Elise Frattura is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, having taught for over 20 years in the School of Education. From 2003-2013, Dr. Frattura served as an Associate Dean and Department Chairperson for the School of Education Prior to her role at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Dr. Frattura was a high school teacher and a central office administrator from 1983-2001, during which time she also served as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Milwaukee.
Dr. Frattura taught graduate courses for principals and district office administrators in the areas of Diversity in Elementary and Secondary Education, Advanced Analysis and Design of School Systems, Politics and Educational Organizational Cultures and Nondiscrimination Law. Dr. Frattura researches and has published largely in the area of Integrated Comprehensive Systems™, nondiscrimination law for all learners, and the theoretical underpinnings of educational segregation. Dr. Frattura works extensively with urban, rural, and suburban school districts across the country as well as internationally to assist in the movement from reactionary systems of segregation to a proactive Integrated Comprehensive Systems™ of support through presentations, evaluations, and consultation.
Colleen A. Capper is Professor Emerita after serving 31 years in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has published extensively on leadership for social justice and equity. She is the editor of the book series Educational Leadership for Equity and Diversity (Routledge), and published four best-selling books:
- Organizational Theory for Equity and Diversity: Leading Integrated, Socially Justice Education (Winner of the 2018 Taylor and Francis International Award for Outstanding New Textbook in Behavioral Sciences and Education)
- Meeting the Needs of Students of All Abilities: Leading Beyond Inclusion (2nd edition) (with Elise Frattura)
- Leading for Social Justice: Transforming Schools for All Learners (with Elise Frattura)
- Educational Administration in a Pluralistic Society
Capper co-developed Integrated Comprehensive Systems™ with Frattura. Capper partners with organizations including schools, districts, universities, non-profits, for-profits, health care systems, city/county governments, and professional associations around the globe to transform their systems internally and in the products and services they provide to eliminate inequities.
Ruafika Cobb currently serves as an Assistant Principal at Asheville High School. She is a native daughter of Alabama and a proud alumna of Tuskegee University, where she graduated with a BS in Biology. She received an M.Ed in Educational Leadership with a focus on Administration from East Tennessee State University in 2010.
Throughout her educational tenure, she has taught middle school Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, and science and has served as an Elementary Math Coach and Assistant Principal. She is an equity-centered instructional leader who believes students must feel safe at school, be authentically engaged in culturally relevant and responsive experiences, and immersed in higher order thinking and problem-solving. She is also a firm believer that positive and robust relationships are the key to students being able to learn and properly grow.
Nasif K. Rogers, a native of Chicago, Illinois, currently serves as the Principal of Glen Hills Middle School in Glendale, Wisconsin. Prior to joining the Glendale River Hills School District, Rogers worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Instructional Coach, and Associate Principal at Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin. His experience spans 15 years in education, serving students in rural, suburban, urban, charter, and nonprofit sectors. A fierce advocate for youth who have been historically marginalized, Rogers is a founding board member for Future Urban Leaders, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit dedicated to youth leadership development and changing their life trajectories.
Rogers is currently entering his second year as a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin--Madison, where his research will focus on the experiences of Black and Brown educators in majority white institutions, and community efforts to effectuate equity and justice-based changes in schools. Rogers has also worked with school districts and nonprofits in the areas of Culturally and Identity Relevant Teaching and Learning, Mental Health First Aid and Trauma-Informed Practices, Restorative Justice, and Youth Activism.
Darrius Stanley is an assistant professor of educational leadership at Western Carolina University. He is a native southerner from Tallahassee, Florida where he attended his hometown historically Black college, Florida A&M University. Generally, his research agenda explores school leadership practices and their impacts on issues of race, gender, and equity in today's public schools. His work centers historical, Critical race and gender lenses, to uplift the testimonies of minoritized school communities.
His current research examines the impact that school and district leaders can have on teacher diversity in public schools. Further, his scholarship conceptualizes the possibilities for Black and other minoritized students' success when Black teachers are retained, supported, and valued in school communities. Darrius also has an array of teaching, coaching, research, and leadership experience in Urban school contexts.
Mallory Umar is an Associate Principal at Parkway Elementary in Glendale, Wisconsin. Prior to her work in the Glendale-River Hills School District, Mallory worked as a teacher, Instructional Coach, Dean of Students, and Assistant Principal in Milwaukee. In addition to this work, Mallory serves as an officer on the board for Unity in Motion, a non-profit organization that aims to develop and empower young leaders to disrupt the cycle of segregation in their communities.
Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Mallory's passion for social justice originates from her personal and life experiences with systems of inequity. The first in her family to attend college, Mallory earned a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from Roosevelt University and a M.Ed. from Marquette University. She is currently enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she has studied systems-based changes in K-12 schools under the leadership of Dr. Capper. Mallory firmly believes that the work of educators is social justice work. As educators, we have full responsibility and power to dismantle systems of oppression, segregation, and discrimination in our districts.
Jess Weiler is an Assistant Professor and the Program Director for the Educational Leadership program in the College of Education and Allied Professions at Western Carolina University (WCU). Dr. Weiler received her bachelor's and master's degrees in communication sciences and disorders from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. She worked as a speech-language pathologist and special educator in both healthcare and educational settings throughout southern California before returning to graduate school to explore the reasons students with disabilities were not succeeding at high levels.
Recognizing the promise of Dr. Capper and Dr. Frattura’s equity systems work, Dr. Weiler completed her doctoral degree in educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Weiler moved to Asheville, NC in 2009 (where she presently resides) and served as a high school administrator before moving to her present position at WCU. Her research focuses upon leadership competence and educator-teaming for equitable and socially just schools.