Utah LEARNS Conference 2026 - Session Presenters
Lena Bales
Lena Bales is a Response to Intervention (RTI) specialist at Edith Bowen Laboratory School. She works with students to reinforce what’s being taught in the classroom and helps adjust learning so it fits each child’s individual needs.
Karen Bell
Karen Bell has worked in education for the past 13 years. She is a certified Montessori teacher and is licensed in General Education, Special Education, and Administration. Throughout her broad experience, Karen has seen the importance of incorporating nature in her instruction to help students regulate, enrich their learning, and foster ownership of the natural world.
Jordan Brun
Jordan was educated at Michigan State University, earning a BFA in Art Education, his MA in Art Education at Eastern Michigan University, and his MFA in Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has worked in a variety of schools throughout the United States as a Visual Arts Teacher, from Elementary to Higher Education, teaching Foundations, Drawing, Painting, Calligraphy, Graphic Design, Photography, Ceramics, Sculpture, Sequential Arts, Theater, Improvisation, and Illustration. Jordan currently lives in Northern Utah with his wife and two children, where he divides his time between teaching art, freelance illustration, and serving on various Visual and Fine Arts Organizations throughout Utah.
Tye Campbell
My name is Tye Campbell, and I am an assistant professor at Utah State University. My expertise relates to upper elementary and middle school mathematics instruction, and specifically, students' affective responses to mathematics. I've published numerous articles related to mathematics instruction, most recently in the Middle School Journal, and I will share these findings at the conference.
Hollie Downs
Hollie Downs is the RtI and assessment specialist at Edith Bowen Laboratory School. She has a master's degree in curriculum and instruction. She is dedicated to personalizing instruction for her students by using assessments to guide what is being taught.
Solange Espinoza
I currently teach 3rd grade Spanish DLI at Silver Mesa Elementary, where I teach math, science, and Spanish. I previously taught 4th grade and DLI for grades 6–8, and my focus is providing differentiated, scaffolded activities that support diverse learners in writing and math through practical strategies and interactive tools that increase engagement and skill development.
Rachel Fields
Rachel Fields, Ed.D., is a special education teacher at Edith Bowen Lab School. She works mostly with students who have extensive needs and challenging behavior requiring a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and academic supports. In addition to teaching, Rachel leads a team of about 10 paraeducators who provide direct services to her students both in the regular education classroom and out of the classroom. She has worked as a special education teacher for 15 years, but started her work experience as a paraeducator in a special needs preschool.
Hollie Fisher
Hollie Fisher, a 20+ year educator in Davis School District, teaches 4th grade at Lakeside Elementary in West Point, Utah. As a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE), she excels in personalized learning and tech integration. Named Davis District’s 2026 Teacher of the Year, Fisher has led numerous tech sessions at district and state levels and was honored as 2025 Innovative Teacher of the Year by the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology.
Chamy Halliday
I am a second-grade teacher in the Davis School District with five years of experience and a master’s degree in Indigenous education. Alongside my grade-level team, we have developed and implemented reading interventions that have led to measurable gains in students’ fluency, accuracy, and retell skills—retell being a major focus this year. I am excited to share the logic behind our flexible grouping system and outline how we determine each group's instructional focus to drive these results.
Krysta Hamilton
Krysta Hamilton is a kindergarten teacher at Edith Bowen Laboratory School with 13 years of experience in education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. In addition to her classroom role, she serves as an Early Career Teachers Academy (ECTA) Facilitator with Utah LEARNS statewide learning teams, supporting and coaching new teachers as they begin their careers. She also mentors student teachers each semester and is passionate about quality coaching and mentorship to help prepare the next generation of educators. Outside the classroom, Krysta is a busy mom of two boys and enjoys coaching their baseball and soccer teams. She loves spending time on the water boating, paddleboarding, and swimming. Having played the piano for more than 25 years, music is an important part of both her life and her teaching, and she regularly incorporates it into her classroom to support instruction, engagement, and classroom management.
Lorena Jiménez
Lorena Jiménez is an elementary school teacher at Edith Bowen Laboratory School at Utah State University. Ms. Jiménez holds two bachelors’ degrees from Utah State University: a B.S. in Elementary Education and a B.A. in Social Work. Ms. Jiménez has taught for 11 years, in grades 5th, 4th and 3rd; both in a traditional classroom setting and Spanish dual immersion. Ms. Jiménez fosters a love of learning in her students by creating a supportive and inclusive classroom environment. One of Ms. Jiménez’s greatest passions in education, is the many ways literacy impacts language development and language acquisition.
