2024 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Keynote Speakers

SSBHC 2024 Keynote, Brandi Simonsen, PhD

Brandi Simonsen, PhD
Tenured Professor, Special Education, Co-Director, National Technical Assistance Center for PBIS; Co-Principal Investigator of the National Multi-Tiered System of Supports Research Network MTSS; Senior Advisor to the National Center on Intensive Interventions NCII

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Brandi Simonsen, Ph.D. is a tenured professor of Special Education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. She is also a Co-Director of the National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS; www.pbis.org), Co-Principal Investigator of the National Multi-Tiered System of Supports Research Network (MTSS-RN; www.mtss.org), Senior Advisor to the National Center on Intensive Interventions (NCII; www.intensiveintervention.org). Dr. Simonsen’s scholarship focuses on supporting educators’ implementation of PBIS practices across a continuum of settings.

Before joining the faculty at University of Connecticut in 2005, Dr. Simonsen was the director of a non-public (alternative) school for students with disabilities who presented with challenging educational and behavioral needs. In addition to serving as an administrator and clinician, Dr. Simonsen has previously been certified as a teacher of elementary general education and middle-secondary special education.

SSBHC 2024 Keynote, Steven W. Evans, PhD

Steven W. Evans, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Ohio University and Co-Director of the Center for Intervention Research in Schools

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Steven W. Evans, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Ohio University and Co-Director of the Center for Intervention Research in Schools. He began his career as a special education teacher and then studied psychology to learn how he could better help students. His current research focuses on improving the systems of care for students with emotional and behavioral problems in schools as well as developing and evaluating new school-based interventions to help these children and adolescents.

He is one of the leading researchers in the field of school mental health and has received numerous awards for his contributions. Dr. Evans published extensively in the field and has been a lead investigator on many millions of dollars worth of federal and state research grants. He is the founding editor of the leading journal in the field (School Mental Health; Springer publishing) and has published multiple books on the topic.

Much of Dr. Evans’ research and development work comes from listening to and partnering with educators and school mental health professionals to improve outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral problems

Dr. Lisa Herring
President of The Propel Center and
Strategic Advisor to the US Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona

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Dr. Lisa Herring embodies the spirit of ingenuity, paving the way as a national trailblazer in education and innovation.

CEO, President, Urban Superintendent, C-Suite Leader, and Executive Coach/Advisor, Dr. Lisa Herring has been graced with the gift of leadership in multiple capacities. She currently serves as the President of The Propel Center and Strategic Advisor to the US Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona. These two roles, along with the success of her past leadership as a K-12 district leader, have cultivated a professional journey that is deeply invested in reimagining learning, innovative leadership development, and curating extraordinary corporate partnerships with learning institutions. Supported by founding funders Apple and Southern Company, The Propel Center is the country’s first HBCU technology/innovation hub designed to work with HBCUs and industry partners across the country to cultivate mutually innovative career opportunities for scholars and industry partners. As Strategic Advisor to the US Secretary of Education, Dr. Herring helps shape the department’s strategy to engage state and local officials to complement the Department’s call to action to “Raise the Bar: Lead the World”, designed to transform education and unite around what truly works—based on decades of experience and research—to advance educational equity and excellence.

With a wealth of experience spanning public, private, urban, and rural settings, Dr. Herring has garnered recognition for her steadfast leadership driving districts toward equitable, measurable, and accountable improvements. She stands at the forefront of a movement dedicated to propelling students to new heights of
academic achievement, ensuring that every background is represented and celebrated. In her most recent transition out of urban superintendency, she celebrates improving systems that she led by first healing organizational culture and establishing measurable outcomes. The Atlanta Public School System, where she held her last superintendency, celebrated under her leadership, the highest graduation rate in the 150-year history of the organization, in spite of leading and innovating during a global pandemic.

Success, reimagining, innovation, and creativity do not evolve without challenge. Dr. Herring eagerly desires to share strategy, coach through complications, and develop dynamic, passionate leaders and organizations dedicated to joining a movement to change the face of education and lead the world through innovation.

Learn more about Dr. Lisa at www.drlisaherring.com