Certification Council

Dr. Whitney Aragaki is a National Board Certified Teacher in Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood. She has served more than fifteen years in the math and science departments at Waiakea High School in Hilo, Hawaii. She has taught students from a variety of backgrounds including general education, special education, multilingual learners, and honors/advanced students in synchronous and asynchronous learning environments. Aragaki has led National Board Core Connections webinars online, led sessions at the National Board Academy Conference, and hosted Educator Roundtables with Hawaii’s Department of Education. Aragaki is the 2022 Hawaiʻi State Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year Finalist. She was recognized as a 2021 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. In 2023, she was named to the inaugural class of Obama Foundation Leaders USA. She published her first co-authored book in Fall 2025, Place-based science teaching: Connecting students to curriculum, community, and caring for our planet.

Daniel Jocz is a National Board Certified Teacher in Social Studies–History/Adolescence and Young Adulthood. He was named the 2016 California Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for National Teacher of the Year. He currently teaches AP U.S. History at Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies (LAUSD) and previously served as an instructional coach and history teacher at Downtown Magnets High School. He has led an open-enrollment AP U.S. History program with a 96–98% pass rate—recognized as the highest in LAUSD for six consecutive years. His instructional leadership includes securing multiple grants to integrate technology, global perspectives, and service learning into the classroom. He is a past recipient of prestigious fellowships, including: Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (Harvard and University of Edinburgh); Fulbright-Hays Seminar Abroad (South Africa); and, IREX Teachers for Global Classrooms (Indonesia). Daniel holds a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in History, both from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Dr. Esmeralda Pérez-González is a National Board Certified Teacher: Generalist: Middle Childhood. She is an educator known for her strategic leadership, mentorship, and advocacy for emergent bilinguals. She designs and facilitates professional development across K–12 and higher education, mentors candidates through certification pathways, and builds inclusive instructional systems that elevate teacher practice and student outcomes. She facilitates National Board cohorts for Hays CISD and previously served as President-Elect and mentor for the Texas National Board Coalition for Teaching (TXNBCT), where she led statewide initiatives and cohort development. Her career spans classroom teaching, campus leadership, and district-level coaching. She has presented at state and national conferences, contributed to TEA textbook and assessment review panels, and led professional learning on biliteracy, dual language, and instructional coaching. Esmeralda’s honors include Teacher of the Year recognitions, Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Scholar distinction, and HEB Excellence in Education awards. She earned advanced degrees from Texas A & M University- Corpus Christi and a doctorate from Walden University.

Jennifer Randall is the Dunn Family Endowed Professor of Psychometrics and Test Development at the University of Michigan; and the founder of the Center for Measurement Justice. She began her career as a public school teacher in social studies working with racially and ethnically minoritized students. Dr. Randall’s scholarship seeks to disrupt white supremacist, racist logics in assessment through assessment practices that center justice and are explicitly and unapologetically antiracist. Her work has been published in assessment and education journals such as Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, Educational Assessment, Applied Measurement in Education, and Language Testing. Dr. Randall has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Educational Measurement, chair of the Diversity Issues in Testing Committee for the National Council for Measurement in Education (NCME), chair of the Research on Evaluation Special Interest Group for the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and co-chair of the Northeastern Educational Research Association 2013 and NCME 2015 Annual Conferences; and was a founding board member for Women in Measurement. She currently serves as the chair of the International Test Commission’s Justice and Equity Committee and on the technical advisory committees for several working groups and states. In addition, she teaches courses in measurement theory, research design, and assessment.

Ryan brings nearly two decades of experience in education policy, with a strong focus on educator quality, licensure, and workforce development. At the Learning Policy Institute, Ryan has held various leadership roles, currently serving as Director of State Policy. His work has centered on bridging federal and state policy efforts, supporting whole child initiatives, and advancing educator recruitment and retention strategies. He co-leads the Teacher Licensure Collaborative, a 17-state network focused on research-aligned licensure and program approval systems and supporting collaboration and engagement across state agencies, boards of education, and legislative offices. Earlier in his career, Ryan taught high school social studies and literature in Turkey, the Dominican Republic, and Denver, CO. Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in teaching from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

