Mairi Cooper - President
Mairi is the 2015-16 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year and advocate of public education, believing that it is an imperative to offer quality education to every child. Mairi is passionate about educating the whole child and that all children receive an education that interests and challenges them. Mairi is the orchestra director and chair of the music department at Fox Chapel Area High School. Under Mairi’s leadership, the district became the first public school recognized as an “Exemplary Program” by the Middle States Accreditation Committee. Mairi has received numerous awards, including String Teachers Association Outstanding New Orchestra Teacher Award and the Yale University Distinguished Music Educator.
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Michael Soskil - Vice President
Michael, the 2017-18 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, is determined to make learning meaningful for every child and to empower students and teachers as positive change agents in their communities. As an elementary science teacher at the Wallenpaupack South Elementary School, he inspires young scientists to use their curiosity and learning to make the world a better place. In 2012, Michael's innovative work was recognized by the White House and National Science Foundation with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. In 2016 he was named a Global Teacher Prize finalist and one of the top ten teachers in the world by the Varkey Foundation. Outside the classroom, Michael has co-authored "Teaching in the 4th Industrial Revolution: Standing at the Precipice" with 5 other internationally recognized teachers.
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Brice Hostutler, Treasurer
Brice, a National Board Certified Teacher, is a special education teacher at Pittsburgh Perry High School. He teaches math and English while specializing in therapeutic support. He is a former member of the Gates Foundation's Teacher Advisory Council where he provided feedback on education initiatives. Brice has served as a leader for national and regional programs focused on celebrating the profession while providing opportunities for professional learning. He is a founding member of Teachers Speak, a group in the Pittsburgh Public Schools who promote teachers’ voice and connect teachers with district decision makers. He believes that leveraging community resources, developing strong relationships, and teaching the whole child are the keys to improving educational systems.
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Cindy Ollendyke, Secretary
Cindy, a 2006 Finalist for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, has thirty-five years’ experience teaching science at the middle school level in the Peters Township School District, a suburban community of southwestern PA. She presents pre-service teacher workshops and has taught university science methods courses at Duquesne University. As Immediate Past-President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National State Teachers of the Year, Cindy regularly advocates for teacher leadership opportunities and impact for student voice through TEACH to Lead and ECET2 grant programs.
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Melanie Cole
Melanie Cole, Pennsylvania's 2017 Milken Educator Award recipient is a special education teacher and transition coordinator at Slippery Rock Area High School. She is known throughout her community as a champion for the district’s students. As a coach of the varsity girls’ soccer team and the school’s National Honor Society (NHS) coordinator, she models the organization’s core values: character, leadership, and service. She leads special education department meetings at the high school, collaborates with special education teachers in other buildings, and helps to organize an autism awareness event held in the spring.
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Karey Killian
Karey is a librarian in the Milton Area School District who helps students see themselves as explorers, makers, inventors, and solution finders during makerspace time. For her innovative teaching, she was named Librarian of the Year by the International Society for Technology in Education in 2017. In addition to the work in her library, she is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Fellow, a Skype Master Teacher, and a member of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Teaching & Learning Committee.
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Tony Rocco
The focus of award-winning teacher and photographer Tony Rocco’s work has always been enriching the lives of children, whether at John B. Stetson Charter Middle School in North Philadelphia where he runs his Shutterbug Photography Program and teaches computer science, or various communities in his mother’s native Colombia where he teaches photography. In his 20-year career working with disadvantaged youth, Rocco has devoted himself to helping students see past the obstacles in their path and reach their true potential. He is the founder and executive director of Photography Without Borders, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage children in photography-based multi-disciplinary learning, leadership, educational and career opportunities.
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Rebecca Snyder
Rebecca is the 2009 Pennsylvania Teacher of Year and teaches English Language Arts at Greater Latrobe Senior High School in southwestern Pennsylvania. In her 19 years there, she has served as ELA Department Head and Teacher Leader. Beyond her district she has served on committees for the review of PSSA and Keystone Exam components, as well as for the development of the Pennsylvania Core Standards. She is a Lowell Milken Center Fellow and Past President of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year. With a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, Rebecca is devoted to leveraging the voices of classroom practitioners to support policies and practices that advance the conditions, capacity, and culture necessary to support inspired instruction, effective community investment, and sound legislative policy.
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Heather Zajdel
Heather is an educator in the Alternative Region of the School District of Philadelphia, dedicated to the pursuit of opportunities that provide for the betterment of student and teacher possibilities. She executed two Fulbright grants in order to heighten global partnerships and awareness and is an active creator and facilitator of science and behavior-based professional development through the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
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