About the Marzano Evaluation Center

As a national consultant, Dr. Bellande-Francis is proud to have developed and conducted professional development regarding best instructional practices in 25 districts across 15 states. With over 20 years of experience in an educational setting, her background includes extensive management of personnel, parents, students, business partners, and all aspects of a school environment. She is well versed in the most effective coaching and leadership techniques to lead teams to deliver high quality results. She has a passion for developing schools to implement rigorous instruction and supporting professionals to reach their fullest potential.

Ashley Baez is a Business Development Specialist at Instructional Empowerment where she partners with educational leaders to drive meaningful change in schools. She previously served as a School Leadership Coach with IE using her strong background in instructional leadership and school transformation. Ashley is committed to fostering positive school cultures, increasing parent engagement, and improving student achievement.

Before joining Instructional Empowerment, Ashley served as a public school teacher, leader, and principal in Brooklyn, NY, and Charlotte, NC. In these roles, she led turnaround efforts by prioritizing a strong adult culture, transparent leadership, and student-centered practices. Her leadership was instrumental in maintaining high academic performance, even during the challenges of the pandemic.

Ashley holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Appalachian State University and a Master’s degree in Special Education from Relay Graduate School of Education. She remains dedicated to supporting school leaders in building equitable, high-performing learning environments that empower both educators and students.

Julie Bettis is a dedicated and experienced educator with 34 years in public education, serving as an elementary teacher, instructional coach, and principal in Wichita Public Schools—the largest district in Kansas. Since 2017, she has worked with Instructional Empowerment and the Marzano Evaluation Center as a staff developer, school leadership coach, and district lead, supporting teachers and administrators across multiple states.

As a principal in an urban setting, Julie successfully led her schools through continuous improvement efforts, utilizing the Marzano Teacher Evaluation framework and Essentials for Achieving Rigor to enhance instructional effectiveness. Passionate about serving all students, she has led three schools with significant populations of students experiencing poverty and English Learners (EL). Her expertise spans school improvement, Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), and Turnaround Schools.

Julie thrives on coaching schools and districts nationwide, helping them connect and align their efforts for optimal results. She brings a deep knowledge of best practices, coupled with enthusiasm, warmth, and a commitment to making professional learning engaging and impactful.

Driven by her belief in the transformative power of education, Julie remains committed to empowering students and educators. She holds a Master’s in School Leadership from Friends University and a BSE from the University of Kansas. Additionally, she participated in the Harvard Graduate School of Education Summer Institute for Turnaround Principals.

Gwendolyn (Gwen) Bryant has over 35 years of experience in education. She has teaching experience in early childhood education, elementary, middle, and adult education levels. She also has taught students with learning disabilities and undergraduate and graduate college students throughout her career. While working in an urban school district, Ms. Bryant planned and facilitated professional development opportunities in literacy, differentiated instruction, technology, and culturally responsive teaching.

In addition, she facilitated and supported fifteen building leadership teams through the continuous planning process to create site-based improvement plans. Aside from being featured at many local, state, and national conferences and television spots, she has been certified as an Ohio Master Teacher and granted the Marilyn Parks Lifetime Educator Achievement Award.

But at heart, Ms. Bryant, is a coach who loves working with teachers and leaders to build partnerships to develop evidence-based teaching practices that impact our children’s lives. Since being a consultant with Instructional Empowerment for 13 years, she has traveled to 47 states to work with many great educators.

As a persistent transformative leader, Gwen is committed to using her skills and knowledge as an educator and consultant in school leadership to improve systems, resolving core issues to ensure that every student is encouraged and supported to learn.

Coming Soon!

Chaton Davis has 24 years of experience in Education in a variety of roles including elementary teacher, Instructional Coach, Content Specialist, and Assistant Principal. She is passionate about coaching teachers and leaders and engaging educators in meaningful professional learning experiences.

She currently supports schools as a Professional Learning Facilitator and Educational Consultant, providing professional learning and coaching on a variety of topics ranging from instructional content and delivery to equitable practices in the classroom.

Her goal is to ensure that each experience is relevant and engaging. She believes her work isn’t complete until each participant leaves with a tool, strategy or idea that can be implemented immediately. Her experiences have enabled her to strengthen her expertise in supporting teachers and leaders in implementing effective instructional practices and improving outcomes for all students.

Chaton received her undergraduate degree from Spelman College and Masters in Elementary Education from Georgia State University.

