Scott Barron is an educator, entrepreneur, author, and podcaster who is recognized as a leading voice advocating for and encouraging educators in their calling and in their faith. He serves as the Chief Reinvention Officer of School Growth LLC and the Executive Director of Educators Fellowship. The podcast Educators Among Us was launched by Scott in the spring of 2023 as a method to connect with educators and encourage them in all facets of their profession. 

Scott earned his M.Ed. from Johns Hopkins University, along with a B.A. in Religion and a B.S. in Computer Science from Mars Hill University. He serves on the National Advisory Council for the Johns Hopkins University School of Education and recently published the acclaimed book, Love’em and Lead’em: Encouragement and Inspiration for Educators. Scott's combination of experience as a school head, business leader, EdTech advisor, college instructor, author, and executive coach gives him a unique perspective and valuable wisdom that is utilized by organizations around the world.

Tammy has a multifaceted background that reflects her broad range of expertise. Following her studies in chemical engineering and journalism, she completed an interdisciplinary degree program and began her career in education. She has a distinct passion for learning, teaching, and improving. After serving as a teacher at multiple levels for ten years, Tammy took on the challenge of building the brand and enrollment for a large private school. She developed the processes for growth, built a high-performing team, coordinated marketing plans, refined the brand, and achieved the multimillion dollar revenue goals every year.

Operational excellence and data intelligence are the two primary contributions Tammy makes to the School Growth team. She is uniquely talented at defining and executing optimal workflows, anticipating the needs of clients, giving direction and feedback, and extracting key decision points from the databases that School Growth is constantly building and curating.

Heidi Tringali is a pediatric Occupational Therapist, speaker, writer, and mother of two adult children. Heidi holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Special Education and Psychology from Hastings College and a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University. 

Heidi founded Tringali Occupational Therapy Services (T.O.T.S) in response to a need for Occupational Therapy services in independent schools. T.O.T.S provides training and consultative services to independent schools and preschools nationwide. Heidi offers professional development for faculty and families on topics related to classroom success and maximizing student performance. 

Heidi is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), where she serves as a Media Expert. She serves as an Expert Witness\Consultant for legal cases related to pediatric Occupational Therapy. Heidi is certified by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).

Julie currently serves as a National Partnership Director at Friendzy. As the child of educators and raised in a family of lifelong learners, she knew from an early age that she was destined for a career in education. As a National Partnership Director for Friendzy, Julie is focused on growing business and developing partnerships in schools across the country.

Julie has been an educator in both the public and private school settings for well over twenty years. She has been a teacher, interventionist, instructional coach, curriculum and staff development director, Catholic school superintendent, and consultant. In addition, she has been a strong advocate for education access. She believes all children deserve well-prepared and joy-filled teachers who will invest in finding every student's gifts and talents. The ethics of care and the study of belonging are both current research interests. Julie lives in Birmingham, AL, with her husband, two sons, and their beloved pets. They love to travel.

Whitney Stovall is a nationally Board Certified Counselor and a School Partnership Specialist at Friendzy. Before joining the team at Friendzy, Whitney served as a PreK-8th grade School Counselor for a decade at Christian schools in Tennessee. Whitney's experience as a school counselor and passion for Christian education fuels her in her role of collaborating with and supporting educators in their mission to serve their school communities through implementing school-wide social-emotional character development through the Friendzy program. Whitney holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Science degree in School Counseling from The University of Memphis. In her spare time, you can find Whitney exploring National Parks with her husband or enjoying all the local restaurants in their hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Whitney was the school counselor at Overbrook Catholic School from 2016-2022, a TAIS Member School in Nashville, TN.

