Kathleen Alfiero
Associate

Kathleen Alfiero’s passion for the well-being of young people has been the foundation of her professional life. She worked for over 25 years in public education as a teacher and substance abuse counselor, has hosted a television program featuring the stories of extraordinary ordinary people that has aired on PBS and in live shows in theatres throughout Maine. In 1996, Kathleen was the Executive Director of Maine Communities Face Alcohol, a nationally recognized statewide substance abuse prevention effort summarized in Voices of Hope, a report recognized by the PEW Center with the Batton Award for Civic Journalism.  

As founder of Global Celebrations, Inc., Kathleen explores and shares the talents, gifts, and contributions of people of all ages through multimedia to a global audience. Celebrate ME, a non-profit arm,  produces educational programs and events using storytelling as a medium for positive change and features school people, parents, children and communities.

Dr. Sandra Chapman
Associate and Executive Coach

Dr Sandra Chapman has a private practice as a business and life coach. She retired from a thirty-two year career in education in 2004 which included service as a teacher, speech pathologist, school principal, division director for student services and assessment, and district office administrator for staff development.

Robert W. Cole
Managing Editor and Senior Associate

Robert W. Cole is proprietor of Edu-Data, specializing in writing, research, and publication services. During his tenure as editor-in-chief of Phi Delta Kappan, the magazine earned more than 40 Distinguished Achievement Awards from the Association of Educational Publishers, three of them for his editorials. A former president of the Educational Press Association of America, he has presented workshops and lectures at universities nationwide. He has served as special consultant to college and university deans in working with faculties on writing, and as book development editor for ASCD and for Corwin Press.

As founding vice president of the Schlechty Center for Leadership in School Reform, Cole managed district- and community-wide school reform efforts and led the team that created the Kentucky Superintendents’ Leadership Institute, in which superintendents worked together using current leadership concepts to solve reform-oriented management and leadership problems. As senior consultant to the National Reading Styles Institute, Cole served as editor and lead writer of the Power Reading Program, creating and recording a series of short stories, short novels, and comic books.

Maybeth Conway
Senior Associate

Maybeth Conway serves as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and
Instruction in the Upper Freehold Regional School District in Monmouth County, New Jersey. She earned a B.A. and M. A. in English from the University of Rhode Island, a M.Ed. in Psychoeducational Processes from Temple University, and a post Master's certification as a Learning Disabilities Teacher/Consultant from Georgian Court University. Maybeth has over 25 years' experience in education with a focus on special education, professional development, and curriculum design. She is the co-author of educational texts on cross-cultural mental health and child welfare intervention strategies. She is also a past-president of the New Jersey Staff Development Council.

Claire Diab
Associate

Claire E. Diab, founder of The American Yoga Academy, is a certified registered and internationally renowned Yoga Therapist and Fitness Specialist with over 18 years of experience. Claire teaches throughout the United States and internationally with Dr. Deepak Chopra. She has taught with Dr. Chopra at Oxford University in England and in Goa, India, designing and teaching yoga programs at the "Seduction of Spirit" and "Journey to the Boundless" seminars. She is currently lecturing nationwide on "Zen & Yoga: The Art of Living."

Warren Philo Elmer
Associate

Philo Elmer is an experiential educator of many venues — the wilderness, ecological studies, service learning, and organizational development. He has spent his forty-year career helping individuals reach their potential, facilitating groups in teambuilding, improving communication skills and developing leadership ranging from senior executives to at-risk youth. He has worked also with all manner of organizations in visioning, strategic planning, capacity building and staff and volunteer leadership. He ran his own company for many years using the Outward Bound model in many nontraditional settings across North America. He is a true believer in the potential of each individual and in personal and organizational growth fostered by direct experiences.

Dr. Bea Mah Holland
Founding Partner and Executive Coach

Dr. Bea Mah Holland is committed to the development of people and organizations as a consultant, executive coach, facilitator, and writer. Her clients include leaders in education, business, and health care. Dr. Holland has served as Director of Leadership and Senior Lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, President of Pegasus Communications (publisher of the Systems Thinker newsletter), Leadership Program Manager and Organization Consulting Group member at Digital Equipment Corporation, Harvard Educational Review editor, Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, and Coordinator of Management Development for the Commonwealth (MA). Her doctorate from Harvard concentrated on organizational effectiveness and adult learning. She is the co-editor and an author of the book, Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder, as well as author or co-author of numerous articles on Appreciative Inquiry and Systems Thinking.

