What Book Committee

Doretha Allen is a National Board Certified Teacher (Literacy-Reading Language Arts: Early to Middle Childhood). She serves the Garland Independent School District as the School Design Administrator and is the current president of the Texas National Board Coalition for Teaching. Doretha has held leadership positions on several committees, including Educators Rising Standards (as co-chair), Model Code of Educator Ethics for the National Association of State Director of Teacher Education and Certification, and Professional Learning Committee for EdTech Evidence Exchange for the Genome Project. Doretha was also a member of the National Board’s Dream Team (which recruited and supported minority candidates in the National Board Certification process), the English Language Arts Standards Committee (3rd edition), the What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do Committee (2nd edition), and, most recently, the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which she co-chaired. Doretha has presented at several conferences, including the Dallas Council of the International Reading Association, Texas State Reading Association, Texas Partnership for Accomplished Teaching, National Association for Black School Educators, International Reading Association, Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation, Texas Association of Black School Educators, Texas National Board Coalition for Teaching, and National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Conferences and webinars.

Fernando Chavez is a National Board Certified Teacher (Exceptional Needs Specialist: Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood). He serves as a special education and English as a Second Language teacher in Los Angeles, California. Fernando also supports various classroom initiatives as the technology coordinator for Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets School. He has facilitated numerous professional development workshops, including Google Suite for Education, Engagement Strategies for Educators, Preparing the 21st Century Learner, Creating Equitable Environments, and Differentiating Instruction with Technology. He is also a Support Network Facilitator (SNF) for teachers pursuing National Board certification in the Los Angeles area. As a child of undocumented immigrants, Fernando used education as a vehicle to success, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Master of Arts in Multicultural/Multilingual Education from California State University, Northridge. He uses his experiences to empower, inspire, and motivate traditionally-marginalized populations. Fernando has been recognized as a CUE (Computer Using Educators) Spotlight Speaker and Our Voice Academy Spotlight Educator, honors which aim to increase minority leadership and representation in education. 

Indira Cureton-Cummings is a National Board Certified Teacher (Career and Technical Education: Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood). She is the Director of the Palmetto Center for the Arts at Richland Northeast High School in her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. Indira is Executive Producer and Founder of the William Henry Brown Theatre and has facilitated arts management internships at Lincoln Center Theater and the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City. While at Eau Claire High School, she was recognized as Teacher of the Year, 2011, and was an award recipient and grant writer for Disney’s Music in You. She has worked with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards as a co-chair for the Career and Technical Education Standards Committee (2nd edition) and the What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do Committee (2nd edition). Outside of her theatre classroom, Indira has also served on the Creativity Standards Writing Committee, the SC College and Career ReadyTask Force, South Carolina Arts Assessment Program Task Force, Career Technical Education Industry Certification Working Group, and the Richland Two Innovator Incubator and Accelerator groups. Indira is a member of the National Education Association, Educational Theatre Association, and USITT United States Institute for Technical Theatre.

Jaime Festa-Daigle is a National Board Certified Teacher (Social Studies-History: Adolescence and Young Adulthood). Jaime serves as the Director of Student Achievement in Lake Havasu, Arizona. She earned her doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership, with an emphasis in K-12 leadership. In her current role, Jaime has implemented a robust teacher induction and mentoring program, district literacy initiatives, and English language programs for K-12 students; she has also designed assessment and multi-tiered systems to support data-driven instruction. Jaime serves as an executive board member with the Arizona Rural School Association, the Martin Springer Institute, and the AZK12 Center. She has served on standards committees for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and Educators Rising and has worked on the AZK12 Teacher Solutions Team, which focuses on teacher leadership. In 2012, Jaime was named the American Civic Educator of the Year, and, in 2014, she was nominated as the Arizona VFW Teacher of the Year. In 2023, Jaime became a recipient of the Flinn-Brown Fellowship, which helps experienced civic leaders throughout Arizona expand their knowledge, skills, and networks to address Arizona’s long-term issues.

Michael Ida is a National Board Certified Teacher (Mathematics: Adolescent and Young Adulthood. He has served as a mathematics and computer science teacher at Kalani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, for the past 27 years. Michael has a Bachelor of Science in physics and applied mathematics from the California Institute of Technology, a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in applied mathematics from Northwestern University, and a Master of Education in secondary education from Boston College. Michael serves in many leadership roles, including mathematics department chairperson, Hawaii Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Hawaii chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association, and the Hawaii National Board Certified Teachers Collective. He currently serves as an Academic Review Team member, Advanced Placement Calculus exam reader, and Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation visiting team member. As an EdSurge Voices of Change Fellow, Hawaii State Teacher Fellow, and Hawaii Teacher Leader Academy alumnus, Michael seeks to uplift all teachers in the work they do and support them as leaders and agents of change. Michael was most recently recognized as Hawaii’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Chad Jackson is a National Board Certified Teacher (School Counseling: Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood). He presently serves as an elementary school counselor in the state of Montana. Chad has certifications in elementary education and Modern Languages as well as certification as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Montana. He began his career teaching elementary school and junior high for several years. He also worked for two years at the Center for Children and Families as a therapist. At the center, he conducted group therapy, individual sessions, and trauma care, among other therapeutic services. As a school counselor, Chad specializes in differentiated behavioral interventions, trauma-informed care, suicidal response and prevention, and curriculum development and design. In addition to being an active member of local and state National Board Networks, Chad has worked with the American School Counseling Association National Model to develop comprehensive counseling programs. Chad is also a lecturer at Montana State University, Billings, and teaches graduate courses in school counseling. In 2022, Chad was selected as Montana’s School Counselor of the Year.

