Nancy Broner is a current school board member and past chairman of the Duval County School Board, Jacksonville, Forida, having served on the board since November 2002. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Stetson University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Jacksonville University. Broner is a Broad Fellow of The Broad Institute for School Boards, Class of 2003. She has been a Governance Solutions Trainer with the Center for Reform of School Systems since 2006, working with large urban school districts across the country on governance and policy-making, most recently the School District of Philadelphia, Gwinnett County Public Schools and Durham Public Schools. She has experience working with school boards and superintendents in areas such as board/superintendent relationships, school board self-evaluations, superintendent evaluations, communications and school district strategic planning.
Broner taught English at Jacksonville University and in Duval County Public Schools.She also has served as a Personnel Management Specialist in federal civil service and has worked in medical business management for over 20 years. Active in the Jacksonville community as well as at the state level, she serves on the Florida TaxWatch Center for Educational Performance and Accountability, the Community Foundation Forum on Quality Education, and the Beaches Educational Foundation. She has served on the boards of directors of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance for World Class Education, the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Duval County Early Learning Coalition, and Jacksonville University Stakeholders’ Advisory Committee.
Betty Seabrook Burney is a member of the Duval County School Board where she represents school board District 5.She holds an undergraduate degree from University of Miami and a Master of Arts in public administration from Northern Illinois University. Burney is the former director and owner of Kidsville Learning Center, Inc., where for 14 years she devised a cutting-edge curriculum that ingrained in students the notion that they were “smart, intelligent, and good.” In 2000, she collaborated with Jimmie Johnson to create the Project Reach Foundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation designed to assist 33 academically challenged schools in empowering and motivating students to achieve excellence. As executive director of the Project Reach Foundation, she developed several signature programs that produced citywide participation. Two of the programs were Project PASS (Parents and Students Succeeding), which trained parents to understand the state’s benchmarks for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) while tutoring children on those benchmarks, and the CHAMPS program, which encouraged civic and community leaders and school officials to walk door-to-door and empower parents with tools to assist their children. Currently, Burney is an education consultant whose sole mission is to empower, motivate and inspire all children to unleash their inner greatness. In 1999, she started the first transition camp in Jacksonville, Florida, to prepare students for middle school success.
Burney is an active volunteer in the Duval County jail where she serves as a motivational mentor for youth 13-18 years old who have been incarcerated as adults. She is the author of “If These Chains Could Talk,” which is a compilation of letters from juvenile inmates that offers an action plan to prevent teenagers from entering the criminal justice system. Burney also volunteers as a tutor and mentor to children throughout the city.
In her role as a consultant for TPG, Inc., Burney travels the country motivating students at risk for failure and unmotivated to learn. She also serves as a motivational speaker for parents and teachers.
Burney’s latest project was the creation of the SOLDIERS (Success Oriented Students who are Driven, In-control, Empowered and Ready to Serve) Clubs in three high schools in Duval County. The SOLDIERS Club provides leadership training for young men who aspire to transform their high school’s culture and to transform their lives.
Burney is the recipient of numerous awards from schools and community associations for her commitment to bettering the lives of young people.
Scott Christensen has over 16 years experience as a consultant and trainer. Prior to his work in Reform Governance®, he was director of consulting for Main Event Management Corporation, a training and organization-development firm with an international client base. He directed private and public-sector client engagements ranging from management training and development to policy/procedure management and organization culture-building. His work included directing the design and development of a 400-hour School Business Manager (SBM) training program for a large urban school district as part of its decentralization, and he served on the SBM faculty. Prior to this, Christensen served in management positions in banking, trust, and higher education financial administration. He also was a classroom teacher for three years.
He has served as a trainer and consultant in Reform Governance® for several years, working with Duval County Public Schools (Jacksonville, Florida), Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (Charlotte, North Carolina), and San Antonio Independent School District (San Antonio, Texas).
Christensen served 17 years as an elected director of Reid Road Municipal Utility District, a Texas political subdivision that provides water, sewer, solid waste, parks, and law enforcement services. He also served for more than five years on the Advisory Board of TexSTAR, a $5 billion local government investment pool serving Texas municipalities, school districts, and public universities.
Christensen earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics education from the University of Minnesota, professional designations in consulting and customer service, and is an ExCET-certified teacher in Texas.