Dr. Paul. D. Houston
President and Founding Partner

Dr. Paul D. Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators since 1994, has established himself as one of the leading spokespersons for American education through his extensive speaking engagements, published articles, and his regular appearances on national radio and television. Dr. Houston served schools in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Alabama prior to serving as superintendent of schools in Princeton, New Jersey; Tucson, Arizona; and Riverside, California. He has authored or co-authored several books on education including, Exploding the Myths, Articles of Faith & Hope for Public Education, and Outlooks and Perspectives on American Education. His doctorate from Harvard University concentrated on educational leadership.

Joseph Jakubowski
Senior Associate and Mentor

Joseph Jakubowski has served as a special education teacher (10 years), a Title 1 Coordinator (4 years), an administrator for a countywide vocational/educational program for urban disadvantaged children (4 years), and as a Director of Special Services (25 years). Since retiring from that position in 2005, he has served as the special education representative on approximately 25 Collaborative Assessment and Planning for Achievement (CAPA) teams in New Jersey. These teams help underachieving schools meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind. He also serves as a mentor to new Directors of Special Services through the NJPSA mentoring program. Joe obtained a BS in Special Education, and a Master's in Teaching Emotionally and Social Maladjusted Children from Temple University.

Domenico Piazza
Senior Associate

Domenico Piazza is a career educator with 40 years experience as a teacher and administrator. Through his company, Awakenings, he has been providing school districts with training and coaching in Brain-Compatible Learning and 4MAT, a design for implementing current brain research in schools. Domenico also provides workshops in gender brain differences through the Gurian Institute in Colorado Springs. The workshops are called “Boys and Girls Learn Differently."

Dr. Jamie P. Savedoff
Senior Associate and Mentor

Dr. Jamie P. Savedoff is the superintendent of the Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania and former superintendent of the East Brunswick, Montgomery Township and Colts Neck Township School Districts in New Jersey. Dr. Savedoff served as a founding member and President of the Garden State Coalition of Schools and as an Executive Board Member of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators. He has conducted workshops and presentations on such topics as school board/superintendent relations and conflict resolution, and served as a mentor to aspiring superintendents.

Dr. Savedoff began his career as a teacher in New York City and held positions as a high school assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent. He earned a business degree from the University of Denver, a Master's from the University of Washington, and a doctorate in Educational Administration and Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Claire Sheff-Kohn
Senior Associate and Mentor

Dr. Claire Sheff-Kohn is the superintendent of the Masconomet School District in Massachusetts and the former superintendent of the Princeton Regional Schools in New Jersey. Prior to that, she served as superintendent in Lawrence Township, NJ for seven years and in Hull, Massachusetts, for five years. She has served as a training consultant to districts and professional organizations on matters of leadership. She also mentors prospective and newly appointed superintendents.

Dr. Kohn's earlier professional experiences include assistant superintendent, high school assistant principal, high school guidance counselor, and teacher of English. She earned her degrees from Stonehill College, Boston College, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Adam Sokolow
Senior Advisor

Adam Sokolow has a dual career as an architectural designer and spiritual psychotherapist on the upper west side of Manhattan. He is grounded in Jungian Depth Psychology and has been a practitioner of esoteric Buddhism for over 30 years. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, and his Master’s degree in Buddhist and western psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.

Dr. Stephen L. Sokolow
Executive Director and Founding Partner

Dr. Stephen L. Sokolow served as a teacher and administrator in Pennsylvania and Delaware prior to serving in New Jersey as superintendent of schools in the Upper Freehold Regional and Bridgewater-Raritan Regional school districts. Dr. Sokolow is a past president of the Monmouth County Roundtable and served on the Executive Committee of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators. His feature articles in The School Administrator on “Enlightened Leadership” (September 2002), and “Nourishing Our Spirit as Leaders” (November 2005), have been well received throughout the country. He received his doctorate from Temple University where he also served as an Adjunct Professor of educational leadership. In 1986, Dr. Sokolow was selected by the Executive Educator, a publication of the National School Boards Association, as one of the top 100 small-district school executives in North America.

Dr. Thomas Vona
Senior Associate and Mentor

Dr. Thomas J. Vona has served as a secondary school teacher, department supervisor, high school assistant principal, and high school principal. Under his leadership, Allentown High School was one of the first high schools in New Jersey to successfully implement block scheduling. Dr. Vona attended the Harvard Principals Center and the Principals Center for Educational Leadership at Princeton University. He received his doctorate from Rutgers University in educational leadership. Since retiring after a thirty-three year career in public education, Dr. Vona served as an interim superintendent, a cohort leader for a Principals-In-Training Program, an adjunct professor at Georgian Court University, a supervisor/mentor for individuals serving as administrative interns, and supervisor of student teachers. He is a reader for the School Leaders Licensure Assessment for ETS in Princeton. He also serves as an instructor/supervisor for New Pathways to Teaching, a New Jersey graduate program for alternate route teachers.

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