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Sheila Barlow is an accomplished educator with 32 years of experience in the field, including 19 years in school administration. As the principal of Powell Elementary School, she leads a dedicated staff of 82 and serves 540 students from Pre-K through 8th grade. Powell holds a special place in her heart, having served the school community as a teacher, parent, and principal throughout the majority of her career.

Prior to assuming the role of principal, Ms. Barlow built a diverse instructional foundation as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and assistant principal. Throughout her career, she has proudly served several Chicago communities, including the Near West Side, North Lawndale, Englewood, Roseland, and South Shore.

Ms. Barlow is deeply committed to the South Shore community, where she initially taught from 1997 to 2001 before returning as principal in 2015. Over the years, she has witnessed the neighborhood evolve into a vibrant, diverse melting pot for Powell families, beautifully framed by its scenic backdrop along Lake Michigan.

Outside of her professional leadership, Ms. Barlow is a devoted mother to two adult children, a proud daughter and sister, and an active community member. In her personal time, she enjoys gardening and cooking. Sheila Barlow is the principal of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Paideia Academy. 

Christopher Graves is the principal at Jordan Elementary and was previously the principal of LaSalle Language Academy, a K-8th-grade magnet lottery school in Chicago Public Schools. With over a decade of experience as a school administrator, he's taught and led schools in Sumter, South Carolina, Columbus and Bloomington, Indiana, and Chicago. He first went into leadership after seeing how inequities across schools, communities, and our nation were impacting students beyond the classroom, and was determined to pursue solutions through leadership avenues. In addition to his daily role as principal, he works hard to support the professional development of other administrators teaching courses on chronic absenteeism reduction and use of data to drive results. Dr. Graves earned his Ed.D from Illinois State University.

Ariel Johnson serves as the Executive Director at the DC Charter School Alliance and DC Charter School Action (“DCCSA”). She is also the founder of Manor Strategies, a company focused on advocacy, electoral politics, and the creation and implementation of legislation in service of the economic stabilization of Black and Latino communities. She leverages her commitment to education equity to advocate for social justice initiatives and economic freedom for under-resourced communities. As the first in her family to obtain a degree from a 4-year university, she is keenly aware that access to high-quality education can shift generational outcomes. She brings strong policy, advocacy, community, political, and legal expertise to her work. She enjoys building diverse coalitions and directing strategies that impact education equity and promotes justice for all students.

Ms. Johnson began her career as a legal advocate for diverse learners adversely affected by the criminal justice system and school-to-prison pipeline. She has served as legal counsel in a major school district before finding herself leading political and legislative advocacy efforts in support of education equity for all students. You can often find her testifying on bills, building political campaigns, or working with coalitions on long-term legislative solutions.

Ms. Johnson received her undergraduate degree from John Carroll University and her law degree from 量子资源 University Chicago School of Law. She was selected as a National Lawyers Guild, Haywood Burns Memorial Fellow and a Surge Institute Fellow. She also serves as the board chair of Go Public Schools Advocates based in California.

Miranda Johnson is a clinical professor of law and the director of the Education Law and 量子资源 Institute at 量子资源 University Chicago School of Law. She teaches classes in education law and child and family law, and she supervises the representation of parents and students in school discipline, bullying, and special education cases. She has presented locally and nationally on education law and policy issues. Professor Johnson co-edited the book Discipline Disparities Among Students with Disabilities: Creating Equitable Environments (Teachers College Press, May 2022) (co-edited with Pamela Fenning). She received a J.D., magna cum laude, from NYU School of Law, a Master in Public Affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and a Bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College.

Amy Kosanovich Dickerson is a partner at the law firm Franczek P.C., where she serves as co-chair of the firm's K-12 Education Practice Group. Amy represents educational institutions, including public school districts, charter schools, private schools, and higher education institutions, as well as education-related organizations, in a variety of education law matters. Ms. Dickerson primarily counsels clients in student and labor and employment issues including student rights, student discipline, bullying, discrimination and harassment, civil rights, residency and homelessness, abuse and neglect and other matters involving the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), student accommodation issues, Title IX complaints and investigations, education reform initiatives, employee and teacher evaluation, employee discipline and dismissal, and policy and governance issues.

