Dr. Lisa Everitt has dedicated her career to the field of education, commencing with working as a teacher in both the North West Territories and in Parkland School Division. Since 2006, she has served as an executive staff officer with the Alberta Teachers Association. Throughout her tenure, Lisa has navigated various roles within the Association, honing her skills and expertise in critical areas such as labour relations, employee benefits plans, educational research, and advocating for women in leadership roles. Beyond her professional pursuits, Lisa has a keen interest in the arts. In her downtime, she finds solace in artistic endeavors, balancing the rigors of her work with the creative outlets that bring her joy. Lisa's commitment to a well-rounded lifestyle is evident in her dedication to family, her regular visits to the gym, and her love for immersing herself in the tranquility of nature.

For more information on the Council for School Leadership, visit our website.

Dr. Avramovic started her career teaching elementary grades in Canmore with Christ the Redeemer Schools, advancing through roles as Vice Principal, Director of Catholic Education, and Vice Principal at a K-9 school in De Winton. Her leadership has focused on faith formation, curriculum development, and advocating for Catholic education.

Committed to lifelong learning, she earned a Master's in Administration and Educational Leadership from the University of New Brunswick and recently completed her Doctorate in Education at Western University, specializing in educational leadership and K-12 systems.

Dr. Avramovic is actively involved with the Alberta Teachers’ Association, serving on several committees and boards, reflecting her dedication to school leadership and education advocacy.

Visit the uLead website for more information on upcoming conferences.

Visit the Council for School Leadership website.

• LOVE: Promoting self-love as the core message of Iskwew Health.

• HUMILITY: Lifelong learning to expand her wellness knowledge.

• RESPECT: Embracing every individual’s story.

• TRUTH: A belief in belonging within the Creator’s world.

• COURAGE: Honoring those who show up for themselves.

• HONESTY: Standing in truth and helping others do the same.

• WISDOM: Creating space for collective wisdom through Indigenous teachings.

Iskwew Health is the realization of Michelle’s dream to foster holistic well-being and community connection.

For more information on uLead, visit the conference website.
For more information on CSL, visit the CSL website.

Eliza Reid is a bestselling author who also served as First Lady of Iceland from 2016 to July, 2024. Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Eliza relocated to Iceland in 2003. As the Co-Founder of the esteemed Iceland Writers Retreat, she has advocated for Icelandic writers and literary heritage, notably through her acclaimed debut book, Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They are Changing the World. Her second book, a mystery novel called Death on the Island, will be published in late April, 2025.

Eliza's multifaceted career spans editorial roles at Icelandair’s in-flight magazine and Iceland Review, alongside frequent commentary on Icelandic affairs for foreign media. She is a sought-after keynote speaker on the international stage. In 2017, Eliza was named a UN Special Ambassador for Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals. As first lady, she also served as patron of numerous organizations. Passionate about inclusion, belonging, and equality, she has wielded her influence through poignant op-eds and a compelling TEDx talk. Eliza Reid and her husband have four children together.

uLead Conference Website
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And not just Superintendents or Principals, but anyone in the school system who is trying to make changes that have a positive and observable impact where it matters the most–in classrooms with students. Department heads, team leaders, instructional coaches and even our “unofficial leaders” - those good folks who choose to put their hands up to volunteer to be a part of something sounds like a pretty good idea for kids. Despite an unending will from educators to meet the needs of the children in our classrooms, the already sky-high demands placed on the school system (pushed even higher in the post-pandemic era) have transformed leadership into survival at all levels. As a result, as leaders we often find ourselves ‘drifting’, moving from crisis to crisis, struggling to know whether we are making a difference, and wondering “Is all of this worth it?”.

Here’s the good news. It is worth it. Leaders DO make a difference. A big one. At all levels. We just need to make it easier for ourselves to SEE that we make a difference. To make the impact of our leadership observable while concurrently building the collective efficacy of those who lead, teach and learn in our schools.

