Meet Our Leadership Team

ROLE:
Tony leads our Human Capital team that provides strategic counsel and implementation support to school districts. His team helps districts align their human capital management systems to their overall goals, including the delivery of 21st century
learning for every student.

BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:
Tony served 21 years as a teacher, coach, and administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels—including as a mathematics teacher, assistant principal, principal, curriculum coordinator, human resources
director, data and testing coordinator, professional learning lead, and assistant superintendent.

OUTSIDE OF WORK:
Tony enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, attending musical theater, cooking, meditating, and maintaining their home which his wife’s grandparents built in 1940.

ROLE:
Michael Duncan, Ed.D., joined Battelle for Kids in August 2023 as the organization's new president. He became the organization's third leader on October 1, 2023, when he assumed the role of president and CEO following Dr. Karen Garza's retirement announcement. 

BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:
Dr. Duncan has a proven track record of leadership in the education sector. He was one of the longest serving superintendents in the state of Georgia, having been the superintendent at Pike County Schools since 2005, retiring at the end of the current school year. Before arriving in Pike, he was a high school principal, high school and middle school assistant principal, and a middle school teacher. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Georgia in 2004. He has been a member of EdLeader21, the national network of Battelle for Kids, for more than a decade and previously served as the network’s advisory vice chair.   

OUTSIDE OF WORK:

Mike is married to his best friend Melanie, and they have two sons, Josh and Alec.

ROLE:
Matt leads our vibrant national network of future-thinking educators committed to 21st century, deeper learning for every student. His team also serves state departments of education in service of school improvement planning and implementation.

BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:
Matt began his career as a middle school teacher and continued serving students and educators as an elementary principal, a middle school principal, a high school principal, director of curriculum and instruction, and coach. Most recently, he served as the chief academic officer for Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado.

OUTSIDE OF WORK:
Matt enjoys skiing, snowboarding, and traveling with his family.

ROLE: For seven years, Karen led our transformation in realizing the power and promise of 21st century, deeper learning for every student, and the increasing adoption of Portraits of a Graduate by school systems across the country. In September 2023 she announced her retirement. She remains a strategic advisor working on special projects for BFK. BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:
Karen began her career as a kindergarten teacher before embarking on an administrative and advocacy path that included government relations director, curriculum director, deputy superintendent, chief academic officer, and superintendent at Lubbock Independent School District and Fairfax County Public Schools.

OUTSIDE OF WORK:
Karen enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially her grandchildren. Karen also enjoys reading, cheering for the Longhorns, and always searching for her new favorite restaurant.

ROLE: Valerie is responsible for the strategy and oversight of 21st century design, delivery, and networks. In that capacity, she leads the team's work on Portrait of a Graduate, Strategic Planning, Portrait to Practice services, and Battelle for Kids’ networks, including EdLeader21 and the Urban District Cohort. 

BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:

Valerie co-authored "The Leader's Guide to 21st Century Education: 7 Steps for Schools and Districts." She also co-founded EdLeader21, now the national network of Battelle for Kids, and was the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). She began her career in education technology.

OUTSIDE OF WORK:
Valerie lives in Tucson, AZ, bakes sourdough with local grains, and cycles/runs/hikes as often as possible.

ROLE: Shane leads the marketing and communications team as they accelerate the spread and adoption of 21st century, deeper learning through powerful storytelling, thought leadership, and marketing campaigns. 

BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:

Shane served in senior leadership for three public school systems, including two career-technical districts, and provided strategic communications counsel to executive leaders in dozens of organizations. Most recently, he operated a strategic and creative consultancy serving education and non-profit clients. 

OUTSIDE OF WORK:
Shane enjoys obsessing over sports, including rooting for the Columbus Crew, Cincinnati Bengals, and North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team. He is an avid reader and has developed a love for distance running.

ROLE:
Todd leads our work to identify how we can best understand the specific needs and then support individual school systems across the country in the pursuit of realizing the power and promise of 21st century learning for every student.

BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:
He has worked in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations focused on education, technology, strategic growth, process improvement, brand building, marketing, and change management.

OUTSIDE OF WORK:
Todd serves as a coach for small business owners and business-school applicants. He is an ambassador with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. An art collector, Todd also supports LGBTQ+ artists and cultural history memorializing work in the archives of the Smithsonian Institute.

ROLE: Shannon leads our work on 21st century learning design and helping school leaders intentionally align their systems to take their vision to scale and build capacity for all educators in school systems. BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:
Shannon has worked as a classroom teacher, gifted education resource teacher, instructional coach, professional development specialist and administrator. Shannon also works with graduate students as an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University and the University of Virginia. 

OUTSIDE OF WORK:
Shannon enjoys reading, singing, dancing, spending time with family, teaching courses for pre-service teachers, and continually trying out new recipes.

ROLE:
Jamie leads the execution on our strategic plan to fulfill our mission of collaborating with educators and local communities to inspire passion and purpose for lifelong learning in every student. She also heads our marketing and communications team as they accelerate the spread and adoption of 21st century learning.

BEFORE BATTELLE FOR KIDS:
Jamie has spent her entire career in education. She was a high school English, French, and Speech teacher; an elementary and high school administrator; and director of curriculum and assessment.

OUTSIDE OF WORK:
In addition to spending time with family and friends, Jamie enjoys running, cycling, swimming, kayaking, hiking, camping, and other outdoor adventures that keep her active.