Jason Johnson
Jason has taught elementary school in Utah for 23 years, fifteen of which were in the classroom. He now enjoys teaching elementary PE and working/playing with all the students in the school. He is a father of five and has an amazing, supportive wife who has put up with him for almost 25 years. When not teaching, Jason loves to be outdoors, travel the world, build, create, and do anything with art. He loves to play sports of all kinds and is pretty amazing on the grill. He just finished writing a novel and hopes to get it published soon.
Cindy Jones
Cindy Jones is the founding Director of the Utah State University Literacy Clinic, a community outreach program that serves parents and schools in helping children develop literacy skills and provides teacher candidates mentored training. As a Professor of Literacy, she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses about literacy instruction. Prior to joining Utah State University, Cindy worked as an educator in elementary and secondary school classrooms for over 20 years. Cindy's research focuses on accelerated literacy development, teacher knowledge of literacy instruction, and the reading-writing relationship.
Nate Justis
Nate completed a Ph.D. at Utah State University in the learning sciences in 2024, with a special focus on teacher-selected professional learning. He previously earned a master's degree at Harvard University after teaching high school physics and math for seven years and instructional coaching for one year. He has served as principal of the Edith Bowen Laboratory School at USU for eight years. Nate also received a Fulbright leadership exchange fellowship to study education in Singapore in 2022. Building upon his dissertation research findings and inspiration from studying teacher learning in Singapore, Nate and his team recently launched the Utah LEARNS teacher professional learning network, a project that has attracted over $1 million in grant funding to grow the network to fill Utah in the coming years.
Shannin Kishbaugh
Shannin Kishbuagh is a first-grade teacher at Edith Bowen Laboratory School with 20 years of teaching experience. She is passionate about early literacy, supporting young learners, and mentoring teachers in creating engaging classroom communities. Shannin was awarded the state Science of Reading Award and recently completed her National Board Certification.
Joseph Kozlowski
Joseph Kozlowski, PhD, is a 2nd-grade teacher, pre-service teacher trainer, and educational researcher at Utah State University's Edith Bowen Laboratory School. He is passionate about providing rich experiences to students which help them connect school learning to the real world. He is currently developing and implementing an integrated Utah Bird Curriculum which bridges the gap between nature and learning as students develop reading skills with bird passages in class, complete complex math activities centered around birds, and spend considerable time birding in nature and journaling about their findings. Kozlowski also facilitates Statewide Learning Teams which connects teachers across the state to learn from, and with one another about early mathematics and outdoor education.
Kristi Kunzler
I have been teaching for 13 years. Most of which have been in third grade. I have a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University and a Masters degree from Southern Utah University. I have been implementing the Building Thinking Classrooms approach this last year and have seen benefits in my classroom.
Leslie Larsen
With over 15 years in early childhood education and a Master’s in Family and Human Development with an emphasis on nature-based learning, I am passionate about connecting children, families, and educators to the outdoors. Having taught at schools that integrate outdoor education, nature journaling, science, social studies, and community engagement, I bring a wealth of experience and heart to my work. My mission is to help teachers, children, and families discover the joy and wonder that nature-based learning has to offer.
Joel López
Joel López is currently an elementary school teacher at Edith Bowen Laboratory school at Utah State University. He has a MEd in Instructional Leadership as well as a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from USU. He has taught for 14 years, 6 of which he taught the Spanish half of Dual Language Immersion. He also has endorsements in Reading, Math, and ESL. Joel has passion for creating a safe learning environment helping students overcome challenges.
Kyrsten Lund
Kyrsten Lund is a Ph.D. student studying curriculum and instruction with a concentration in literacy at Utah State University’s School of Teacher Education and Leadership. She has six years of experience working with high school students and currently teaches preservice educators as a graduate teaching assistant. Kyrsten's research interests include literacy instruction and intervention, reading comprehension, and teacher preparation.
Lori Marchant
Lori Marchant is a general education teacher who has spent 18 years in the classroom working with students with ADHD. She is passionate about ADHD research! Her goal is to help people of all ages manage their ADHD and live happy, successful lives.
Anna McFadden
Anna J. McFadden, M.Ed., is a doctoral student at USU, an adjunct professor at Utah State University for Elementary Education 2620 K-3 Early Literacy, an elementary literacy interventionist at Burton Elementary, a certified Spanish interpreter at her district, and a former STEM teacher for junior high students. After her youngest son's diagnosis of dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, she re-focused her time and research on effective reading and writing interventions for striving students. She loves using engaging science texts to get students excited about reading and learning, and her presentation will focus on her work teaching tier 2 writing interventions in a Title 1 summer school.
