Kwame Simmons is a dynamic educator who uses an innovative approach to revolutionize urban education. Founder and senior facilitator of The Simmons Advantage, he has dedicated his career to transforming urban schools into national models of success and assisting students to achieve maximum academic outcomes.

His enthusiasm and depth of knowledge regarding current research in school leadership, high-quality instruction, technology integration, and assessment, help him identify and resolve barriers to gain optimum performance from teachers and diverse student populations. Simmons demonstrates effective leadership through his innovative thinking and willingness to take risks to produce the best learning environment for school communities.

While in St. Louis, Missouri, his efforts led his school to receive several national awards, including Most Improved School of the Year. Simmons went on to transform a persistently low-performing school in Washington, D.C., into the city's first blended-learning school. He has been recognized by the Washington Post and the U.S. Department of Education, and he received the 2015 BET Honors Award for Excellence in Education.

Salome Thomas-EL, a teacher and principal since 1987, is a K–8 principal in Wilmington, DE. He received national acclaim as a teacher and chess coach at Vaux Middle School in Philadelphia, where his students won world recognition as eight-time national chess champions. Principal EL is the author of bestselling books I Choose to Stay and The Immortality of Influence and co-author of Passionate Leadership, Building a Winning Team, and Retention for a Change.

He speaks to groups around the country and has appeared on C-SPAN, CNN, and NPR. Principal EL holds a doctorate in education leadership from Wilmington University and has received the Marcus A. Foster Award for Philadelphia's Outstanding School District Administrator and the University of Pennsylvania's Martin Luther King Award.