Tracy Krause is a National Board Certified Teacher (Physical Education: Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood). Presently, he serves as an Assistant Superintendent in Maple Valley, Washington. During his career, he has served as a para educator, physical education teacher, health and fitness department chairperson, instructional coach, program facilitator, and Assistant Director of Human Resources. Tracy was a member of the State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Classroom Based Assessment Development Team and the Society for Health and Physical Education (SHAPE America) Physical Education Teacher Education standards revision team. He also contributed to curriculum development while serving as a physical education teacher in Washington. Tracy co-chaired the National Board’s Physical Education Standards Committee (2nd edition) and was a member of the What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do Committee (2nd edition). He was recognized as the National SHAPE America High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year in 2008, received the National Arbor Day Educator Award in 2009, and was the National Football League Teacher of the Year in 2012.

Leslee is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Childhood Generalist). She currently serves as a transitional kindergarten teacher in the Buena Park School District in southern California. Over the past thirty years, Leslee has taught kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade students, most of whom were proficient in a home language other than English. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Buena Park School District Education Foundation. She has worked at the local, state, and national levels supporting educators pursuing National Board certification.  Leslee has served in numerous capacities for the National Board, including as a member of the Early Childhood Generalist Standards Committee (3rd edition) and the What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do Committee (2nd edition), a Hill Day Team Coordinator for California, and a Candidate Support Provider (CSP) helping educators pursue National Board Certification. Leslee also began and continues to lead the READ WITH ME program, for which she facilitates summertime read-alouds  at a local park. In 2019, she was named Buena Park’s Citizen of the Year and has received recognition from state legislators and organizations for her READ WITH ME program. Recently, Leslee was also recognized as one of Orange County, California’s 125 Most Influential People.

Sudha Narsipur is a National Board Certified Teacher (Library Media: Early Childhood through Young Adulthood). Since 2006, Sudha has served as a Library Media Specialist in Ossining, New York. She is also the Equity Leader at Ossining High School, providing ongoing professional development to teachers on concepts and themes outlined in the Archeology of Self, by Yolanda Sealy-Ruiz, and Cultivating Genius, by Gholdy Muhammad. Sudha previously worked in the New York City school system and at The New York Public Library, where she coordinated grant-funded literacy programs, including “Parents and Preschool Children Read Together” for inner-city children and their families. She received a Master of Library & Information Science from Queens College (CUNY) and a Master of Arts in Communication at the Central University in Hyderabad, India. She has received recognition as a Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship Ambassador, an Equity Fellow at the Ossining Union Free School District (2022-present), and as a certificate recipient at the 21st Annual Summer Institute in Teaching Writing, held by  the Teachers College, Columbia University. Sudha is an active member of the School Library Media Specialists of Southeastern New York (SLMSSENY).

Noraa Ransey is a National Board Certified Teacher (Literacy: Reading-Language Arts: Early and Middle Childhood). She teaches literacy at the elementary level in Calloway County Schools, in Kentucky. She presently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Education Association (NEA) and as a Minority Teacher Mentor for the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). As a NAME mentor, Noraa supports educators pursuing National Board Certification, and she recruits and mentors teachers of color for the Kentucky Education Association. Noraa has also worked extensively with the NEA to mentor aspiring educators taking the Praxis examination and to advance the organization’s diversity initiative by creating modules on diversity for classroom implementation. She has served on the Kentucky NBCT Network Board, where she chaired the organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and she was a member of the Advisory Board for Murray State University. In 2020, Noraa was named the Kentucky Education Association Teacher of the Year, and, in 2022, she received the honor of NBCT Champion for the Kentucky Network.

Mathina Calliope has been a news reporter, elementary school teacher (grades 4 and 5), freelance writer and editor, writing coach, assessment developer, and adjunct English composition and rhetoric professor.

In 2016 she tried to backpack the entire Appalachian Trail, traveling 675 miles from Georgia to southwest Virginia before an injury ended the journey. She has since completed an additional 575 miles in one- and two-week stints and aims to reach the trail’s northern terminus before she turns 60.

Her reporting, essays, and fiction have been published by the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post Magazine, NPR’s Morning Edition, Outside Magazine, Longreads, Cagibi, Real Simple, Prevention, and elsewhere. In 2017, she appeared on the TODAY show.

She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her favorite person.