This episode, which was a Keynote address at uLead 2024, features Cale Birk, former teacher, high school principal, author and imagineer of “Navigating Leadership Drift”, “PLC 2.0 - Collaborating for Observable Impact”, “The PLC 2.0 Toolkit”, and “Changing Change Using Learner Centered Design” for this fun, inspiring and practical keynote address. Participants will learn about ‘the leadership drift’, how to spot when they are ‘drifting’ and how to lead from the middle by creating the conditions to make the impact of their leadership observable. Participants will also walk away having experienced a tool and protocol they can immediately use in their context!

Visit the uLead website for more information on upcoming conferences.

Visit the Council for School Leadership website.

Shan Jorgenson-Adam has been an educator for over 30 years working in a variety of educational roles (teacher, school administrator, division principal, director assistant and deputy superintendent) in both British Columbia and Alberta.

Dr. Rita Marler has worked in K - 12 public education for over 30 years in central Alberta. Rita's passion is Instructional Leadership and her doctoral work focused on the instructional leadership role of the Assistant Principal. As superintendent for 9 years, Rita's visionary leadership and relational approach paved the way for a collaborative culture that created connections amongst administrators and schools across her school division.
For more information on the Council for School Leaders visit our website.
Register for this year's uLead Conference.

Dr. Sean Lessard is from Montreal Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 territory. He is an award winning writer, researcher and speaker. He is a former teacher, guidance counsellor and designer of innovative educational programming that supports Indigenous youth both in and outside of schools. Dr. Lessard currently is a Professor at the University of Alberta where his primary research is in Indigenous Youth Wellness and Intergenerational Leadership.
This pre-conference session at uLead 2024 was sponsored by Nelson Education.
For more information on the Council for School Leadership, visit our website.
To register for uLead or get more information on our upcoming conference, click here.

Steve was Chief Executive of the National College for School Leadership in England for 8 years and then Chief Executive of Education Development Trust, an international not-for-profit education organisation working in Asia, India, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.   Steve is also the facilitator for the ARC summits (education systems from around the world committed to equity, excellence, well-being and social justice). 

He is Visiting Professor at University College London, Centre for Educational Leadership, Honorary Visiting Professor at Liverpool Hope University and Chair of the Teaching Awards Trust. His book “Imperfect Leadership – A book for leaders who know they don’t know it all” was published by Crown House in July 2019.  His latest book, co-authored with Marie-Claire Bretherton, - Imperfect Leadership in Action- A practical book for school leaders who know they don’t know it all” was published in April 2022 (Crown House).

He was awarded a CBE in 2010 for services to leadership in schools and children’s services.

You can connect with Dr. Munby on X at @steve_munby

Click here for the SlideDeck of the presentation.

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• Adedeji Bowoade​

      Twitter - @AdedejiBowoade​

      Email – adedeji.bowoade@lethsd.ab.ca

• Michael Carter​

     Email – michael.carter@lethsd.ab.ca
In their session they mention the names of some Social Media Activists in this area. They are:

• Imani Barbarin
• Lauren "Lolo" Spencer
• Leroy F. Moore Jr.

If you enjoyed this episode, join us at uLead. You can get more information at uLead.ca

Eileen Pollack was one of the first two women to graduate from Yale University with a BS in physics; she later earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She is the author of five Novels as well as two collections of short fiction. One of her novels, Breaking and Entering, was named a New York Times Editor’s Choice selection. Eileen’s work of creative nonfiction Woman Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull was recently made into a movie starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Greyeyes. 

Her investigative memoir The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys’ Club was published by Beacon Press in 2015; a long excerpt appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine and went viral, after which she spent five years working to advance the opportunities for women and people of colour in STEM fields.

Her work has been selected for Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, and Best American Travel Writing. Eileen’s latest book, an essay collection titled Maybe It’s Me: On Being the Wrong Kind of Woman, was published in January 2022 by Delphinium Books and received starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. A former director of the MFA Program at the University of Michigan, she is now a professor emerita and lives and writes in Boston.

