About the Presenters

Schyvonne Ross has been an educator for the past 18 years. She currently serves as Assistant Principal of Reynoldsburg High School and Chairperson of the Reynoldsburg City Schools Board’s Citizens Advisory Committee on Equity and Inclusion. She has also served as a principal and as a director of teaching and learning. As a classroom teacher, Schyvonne innovatively developed and taught the curriculum for Reynoldsburg City Schools’ African American literature course. She continues to serve as a mentor for new African American literature teachers. The National Education Association featured Schyvonne and her students in a documentary on race and racism in school. Her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion is unparalleled and has driven her to be a successful change agent within her school, her district, and her community. Passion, vision, and leadership are but a few of the exemplary qualities that she brings to the table to improve education for all students.

Lisa Floyd-Jefferson is currently a Deeper Learning Specialist responsible for instructional coaching, curriculum development, professional development, promoting equitable instruction practices, and developing equitable learning environments. Her 31 years of experience spans from Montessori preschool to AP Calculus. Lisa has served as a paraprofessional, classroom teacher, building-level administrator, and central office administrator. After achieving National Board Certification in adolescent-to-young-adult math, she spent ten years continuing to learn, grow, and share her expertise. Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to collaborate with accomplished educators from all over the world. She is a contributing member of the Ohio Department of Education’s 2018 Model Math Curriculum, a founding teacher of the Metro Early College STEM School on the Ohio State University Campus, and has had her work showcased in ATLAS (Accomplished Teaching, Learning, and Schools), the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards video library of National Board Certified Teachers at work.

Dr. Alexandra Merritt Johnson is a Senior Inclusive Innovation Researcher at Digital Promise with over ten years of experience leading research and evaluation projects that center equity. Her educational background is in developmental psychology with a focus on positive development of youth from historically and systematically excluded communities. Her recent work has spanned topics such as equity in education R&D processes, critical consciousness development, racial identity development across various contexts, and culturally responsive teaching. Her methodological training and expertise centers on transformational research practices that are mutually beneficial, participatory, culturally responsive, and contextualized to meet the needs of stakeholders. Currently, Dr. Merritt Johnson co-leads the research of an Inclusive Innovation project aimed at increasing teachers’ capacity to lead racial discourse in the classroom in partnership with a district-community team of district leaders, teachers, students, parents, and other community members using a culturally responsive, community-based participatory research approach.

Kristian Lenderman, Ed.D. is currently a Project Director at Digital Promise’s Center for Inclusive Innovation overseeing a variety of equity-centered, education R&D projects. She has dedicated her career to working on educational equity and her research focuses broadly on school climate and teacher training. Dr. Lenderman has over ten years of experience in education at the classroom, district, and state levels. As a teacher, coach, and facilitator, she focuses on reaching equitable outcomes by building a positive and inclusive culture. She received her Ed.D. from the University of Houston in 2020.