Bethany McGarry
Bethany is a playful, former elementary teacher and PhD student at Utah State University whose research focuses on school policy, school leadership, program evaluation, and the bilingual brain. Childlike curiosity is her guiding light. She is an advocate for joyful learning guided by planning, of course, then acceptance, spontaneity, and a bit of improv.
Mary Mitchell
Mary Mitchell is a Ph.D. student studying curriculum and instruction with a concentration in literacy at Utah State University’s School of Teacher Education and Leadership. She has four years of experience working with elementary students and currently teaches preservice educators as a graduate teaching assistant. Mary's research interests include early writing instruction and reading and writing connection, phonological awareness, and early literacy.
Rhea Palkhiwala
Rhea Palkhiwala, MSE, LBA, BCBA, is a doctoral student in Disability Disciplines at Utah State University and a school-based behavior analyst and consultant. Her work focuses on applied behavior analysis, assessment and treatment of challenging behavior, and training and supervising teachers and paraprofessionals to implement behavior support plans with fidelity in general and special education classrooms. Rhea has extensive experience collaborating with teams around one-to-one aide support, inclusive practices, and data-based decision making.
Cami Player
Hi, I’m Cami Player—3rd grade teacher at Edith Bowen, adjunct professor, certified SEL facilitator, and yoga instructor all rolled into one curious learner. Named a UCET Innovative Teacher, I’m passionate about teaching the whole child and bringing a little Ms. Frizzle magic to my classroom by creating a community that feels like family and taking my students outdoors whenever possible. At home, I’m a mom to two energetic boys who’ve made me into a fort-builder, bug finder, and storyteller. Seeing the world through their eyes keeps me inspired and ready for the next adventure. When I’m not teaching or mom-ing, I’m mountain biking, painting, or chasing a streak on my Calm app. Teaching fuels my passion for learning, and I’m grateful to grow alongside my students everyday
Allison Riddle
Allison Riddle has been a Utah Elementary Educator for 37 years, including 27 years in the classroom and 10 years as the New Teacher Induction Coordinator for Davis District. Allison leads the mentoring and professional learning of 300+ elementary teachers, focusing heavily on developing mastery of classroom management and engagement strategies. Passionate about recognized teacher leadership, Allison co-designed Utah's first district Teacher Leader Fellowship and has also created several compensated teacher leadership opportunities in Davis District.
Elizabeth Ringo
Elizabeth is a special educator in her 18th year at Edith Bowen Lab School who is passionate about student engagement for the ways it makes learning interactive and enjoyable for both the teacher and students. She enjoys sharing hands-on techniques and strategies, as well as learning what other teachers are finding to be effective with their students to add to our shared toolboxes!
Lisa Saunderson
Lisa is the BTSALP visual art teacher at Edith Bowen Lab School, and adjunct professor in Art Education for Caine College of Art & Design, USU. Place Based learning, stewardship, and building community is central to her practice through artistic collaborations. Integrating art across all grade level curriculum, she prepares students at EBLS with observational drawing skills to capture discoveries on field experiences through nature journaling, and provides creative art projects to reflect and express the joy of their learning through storytelling. Lisa teaches art beside a river, on a trail, under a tree, or in a classroom.
Jeremy Smith
With nearly three decades in various roles within education, Jeremy helps learning organizations reimagine the critical role of real learning. As a presenter at local, state, and national conferences he shares insights for making meaningful changes to learning a sustainable reality for learners and leaders.
Zina Tsai
Zina has taught Grades 1 and 5 Chinese Dual Language Immersion (DLI) students in Cache County School District for over 10 years. Her professional focus includes dual language education and content-based instruction in science and math within Chinese DLI settings. She has presented translanguaging strategies in science instruction at conferences such as NSTA and AAAL.
Natalie Wilkinson
I have taught 3rd grade for six years, including experience as a Spanish immersion teacher. I am passionate about making learning exciting and engaging for students, which led me to learn about and implement Building Thinking Classrooms. I love all things math, especially multiplication and fractions!
Sierra Wood
I am currently an 8th Grade Language Arts teacher and also teach reading lab classes that support students who are multi-grade levels behind in reading. I earned my degree in Special Education and have taught kindergarten, 5th grade, and middle school, giving me experience with literacy development across a wide range of learners and grade levels. In my presentation, I will share practical strategies secondary teachers can use to help bridge the reading gap and better support struggling readers in their classrooms.