Dr. Charles V. Khoury is the District Superintendent/CEO of Ulster BOCES, providing services to the eight school districts of Ulster County, NY. Dr. Khoury has held this position for over six years. As District Superintendent, he is the NYS Commissioner of Education’s representative to the county. He oversees a budget of approximately $70 million. 

For the past four years, Dr. Khoury has served as the NY representative to AESA’s Federal Legislative Committee.  He was instrumental, along with his colleagues from Connecticut and Massachusetts, in initiating, planning and implementing the first NY-New England Regional AESA Conference in May 2017. 

Dr. Khoury is completing his 44 ^th year in public education. He has been a teacher, counselor, high school principal and superintendent in both NJ and NY. He holds an Ed.D. from Rutgers University.  He is viewed by his colleagues as a thoughtful, articulate, innovative educational leader, focused on improving student learning.  

Donna Ottaviano, Ed.D. has been the Executive Director of the East Bay Educational Collaborative in Rhode Island since August 2012. With over 35 years in public education, she has been a superintendent, assistant superintendent, elementary principal, teacher and public health educator.

During her career in education, Dr. Ottaviano has specialized in curriculum design and implementation, teacher professional development and instructional strategies that have an impact on student achievement. As a public health educator in the 1980's, she trained teachers in 32 districts how to integrate a K-3 Health Curriculum into other content areas. She has served on numerous committees and is the Past-President of the Rl School Superintendents Association and the 2012 Rl Superintendent of the Year. As the Rl representative for AESA she has presented on school safety and online learning.

Wanda Cook-Robinson , Superintendent of Oakland Schools, MI finds passion in fully exploring the teaching-learning process, all while building instructional systems so children can learn to their full potential. She also acts as a tireless advocate on issues concerning diversity by promoting a welcoming and supportive environment for all students and staff at Oakland Schools.

These priorities have guided Cook-Robinson throughout her career, including now as she supports the academic achievement of the 207,000 students in Oakland County’s 28 public school districts, charter schools and non-public schools.

In 2013, Cook-Robinson was named “Michigan State Superintendent of the Year” by the Michigan Association of School Administrators. She is also the recipient of the 2017 Courage Award for Educational Excellence and Development from the Greater Pontiac Community Coalition.

Cook-Robinson holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology and an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership from Wayne State University, among many other educational and vocational achievements. 

John M. Searles is the Superintendent of Midland County Educational Service Agency and has more than 25 years of service to public education in Michigan. He has studied at Aquinas College, the University of Seville, Western Michigan University, and Michigan State University. 

John was appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to the Special Education Advisory Council to the State Board of Education for four years, has served on the Executive Board of the Michigan Association of School Administrators, and as their president. John has been appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to the Mental Health Diversion Council, and he serves on the boards of Disability Network of Mid-Michigan, Midland Kids First, and the Arnold Center. 

Superintendent Searles is currently working on initiatives to develop opportunities for more students to enter the skilled trades, and for students with disabilities to find meaningful careers.

Tom Changnon was elected Stanislaus County Superintendent of Schools in November, 2006. As Superintendent, he oversees the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) with a staff of 1,050 and a budget of over $240 million.

SCOE provides direct instructional programs and support services to the 26 school districts. This includes over 105,000 students. 

Since taking office in 2007, Changnon has championed civics education, character development, parent involvement and career/technical education programs in the county. He has led a two-year county-wide campaign to improve student attendance (Every Day Counts). He also led a two-year county-wide campaign focused on health and fitness issues called, "Fit for the Future." From 2010-2013 Changnon focused on promoting the importance of civility. The county-wide effort was called, "Choose Civility"! Currently Changnon is focused on increasing graduation rates in Stanislaus County. The initiative is called "Destination Graduation."  

Maria Jaramillo has been involved in NM public education since 1986 and has worked for a NM Education Service Agency since 1993. Maria began her career at Central Region Educational Cooperative as a speech-language pathologist serving member school districts throughout the state. At the CREC, she served multiple administrative program roles. Maria currently serves as executive director and has always known how beneficial educational service agencies are to their school districts from a firsthand point of view. Through her leadership roles in NM, she continues to help bridge and build collaboration with the educational initiatives and goals we all share.

Current President – NM Coalition of Educational Leaders (includes NMSSA with 17 state affiliates)

NM rep – AESA Governmental Relations Committee 

Past President – Regional Education Cooperative Association

Chair – Related Service Advisory Council

Chair – Coalition of State Supported Education Programs

Member – NM Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

Member – NM Excellence in Learning