The CharacterStrong Podcast

We talk with Luis about the key to helping students move forward, the model that they have built on the Changemaker Campus, and he shares ways that we can intentionally put a focus on empathy & love. Luis Alberto Perales, M.S., is a native son of the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. He is the son of an immigrant mother and an 5th generation Tejano father. A transplant to Tucson, AZ and the Sonoran Desert, Luis has spent over two decades in the Old Pueblo. He is the official Spokesman for the K20 Changemaker Campus, CEO for the Institute for Transformative Education, and lead consultant for ZenCons Transformational Consulting. For the past twenty years he has directed his energies to the support, development, and transformation of people, places and institutions. His expertise has led him to train and lead individuals, groups, and organizations wanting to develop their innovative mindset, increase their reach, and maximize their impact. Luis lives with his wife, 16-year-old son, and two 12-year-old twin sons in Tucson.

Don Wettrick is the founder and president of StartEdUp, an organization dedicated to help transform the school culture toward innovation and enable student-led entrepreneurship. He is also the author of "Pure Genius: Building a Culture of Innovation." Wettrick has worked as a middle school and high school teacher; educational and innovation consultant; CEO, and podcast host. Don has lectured across the US, Europe, South America and Africa about collaboration, social media use, and work environments that enable innovation. Through his travel, he has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley to Ghana, and seeks to bring that entrepreneurial mindset into our classrooms. His podcast, StartEdUp, has featured some of the most successful entrepreneurs, authors, and thought leaders in the world- focusing on educational change. Most importantly Don works with educators, students, and entrepreneurs to bring innovation and collaborative skills into education.

In her 16 years in education, Morgan Castillo shares her hunger for lifelong learning among students of all ages and backgrounds with experience in primary and secondary levels. She also empowers educators to share their passions as in various leadership roles and as session presenter at regional conferences. Morgan continues her drive for inspiring others in Midway ISD where she teaches fifth grade science at Woodgate Intermediate in Waco, Texas. Morgan is the 2020 Texas Region 12 Secondary Teacher of the Year and 2020 recipient of the prestigious H-E-B Excellence in Education in Teacher Leadership Award.

CharacterStrong Co-Founders Houston Kraft & John Norlin get together and talk about the concept of the Law of the Lid, they remind us that as leaders we set the tone, and share that this takes vulnerability & practice.

Bill studied biology and philosophy at The University of Notre Dame and earned his Masters in Teaching at The Evergreen State College. He worked in adolescent group homes for several years before becoming a high school science teacher in Tumwater, Washington. In 2005, Bill transitioned to administration, first as an Associate Principal at Oak Harbor High School and then as Principal at North Whidbey Middle School on Whidbey Island, Washington. Mr. Weinsheimer embraces the philosophy of servant leadership, and believes that his job is to take care of teachers so that they can take care of their students. An ideal vacation for Bill is to escape with his family on their sailboat and explore the islands of the Salish Sea. Studied biology and philosophy at University of Notre Dame Earned a Masters in Teaching from The Evergreen State College Studied school leadership and earned principal's certificate from Seattle Pacific University Taught high school sciences and a philosophy elective in Tumwater, WA (10 years) Worked as high school associate principal (7 years) and middle school principal (8 years) in Oak Harbor Public Schools Russ started his math teaching career in 1988 after graduating from Colorado State University. While teaching kids math, Russ also coached ... cross country running, swimming, volleyball and track & field. After teaching kids for 16 years, he joined the administrative ranks and has been at it since. He retired from Colorado after 27 years in public education and moved back to the PNW where he was raised. Russ builds a positive school climate and culture by establishing trusting relationships with students and staff. Russ is in his fifth year as an assistant principal at North Whidbey Middle School. Russ will celebrate his 32nd wedding anniversary in August with his wife, Lisa. They have a daughter who is working the front lines as a nurse in Colorado Springs.

Andrea is a Seattle-area kindergarten teacher who keeps relationships and balance at the center of her practice. She believes, in order to show up and be the best teacher possible, you must intentionally work on the best version of yourself. Mindful check-ins with colleagues, intentional relationships with students, and a healthy life away from the classroom are all things that Andrea prioritizes as an educator.

Tamara Letter is a passionate educator with more than two decades of experience as an elementary teacher, differentiation specialist, technology integrator, and instructional coach. She received the 2018 R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence and is the author of A Passion for Kindness: Making the World a Better Place to Lead, Love, and Learn. You can connect with Tamara on her website at www.tamaraletter.com or on Twitter or Instagram (@tamaraletter)

As Co-Founder of Labhya Foundation, an India-based nonprofit, Richa's journey has revolved around the question, "What does it take to preserve empathy among children?" Richa has worked as an educator, volunteer, mentor & activist with children from at-risk, refugee & migrant communities across India. She has been a Teach For India fellow & a Teach For All Global Girls' Education fellow. At 21 years old, Richa founded Labhya with a vision to enable all children to become conscious decision makers. Labhya Foundation enables children from low socio-economic backgrounds with Social & Emotional skills. Today, her program impacts over 2 million children and 110,000 teachers in about 21,000 government schools of India, on a daily basis. Recently, she represented India at the 2019 G(irls)20 Summit Japan, where she helped draft a communiqué to be deliberated on by G20 leaders this year. Follow Richa's work on Twitter: @HappinessDelhi @SEL4India Article - https://www.thehindu.com/society/this-delhi-based-23-year-old-represented-india-at-girls20-japan/article28434791.ece

Leigh Kokenes is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist in Raleigh, North Carolina and works at an elementary and middle school in an urban school district. Her early career included work on a birth to age 3 early intervention team and later working with adults who are developmentally disabled. She then found her way to the field of School Psychology. Ms. Kokenes serves on her professional association's board (North Carolina School Psychology Association) to support advocacy for increased mental health services in schools, recruitment, and retention. In 2019 Ms. Kokenes was awarded the National School Psychologist of the Year award by NASP. She is a member of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and is currently a state liaison for the Government Professional Relations committee. Her goal is to provide comprehensive school psychological services within teams through social emotional learning, consultation to teachers and parents, assessment/evaluations, intervention teams, advocacy for students, and data analysis. Taking risks to support fragile humans in the world is important to Ms. Kokenes. In 2017 she was awarded the Practitioner of the Year by NC School Psychology Association and was awarded the School Psychologist of the Year for 2015-2016 by Wake County Public School System.

Amy Heimerl is a wife, mom, grandma, educator, gardener, aspiring artist & author, prayer warrior, worship leader and most importantly, daughter of God. Amy has been an educator for 26 years. Twenty-three of those years have been focused on working with students who have emotional and behavioral struggles and students who learn differently. From 1997-2004 she was a special education teacher at a juvenile correctional facility in Northern Wisconsin. From the moment she began teaching there, Amy knew it was part of her calling. After seven years, Amy made the very difficult decision to leave the youth prison so she could spend summers taking care of her own children. Amy was blessed with the opportunity to teach at her local high school as a special education teacher and employment coach. Amy was also blessed to get involved with Link Crew and as a coach for The Boomerang Project. After thirteen years in public education and her own children graduated, Amy felt the call to return to the youth prison and has been back since July 2017. Amy also is in the process of Reading for Orders in preparation for the priesthood in the Episcopal Church.