The Out of the Trenches Podcast

Joe Reed is the founder of Pulse; a student support platform built for K-12 school leaders who are tired of reacting to problems they could have seen coming. His background is in social impact and community development. He spent years working with under-resourced communities and kept running into the same wall: by the time anyone had a clear picture of what was actually happening with the people they were serving, it was already a crisis. Pulse is built on a simple conviction: educators should be in the classroom, not buried in spreadsheets.

They help school leaders spot struggling students earlier, cut through the administrative noise, and get back to what they actually came to do: teach, coach, and build relationships with kids.

Find him online: www.pulseconnect.us

https://www.facebook.com/coffeeshopjoe

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joepaulreed/

https://www.solveline.pro/

 

Derek Cantrell is the Principal at Alleghany High School in western VA. He recently released a book called Better Together, which shares the journey of bringing two long-time rival high schools together to unify the community and build one school culture. It also highlights many of the leadership lessons they learned along the way.

Find Derek online: LinkedIn, X @derekcantrell

Emily Kircher-Morris M.Ed., LPC, is the author of Teaching Twice-Exceptional Learners in Today's Classroom, Raising Twice-Exceptional Children, and Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools. Emily hosts the Neurodiversity Podcast, which explores parenting, counseling techniques, and best practices for enriching the lives of neurodivergent people.

Emily has taught in gifted classrooms and is now in private practice as a licensed professional counselor.

Find Emily on FB, LinkedIn, IG:

www.facebook.com/EmilyKircherMorris 

https://www.instagram.com/emilykm_lpc

 www.facebook.com/NeurodiversityPodcast  https://www.instagram.com/theneurodiversitypodcast/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilykirchermorris/

Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools: Transforming Practices So All Students Feel Accepted & Supported www.neurodiversitypodcast.com

Mitch Weisburgh helps people understand why conversations blow up and what actually works to stop that from happening. After decades of work in education, leadership development, and conflict resolution, he noticed a pattern, smart, well-intentioned people keep using approaches that make disagreement worse. His work focuses on the brain science behind conflict and the practical skills that help people stay calm, ask better questions, and move conversations forward without damaging relationships. Mitch is the creator of the MindShifting framework and the author of Conflict and Collaboration. He brings clear explanations, real-world stories, and tools listeners can use immediately at work, at home, and in everyday life. Hosts book him when they want a guest who can explain complex behavior simply and leave audiences with takeaways that actually change how they communicate. His mission is to have a critical mass of ppl on this plan be resourceful, resilient and collaborative. He teaches courses that are on the state website that are free to teachers. 

Find Mitch online:   https://www.mindshiftingwithmitch.com/  There is a free newsletter on mindshifting. If you're in NY state, you can go to frontline portal and sign up for the course for free.

Find him on LinkedIn, FB, substack, IG @mitchweisburg

Rich Czyz is an author, educator, and speaker. He started his career as a fifth grade teacher, has served as a Basic Skills teacher, instructional coach, elementary supervisor and Director of Curriculum & Instruction. Rich is currently the Proud Principal of the Yardville Elementary School in NJ and Co-Founder of FourOClockFaculty.com, as well as author of several books including The Four O’Clock Faculty, The Secret Sauce, and his newest book, Autopilot, came out in Oct. Rich is passionate about engaging all stakeholders in meaningful and relevant learning opportunities.

Find Rich online: https://fouroclockfaculty.com/

on X & LinkedIn @RCzyz

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

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