A longtime resident of St. Louis and an advocate for children, Darnetta Clinkscale served the community as president of the Board of Education for St. Louis Public Schools from 2003 to 2006. During her tenure, she and fellow reform board members were able to implement managed instruction and reverse the unexpected financial deficit that existed in the district. She has served as a Missouri Certified Board Member, board member and delegate of the Missouri School Board Association, a Broad fellow of the Broad Institute for School Boards, a delegate to the National School Boards’ Association, a member of the Council of Urban Boards of Education, and an executive board member for the Council of Greater City Schools. She is currently a Reform Governance® trainer for the Center for Reform of School Systems.
Clinkscale is the patient care director for respiratory care and rehabilitation services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where she has been employed for more than 30 years. She serves on several committees at the hospital, leads a nationally recognized Department of Respiratory Therapy and Rehabilitation Services, and serves on many local and national health care committees and boards for respiratory therapy.
Clinkscale has served as member and officer of the CORO Foundation Women in Leadership Class 28, Dismantling Racism (NCCJ) Institute #7, St. Louis Community College - Forest Park Advisory Committee for School of Respiratory Care Services, and the St. Louis Black Leadership Roundtable. She has served on the St. Louis Science Center Board of Trustees and the Missouri Botanical Gardens board and is a Friend of the St. Louis Art Museum. Clinkscale has received numerous awards and recognitions professionally and from the St. Louis community, including the Leadership Award from FOCUS St. Louis, the Outstanding Volunteer Service Award from the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Quality of Life Award from the City of St. Louis, and the 2004 YWCA Special Leader Award.
Darnetta Clinkscale received a Bachelor of Arts in biological science from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, graduated from the Northwestern University School of Respiratory Therapy, and received an MBA degree from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri.
Jill Conrad is a CRSS trainer who is currently a doctoral student in educational policy and an education consultant working on a variety of school reform initiatives in Denver and nationally. From 2007-2009, she served as a senior consultant for policy and planning at the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), handling government relations with the U.S. Congress, governors, state legislatures, school districts, and other policymakers. During this time, Conrad also helped lead a national initiative focused on the future of education, engaging stakeholders in scenario and strategic planning for long-term viability in a changing world.
From 2004-2007, Conrad served as the statewide director of the Colorado Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, a state and national initiative to improve and expand civic learning opportunities for all students—so that all can become informed, engaged, and responsible citizens of the community.
Prior to 2004, Conrad worked as an independent educational consultant providing leadership, management, educational policy, advocacy, consulting, fundraising, research, and other services to clients such as the Education Commission of the States, foundations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and others at the national, state, and local level. As a research associate for RMC Research Corporation from 1997-2000, Conrad led and supported several national research and technical assistance efforts related to Title I, the Corporation for National Service, character education, job-embedded staff development, and other school reform initiatives.
From 2005-2009, Conrad was elected citywide as one of two at-large members of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. Serving on the district’s Finance & Audit Committee for the entire four years, she also distinguished herself as both a champion for innovation and school reform balanced with a deep commitment to public and community engagement.
Known for her collaborative leadership, Conrad is active in community and civic life. She is a cofounder of the Colorado Civic Canopy, which aims to engage community members in civic dialogue, and is a leader in several community organizations.
Conrad believes in the value of lifelong learning. She is currently a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership and Innovation program at the University of Colorado at Denver. She received her Master's Degree in educational foundations, policy, and practice from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997, and her Bachelor's Degree in communication and international affairs from the University of New Hampshire in 1991. Conrad has also participated in several leadership development programs, including Executive Education for State & Local Government, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2008; the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training , Class of 2000; and Go Run-Go Lead Political Training for Women, sponsored by The White House Project, Summer 2005.
Rick Ogden has been a member of the Aldine Independent School District Board of Trustees since September 1990, serving as president, vice president, secretary and assistant secretary. Before joining the Aldine board, he served on the Aldine Project 2000 Committee, championing the district’s first bond proposal in decades. This initiative, as well as two subsequent bond initiatives, was successful.
During his school board tenure spanning two decades, Ogden has been an active participant in a plan of action to build and sustain a governance team designed to promote academic achievement in one of the nation’s largest urban school districts. His courage of conviction in the early 2000s as he and fellow board members pursued unitary status for Aldine ISD following a 40-year court-mandated desegregation order framed the next 10 years of his journey as a reform governance leader. He has long been a proponent of governance by policy. And his unique perspective of the intricate challenges that school districts face in their determination to set high academic standards, build a framework for success, and then sustain achievement positions him to lead by example and demonstrate student success as both an individual and corporate priority. He is now a Reform Governance® trainer for the Center for Reform of School Systems.
