TXCSI - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Senior Consultant, UPD
UPD Senior Consultant Anthony Gordon is a passionate educational leader dedicated to promoting equity, innovation and opportunity through his work. He has a 13-year education career which spans the private, charter and public sectors. Anthony has worked as a school leader and instructional coach for the San Antonio Independent School District. He has also worked as a teacher, campus based and regional leader for IDEA public schools and a teacher leader for KIPP Texas in both Houston and Dallas. In each of these roles he was able to achieve unprecedented success with students working alongside campus leadership, parents and community leaders to not only provide quality education, but also enrichment opportunities that have paved the way for student success in life. Anthony is also a nationally recognized slam poet, champion youth poetry slam coach and an award-winning DJ. Most importantly he is a husband and father of four.
Jason is a Senior Consultant at UPD. He brings nearly twenty years of experience as a teacher, instructional coach, curriculum specialist, and administrator. Jason partners with school, district, and state leaders to examine and improve organizational systems and processes and individual practices intended to continuously improve teaching and learning. At UPD, he has led engagements with the School District of Palm Beach County and the Nevada Department of Education.
Prior to joining UPD, he served as the Director of Teaching and Learning at Florida State University Schools and as a Senior Director at the Florida Department of Education.
Jason holds a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Central Florida.
Job Titles:
- NextGenScience Project Director
- Project Director, NexGenScience
NextGenScience Project Director Jenny Sarna directs the leadership and vision for the project's work supporting science educators and leaders nationwide. She assists district and agency leaders with planning, implementing, and evaluating science education programs - paying special attention to equity and access. Prior to joining WestEd, Sarna served as Achieve's director of district support, overseeing strategic planning initiatives that brought district level leaders together to implement college and career-ready STEM policies. Sarna also led Chicago Public Schools' NGSS implementation strategy, as the district's high school science specialist and preK-12 science manager. She began her career teaching middle school and high school science, in Hidalgo, Mexico, and Chicago.
UPD Senior Consultant Jocelyn (Jo) Eckerman has been teaching science for 28 years starting at Northside ISD in San Antonio. She has taught the full range of secondary science for multiple districts and has held instructional and curriculum director roles with KIPP San Antonio where she still mentors and coaches 5th-8th grade science teachers. Jo has a B.A. and M.S. from Trinity University as well as an M.S. in Physiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Her interests and hobbies include hiking, camping, gardening, bird watching, and just about anything outdoors. Most of all, she keeps an eye on what's happening in the world of science education and is proud of all the students with whom she has worked over the years, many of whom have chosen to pursue higher education in science and serve in STEM careers.
Job Titles:
- Project Director, UPD
- UPD Project Director
UPD Project Director Joel Harris leads large scale initiatives at the district, state, and national levels for UPD. Joel founded a nonprofit funding engine for education innovation in San Antonio public schools called City Education Partners. After completing the KIPP School Leadership Program at New York University and in 2009, Joel founded KIPP University Prep High School in San Antonio. Joel has taught multiple subjects for grades 6-12 in district and charter schools in Tennessee and Mississippi. Joel has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, the New Teacher of the Year of Southaven High School, and Rhodes College Outstanding Young Alumnus. In addition to living in and serving on multiple boards in Texas, Joel is most importantly a husband and a father of five.
Katelyn holds her Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Katelyn has been in the education space for the past 12 years in both private and public sectors. She has spent most of her time teaching Early Childhood through 5th grade in the San Antonio and Austin area. During her time as a 4th grade teacher, she helped to create and launch school and district wide writing programs in Lake Travis ISD and Austin ISD. In 2018, Katelyn became an instructional coach in Hays CISD where she helped to implement a school wide phonics program and writing curriculum. After her time in the classroom, Katelyn began working as the TxCSI logistics coordinator for UPD. In this position, Katelyn is able to combine both of her passions: educators and event planning. Since Katelyn spent over a decade in the classroom, she recognizes how important it is for educators to feel valued for their time during their cohort convenings. She hopes everyone walks away feeling appreciated and that all of the details were accounted for.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager, UPD
- UPD Project Manager
UPD Project Manager Sukh Kaur has spent her career as a Texas educator at various levels in the system. As a teacher, a school leader, and city-wide nonprofit executive, she has supported innovation and equity as key components to improving teaching and learning. Sukh's previous consulting experience includes professional learning evaluations with the Florida DOE and System of Great Schools implementation for Texas districts. She has also served as a part-time faculty professor at Trinity University teaching in the Master of Educational Leadership program. Sukh lives in San Antonio and serves on the governing boards for various education and philanthropic organizations.