Meet the Team

Gillian Williams became an educator as a member of the Teach For America Charter Corps in 1990. She began her teaching career at as a bilingual teacher at Public School 98 in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. In 1997, Gillian became the youngest elementary school principal in New York City at Public School 63 in the South Bronx. In her first year at Public School 63, Gillian led a turnaround that lifted the school from its dismal standing on the state’s list of persistently failing schools — a distinction it had held for all eleven years of that list’s existence.

As the Founder and Chief Academic Officer of School Turnaround, Gillian grew the organization from a summer conference into a multi-faceted, nationally established initiative. She works with principals and superintendents across the country to lead change by example using leadership characteristics and strategies that are proven effective in turning around low-performing schools.

Under her leadership, School Turnaround demonstrates consistently high gains for student achievement. School Turnaround is designed specifically for schools and districts where someone in power perceives a current failure that requires urgent intervention. While most educational initiatives geared toward demonstrating student achievement take place over a long time period, School Turnaround is designed to bring about urgency and time-compressed change. It stands apart from others in the field by offering a money-back warranty that guarantees achievement on high stakes tests will increase in one year’s time.

Gillian is a national leader in elementary education and was featured twice on the CBS Television program Sunday Morning. She has appeared in numerous publications, including, The New Yorker, The New York Times, US News and World Report and Education Week.

Jaime Bruderek is responsible for a wide range of duties that lead to the health of the entire organization. She provides leadership and effective management in all areas of staffing and personnel, administration, project completion, information technology, and development. She also serves as the organization's primary project leader, manages all special projects, oversees the finances, and keeps the organization on budget. She is responsible for designing and improving systems that create and deliver School Turnaround’s services and ensuring that the program’s strategies are acted upon successfully. In this role, Jaime makes sure that business operations are efficient and effective and that resources are being managed properly.

Prior to joining School Turnaround, Jaime served as Project Manager at Right Management Consultants, the worldwide leader in Organizational Consulting and Career Transition services. In this role, Jaime served as the main client contact for day-to-day operations. Companies in a variety of industries, including AIG, Lehman Brothers, TimeLife, Siemens Medical, Pitney Bowes, MetLife, Goldman Sacs, and the Mutual of New York benefited from the leadership development, communication, organizational assessment, and performance initiatives Jaime planned and monitored along with senior partners and consultants.

Jaime developed and executed the marketing plan, including creation and quality assurance of all proposals, marketing collateral, and sales materials when she served as Manager of Marketing and Sales Development for the Northeast Consulting Practice of Right Management. In this role, she served as the main global contact for marketing- and sales-related information for colleagues, clients, and prospects.

Jaime holds Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT. She is a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor’s Society.

Tammy Brooks brings to School Turnaround a proven track record of outstanding operational improvement for multi-million dollar companies and not-for-profit organizations. With more than 17 years of program and financial operations leadership, Tammy applies her project management, writing, and marketing skills to the task of overseeing operations for School Turnaround. Tammy is responsible for assuring that School Turnaround’s services are delivered to the highest standards and in a cost-effective manner in partnership with program and financial leaders. Specifically, Tammy supervises marketing and sales, manages web-based initiatives, leads grant management, and provides technical assistance to schools. Her project management skills enable our team of turnaround specialists to function effectively across the United States.

Prior to joining School Turnaround, Tammy served as Program Director for Catholic Charities in Schenectady County NY, spearheading a tri-county welfare to work initiative. In this role, Tammy provided expert leadership managing daily operations, training, and finances. She was instrumental in implementing fresh policies and procedures for the program as well as the larger organization. Notable achievements while at Catholic Charities include slashing program costs by more than $18,000 in the first year, acquiring a $1.1 M grant from New York State, and forging valuable relationships with government officials.

While working full time at Catholic Charities, Tammy returned to school and earned a Masters degree in Business Administration from The State University of NY in Albany. Tammy’s earlier career focus was in retail sales and financing. Her undergraduate degree is in Communications from The State University of NY in Oswego.

Mildred Toliver received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Masters of Science in Elementary Education and her Certification for Elementary School Administration from Grambling State University. After serving as an elementary school teacher and instructional coordinator for the Caddo Parish Public Schools in Shreveport, Louisiana, Mildred went on to become principal of Atkins Elementary School in 1990. She led the school to success over the course of her ten years there. Eager for a new challenge she moved to Fort Worth, Texas and became the principal of SS Dillow Elementary School — the most beleaguered elementary school in the Fort Worth Independent School District.

In her first two years as principal Mildred led the school out of last place and started it on an upward trajectory. In the summer of 2002, Mildred joined School Turnaround as a participating principal determined to keep upward momentum even in light of the significantly higher standards being used in the Texas standardized testing. At the conclusion of her first year in School Turnaround, SS Dillow was demonstrating gains in some areas up to 35%. The student outcomes continued to improve in the 2003-04 school year and saw the school matching the state average for number of commended students.