This episode is brought to you by the Council for School Leadership of the Alberta Teachers' Association.

In this episode we speak with Desiree Cocroft who is an energizing coach and consultant that seeks to empower leaders to fulfill their fullest potential. An experienced facilitator of over 20 years, Desiree elevates the hearts and minds of her audience, while also igniting them to take inspired action.

She holds a BA and MBA in Business Administration from Hampton University, as well as a BA from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Dance. Desiree is an award-winning author of "Get Your Life Today, 7 Success Hacks for Life, Leadership, and Business." She is also a certified Life and Leadership coach.

Desiree is the host of her own podcast, Get Your Life Today, and her expertise has also been featured on Forbes, The Gifters Podcast, Exposed the Podcast, 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, and the PowHer Network. She is also an award-winning author and former Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 who has appeared on stages for TEDx, Innovation Women, Marquette University, the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, and more.

In addition to all that she does, Desiree is a full-time consultant with FranklinCovey, where she trains thousands of leaders in their education division each year in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, trust, leadership development, and strategically achieving organizational goals.

This episode is brought to you by the Council for School Leadership of the Alberta Teachers' Association.

He is the founder of Learning for Living and the creator of programs such as Link Crew, WEB, and Breaking Down the Walls. He also wrote the book School Culture By Design.

Hear more from Phil Boyte by joining us at uLead. More more information and to register, please visit:
www.ulead.ca

He was appointed to the Order of Canada and awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Guelph and Humber College for his contributions to the field of workplace mental health.

Stéphane’s riveting keynotes are not only thought-provoking, but also lead to tangible action and sustainable change for those leaders who are prepared to rethink how they support their people.
His autobiography, After the War: Surviving PTSD and Changing Mental Health Culture, tells his story from the day he landed in the midst of the Rwandan genocide, through his journey of changing mental health culture in the Canadian military, developing national Guidelines for Peer Support with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, all the way to creating Mental Health Innovations (MHI); a consultancy that leads innovative and sustainable change in organizations to enhance the mental health of their people.

Today, he and his business partners, along with countless associates, develop non-clinical mental health interventions as a complement to traditional clinical care for private and public sector organizations, as well as for provincial healthcare systems.

Stéphane’s vision is a world where people no longer face barriers to good mental health.

Join Stéphane at uLead 2023. Register today at:
www.ulead.ca

If you like this episode, join us at the uLead Conference. 

Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator who has worked as a schoolteacher, teacher-educator, researcher, and policy advisor in Finland and has studied education systems and advised education leaders around the world. He has written and spoken widely about teaching and learning in school, teachers' work and school improvement, educational change, international education issues, and the future of schools.

Armand Doucet (M.S.M., M.Ed.) is one of the world’s foremost pracademics and teachers in education for this Digital Age. He is a sought after leader, inspirational speaker, coach, columnist, author of Teaching Life: Our Calling, Our Choices, Our Challenges in Routledge’s Best-selling Leading Change Series. He is also the lead author of the best-selling book Teaching in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Standing at the Precipice (Routledge 2018). He has spoken to tens of thousands of teachers on every continent and key international organizations such as UNESCO, WEF and OECD. He has received the Governor General Award for Teaching Excellence in History (2017), Canadian Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2015), is a Meritorious Service Medal Recipient Governor General of Canada, is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Teach SDGs Ambassador, and was named one of the top teachers in the world by the Global Teacher Prize (2017).

Growing Up Digital Findings 1
Growing Up Digital Findings 2

Michael Rich, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and practices Adolescent Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. Pediatrician, researcher, father, and filmmaker, Dr. Rich is the Founder and Director of the Center on Media and Child Health (CMCH) and the first evidence-based medical program addressing physical, mental and social health issues associated with digital technology, the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID).

Dr. Phil McRae is Executive Staff Officer and Associate Coordinator, Government-Research with the Alberta Teachers’ Association and Adjunct Professor within the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta where he earned his Ph.D. He was the Director of the internationally recognized Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) at the University of Alberta from 2005-2009, and taught several graduate courses in the Master of Education in Educational Studies program.