Lynece Michelle Galles is a National Board Certified Teacher in Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early and Middle Childhood. She presently works for the West Aurora School District in Aurora, Illinois, as an Implementation and Instructional Coach. She has endorsements in elementary education, gifted education, language arts and social science education, and literacy/reading instruction. Galles recently completed coursework in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), the science of literacy framework.  She has served in many leadership and professional learning roles including the Teacher of Color (ToC) Focus Group for the National Board Resource Center (NBRC) and as a Virtual Instructional Coach with the Illinois Education Association. In addition to serving as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist and student services specialist, she has served as a district professional development facilitator, new teacher mentor, and technology integration specialist at the elementary level. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Northern Illinois University and master’s degree in reading and literacy from Benedictine University.

Phil Wilson is an elementary school music teacher in Auburn, Alabama. He earned his National Board Certification in Early and Middle Childhood Music in 2010, renewing in 2019. He received his Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education in 2020. Phil’s research focused on the perspectives of music teachers on the National Board Certification process and why more music teachers in the southeastern United States were not completing board certification. For six years, he served on the Alabama Network of National Board-Certified Teachers’ board of directors as the outreach director. From 2016-to 2021, he was the Alabama Music Educator Association Elementary Division President. He has won a plethora of awards throughout the years, most notably being named the Alabama Teacher of the Year in 2010. Phil is a true believer in National Board Professional Teaching Standards and continues his work to strengthen and promote the National Board.

Dr. LaTonya Barnes Sibley is a dedicated educator and national thought leader who brings heart and accomplished teaching to every space she enters. As an independent National Educational Consultant, she partners with schools, districts, and organizations across the country to design professional learning that is engaging, playful, and grounded in research, because she believes great teaching should always feel meaningful and joyful.

Dr. Sibley also serves as the Pre-K Education Specialist for Montgomery Public Schools in Alabama and as a Professor of Early Childhood Education at Alabama State University. In these roles, she supports nearly 70 Pre-K teachers, hundreds of young learners, and aspiring educators by championing strong instruction, joyful classrooms, and a culture where children and adults learn through curiosity, connection, and care.

A National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) with advanced degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Sibley’s experience spans early childhood through postsecondary education. She has served as a classroom teacher, curriculum coach, assessment coordinator, district director, state level director of accomplished teaching and workforce development, and university faculty member.

She serves on several boards, including the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, where she serves as Co-Chair of the Certification Council, I See Me, Inc., and the Liberty Learning Foundation.

She has been recognized with several honors, including:

• 2025 Central Alabama Magazine “40 Under 40”
• 2025 University of Alabama at Birmingham Black Alumni Network “25 for 25”
• 2020 Hall of Fame Inductee, Black Women Education Leaders Inc
• 2016 Outstanding Service Award, Alabama State University Central Alabama Regional Education Inservice Center
• 2015 Educator of the Year, Junior Achievement of Alabama
• 2015 Young Professional Advisory Member, National Association for the Education of Young Children

Dr. Sibley’s mission is to empower educators, uplift students, and strengthen school communities by encouraging disciplined growth, thoughtful choices, and treating others with kindness. Outside of work, she values her faith, her family, and her journey as a Breast Cancer Previvor. She remains committed to modeling accomplished teaching and leading #NBCTstrong.

Mark Miller is a National Board Certified Teacher in Mathematics with a specialization in Early Adolescence. He is a mathematics teacher and department chair at Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School in Colorado. His leadership experiences include serving as a member of the Regional Advisory Committee for the Central region, as the 8th grade representative on the National Assessment Governing Board as a Member of the Executive Committee, as Vice Chair of Assessment Development Committee, Member of the Nominations Committee, New Member Orientation Co-Leader, and Strategic Vision Small Group Leader with the United States Department of Education. In addition, Mark served as a member of the NBPTS Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Other leadership experiences include serving as a liaison on the superintendent’s hiring committee in his school district, working in curriculum and instruction, working with culturally and linguistically diverse and gifted students, and serving as a math coach in his district. Mark is a multiple-time nominee for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science. In addition, he has presented at several education conferences, including the 2023 IES Math Summit, Colorado Council of Teachers of Math, Colorado NBCT Summit, and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Conference.