Howard Pitler is a dynamic facilitator, speaker, and instructional coach with a proven record of success spanning four decades. With an extensive background in professional development, he works with schools and districts internationally and is a regular speaker at national, state, and district conferences and workshops.

Pitler is currently Associate Professor at Emporia State University in Kansas. Prior to that, he served for 19 years as an elementary and middle school principal in an urban setting. During his tenure, his elementary school was selected as an Apple Distinguished Program and named "One of the Top 100 Schools in America" by Redbook Magazine. His middle school was selected as "One of the Top 100 Wired Schools in America" by PC Magazine. He also served for 12 years as a senior director and chief program officer for McREL International, and he is currently serving on the Board of Colorado ASCD. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Apple Teacher, National Distinguished Principal, and Smithsonian Laureate.

He is a published book author and has written numerous magazine articles for Educational Leadership® magazine, EdCircuit, and Connected Educator, among others.

Bj Stone is a principal consultant at McREL, and she works nationally and internationally with schools, districts, and educational agencies. She facilitates learning sessions with teachers, principals, district administrators, and leadership teams in the areas of research-based instructional strategies, vocabulary instruction, curriculum development, and assessment design. Bj has presented at local, state, and national conferences, including ASCD and the National Science Teachers Association. She was designated as a Teaching Fellow in a large National Science Foundation funded grant for preservice teachers and has been published in the Journal of Teacher Education. Preceding her work at McREL, Bj served as a middle and high school science teacher, a university instructor, and an assistant superintendent in charge of grants, curriculum and assessment development, and the design and delivery of professional development. Bj has a B.S. in Biology from the University of Northern Colorado. Her M.S. in Science Education and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Study are also from the University of Northern Colorado.