A past president of Texas Association of School Boards, Ogden was appointed to the TASB board in December 1994 and elected at Delegate Assembly in September 1995. He also has served as president-elect, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and immediate past president of the organization. Ogden was appointed to TASB’s Risk Management Fund board in May 2003 and continues as a director of that board today. He is a graduate of the Charter Leadership TASB class and has served as a member of the Texas Learning Technology Group board, the TASB Legal Assistance Fund board, and has served as chair of the Lone Star Investment Pool and Texas School Cash Management Program boards. He is active in TASB’s School Board Advocacy Network and participates in Delegate Assembly.
Ogden retired as owner of Ogden Manufacturing and Machine, Inc., in 1996. He received his Bachelor of Arts in communication and sociology in 1998 from Houston Baptist University, where he currently is the assistant vice president for church and community relations. While in school, Ogden was trained in intervention strategies and served as an interventionist for organizational conflicts. He also was appointed to the state Tri-Partnership Initiative, which was designed to promote conflict resolution in school districts. In 2002, Ogden wrote “Funding Your Vision Using Someone Else’s Money,” a step-by-step grant seeker’s guide in development of grant proposals. Ogden’s work as a school board member and trainer for the Center for Reform of School Systems is supported by his wife, four adult children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Tim Smith is a Reform Governance® trainer and the founder and principal of The Plaid Group, a consulting group serving mid-sized organizations in transition. Throughout his career, he has designed and guided organizational efforts to increase enterprise focus, productivity, and profitability through efforts such as restructuring business operations to support business expansion and downsizing, developing programs for measuring and managing both enterprise and workflow performance, increasing enterprise capacity, developing and implementing growth strategies, and increasing cash flow and profits.
Smith has extensive experience troubleshooting operational problems and guiding performance turnaround efforts. Over the years, he has specialized in enhancing the design, performance, and monitoring of business processes and the knowledge and skills of the people who work through those processes.
Prior to founding The Plaid Group, Smith held senior management positions in multiple start-up businesses, including vice president of operations for Intelligent Diagnostics/askRed.com, senior business advisor for the accounting firm of Mann Frankfort Stein & Lipp, and director of business engineering for SalvageSale, Inc. In each organization, he was responsible for designing and developing the business infrastructure necessary to deliver effective performance and consistent results.
His professional career also includes employment with American General Corp., where he served as director of internal consulting and guided the performance management efforts for one of the corporation’s largest operating companies. In his early career, he managed software development and system implementation projects for Bonner & Moore Management Science, a leading provider of planning and supply chain management solutions for the process industries. Prior to joining Bonner & Moore, Smith worked with The Trane Company, where he developed and implemented strategies to increase plant productivity, improve product quality, reduce costs, and resolve labor grievances.
Smith currently serves as the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Texas Business Alliance. He is a former board member for Crisis Intervention of Houston and was a founding board member for the Texas Chamber of Electronic Commerce. Smith also currently holds advisory board positions for Visible Applause, which specializes in consulting and designing of awards programs, and for OneSeventeen Media, a social venture company dedicated to helping kids survive their youth.
Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA in finance from the University of Houston. He also has completed additional graduate coursework in industrial/organizational psychology.
Ingrid Taylor is a Reform Governance® trainer and has spent most of her professional life working on education-related issues from the local to the federal level. In addition to developing an expertise in education policy, Taylor has deep experience in strategic planning, board governance, communications, and policy development.
Taylor started her consulting practice in 1996. She has completed a variety of projects, including school district and organizational performance reviews, program analyses, development and review of governance goals, and strategic planning. Her clients have included community colleges, school districts, independent businesses, and non-profit groups. Most recently, Taylor has consulted with school districts in Providence, Rhode Island, and Waco, Texas. Over the years, she has participated on teams evaluating operations and performance in Socorro Independent School District (ISD), San Antonio ISD, and the University Interscholastic League (an organization that provides leadership and guidance to public school debate and athletic teams in Texas). She has worked with the Austin Community College and advised the Foundation for the Education of Young Women. Taylor has also provided a number of workshops for small non-profits on strategic planning. She started her career in Washington, D.C., where she worked on human services program budgets for the Office of Management and Budget and the United States Senate.
She paused in her consulting practice from 2000-2004 when she was elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Austin Independent School District. She was then elected vice president of the board from 2002 to 2004. As a trustee, Taylor focused on board governance, communications, and long-term planning to ensure that the diverse educational needs of Austin’s students were met.
