Nikole Y. Hollins-Sims, Ed.D., is an internationally recognized speaker, author and facilitator who serves as the senior educational consultant & strategist for Hollins-Sims Consultation. Nikole has formerly served as a technical assistance coordinator for the Midwest PBIS network and is a former Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). She is a Pennsylvania certified school psychologist and has conducted research around caregivers of children of incarcerated parents and their motivation to engage in family-school partnerships. Dr. Hollins-Sims has been awarded as a Moral and Courageous Leader for Education by Cabrini University in 2021, the 2021 American Psychological Association (APA) Anti-Racism School Psychology Emerging Professional Award and was named the 2021 Pennsylvania School Psychologist of the Year. She has also been honored with the 2023 Gateway to Equity Award by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Chapter. One of her career highlights is serving as the lead author of the book titled: Creating Equitable Practices in PBIS.

Mr. Casey L. Sovo, an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation, began working for the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) in 2001 as a high school English Language Arts teacher and became the Education Program Administrator for the New Mexico South Education Line Office (now called the Albuquerque Bureau-Operated Schools Education Resource Center) in July 2010. Mr. Sovo specializes in differentiating K-12 instruction, using progress monitoring and shortcycle assessments to make data-based instructional decisions, evaluating effective teaching strategies, building professional learning communities, and supporting principals and teachers with their implementation of Multi-Tier Systems of Support. Mr. Sovo deeply believes in the

power of education to provide opportunities for changing the outcomes for future generations. He is a strong proponent of Direct Instruction and has supported its implementation in many BIE schools.