Michael D. Toth is founder and CEO of Instructional Empowerment (IE) and leads IE’s Applied Research Center. He is the author of The Power of Student Teams: Achieving Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Learning in Every Classroom Through Academic Teaming with David Sousa; author of Who Moved My Standards? Joyful Teaching in an Age of Change; and co-author with Dr. Robert J. Marzano of The Essentials of a Standards-Driven Classroom, School Leadership for Results, and Teacher Evaluation that Makes a Difference.

Toth was formerly the president of the National Center for the Profession of Teaching, a university faculty member, and director of research and development grants. He is an expert in research-based school improvement models, shifting instructional methodologies, root causes analysis for school issues, and building 21st-century skills in students; he gives public presentations and advises education leaders on these issues.

Dr. Michael Grego, Ed.D., is an innovative leader who served in public education in Florida for 42 years, with the last ten of his career as superintendent of Pinellas County Schools. Under his leadership, the district achieved record-high graduation rates, narrowed achievement gaps, and expanded its magnet and STEM programs. He was recognized as the 2018 Florida Superintendent of the Year and served as the 2020-2021 president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.