Mildred joined the School Turnaround staff in 2004 and works extensively not only with principals but also with teachers, district administrators and school boards. In addition she does consulting and training for “Developing Multiple Intelligences”, Community Parenting, Effective Black Parenting Program and KEYPAR, Inc. She has worked as a reviewer for Harcourt Brace. Currently she is writing a handbook for effectively involving parents in student success.

Nicole Houston Johnson grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. She attended Howard University and earned a B.B.A in Actuarial Science. She returned home and earned a M. Ed in Educational Administration at Texas Christian University.

Nicole began her teaching career as a middle school Math teacher and then moved on to teach high school. She became an administrator in 2000, working as an assistant principal in middle, high, and alternative schools.

Nicole is currently the Principal of Leonard Sixth Grade Center. She joined School Turnaround in the summer of 2005, as a participating principal determined to turn around student achievement and move her school onto a new path of success. At the end of her first year in School Turnaround, Leonard Sixth Grade Center started to show gains in both subject areas, up to 12%. Leonard Sixth had a history of wide achievements gaps. The campus Reading gap which was as wide as 20 points-is currently less than 9 points. This year her campus received the Gold Performance Award for 51% of the students scoring commended in Reading. Under her leadership, the school continues to meet AYP and strives to maintain growth in all student groups.

Nicole remains actively involved in her district to improve student achievement. She serves as a principal mentor and middle school planning principal. She also serves on the Texas Middle School Association conference committee.

Nicole joined the School Turnaround staff in 2006, as a specialist, and works directly with principals to improve student achievement at their buildings.

Margarita Garcia grew up in El Paso, Texas and attended the University of Texas at El Paso where she earned her Bachelors degree in Education and the University of Texas at Arlington where she earned her Masters degree in Administration.

In 2003, Margarita became the principal of Washington Heights Elementary in Fort Worth, TX, a campus serving a majority of second language learners and over 90% economically disadvantaged kids. Under her leadership, the school has been hailed as high achieving based on rapid and dramatic increases in student performance on multiple indicators. Margarita continues to sustain a turnaround that has lifted her school from dismal with less than 50% passing rates to passing rates that have earned her school “Recognized Status” for academic excellence from the Texas Education Agency, the second highest rating in the state of Texas. Margarita’s efforts and the success of the school have been highlighted in the media and a case study that was recently presented at the 2007 American Educational Research Association (AERA).

In the summer of 2004, Margarita joined School Turnaround as a participating principal determined to turn around student achievement and move her school onto a new path of success. At the end of her first year in School Turnaround, Washington Heights was demonstrating significant gains in all academic areas, in some areas more than 40 percentage points. The student outcomes continue to improve each year and the students meeting commended performance continues to increase. In June 2006, Margarita was the recipient of the annual Turnaround Principal award.

Margarita joined the School Turnaround staff in 2006, as a specialist, and works directly with principals to ensure that all leadership decisions are based on what is right for kids’ achievement.

Debbie Duty Deery is a graduate of Montana State University. She began her career as a primary grade teacher in Havre, Montana. During that time she developed and implemented a full day kindergarten for at-risk children. In 1991 she was chosen as Montana Teacher of the Year and served on the Governor’s Task Force on Education. Becoming a Principal in 1991, she was also responsible for Title IX and Multi-age Programs for the Havre School District. Debbie has been a principal in Billings, Montana Public Schools and in 2000 relocated to Reno, Nevada.

As a Principal in Washoe County Public Schools in Reno, her school has gone from a Title school labeled in need of improvement, to a Nationally Distinguished Title School. Debbie was the recipient of the Nevada Commissioner on Governor’s Committee on Educational Excellence award in 2007.

Judy Bryant earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and a Master’s degree and Certification for Administration from Portland State University.

Judy has been an outstanding educator for the Portland Public School District in Portland, Oregon. She started as a Language Arts and Social Studies teacher from 1979 through 1986 at Hosford Middle School. From 1986 through 1993, Judy served as a curriculum specialist in Multicultural Education, Social Studies, and the Arts. Judy became vice principal of West Sylvan Middle School in 1993 and then served as principal of Humboldt Elementary School in Portland from 1997 to 2003. Scores in reading and math consistently improved as many as 10 percentage points each year at West Sylvan and Humboldt under her leadership.

In an article about Judy appearing in the Oregon Quarterly Magazine, she is described as tenacious, driven, motivational, and stubborn, when it comes to student achievement. She has been quoted as saying to her students, ”You can do it. It doesn’t matter about income. You – you - make the critical difference, no one else.”

Her final position with Portland, was serving as the Area Director of the Cleveland/Franklin Cluster of schools. In all of her positions, Judy has been an educator focused on improving student achievement and turning low performing schools into model ones. From Portland, Judy crossed the country to serve as a coach working with schools in Mississippi recovering form hurricane Katrina.

Judy was the recipient of the prestigious National Educators Award given by the Milken Family Foundation Award for Educational Excellence. She also received the Distinguished Principal’s Award for Portland Public Schools.

