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Dr. Segun Eubanks is the Director of the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement and Professor of Practice at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, College Park (UMD). Prior to joining UMD, Dr. Eubanks worked in various leadership roles at the National ºÚÁÏ´óÊ Association, including as Director of Teacher Quality and Director of Professional Educator Support. In these roles, Dr. Eubanks led major policy initiatives and programs such as the Teacher Leadership Initiative, the Teacher Residency Taskforce, the National Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching, and the NEA’s Committee on Professional Standards and Practice. Dr. Eubanks also served as the Chair of the Board of ºÚÁÏ´óÊ for Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), a 132,000-student school district bordering Washington, DC.

Dr. Eubanks has spent his professional career working to promote opportunity, access and equity in America’s education systems. Dr. Eubanks is a staunch advocate for public education and an expert in teacher quality, teacher diversity and teacher professionalism. He has served in various leadership roles with national non-profit education organizations including as Executive Director of the Community Teachers Institute and Vice President of Recruiting New Teachers. Dr. Eubanks has spoken and published on teacher quality and teacher diversity across the United States.

Dr. Eubanks earned a Bachelor of Arts in ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Advocacy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a Master of Science degree in Human Services Administration from Springfield College, and a Doctorate of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ in Teaching and Learning Policy from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, College Park. Dr. Eubanks is the father of four and lives in Mitchellville, Maryland with his wife, Dr. Shyrelle Eubanks.

Dr. Jean Snell is the Associate Director of the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ. Over the last twenty years, Snell has engaged with educators to help develop their capacity to close the achievement gap and to foster high-quality teaching and learning conditions for all students. As an independent educational consultant, Snell provided leadership coaching to school and teacher leaders and qualitative data evaluation services to school and program administrators. Snell has served as a certified Lead Inspector with Teacher Prep Inspection (TPI-US), a curriculum developer and teacher trainer for Educators Rising, a classroom evaluator for the DC Public Charter School Board, and a Leadership Coach with Ed Fuel and Leading Educators. Previously, she launched the Leading Educators Teacher Leadership Fellowship program in Washington, DC as the Regional Executive Director, directed the Maryland Master’s Certification program at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, and served as one of the founding Program Directors for the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Leadership at the University of Washington. Snell earned her Doctorate in ºÚÁÏ´óÊ Policy at the University of Washington as well as the Danforth Leadership school administrator credential. She began her career in education as a secondary English teacher.

Dr. Douglas W. Anthony is a Senior Fellow at the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ- the very same institution where he earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees. Anthony, with over 27 years in public education, now leads the Anthony Consulting Group (ACG) where he works with school districts, universities and state departments of education across the country as a consultant and executive-level coach. Prior to leading ACG, he served as an Associate Superintendent for one of the largest school districts in the country. Anthony served in several roles throughout his career including: teacher; school development program facilitator; assistant principal; principal; director of school leadership; director of human capital management; interim chief of human resources; and executive director for talent management. He is recognized for successfully creating leadership development programs and opportunities, developing a principal pipeline, and developing strategic, meaningful partnerships. Anthony has presented nationally on several leadership topics, spoken on Capitol Hill, and has been featured in several articles, podcasts, and research reports on leadership.

Dr. Christine M. Neumerski is a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement. She began her career as a middle school teacher in Washington, DC, serving students living in concentrated poverty. These experiences led her to focus on understanding the systemic barriers that marginalized students face in accessing quality learning opportunities. Her research and teaching focus on improving instruction in high-poverty, urban schools; instructional leadership; school system reform; and the relationship between public policies and classroom practices. Prior to joining the faculty at UMD, Christine worked at Vanderbilt University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Washington. She earned a Ph.D. in ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington and a Master’s degree in teaching from American University.

Dr. Cherise J. Hunter is a Program Fellow at the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement and the Project Manager for the Maryland PDS 2025 Project at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ. She brings expertise in executing large-scale policy and research agendas in the areas of education, workforce development, and the post-secondary transition of youth with disabilities. Recently, Hunter was the Policy Manager for the Howard County Public School System where she served under the Deputy Superintendent as the policy liaison to the Board of ºÚÁÏ´óÊ and was responsible for overseeing the development and adoption process of system-wide policies. Hunter also spent over eight years as a Senior Research Analyst with the U.S. Department of Labor where she managed a multi-million dollar portfolio of workforce development evaluations and co-led a cross-agency federal committee to establish a youth transition research agenda. In 2007, Hunter was awarded a doctoral fellowship from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ’s Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children and Youth. Before that, Hunter was a Governor’s Fellow with the Maryland State Department of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ’s Division of Early Intervention and Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ Services. She earned her Bachelors’, Masters’ and Doctorate degrees from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊ in Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ. Hunter proudly began her career as a Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ Transition Teacher/Coordinator.

Damaries Blondonville is a Program Fellow and critical source of professional knowledge on the CEii team. She is the strategic and sagacious Academy Director of the School Improvement Leadership Academy and project manager of the PDS 2025 Project. Before her work at CEii, she served as a classroom teacher, instructional specialist, and acting content supervisor in Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) as well as the Assistant Executive Director of Professional Learning for the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). In 2017 Ms. Blondonville served as the project director of the 25-million-dollar United States Department of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ Teacher School Leader Incentive grant. The grant focused on teacher recruitment, retention, and development for 40 of PGCPS's highest-needs schools. In addition, she served as the PGCPS Continuing Professional Development liaison to the Maryland State Department of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ.

Ms. Blondonville holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ with a minor in Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ from Howard University, and a Master of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Science ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ from Loyola College. She holds both an Administrator Certification I and II and is currently a doctoral candidate at Morgan State University.

Dr. Pamela Callahan is a Research Fellow at the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement. Pamela studies the ways federal and state laws are interpreted and applied at the school and district level, with a special emphasis on the intersection of First Amendment speech protections and public schools. Her research has been published in Teachers College Record, Theory Into Practice, ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ and Urban Society, On Democracy, West's ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ Law Reporter, and Action in Teacher ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ. Before graduate school, she proudly served as a middle math teacher and department chair in Prince George's County, Maryland. Pamela earned degrees from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, College Park (Ph.D.), Johns Hopkins University (M.S.Ed), George Mason University (M.P.P), and the University of Pittsburgh (B.S.B.A).

Michaela Duranti is a Graduate Assistant at CEii and a Ph.D. student in Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ. Before graduate school, she worked at a not-for-profit independent college preparatory school in New York City. As a sixth-grade Humanities teacher, she provided both individualized learning and personalized differentiation for her twice-exceptional (2e) students. Her research interest consists of best practices for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Inclusion in the classroom. Michaela earned an M.Ed. from Goucher College in Reading Instruction and a B.S. in Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ from Towson University, where she was a part of the Women’s Lacrosse program.

Laticia Vyapuri is a Digital Marketing Intern at the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement (CEii) at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ. She is a rising senior pursuing a double major in Marketing and Information Systems at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, ºÚÁÏ´óÊ College Park. At CEii, she supports communications and outreach efforts by creating digital content, managing marketing materials, and contributing to strategic branding initiatives that promote CEii’s mission and projects.

Ajith Iyer is an MBA candidate at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, where he is combining Computer Engineering background with advanced business strategy skills.  His professional journey focused on bridging technical innovation with business value—implementing data-driven strategies and leading cross-functional teams to solve complex challenges. He excels at translating technical concepts for business stakeholders and transforming customer insights into effective product strategies. When not at Smith or working with CEii, he loves music, history and traveling. Ajith is also a certified improv artist and can speak 4 languages.

Trina McKoy is a Program Coordinator at the Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement (CEii).