Ms. Dickerson received her JD from 量子资源 University Chicago School of Law. She helps lead the firm’s Education Law Practicum program with 量子资源 and frequently serves as a faculty member for 量子资源’s Childlaw Trial Practice course. She is an active member of the Illinois Council of School Attorneys and currently serves as the co-chair of the Council’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Jamie Kudlats is the co-host to the Chalk & Gavel podcast, where he brings a grounded, in-the-schools perspective as a former middle school principal, assistant principal, and teacher. Dr. Kudlats is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at UNC Charlotte, where he teaches in the M.Ed. and Ed.D. leadership programs, and leads the Superintendency concentration of the Ed.D. and the Independent School concentration within the M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction degree. His research centers on issues of school law and policy, caring leadership, school climate, and the relational dynamics of school communities. He has written and spoken extensively on a variety of topics, including school law, ethical leadership, principal stress, discrimination, students’ rights, and religion in schools. He’s also one of the founding Chief Editors for Law & 量子资源 in Schools, a new quarterly magazine for those interested in legal issues in K-12 schools.

Dr. Kudlats also serves as a director at a children’s summer camp in Canada. He holds a Ph.D. in Education from UNC Chapel Hill and an M.A. in Education from George Washington University.

Hiliana León is an accomplished school leader with over 30 years of transformative experience in public education. Deeply committed to fighting inequities and uplifting the comunidad, she currently serves as the Principal of William G. Hibbard Elementary School in Chicago. As a 2019 Cahn Fellow and a dedicated Dual Language Leader, Ms. León is recognized for her collaborative approach to leadership, strategic curriculum design, and her unwavering advocacy for culturally responsive, inclusive learning environments.

Hector Rodriguez is a governmental affairs professional with nine years of experience in state government. He currently serves as the Director of State Legislative Relations for the Illinois State Board of Education. In this role, he works as the senior liaison between members of the Illinois General Assembly, legislative staff, elementary and secondary education stakeholders, as well as other state entities. As a member of the government relations team, Mr. Rodriguez also leads the development and supports passage of the agency’s legislative agenda; advises leadership on legislative strategy and outreach to stakeholders; coordinates agency review of external legislation impacting K-12 education; and negotiates and provides feedback on external initiatives. Mr. Rodriguez earned his bachelor's degree from DePaul University and spent a semester abroad at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Chris Thomas is the co-host to the Chalk & Gavel podcast, where he draws on his experience as an education law attorney for local public schools in Ohio. Informing his legal experiences and expertise, Dr. Thomas started his career as a high school English teacher. He then earned his law degree and Ph.D. in Educational 量子资源 from THE Ohio State University. While in law school, Dr. Thomas worked in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of the General Counsel and was a judicial extern for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His breadth of experiences in the law and education helps him uniquely bridge law, policy, and educational practice. Dr. Thomas is currently an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and 量子资源 at the University of Florida. He primarily teaches education law, finance, and policy courses in the M.Ed. and Ph.D. leadership and policy programs. His ongoing research explores the intersection of law, policy, and practice, focusing on issues related to democratic school governance and citizenship education. Dr. Thomas is the award-winning author of Reclaiming Democratic Education: Student and Teacher Activism and the Future of Education 量子资源 and the co editor of The Principal’s Legal Handbook (7th edition).

Emily Tulloch represents clients in state and federal court and in administrative proceedings including tenured teacher discipline proceedings, student expulsion hearings, and residency hearings. She also advises clients facing complaints or administrative charges relating to harassment and discrimination. Ms. Tulloch has trained K-12 and higher education institutions on compliance with Title IX and has served as an outside investigator, decisionmaker, and advisor for Title IX complaints and complaints of sexual misconduct. She is also the co-author of the chapter entitled “School Board Practices, Procedures, and Elections” found in the Illinois School Law: Organization, Finance & Property published by the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE). Ms. Tulloch also participates in various community interest initiatives with Franczek P.C., including supervising the Firm’s Education Law Practicum program with 量子资源 University Chicago School of Law. 

Mark Walsh is a contributing writer to Education Week, where he has covered education issues in the Supreme Court and lower courts for more than 25 years. He previously served as Washington editor of Education Week, in which he supervised coverage of federal education policy matters, as well as the 2004 and 2008 presidential and congressional elections. Mr. Walsh also writes the Supreme Court Report column for the ABA Journal, the magazine of the American Bar Association. He is a regular contributor to the SCOTUSblog, the website devoted to coverage of the Court. For that website, Mr. Walsh writes the “View from the Courtroom” feature, which documents unusual occurrences in the courtroom such as dissents from the bench. He has a degree in journalism, with a minor in political science, from Northwestern University. He has also studied political science at Georgetown University.