2025 Annual Conference Keynote Speakers
We’re proud to welcome an extraordinary lineup of educators and thought leaders to this year’s conference. From transformational leadership and inclusive education to school culture and student empowerment, our speakers bring passion, expertise, and inspiration to every stage.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Featured Pre-Conference Speaker — Phil Boyte
Phil Boyte has been helping schools across North America transform their culture into places where students and educators thrive his entire career. He understands that when people feel safe, heard, and valued, teams thrive.
Phil founded Learning for Living to empower educators with practical tools to build relationships and create environments where everyone can say, “I belong here. I can grow here.”
He is the creator of well-known programs like Link Crew, WEB, and Breaking Down the Walls, all designed to foster connection and belonging. Phil also authored the book “School Culture by Design” and hosts the School Culture by Design Podcast, where he shares real stories and strategies for transforming school communities.
Friday, November 21, 2025
Dr. Mary Hemphill
Dr. Mary Hemphill is a human-centered leadership strategist, executive coach, and author with over 20 years of experience. As the CEO & Founder of The Limitless Leader LLC, she equips leaders to drive innovation, impact, and transformation through coaching, consulting, and executive workshops. She has served as North Carolina’s first State Director of Computer Science, Chief Academic Officer, and adjunct professor of Leadership Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Dr. Hemphill is a Forbes contributor and a Senior Fellow at The Center for Model Schools. She has been named one of District Administration’s Top 100 Education Influencers and EdTech Digest’s Top 100 Influencers for 2023-24, in addition to being a 2024 EdTech Digest Leadership Award Finalist. She is also the author of The One-Minute Meeting: Creating Student Stakeholders in Schools, a go-to resource for education leaders.
Her work centers on human-centered leadership and innovation, ensuring professionals at every level lead with purpose, authenticity, and impact.
Returning for Friday’s General Session
Emcee — Erin Jones
In the realm of education in Washington state, Erin needs no introduction. She was the first Black woman in Washington state to run for statewide office in 2016. Erin garnered several awards during her many years as a teacher, including recognition as a “Champion of Change” by the White House in 2013.
As a highly accomplished athlete, educator, and equity champion, Erin now invests her talents and unique experiences to inspire others to examine education systems and practices to help them better serve all students.
Saturday, November 22, 2025
2025 Teacher of the Year — Kim Broomer
Kim Broomer is a kindergarten teacher at Ruby Bridges Elementary in the Northshore School District. Kim is a dynamic educator committed to inclusive schools and creating a culture of belonging for each and every student she works with in her classroom and beyond. Kim’s love of learning and desire to teach stems from her mother, who ran a small in-home daycare for birth to 5-year-olds. For 33 years her mom modeled the importance of connection, building relationships, and the power of a good read-aloud.
Dismantling the barriers of ableism and cultivating spaces of joy for students is Kim’s heart work. She teaches with a passion and love that makes every person who enters her classroom wish to be a part of it. She is a magical force for good and justice for our youngest learners.
2025 Principal of the Year — Cathi Davis
Sharing the stage with the teacher of the year is Cathi Davis. Davis is the 2025 Washington State Elementary Principal of the Year and the founding principal of Ruby Bridges Elementary School, a fully inclusive school for grades K-5 students. Davis has spent the last twenty-five years working in education as a teacher and principal. She is a principal leader in the Inclusionary Practices Technical Assistance Network of demonstration site schools where she facilitates professional learning about inclusionary practices and reimagining schools where all students have access and opportunity to thrive.
Her school is known nationally and internationally for its incredible culture of inclusion where all students attend and engage in general education together in universally designed and student-centered learning spaces. Ruby Bridges Elementary hosts and collaborates with educators, leaders and policy makers at the state, national and international level to support inclusive public education. Principal Davis is a leader, disrupter, and advocate for dismantling barriers to educational access and opportunity to ensure positive outcomes for all students.