Building Outside the Blocks

Vernon Wright is an entrepreneur, speaker, leader, veteran educator, show host, associate editor, and consultant with 15 years of experience in large, urban school districts. He has served as a teacher, teacher leader, campus administrator, and central office leader.  Vernon has collaborated literally across the world with some of the biggest names in educational leadership and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vernon has shared his experiences numerous times over the years at the campus, district, regional, state levels and beyond garnering acclaim from recognized industry leaders. He espouses the three cornerstone values of Connect, Impact, and Scale as the foundation of his pursuits. Vernon welcomes you to the #ZeroApologyZone. 

Vernon, The Wright Leader, and the #ZeroApologyZone brand represent those people that take a...

Tim Cavey is an 8th grade educator teaching in Surrey, BC, Canada. He recently completed his Master’s of Educational Leadership. Tim’s Masters program re-invigorated his passion for education and led the way to the Teachers on Fire podcast, where Tim profiles agents of growth and transformation in K-12 education. Each week, he chats with an inspiring educator to bring his listeners their, “highs and lows, passions and goals, and the voices and influences that are shaping their thinking and inspiring their practice.”

Tim did his Masters to open doors for administrative opportunities, but he also really wanted to take his learning to the next level. He is in his 19th year of teaching, and he feels that it is a richer experience having teaching years behind him and knowing the profession as he did, although he wishes that...

Craig Shapiro has been a Health and Physical Education Teacher/Coach for 30 years.  He’s married with two children and 3 dogs. Being a teacher was a choice that’s completely shaped his life.  Making a difference for students each day is an amazing way for him to spread happiness and wellness.

It was his freshman year at Penn State, and it was then that Craig realized that Business was not for him. That summer, he told his parents that he wanted to take his lifetime in sports to his profession and become an educator. Craig said, “If I can get a job and get paid to exercise and coach, and teach kids about health and wellness, that would be the thing for me.” On top of being a Phys. Ed teacher, Craig coaches cross country, wrestling and track. 

Craig deeply believes in choice and voice. “We want kids to enjoy their lea...

Eric Alper started his own PR firm, Eric Alper Public Relations, after being the Director of Media Relations and Label Relations for eOne Music Canada

for the past 18 years. He's a regular music industry contributor to Bell Media, Rogers, Shaw Media, among others. Eric is the host of

@ThatEricAlper show on SiriusXM, a one-hour talk show about music.  With over a million followers on social media, he's been named to Billboard

Magazine, Paste Magazine and The National Post's best on social media. Eric also goes to schools as a music industry expert to talk about how to find your spark- the thing that you love to do - opening eyes to the possibility of building outside the blocks. 

Eric has loved the music industry since he was little. “I know that I’m very very lucky to be able to do what I do for so long. I knew what I want...

Nicole has a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish from the University of Florida and a Master's Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Phoenix.  She is currently a Spanish Teacher and World Languages Department Chair in a public high school. She is a certified translator and interpreter, as well. Nicole is writing a book with her 9 year old son about ADHD that is being published by EduMatch®. Nicole is proud to be an educator and believes that everyone should have access to a quality education that connects them with their purpose.  She seeks to bridge understanding, spark conversations, and inspire through her writing.

Nicole loves to write. Her son, Jason, has had a lot of negative experiences at school with teachers and peers as a result of his ADHD. She encouraged him to journal about his experiences as a tool...

Teresa Gross is currently a Reading Specialist in Rochester NY and has been in education for 19 years as both a speech therapist and reading teacher. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Speech Language Therapy, a Master's Degree in Literacy and an advanced study degree in Educational Administration. Teresa is active on social media and currently moderates Twitter chats on Tuesday evening and Saturday mornings, #CodeBreaker and #PD4uandme. She had the honor of contributing to the book Stories in EDU: Sail with a Fleet (Volume 1) as well as peer editing a section of a book being published by EDUMatch coming out later this year. Her most recent accomplishment was being awarded the Golden Apple Award, by a student who nominated her, from a local news station. 

Teresa’s favourite past of the writing process is editing....

Ruthie Sloan is a teacher/learner with Early Years students in the Peel District School Board. Creative problem solving is her superpower, and she  loves to challenge and re-imagine learning ‘outside of the box’. Ruthie and her husband, Dave, have 2 boys (Isaiah and Max) who are teaching them how to be epic parents. Ruthie loves running long distance.  She loves reading, tweeting, and blogging on topics of vulnerable teaching, math, assessment, and creative problem solving with technology.

When we began our recording, I asked Ruthie a bit about vulnerable teaching. She spoke about transparency and building relationships not just for our students but with the people with whom we work. “We sometimes forget to conceptualise ourselves as learners on a journey with other people.” Her goals is to bridge the separate spac...

Hans Appel has worked as a counselor in the Richland School District for the past 19 years and at Enterprise Middle School since it opened.  He’s passionate about school culture, servant leadership, and kindness.  In 2018, EMS was awarded the ASCD Whole Child Award for the State of Washington and the Global “Class Act Award” for creating a culture of excellence through kindness, service, and empathy.  Additionally, they were selected as a finalist in the 2019 PBIS Film Festival and took top prize in the Community, Parents, and Staff category.  In 2018, Hans launched his own blog about School Culture and rolled out a student-led leadership podcast called Award Winning Culture: Hosted by Wildcat Nation.

Hans is also a writer. His blogs have appeared on DisruptED TV magazine, CharacterStrong, and PBIS Rewards.  He’s w...

Mike is a co-host of the OnEducation podcast and Head of Curriculum & Training for Logics Academy in Canada. He has had the opportunity to share his thoughts and approach to education at ISTE (2015, 2018), BIT (2014), Schoology NEXT (2018), as well as in interviews with major newspapers (Toronto Star, 2017). He has been recognized as a thought-leader in Computer Science education. Mike challenges all educators to never stop learning and always be reaching for what’s next. He has an unshakeable resolve to change the world through technology education.

Mike became a podcaster after listening to a lot of non education-related podcasts. Two years or more ago, he started thinking about starting his own podcast. He approached his now co-host, Glen Irvin, who was also a Schoology ambassador. “I had a gut feeling,” and he told...

Dr. Shelly Vohra is an Educational Coach with the Peel District School Board. She holds an M.Ed in Adult Education & Distant Learning and a Ph.D. in Educational Technology. Dr. Vohra has 20 years of experience in education (K-12) teaching various subject areas including mathematics, literacy, history, geography, and French. She has presented at various conferences on topics related to technology, inquiry, mathematics, critical literacy, social justice, and equity. Dr. Vohra is passionate about culturally responsive pedagogy, inclusive education, and teaching from an anti-oppressive framework. Her work includes designing learning experiences for students through an integrated curriculum lens that combines inquiry with social justice. Dr. Vohra’s research interests include social media in education, blended learning, and...