AMLE Constituent Committees

AMLE relies on volunteer committee members to guide the work of our association. We would like to extend a special thank you to our current committee members and highlight just a few of their many contributions to our mission: 

  • The Early Career Committee established a mentorship program for new middle grades teachers, ensuring they have a support system cohort that includes both veteran and other early career teachers.  
  • Advocacy committee members lead the way in promoting the National Policy Agenda for the Middle Grades, spearheading AMLE’s efforts to “rebrand” middle school as a time of immense opportunity by collecting testimonials from educators around the world.  
  • The Teacher Leaders Committe and Principals and Assistant Principals Committee collaborated on a six-part article series exploring the relationship between administrators and teachers.  
  • The Equity in Middle Grades Education is developing an AMLE position paper to establish a common understanding of what it means to provide educational structures in which all students can thrive.  
If you’re passionate about middle level education and want to volunteer your time to help shape and advance the profession, there’s a meaningful role waiting for you on one of AMLE’s constituent committees. Applications open annually in November and typically close in mid-January (exact deadline announced each year). Selected candidates are notified by January 31.

Advocacy Committee

Jen Ciok, Chair
David Hallman
Mary Mitchelson
Dustin Purdy
Rachel Robbins-Whited

Dennis Schug
Tom Schwarm
Kripal Singh
Sheila Steen

Early Career Educators Committee

Kristen Engle, Chair
Amber Benson
Abby Brown
Joshua Chlebowski
Janay Eccles
Amy Gladstone
Brandy Lane
Morgan Mason
Joseph Pizzo

Riki Rider
Lisa Rutner
Michelle Schwartze
Tom Stack
Heather Stefanski
Ruby Voss
Sarah Wamsley
Iliana Ward
Ian Williamson

Equity in Middle Grades Education Committee

Laurie Ramirez, Co-Chair
Rebecca Nelson, Co-Chair
Dustin Purdy, Vice Chair
Amber Anania
Amanda Austin
Denita Benson
Rob Bradford
Dave F. Brown
Jen Cort
Katrice Dixon

Bill Ivey
Sheeba Jacob
Robert Medrano
Mary Mitchelson
Kristen Nguyen
Michael Snedden
Amy Tucker
Mychael Willon
Rick Wormeli

Principals and Assistant Principals Committee

Erin Cribbs, Chair
Mike Hammond, Vice Chair
Amanda Austin
Raymond Bradford, Jr.
Joseph Castoro
Jen Davis
Larisa Gadach
Monica Haule
Tiffany Hawthorne
Annielaurie Henbest
Malyka Henderson-McKisson
Kendra Hill
Lori Katz
Kelly Miller
Mikaela O’Bryan

Erik Pedersen
Brittany Porter
Trish Pulos
Amanda Robinson
Stephanie Sander
Dennis Schug
Tera Stewart
Jessica Strickland
Kelly Szesterniak
Amy Valerio
Maria Wakefield
Kristin Westby
Michael Wright
Latrese Younger

Teacher Leaders Committee

Laurie Rigg, Chair
Megan Balduf, Vice Chair
Marri Bayour
Jessica Carver
Corey Cohen
Ralph Covino
Kisha Cox
Jessica Ellington
Christian Ellis
Kristen Engle
Megan Gately
Stacie Holzberger
Dustin Johnson

Kristin Laughlin
Andrea Lynch
Carla Neely
Sravan Nemani
Emily Nicotra
Juliana Nwokoro
Megan Orban
Joseph Pizzo
Dustin Purdy
Cheryl Robertson
Chad Uyehara
Stephanie Washburn
Lori Weiner