Following a rewarding 30-year career in public education, Debra is honored to be a highly requested educational consultant providing services including staff developer, trainer, administrative leadership coach and faculty coach since 2018. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and a master’s degree in leadership from Nova Southeastern University, Florida. She is privileged to have worked with a diverse variety of schools from all socio-economic ranges in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Debra has served as a teacher, reading specialist, assistant principal, principal, and director of program development and alignment for one of the nation’s largest school districts, where she was in charge of the district’s professional development center, a multi-million dollar training grant, and on-line professional development programs providing teacher enhancement and certification courses.

Under her leadership as a principal and through the hard work of committed teachers who embraced Dr. Marzano’s teacher evaluation model, her school rose from one of the state’s 300 lowest-performing schools to scoring in the top 10% in reading. This experience combined with her love of children and learning is the foundation of her strong commitment to supporting schools in their quest to improve student achievement.

Dr. Grace is an experienced Superintendent, CEO, and visionary leader with a proven track record in education leadership. A passionate advocate for educational excellence, she was named the Oklahoma Superintendent of the year in 2021—skilled in recruitment, executive leadership, and leadership development, as well as program and personnel evaluation. Specialized expertise in curriculum design, professional development, and policy development.

Coming Soon!

With over 20 years in K-12 education, DaLana Hawkins is an experienced educator and education support specialist. DaLana’s professional experience includes classroom teacher, site turnaround team leader, assistant principal, principal, university professor of undergraduate and graduate education programs, and a district director of alternative education, educational technology, curriculum, and teacher and leader effectiveness.

She has also served on state teacher and leader effectiveness regional teams to support school and district administrative evaluation improvements, as well as regional university board of advisors.

She is passionate about the importance of growth and learning in life, as exemplified in working full-time in various roles in education while earning degrees in social studies education, a master's in educational leadership, and a doctorate in interdisciplinary leadership. She works diligently to support teachers and educational leaders in developing and sustaining systems of support that evidence the improvement in educational outcomes for ALL students, especially those who may need the most support.

Tammy Quist is not just a consultant; she is a catalyst for transformation with over three decades of experience in education, leadership, and team development. Tammy has woven a rich tapestry of impact across diverse settings - from rural classrooms to bustling urban schools as a teacher, mentor, principal, consultant, business owner, community leader, and school board member where she has cultivated a multifaceted understanding of the challenges and triumphs faced by leaders and teams in both for-profit and non-profit environments. Described by peers as a change agent and leadership gladiator, Tammy is fiercely dedicated to advocating for the underserved, particularly women and children and her passion for empowerment drives her to volunteer regularly, believing that active civic engagement is the cornerstone of healthy, vibrant, and prosperous communities.

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Diane Stultz, M.S. Ed. has more than 47 years of experience in education as a successful teacher, instructional coach, school change coach, facilitator of professional learning, leadership coach, and a senior Director of Learning and Leading for a not-for-profit organization. She has worked with rural, urban, and suburban schools (K-12) throughout the United States and with public schools in Hong Kong. Because she is a life-long learner, Diane earned her National Board Certification and other post-graduate courses and has been passionate about teacher and leader empowerment ever since. In order for schools to make the necessary needed systemic change, there must be strong, passionate leaders from the classroom through the central office. She has dedicated her career to making this happen to change the hearts and minds of students, teachers, and administrators. Her strong point is to make the complex easy to understand and implement.

She currently serves as an independent contractor and consults for several educational organizations. Ms. Stultz attended Bowling Green State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocational Education and a Master of Science degree in education with an emphasis on adult learning from The Ohio State University.

Tracey has spent the last 23 years in education with a focus on improving systems for rigorous, equitable student learning. She sees this as a social justice issue and believes building student agency is a critical component. She started her career as a Middle School and High School English teacher in New Jersey before joining the Charleston County School District in South Carolina. She served as both a building and district leader focused on continuous improvement of teaching and learning. In 2014, she moved into the non-profit sector, at both The Achievement Network and Teaching Lab, to lead school and district projects focused on strategic planning around curriculum, assessment and professional development for large scale change and impact. In 2020, she joined Instructional Empowerment and served as a school and district leadership coach on the School Advancement team. She currently serves as a leadership coach and subject matter expert for the Marzano Evaluation Center. She received her BA from Lehigh University, her MAT from The College of New Jersey and her M.Ed. from The Citadel.