For more information on upcoming session offered by the Council for School Leadership, please go to the uLead website.

We asked one simple question to leaders, “What are the ways you are supporting teachers during the pandemic?”. We think their answers are enlightening and may help you navigate this difficult environment.

We would like to thank Shane Gau (@gaushane), Kathy Kloschinsky (@cropnkathy), and Bryn Spence (@brynspence) for contributing to this episode.

For more information on the uLead conference and the work of the Council for School Leadership of the Alberta Teachers' Association, visit the uLead website.

We asked one simple question to leaders, “What are the ways you are supporting teachers during the pandemic?”. We think their answers are enlightening and may help you navigate this difficult environment.

We would like to thank Mark Sylvestre (@MarkSylvestre), Lynn Leslie (@LynnLeslie2), and Kim Carson (@KimYCarson) for contributing to this episode.

For more information on the uLead conference and the work of the Council for School Leadership of the Alberta Teachers' Association, visit the uLead website.

You can get a copy of the report from the Alberta Teachers’ Association Website.

Dr. Phil McRae is Executive Staff Officer and Associate Coordinator, Government-Research with the Alberta Teachers’ Association. Phil has worked in many secondary and post-secondary educational contexts while living and teaching in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates), Asia (Japan), Europe (Spain), and in Alberta, Canada with the Lethbridge Public School District and at Red Crow College with the Blood Tribe (Kainai First Nation). Phil is the past winner of the Alberta Excellence in Teaching Finalist Award, the University of Alberta’s Queen Elizabeth II Doctoral Scholar Award, Minister of Education's Innovation Award, and the ATA Provincial Educational Research Award.  

Dr. Bonnie Stelmach is a Professor in the Faculty of Education (Educational Policy Studies) at the University of Alberta. She has been an educational researcher and university instructor since 2006, first at the University of Saskatchewan, and now at the University of Alberta. She has examined parents’ roles in education at the post-secondary level.  Her current research is moving toward an examination of school “community”.  In particular, she is contemplating the discourses that shape the notion of “school community” in light of diversification of families, trends toward radical individualism, and boundary shifting. 

Here is our conversation with Dr. Bonnie Stelmach and Dr. Phil McRae.

After a decade in Italy as a design consultant and creative director, Rebecca became fascinated with education. The young designers she hired, she found, struggled with problem-solving and critical thinking. She returned to the U.S. to study education and built on her BFA in Industrial Design. Her Master's thesis focused on Design Thinking and evaluating and enhancing creativity through the study of design and art. Now, Rebecca is an art and design teacher with Clayton Public Schools in St. Louis. She's also a learning space designer and co-author of the book: The Space: A Guide for Educators. She has worked with a number of schools to collaboratively design learning spaces and experiences that enhance student learning, agency and making thinking visible.

For more information on Rebecca, please visit her website or follow her on Twitter.

If you enjoy this session, it is one of the many that uLead offers every year at our conference. Please join us this coming year in Banff. You can get more information and register at uLead.ca.

He began his career in education, most notably as headteacher of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, famously transformed into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world. He was celebrated by UNESCO and the UK Government for its incredible turnaround.

For more information Richard Gerver, please visit his website or follow him on twitter.

If you enjoy this session, it is one of the many that uLead offers every year at our conference. Please join us this coming year in Banff. You can get more information and register at uLead.ca.

Dr. Breakspear is known internationally for helping educational leaders navigate complex change, harness research evidence and drive continuous improvement for better learning. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Agile Schools. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales, and Research Fellow of the Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change at The Education University of Hong Kong.

For more information on Dr. Breakspear and Teaching Sprints, you can visit the Teaching Sprints website or follow Simon on Twitter.

If you like this episode, why don’t you consider joining us at uLead this coming year in Banff? You can get more information and register at uLead.ca

Register today for the uLead conference at http://ulead.ca