The Out of the Trenches Podcast

Episode # 391: Shira Wolff Cohen

Shira Wolff Cohen brings 25 years of experience in youth workforce development and education. Over a decade of her career was spent in school leadership at a Philadelphia charter school. As a Teacher, Program Director, Dean, Vice Principal, and Principal, she championed student engagement, innovative instruction, and strong community partnerships to create impactful learning experiences.

Shira is the co-founder of Innovageous, where she focuses on building partnerships, designing programs, and improving instruction in both school-based and out-of-school settings. She wrote Leading Future-Focused Schools- came out July 2025.

Find her online: www.innovageous.com to set up a meeting Linked in, IG, FB both her & @innovageous

Episode # 390: Josh See

Josh See is a former teacher, academic advisor, and principal of 13 years. With the average cost of college more than six figures, he has set out to show families how to save tens of thousands of dollars in future college costs by starting college early, in high school. He has helped over 3,000 families create their own college-in-high-school strategy using resources readily available to them, such as earning college credit and graduating with a college degree before graduating from high school.

He works 1:1 with families and also has a step-by-step course: The College Fast-Track Start Kit that walks a family through the exact process to start their college journey in high school.

Find Josh online: https://stan.store/joshsee  (this is more of a site to buy his products or book a consultation). He has a free Klepp guide. On Thursdays 12 EST, he has a power hour reimaging HS. It’s on Tik Tok. Refer to his LinkedIn also for links. 

https://www.facebook.com/collegeinhighschool1/

https://www.instagram.com/collegeinhighschool/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-see/

Tik Tok: @collegeinhighschool1

Episode # 389: Glenn Forbes & Jenni Donohoo

Glenn Forbes is a school principal and school improvement coach in Queensland, Australia. Forbes has been an educator since 2000 moving from classroom teaching to principalship over the span of his career. His principal experience ranges from small, one-teacher rural schools through to leading large, diverse and complex metropolitan schools.

Glenn’s strong belief in cultivating collective teacher efficacy and establishing a culture of high expectations has resulted in marked improvement in various schools. Glenn is a member of the Queensland Association of State School Principals (QASSP). He chairs the curriculum subcommittee and serves as president of the Ipswich Branch. He has been the recipient of the QASSP Travelling Scholars grant which he used to further his knowledge of collective teacher efficacy construct.

His schools have been recognized at the Showcase Awards for Excellence in schools for Excellence in Parent and Community Engagement and Excellence in Early & Primary Years Education. Glenn has presented at the World Education Summit with Jenni Donohoo and has been a keynote speaker at several conferences. Several of Glenn’s articles have been published in The Queensland Principal journal. Glenn has been a member of the Menzies School Leadership Incubator Advisory Board which has been tasked with building a pipeline of school leaders equipped to lead and grow collective efficacy.

Jenni Donohoo, PhD, is a professional learning facilitator, author, and researcher. Jenni has been an educator for more than twenty-five years, with experience in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary settings. She has multiyear partnerships with numerous organizations and government agencies where she works alongside system and school leaders supporting high-quality professional learning designed to improve outcomes for all students. Her areas of focus include collective teacher efficacy, collaborative inquiry, and metacognition. Jenni is a five-time best-selling author and her books have been translated into several languages.

As the director of the Jenni Donohoo Center for Collective Efficacy, she has been recognized internationally as an educational thought leader. Jenni has been a keynote speaker at conferences including WorldEduLead, Raising Student Achievement, Annual Visible Learning, Corwin’s Women in Education, and the LEAP Conference in Australia.

Find them online Glenn: https://glennforbes.com.au/

Jenni: https://www.jennidonohoo.com

Episode # 388: Chad Dumas

Return guest Dr. Chad M.V. Dumas is a Solution Tree PLC at Work®, RTI at Work®, Assessment, and Priority Schools associate and international consultant, presenter and award-winning researcher whose primary focus is collaborating to develop capacity for continuous improvement. Having been a successful teacher, principal, central office administrator, professional developer and consultant in a variety of school districts, he brings his passion, expertise, and skills to his writing and speaking as he engages participants in meaningful and practical learning. In his Amazon best-selling books, Let’s Put the C in PLC, An Action Guide to Put the C in PLC, and The Teacher Team Leader Handbook, Chad offers readers and audiences educational research, engaging stories, hands-on tools, and useful knowledge and skills they can implement immediately. The results of Chad’s work speak for themselves. One district was identified as “Persistently Lowest Achieving” upon his arrival, and within a few years multiple schools were recognized as National PLC Models for improving student learning. Chad has served on and led accreditation visits for Cognia around the United States and world, presented nationally and internationally, and collaborated with school boards, intermediate service agencies, state departments of education, and professional associations. Find

Chad on his website: https://www.nextlearningsolutions.com/

X, FB, LinkedIn @chaddumas His books have free reproducibles

Episode #387: Jeff Linden

Jeff Linden brings energy, real-world experience, and actionable strategies that can inspire educational leaders at all levels. Whether discussing school improvement, leadership development, or the challenges facing modern educators, his insights are engaging and impactful. From experiences working in a variety of school settings such as small rural schools, urban districts, and suburban schools, he's found one universal truth: everyone in education is working toward the same goal to help students learn and grow. And while the challenges may differ depending on the setting, the single most important thing you can do as an educational leader, no matter where you are, is to build a culture of collaboration.

