Contemporary Relevance Committee

Mitchell is a former National Board Certified Teacher (Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood). He is the Managing Director of the Science of Reading Network for Leading Educators in New Orleans, LA.  He earned his doctoral degree in Educational Administration from the University of New Orleans and previously served on the Literacy: Reading-Language Arts (LRLA) Committee.  He has fulfilled many educational roles as a teacher, district administrator, literacy coach, school administrator, and now, an educational thought leader and consultant. His professional engagements with several organizations include the following: The Reading League, LETRS, AIM Institute, New Schools for New Orleans, and UboundEd.

Rose Mary is a National Board Certified Teacher (Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood). With over a decade of experience as a special education teacher and department chair in Prince George’s County, Maryland, she transitioned as a Mentor Teacher. She is currently an Induction Coach, collaborating closely with administrators to design and implement professional development programs while supporting new teachers in their professional growth and responsibilities.  Rose Mary is deeply involved in the educational community, supporting new educators and National Board candidates at the local, state, and national levels. She holds several leadership positions within the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA), including Praxis tutor, Educator of Color Task Force Committee Co-Chair, and National Board Coordinator. She earned her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from American College of Education and holds additional teaching certificates in English Language Arts, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education and Business Education. She is also a National Geographic Certified Educator. Her commitment to education extends beyond K-12, as evidenced by her role as a Virtual Coach for the Bowie State University Star Fellow Program from 2020-2022 and her ongoing position as an adjunct professor in the Social Science Department at Prince George’s Community College since 2009.

Jomeka is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Childhood Generalist). She serves as a lead kindergarten teacher in Temple, Texas. She has served as a grade-level lead teacher in both kindergarten and first grade since 2012. She holds an additional certification in English as a Second Language. She collaborates with teachers pursuing national board certification in the Temple ISD district and supervises student teachers in her district. She also serves on the Teacher Leadership Council in Texas where she works with education representatives and legislators on education policy.  In 2021, Jomeka was recognized as District Teacher of the Year in the Temple Independent School District. Most recently, she was recognized as a 2023-2024 Texas Teach Plus Advocacy Fellow.

Leslee is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Childhood Generalist). She currently serves as a transitional kindergarten teacher in the Buena Park School District in southern California. Over the past thirty years, Leslee has taught kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade students, most of whom were proficient in a home language other than English. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Buena Park School District Education Foundation. She has worked at the local, state, and national levels supporting educators pursuing National Board certification.  Leslee has served in numerous capacities for the National Board, including as a member of the Early Childhood Generalist Standards Committee (3rd edition) and the What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do Committee (2nd edition), a Hill Day Team Coordinator for California, and a Candidate Support Provider (CSP) helping educators pursue National Board Certification. Leslee also began and continues to lead the READ WITH ME program, for which she facilitates summertime read-alouds  at a local park. In 2019, she was named Buena Park’s Citizen of the Year and has received recognition from state legislators and organizations for her READ WITH ME program. Recently, Leslee was also recognized as one of Orange County, California’s 125 Most Influential People.

Noraa Ransey is a National Board Certified Teacher (Literacy: Reading-Language Arts: Early and Middle Childhood). She teaches literacy at the elementary level in Calloway County Schools, in Kentucky. She presently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Education Association (NEA) and as a Minority Teacher Mentor for the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). As a NAME mentor, Noraa supports educators pursuing National Board Certification, and she recruits and mentors teachers of color for the Kentucky Education Association. Noraa has also worked extensively with the NEA to mentor aspiring educators taking the Praxis examination and to advance the organization’s diversity initiative by creating modules on diversity for classroom implementation. She has served on the Kentucky NBCT Network Board, where she chaired the organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and she was a member of the Advisory Board for Murray State University. In 2020, Noraa was named the Kentucky Education Association Teacher of the Year, and, in 2022, she received the honor of NBCT Champion for the Kentucky Network.

Robyn Seglem is a National Board Certified Teacher (English Language Arts/Early Adolescence). She is a Professor in the School of Teaching and Learning Director of the Mary and Jean Borg Center for Reading and Literacy at Illinois State University. In addition to serving as a co-editor of Voices from the Middle, she has served as a co-director of the Flint Hills Writing Project, an affiliate with the National Writing Project. Robyn has worked extensively with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, including collaborating with a team of ELA educators to revise and update the standards for English and Language Arts and co-chairing the team that revised the second edition of the Five Core Propositions. Her work has been featured in two co-authored books, Igniting Social Action in the ELA Classroom: Inquiry as Disruption with Sarah Bonner and Decolonizing Middle Level Literacy Instruction: A Culturally Proactive Approach to Literacy Methods with Michael Domínguez, and she has published in venues such as Teachers College Record, Theory Into Practice  Practice, The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, English Journal, Voices from the Middle, and The Journal of Language and Literacy Education. She taught middle and high school ELA for nine years.