Spotlight on the People of SLN

Dr. Neale holds an NAESP National Mentoring Certification, participated in the Wallace Funds Leaders Count Forums and was awarded the Wallace Ventures in Leadership Grant.

Among the many presentations she has made on the subject of leadership in education are:

Northeast Regional Principals Summit: “Mentoring for Aspiring and Sitting Principals”, November 2001.

National Association of Elementary School Principals: “Principal Mentoring Programs: A Survey of Successful National Models”, April 2002,

National Association of Elementary School Principals: “Building Collaborative School Leadership Teams” April 2004.

Honors

National Distinguished Principal from Massachusetts 2002-2003

Fulbright Recipient (Education) Administrator Exchange: London, England 2004

Delegate to National Principals Summits, Washington, D.C. 2000 -2005

Five time winner of U.S. Secretary of Environmental Affairs Environmental Excellence in Education Award

Dr. Neale earned her B.A. in Political Science from The George Washington University, and her Ed.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Massachusetts. Her doctoral thesis, “The Role of the School Leader in Effective School Change” was published in 1994.

Before that, Matt served as the CFO of the Massachusetts division of a Philadelphia-based national non-profit corporation, Resources for Human Development, Inc. In addition, Matt worked for four years as an Audit and Business Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Philadelphia. While there, Matt obtained his CPA license.

Matt has an Executive MBA from Boston University, as well as BS from Villanova University in Accountancy with an English minor.

Prior to joining School Leaders Network, she led all corporate and foundation development efforts for Teach For America in Los Angeles, California, where she managed strategy and execution of fundraising efforts and consistently exceeded goals from year to year. She has also served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for Managed Rehabilitation, Inc. in Houston, Texas, where she achieved an excellent track record of success. 

Ms. Jensen graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Advertising and minor in Business. She also earned a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

She has written elementary school curriculum for the US market with Houghton Mifflin and for the Indian and Bhutanese market with iDiscoveri. She has studied and taught in the Caribbean in Trinidad and Dominica.

Ms. Roy began her career as a grade two teacher in Washington, DC with Teach for America. She earned an M.E.D. degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. cum laude with honors from Colgate University in Economics and Education.

Her pursuits to understand and contribute to learning community work nationally led her to ultimately study School Leaders Network for her dissertation study, Developing Principal Instructional Leadership through Collaborative Networking.

Dr. Jenkins is also a certified Diversity Practitioner and has traveled internationally facilitating diversity, social justice and anti-oppression work with NTL’s Diversity Leadership Program. His work is rooted in exploring the impact of power, privilege and oppression on urban education centers and the students and communities they serve. He holds his Doctorate Degree in Education Administration from New York University.

Marlene was selected to help develop and lead a new school, Rochester Early College International High School, opening September 2010. The school will prepare globally competent college-ready students by partnering with the Asia Society, St. John Fisher College and Monroe Community College.

She is a founding Professional Development School Principal working in conjunction with St. John Fisher College. Mrs. Blocker served on the Rochester Leadership Academy (RLA) Development Team and is a current member of the RLA Implementation Team. She has been a scorer for the New York State Administrators Exam, is a trained Haberman Star Administrator Selection Interviewer, and has served as a Member of a New York State School under Registration Review (SURR) Team.

Mrs. Blocker lives by the motto, “Each and Every Child should be Challenged and Excel.” She is passionate about building relationships with children and families and works diligently to create a structured nurturing environment conducive for teaching and learning. Her diverse experiences in both teaching and leading have enriched the lives of many.

Mrs. Blocker holds a Master’s Degree in School Administration and Supervision from St. John Fisher College. She holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education form SUNY Brockport as well as a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Frances previously served as executive vice president of the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), a non-profit organization and market leader in the fields of study abroad and international student exchange. In addition to developing new business activities, over the course of her ten years at CIEE, she also served as chief operating officer of the organization's largest division, managing operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States. 

Prior to CIEE, Frances was the director of North American marketing and sales for the EF International Language Schools, and also worked as a regional director for Teach for America. 

Frances also serves on the board of KIPP Academy Lynn, a high-performing charter school in Massachusetts.