Advisory Board

Dr. Justin Bathon is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies at the University of Kentucky. He is a co-Director of the Center for Next Generation Leadership and the Director of the Next Generation Scholars Dual Credit program for the University of Kentucky. Justin works directly with schools and school leaders to reform the systems that support the learner experience in school.

Directors’ note: Justin also is a CASTLE Affiliate Faculty member.

Dr. Marcus Belin serves as the Principal of Huntley High School and President of the Illinois Principals Association. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Belin attended Bradley University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in elementary education (‘10) and a Master’s degree in educational administration (‘14). He completed his doctorate at National Louis University in July 2020.

In 2020 Dr. Belin was named as Principal of the Year for the Kishwaukee region by the Illinois Principals Association. In 2021 he was named as both a National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Digital Principal of the Year and an ASCD Emerging Leader. Dr. Belin is the host of the podcast, Unapologetic Leadership.

Dr. Belin has served on a number of committees and task forces for the Illinois State Board of Education. His drive and passion as a servant leader guide his commitment to the work as an educator and school leader. His goal is to create learning environments where students know they are loved and cared for first and foremost, and to expose young people to the world around them through meaningful learning experiences.

Dr. Belin has a beautiful wife who is an awesome educator who loves kids and has a passion to help develop her fellow educators. The Belin team consists of three beautiful children, Maliyah, Makenzie, and Mekhi.

Directors’ note: Julie also is a CASTLE Research Affiliate.

Dr. Cailen O’Shea is an Assistant Professor of educational and organizational leadership at North Dakota State University. His research interests focus on school transformation, and equitable instructional leadership. Specifically, he looks at ways educational leaders can enhance instruction for all students. He utilizes both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Previously, Dr. O’Shea served as a behavior interventionist, 5th-grade teacher, and instructional technology coach in Title I schools in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Directors’ note: Cailen also is a CASTLE Affiliate Faculty member.

Dr. Allison Persad, Principal of The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria, has spent nearly 20 years as a teacher, coach, adjunct professor, and now principal of an all-girls public school in New York City. She is a graduate of St. John’s University Educational Leadership Doctor of Education Program. Allison has been a proud student in New York City public schools for her entire life, growing up in Queens, New York. She  has been instrumental in advancing the work of STEM education across her 6-12 all-girls model and has created a global audience for the technical and academic work at TYWLS Astoria. Currently, the school offers a 6-12 Software Engineering CTE Program, one of the instrumental pioneers of the Middle School CTE track in the state of New York, as well as a Digital Media program. TYWLS Astoria has the honor of being one of the only public schools in the state of New York named as an Apple Distinguished School. Under Allison’s leadership, her school has been selected to be a part of the Apple Global Innovation Project (1 of 12 schools in the world) to research innovative strategies that can be replicated across the world. Allison has worked on securing more than $5 million in grant funding in 5 years to support her initiatives including AP for ALL, CS for ALL, and igniting the passion of young women with a future Innovation Hub, Hydroponics Lab, and Film Studio in the works. One of her students was selected among six in the world to visit Vatican City and “teach” the Pope his first line of code, while sharing the impact that computer science has and can have on communities. After winning the City-Wide Hackathon, she took a small team to meet with the Deputy Mayor in hopes of taking their app to scale and helping to solve issues with sanitation in New York City. Bridging the gap with community solutions and technology has been paramount in her work. Students have worked with inmates at Rikers Island to co-create and write films in conjunction with Tribeca Film to portray the shared stories of females across boundaries. Allison shares her vision for STEAM, with great intention of reversing the global gender gap with girls in this field. Allison has presented at the National Principals Conference and the Global Forum for Girls Education, she has been named “Principal of the Week for Preparing Young Women in the 21st Century” by DNA Info, and she was interviewed and showcased as a “Power Woman of Queens,” for QPTV. Most recently, Allison was named a 2019-20 Digital Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, a winner of the 2019 Excellence in School Technology Award, and a Teacher’s College, Columbia University Cahn Fellow in 2020. 

Eric Sheninger is an Associate Partner with the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). Prior to this, he was the award-winning Principal at New Milford High School. Under his leadership, his school became a globally recognized model for innovative practices. Eric oversaw the successful implementation of several sustainable change initiatives that radically transformed the learning culture at his school while increasing achievement. His work focuses on leading and learning in the digital age as a model for moving schools and districts forward. This has led to the formation of the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a framework for all educators to initiate sustainable change to transform school cultures. As a result, Eric has emerged as an innovative leader, best selling author, and sought after speaker. His main focus is using research and evidence-based practices to empower learners, improve communications with stakeholders, enhance public relations, create a positive brand presence, discover opportunity, transform learning spaces, and help educators grow professionally in the digital age. Eric has received numerous awards and acknowledgments for his work. He is a CDE Top 30 award recipient, Bammy Award winner, NASSP Digital Principal Award winner, PDK Emerging Leader Award recipient, winner of Learning Forward’s Excellence in Professional Practice Award, Google Certified Innovator, Adobe Education Leader, and ASCD 2011 Conference Scholar. Eric is the author of numerous books, including Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms, Digital Leadership, and UnCommon Classrooms.

Dr. Dana Specker Watts, Ph.D., International Schools Services (ISS). Dana is a self-professed professional development addict. Dana has a broad school background in curriculum, technology, innovation, educational leadership, and professional learning. In addition to working in Hong Kong (HKIS), India (AES), and Thailand (ISB), Dana has also served as Executive Director of WLead, and as the Director of Innovation at 21st Century Learning International. Prior to working overseas, Dana spent her career as an educator in higher ed, and K-12 public, private, and parochial schools within the United States. Additionally, Dana is an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Google Certified Teacher, and ISTE Certified Trainer. She recently completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Sciences from the University of Kentucky.

Directors’ note: Dana also is a CASTLE Research Affiliate.