Find Jeff online: Facebook: @PrincipalJL

X: @ThePrincipal_JL

Instagram: @principal_jl

Tik Tok: @principal_jl

Threads: @principal_jl

BlueSky: @principal_jl

Episode # 386: Dr. Michelle Seijas

Michelle Seijas, Ed.D. is a Latina leader on a mission to honor the generations before her and to liberate the generations to come. Her passions and values led her to begin her career as a bilingual education teacher. Over her 15 years in K-12 schools, she was an instructional coach, elementary school vice principal, district coordinator, and high school principal. Eventually, she moved into the non-profit world as the Founding Executive Director of the Surge Institute in Oakland. There, she established and led a team focused on developing Black and Latinx education leaders to create transformative change for the youth and communities they served. As a trauma-informed certified coach, experienced consultant, education leader, and former nonprofit executive, she has learned to be her authentic self in various contexts. She partners with leaders to grow their confidence, value their strengths, create a clear vision for their life and career, and learn practices to make leadership sustainable. Michelle has a special gift of facilitating engaging experiences for people to step into their power and identify how they will live and lead with purpose.

Find Michelle online: https://www.michelleseijas.com/

IG: @thrivingchingona LinkedIn @michelleseijasedd

She has a weekly newsletter w/ coaching tips- sign up on her website

Episode #385: Clay Cook

Dr. Clay Cook is the Chief Development Officer at CharacterStrong and is an implementation scientist, psychologist, and former paraprofessional and middle school math teacher. He has spent the past 15 years working in partnership with school systems across the country to support the implementation of effective practices that promote better and more equitable outcomes for students. He has been a professor and researcher at three universities (Louisiana State University, University of Washington and University of Minnesota) studying topics such as implementation of evidence-based practices, educator well-being and resilience, social-emotional learning, and youth mental health.

He has obtained over 20 million dollars in grant funding for his research and published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles. For his work, he has been invited to the White House and served on expert panels with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Education.

Find Clay online: www.characterstrong.com

Episode # 384: Todd Bloomer

Mr. Todd Bloomer, with 29 years in public education and 18 in administration, recently retired from a high school principal leading a campus of over 2,500 students. His extensive experience across middle and high school levels, talent for building positive campus cultures, and exceptional hiring practices set him apart. As an author and coach, he offers valuable insights on educational leadership and effective communication. Mr. Bloomer's commitment to creating a supportive, family-like atmosphere ensures a dynamic and transformative coaching experience. Contact him using the form below for more information on his coaching services.

Find Todd online: #theblueprint, Todd Bloomer IG @todd_bloomer_ author Has been creating IG reels. X @bloomer LinkedIn @toddbloomer www.toddmbloomer.com

Episode # 383: Nancy Parkes

Dr. Nancy Parkes is an educational consultant and lecturer. Much of her work is focused on helping Jewish educators and directors integrate social, emotional, and spiritual learning in their settings. Several of her articles on the topic have appeared in Jewishphilanthropy and she is currently working on an SESL book and toolkit for Jewish educators. Nancy is a lecturer at the Jewish Theological Seminar and is currently teaching an online certificate program in Social, Emotional, and Spiritual Learning for Jewish educators. She is also a founding member of SESL4Jewished, which is a collaborative for promoting holistic growth for learners and educators in all Jewish settings. Nancy served as the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Israel Center in White Plains for ten years, and is an outspoken advocate for the partnership between Rabbis and educators in bringing about innovation and change in the congregational (edit out flub) school setting. Nancy earned her doctorate in Education and her M.A. degree in Jewish Studies and Education in the William Davidson School of Education at JTS.

Find Nancy online: https://www.nancyparkesconsulting.com

Episode # 382: Rich Bernato

Richard Bernato, Ed.D. enters his fifty-third year in schooling, that spans higher education, research, in doctoral and graduate levels like Stony Brook, St. John’s University, Molloy University, and CUNY Queens College, many K-12 leadership roles, and consulting with and presenting to many school districts. His interests include catalyzing interactive and research-based effective curricula that are a result of futuring systems, planning, decision making, and high engagement of all stakeholders to ensure systemically healthy schooling and organizational practices. His latest book, Co-Creating the Future, a Simulation to Catalyze School Change (2024) Solution Tree, is a unique offering to those interested in innovative professional development principles and planning. His books, Futures-Based Change Leadership (2017), Planning as Futuring, Futuring as Planning, (2020) also capture those ideas. He is also co-author of The Collective Mindset (2022), blogs, podcasting and articles that are devoted to that vision. An expert on the uses of and how to design simulations for learning and organizational improvement Dr. Bernato, supports all efforts to reform schools for futures they have yet to consider and supports these through his efforts as Editor in Chief of the SCOPE Journal for Leadership and Instruction.

Find Rich online:

https://www.facebook.com/richard.bernato.3

@richDis48 X,  Bluesky/LinkedIn

rbernato_simulation_educator (Instagram)

Rbernato@gmail.com    Richard.bernato@scopeonline.us

www.linkedin.com/in/richard-bernato-1658854

 https://www.solutiontree.com/richard-bernato.html