About the Presenters

Dr. Barbara Jenkins has been dedicated to serving the needs of students for over 30 years. During her 10-year tenure as the Superintendent for one of the largest public school districts in the nation, Orange County Public Schools in Florida, Dr. Jenkins earned multiple accolades. She led the district to win the prestigious Board Prize for Urban Education, the Governor’s Sterling Award, the Sustained Excellence Award, and a District Accreditation from AdvancED. The district reached an unprecedented graduation rate of 97% under her leadership. In addition to the outstanding district awards, Dr. Jenkins earned recognition for her individual contributions including several Superintendent of the Year honors. Most notably, she was the Florida Superintendent of the Year in 2017 and a top finalist for the national title. A highly recognized education leader, Dr. Jenkins serves on the board of trustees at American College of Education.

Dr. Mary O’Meara is the Superintendent of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District in New York. She brings over 20 distinguished years of experience in the field of education. Prior to Plainview-Old Bethpage, Dr. O’Meara was Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction of the Amityville UFSD. She also served as Curriculum Associate for English Language Arts in Massapequa UFSD; P-12 chairperson for English, Reading, and Library Media Science in the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools; and English language arts teacher in the Massapequa School District prior to being the middle school English Department chairperson. Dr. O’Meara holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in educational leadership and administration from St. John’s University. She also holds a Professional Certificate in Administrative Supervision from the University of Scranton, a master’s degree in literacy science from Dowling College, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and secondary education from Molloy College.

Karen Castle is Director Emeritus of Professional Services at Branching Minds. Karen brings a wealth of experience as a district administrator, principal, and teacher for several school districts in the North Texas area for 23 years. Prior to Branching Minds, Karen spent 12 years building a national professional development program for Amplify Education, a leading company in the education technology space and the provider of mCLASS: DIBELS, a widely used progress-monitoring tool. Karen has led statewide professional development implementations for IL, IN, NC, CO, NM, TX, and UT, as well as large urban districts such as Los Angeles USD, NYC Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, and San Antonio ISD. Karen holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas Wesleyan University, an M.Ed. from the University of North Texas, and a Superintendent’s Certification from the University of Texas at Arlington.