: https://pariswoods.com/media/

Paris Woods, Ed.D. | LinkedIn Paris Woods | Author & Educator (@authorpariswoods) Instagram TikTok & FB @authorpariswoods

Author Paris Woods - YouTube

Transcription

Repeat guest Craig Randall is the developer and author of Trust-Based Observations, an Amazon number one best seller in five countries. Craig has spent the last 30 plus years in education working as a counselor, coach, teacher, and principal. Craig spends the majority of his time training school leaders in Trust-Based Observations (TBO), building mastery, and transforming the world of teacher observations to a model of trust and support that fosters growth mindsets, cultures of trust, and creates collective teacher efficacy in action. In addition, Craig speaks at conferences, is working on a new book, and hosts the 20 Minutes of Teaching Brilliance (On the Road with Trust-Based Observations) podcast, where he and some of the amazing teachers he observes engage in meaningful dialog about what makes for good teaching and learning.

Find him online: @trustbasedcraig on all socials

FB: https://www.facebook.com/craig.randall.7311

Website: www.trustbased.com

Dr. Robb Kelly provides mentorship and guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs. He invests & encourages others to invest in startup ventures. He devotes countless hours sharing his expertise through conferences and workshops, utilizing others who've also overcome the challenges associated with lifestyle changes, habit formation, childhood traumas, startup obstacles, etc. He has created educational programs on business fundamentals. He also fosters a culture of innovation and responsible risk-taking.

Dr. Kelly participated in the Entrepreneur Conference with Ken Joslin in Atlanta, Georgia as a speaker alongside Gary Brecka, John Maxwell, Ed Mylett and other amazing people. Dr. Kelly is a renowned Addiction Expert. Born and raised in Manchester, UK, who is eccentric, no holds bar, successful, and places his patients first kind of man.

Robb is Meadows Trained in Trauma and holds a double Ph.D. It is necessary for the family to work along with the patient- we uncover the family chaos and dynamics to better resolve addiction.

Find him online: https://www.therobbkellyfoundation.org/ https://www.robbkelly.com Dr Robb Kelly Official: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter | on Linktree

Tim Shanahan is distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He served as the director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools, is the former president of the International Literacy Association, and served on the advisory board of the National Institute for Literacy under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In 2007, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame & is a former first-grade teacher. He is the author of the recently published book Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives: How Students’ Reading Achievement Has Been Held Back and What We Can Do About It.

Find him online: https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/ -has literacy blogs w/ teachers’ comments.

FB, X, Linkedin, Bluesky @shanahanonliteracy

Patty McGee is a nationally recognized literacy consultant, speaker, and educator with a passion for transforming classrooms into spaces where language and learning come alive. With decades of experience as a teacher, coach, and advocate for delightful literacy practices, Patty has worked alongside educators across the country, partnering to unlock the full potential of their students through innovative and practical teaching strategies. "Not Your Granny’s Grammar" is her third book.

Connect with Patty at www.pattymcgee.org or on LinkedIn & IG: @pmgmcgee

Brig Leane is an education consultant and former principal of Fruita Middle School in Colorado, which under his leadership became a national Model Professional Learning Community. A veteran of the United States Coast Guard, he began his 2nd career as an educator in 2000, and has served as a principal, assistant principal, and teacher at the middle and high school levels in inner-city, suburban, and rural schools. He has also been an adjunct professor at Colorado Christian University.

Brig's work has been published in Phi Delta Kappan, Principal Leadership, and elsewhere, and he's the author of Singletons in a PLC At Work as well as the new book The PLC Dashboard: Implementing, Leading, and Sustaining Your Professional Learning Community at Work.

Visit Brig's website, www.BrigLeane.com Follow Brig on X, IG @BrigLeane