Algie Davis earned his Doctor of Educational Administration from Walden University in Baltimore, Maryland, a Master’s degree in Education from Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Bachelor’s degree from Wheeling Jesuit College in Wheeling West Virginia.

After serving as a special education teacher for 12 years, Algie became Special Education Coordinator of B.E. Usher Middle School in Atlanta. In 1999 he became vice principal of Jean Childs Young Middle School where his focus became improvement of student achievement. Algie initiated the practice of using data analysis to monitor student progress and make curricular changes designed to meet the academic needs of students.

In 2002, Algie became principal of D.M. Therrell High School in Atlanta where he transformed a low performing school into one of model achievement with a culture of success. Under his leadership, Therrell High School made AYP over multiple years and the graduation rate climbed from a low of 29 percent (when he took over) to 80 percent. In three years SAT scores increased by over 300 points and the number of students attending college increased substantially. Therrell High School went from one of the worst high schools on state writing assessments to one of the two best in the city of Atlanta.

In 2006, Algie became Deputy Superintendent for Student Achievement for the Glynn County School District in Brunswick Georgia, a district of over 12,000 students. During his time in that role all Glynn County High Schools and Elementary Schools made AYP as well as 3 out of 4 Middle Schools.

Billie-Jo Slingerland joined the School Turnaround team in 2006. Prior to joining School Turnaround, she was a Senior Administrative Assistant for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County, Agriculture Department for seven years. Some of her responsibilities included planning and organizing educational trainings, maintaining databases, sending correspondence, and the design and layout of three publications.

Billie-Jo is the lead for all web-based support in the form of virtual conferences, website services, and communications. In addition, she provides internal administrative support, oversees benchmark testing data, coordinates all employee travel, and manages School Turnaround’s daily operations. Her ability to do web research, format business documents and troubleshoot software programs are just a few of the many skills she brings to her work.

She graduated from Schenectady County Community College with two Associates Degrees in Paralegal Studies and Criminal Justice.

Mickee Pomeisl is the Operations Manager for School Turnaround and has been with the organization since 2009. She is responsible for all administrative operations of the program and provides support research and analysis. Specifically, Mickee handles all client invoicing, assists with contract generation, approves and submits payroll and expenses for employees, and provides marketing assistance, where needed. Mickee’s hands-on approach and strong research aptitude help ensure the overall efficiency and effectiveness of School Turnaround’s operations.

Prior to joining the School Turnaround team, Mickee was the head Paralegal/Manager and Title Clerk for an extremely busy Law Office in Albany, New York. In this role, she prepared legal documents and correspondences and interacted with clients, attorneys and the Court system. Mickee provided extensive research, charts, graphs, reports, and monitoring of all accounts, along with overseeing other staff and maintaining payroll.

Mickee earned her Associated Degree from Herkimer Community College where she majored in Paralegal Studies as well as taking extra Business Management courses.

Mónica Byrne-Jiménez is a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston in the Department of Leadership in Education. She teaches in the Leadership in Urban Schools doctoral program and the Educational Administration program, and supervises dissertations throughout the department.

Mónica completed her dissertation at Teachers College, Columbia University, with a focus on issues of the principalship. Her work, which she presented at the American Educational Research Association conference, is entitled, “Collaborative Inquiry as an Approach to the Professional Development of Principals in Urban, Low-Performing Schools.” She holds a Master’s degree in Foundations and Policy from the University of Michigan.

Before pursuing her doctoral studies, Mónica worked in a number of urban settings, including as a bilingual teacher in several K-6 settings, coordinating an Even Start program, working as a literacy instructional specialist and training consultant. She was recognized as “Teacher of the Year” while serving in the Chancellor’s District for Low-Performing Schools. More recently she served as the Associate Director of the Accelerated Schools Center in New York City. Mónica does research consulting for numerous innovative educational organizations and institutions, including serving as lead consultant for the Columbia University Teachers’ College Institute for Superintendents.

Harold S. Williams is former President of The Rensselaerville Institute, an internationally respected development institution based in upstate New York. In the area of community development, the Institute has enabled over 500 small towns throughout the United States to use a self-help approach to solving water and wastewater problems. These entrepreneurial projects have been featured in such media as Parade Magazine (a cover story), The New York Times, and CBS Television.

In organizational development, Hal has led The Institute into a series of projects to spark innovation in government and non-profit as well as corporate settings. Hal is the founder and editor of INNOVATING, the quarterly journal and is lead author of Outcome Funding: A New Approach to Targeted Grantmaking, a book widely read and used in its U.K. as well as North American editions. He served as lead consultant to a U.S. Presidential Commission and consults directly with governors and agency heads in a variety of state and municipal governments.

In the summer of 2000, Hal collaborated with Gillian Williams and Tony Amato to develop School Turnaround. He went on to guide and advise the development of the program, as well as present the concepts at national educational conferences such as AASA.

Hal is a graduate of Stanford University, where he founded that school’s FM radio station and served as West Coast Director of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System.