NETWORK SPEAKERS

Head of Middle School, Nashville Christian School

Middle School LIFE Instructor, Nashville Christian School

Buck Towner serves as the Assistant Head of School for Advancement at Christ Methodist Day School (CMDS) in Memphis, TN, where he leads fundraising, community engagement, and strategic advancement initiatives. With over 13 years of senior administrative experience in independent schools, he has successfully overseen annual funds, capital campaigns, and alumni engagement efforts rooted in faith and mission-driven generosity. Passionate about Christian education, Buck believes that development is more than fundraising—it’s a ministry that builds lasting relationships and sustains the school’s vision for generations. Buck and his wife, Katherine, have two daughters who get to go to work with their dad every day at CMDS, making the school’s mission even more personal and meaningful to their family.

Daniel Warner began his work in education upon joining the Memphis Teacher Residency in 2013. In his decade in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, he was recognized as a Teacher of the Year and a James Madison Fellow, training early career teachers, strengthening civic education, and designing district curriculum and PD. Serving as a member of the TN Education Commissioner's Advisory Council, he offered input on state funding formula changes and TDOE teacher recruitment and retention strategies. Now, he shapes institutional and academic culture as Director of Teaching and Learning at ECS, leading evaluations, professional learning, and academic process review across the K-12 context. He is a doctoral candidate in Education Leadership and Policy at Vanderbilt.

Dr. John Grant

Sister Josemaria

Mark Fruitt serves as Elementary Principal and Director of Building Boys Making Men program at Presbyterian Day School (PDS), an independent school serving boys in grades PK-6 in Memphis. Born and raised in Memphis, Fruitt earned his undergraduate and master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Memphis. Before coming to PDS in 2004, he served as a teacher, head varsity boys basketball coach, assistant varsity football coach and Dean of Students at First Assembly Christian School. Also during this time, he served as director of the family life center at First Assembly of God Church. Over the years Mark’s professional development has included Project Zero at Harvard, Leading Today’s Changing Middle School, the National Association of Independent School Conference, and many others. He has also attended numerous coaching clinics including Alabama, Penn State, Nebraska, and Indiana. Mark was awarded the Most Valuable Teacher Award while teaching at First Assembly and earned coach of the year honors in 2000. Mark enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and reading. Mark is married to Amy and they have one daughter. They are members of Grace Community Church.

Nell Womack is a former elementary teacher who now is the Director of Spiritual Life and Bible Teacher for 1st-6th grade at Christ Methodist Day School. Nell leads weekly chapel for all of the students and faculty at CMDS alongside Rachel Groshart.

Sister Nicholas Marie Polkowska, O.P. is a Dominican Sister of Saint Cecilia. Sister was born and grew up in Warsaw Poland, but family circumstances brought her to the United States in 1996. Sister obtained B.S. in Mathematics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1999) and then pursued her love of mathematics through graduate studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign obtaining Ph.D. in Mathematics in 2005. Graduate studies were not only a time of intense intellectual formation but also a time of spiritual growth and discernment which lead sister to enter the Nashville Dominicans. In 2018, Sister completed M.A in Theology at Catholic Distance University. Sister has been teaching mathematics and theology at middle school, high school and college level since 1999. She is currently serving at St. Cecilia Academy and Aquinas College in Nashville.

Palmer Albertine

Rachel Groshart is a former early childhood teacher who now is a part of the Encore Team and teaches Bible to 2K-SK students at Christ Methodist Day School. Rachel leads weekly chapel for all of the students and faculty at CMDS alongside Nell Womack.

A teacher at St. George’s Independent School, Seth Johnson's courses include Cultural Literacy: Judeo-Christian Foundations, Greatest Hits of the Pre-Modern World: Global Foundations, AP World History: Modern, and Holocaust and Human Behavior. Seth is also co-founder and sponsor of the Bible club and co-sponsor of the Honor Council. He is a member of Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis. Seth studied history and political science and enjoyed theatre at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, followed by an MAT from Covenant College. After a sojourn in Los Angeles, Seth lives near the Mississippi River in Memphis, grateful for the underrated satisfaction of planting roots in fertile soil and in fertile institutions.

LIFE Coordinator, Nashville Christian School