Presented by Dr. Quintin Shepherd, Superintendent, Victoria Independent School District (TX); Dr. PJ Caposey, Superintendent, Meridian Community Unit School District #223 (IL); and Dr. Tahira DuPree Chase, Superintendent, Westbury Union Free School District
Moderated by Justin Jennings, Chief Membership Officer, Institute for Education Innovation

Sponsored by Institute for Education Innovation

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About the Presenters

Dr. Quintin “Q” Shepherd is a seasoned public school superintendent with 18 years of experience serving in three states. He began his career in education as a school custodian, became a PreK-12 music teacher, and served as an elementary principal before serving as a high school principal. Q is also an adjunct faculty at the University of Houston-Victoria and the author of the best-selling book The Secret to Transformational Leadership, which has been widely celebrated for its insights into effective leadership.

Dr. PJ Caposey is the Illinois State Superintendent of the Year and a Finalist for the National Superintendent of the Year through the American Association of School Administrators. Dr. Caposey is a best-selling author, dynamic speaker, and transformational leader and educator with an incredible track record of success. Dr. Caposey began his career as an award-winning teacher in the inner city of Chicago and has subsequently led significant change in every administrative post he has held. He became a principal at the age of 28 and within three years was able to lead a small-town/rural school with a history of achieving near the bottom of its county to multiple national recognitions. After four years, he moved to his current district, Meridian CUSD 223, as Superintendent, and has since led a similar turnaround leading to several national recognitions for numerous efforts.

In July of 2021, Dr. Tahira DuPree Chase was appointed to lead the Westbury Union Free School District (Old Westbury, New York) as Superintendent of Schools. Since her arrival, Dr. Chase has keenly focused her efforts on the social-emotional well-being of scholars and staff as well as instructional programming to address learning loss due to the pandemic. Moreover, she is working with various leadership teams within the district to restructure safety and security, streamline literacy instruction, improve communication platforms and increase course offerings to students. In 2022, the school district applied to become an International Baccalaureate World School and is currently in candidacy status.

In addition to transforming Westbury Union Free School District into a World Class School District, Dr. Chase is a contributing author, public speaker and consultant to Curriculum Associates, Pearson Education (Textbook Division) and McGraw-Hill Textbooks. During her tenure as an educator, Dr. Chase received numerous proclamations, citations and distinguished honors. Dr. Chase was identified as Top 25 National Superintendents to Watch as well as Top 20 Female Superintendents. Noted for her work in public education, Dr. Chase has appeared on several local and national educational panels as well as several media outlets including Areva Martin Show: The Special Report, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and USA Today. She currently is a board member of the New York State Association for Women in Administration. Dr. Chase is an active member of the Links, Incorporated and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

About the Moderator

Justin Jennings served as Superintendent for the Youngstown (Ohio) City Schools, where he was instrumental in working with local business and policy leaders to serve more than 4,000 students in five elementary, three middle, and three high schools, including students in an alternative school and a virtual academy. Prior to his role as Superintendent, Justin was Chief Executive Officer of the district. Justin came to Youngstown from Muskegon (Michigan) Public Schools, where he served as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Director of Special Education. Earlier in his career, Justin held assistant principal and head principal roles at Michigan public school districts in Grand Rapids, Holland, and Ypsilanti. He has a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, three master’s degrees from Grand Valley State University, and is currently completing his doctoral dissertation from the University of Michigan.

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