Having had the opportunity to work both on the side of a board and as staff support to a board, Taylor has a unique perspective on the elements of strong leadership, effective governance models, and successful communication among leadership partners. She has helped organizations develop better accountability and reporting mechanisms.
Taylor currently serves on the boards of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders (an all-girls college preparatory public school) and Trinity Episcopal School. She is on the consultant councils for the non-profit groups Breakthrough Austin (a program that provides a path to college for low-income students who will be first-generation college graduates) and Badgerdog (an organization that publishes and teaches student work) in Austin, Texas.
Taylor holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology/behavioral sciences and law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A visionary leader, advocate, and creator of sensible solutions that address the changing face of America’s student populations and the evolution of our educational system, its infrastructure and school board leadership, Julian Treviño offers a unique perspective and proven strategic guidance, customized for educational communities across the country.
With a philosophy that educational opportunities create great communities that prosper, Treviño has committed a half century to strengthening our country’s educational infrastructure and school board leadership. Working with diverse populations from coast to coast, and from our southern to northern borders, it is this passion for commitment that makes Treviño an effective leader and one of the country’s leading trainers and teachers in the areas of effective school board governance, urban education, the politics of education, and the foundations of educational leadership.
Treviño has worked with major school systems across the United States and with diverse multicultural populations. An experienced educator, Treviño has been a teacher at all levels and served as middle and high school principal and a central office administrator. Treviño served on the Board of Trustees for the San Antonio Independent School District for 12 years, six of those as board president. Under his leadership as president, the board was recognized nationally twice and awarded the distinction of “Texas Honor Board” for exemplary board governance.
A true visionary, Treviño founded the Bexar County School Board Coalition, which promotes excellence in education for all students by improving the governance and collaboration among the 17 independent countywide school districts. The coalition was a first in the country’s eighth largest city. Treviño’s focus was to develop a mechanism for school board members to collaborate through professional development and identify an effective governance process to improve the educational welfare of all public school students.
Treviño is a Senior Lecturer of educational leadership and policy studies for the University of Texas at San Antonio and was previously a lecturer at Trinity University. Treviño has been a resident faculty member for the Center for Reform of School Systems (CRSS) since 2002 and is a certified trainer in the Strategic Planning and DuPont Leadership Development Program.
Treviño holds a doctorate in educational administration from Texas A&M University and has participated in executive education programs at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Graduate School of Business.
Treviño’s business acumen is valued in many civic and community efforts focused on improving our city, our schools and generating innovative opportunities for the communities in which we live. Treviño resides with his family of educators in San Antonio, Texas.
Susan Wilkinson served two terms on the Duval County School Board from 1994 to 2002 and was the only individual elected to serve as chair for a second term. During her tenure on the board, she was heavily involved in negotiating with the local NAACP, moving the district to unitary status. She led the board in settling lawsuits regarding sex education and prayer in school. In addition, she led the board in establishing reading and literacy standards for all students. As a result of her leadership and consequent board action, the district began an enduring upward trend in test scores.
Wilkinson was successful with building permanent stakeholder relationships within the local business community. This resulted in the creation of the Alliance for Worldclass Education, which became the Jacksonville Public Education Foundation. Wilkinson also chaired a task force that resulted in the district focusing on the alignment of staff development to student achievement.
Following her tenure on the Duval County School Board, Wilkinson served as the CEO of the Schultz Center, providing oversight and vision for the development of highly effective staff development in literacy, math, and leadership. The students of teachers trained in the area of literacy showed an average gain of 130 points on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Gains were even higher for free and reduced-lunch students—144 points. She guided the staff in the development of a “Lead 360 Degree Feedback” aligned with Florida Principal Standards. She led the development of the Leadership Institute, training school principals to become highly effective instructional leaders. Principal graduates of this program are leading schools to higher levels of student academic achievement.
Earlier in Wilkinson’s career she served as the executive director for Episcopal Children’s Services, Inc., building the program to serve over 8,500 children annually and expanding the budget from $1 to $14 million. In this position, she focused on early literacy, which became nationally recognized. She served on the Stanton Magnet School Development Team responsible for the design of a comprehensive college preparatory program. Stanton has consistently been ranked in the top 10 public academic high schools in the country.
Wilkinson has had extensive experience in the development, design, and delivery of broad-based training programs and has been sought out by numerous educational and nonprofit organizations. She is currently a trainer for CRSS. She has also served in informal roles as an advisor and mentor to current school board members as well as past and current superintendents in Duval County.
Wilkinson completed a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, a Master’s Degree from the University of North Florida, and a Doctor of Education from the University of Florida.