President – Jim Spillane
James P. Spillane is the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Professor in Learning and Organizational Change at the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. A former primary school teacher at St. Mary’s on the Hill N.S., Cork, Spillane has published extensively on issues of education policy, policy implementation, school reform, and school leadership.
Jim’s work explores the policy implementation process at the state, district, school, and classroom levels, focusing on intergovernmental and policy-practice relations. He also studies organizational leadership and change, and distributed leadership in schools. Recent projects include studies of relations between organizational infrastructure and instructional advice-seeking in schools and the socialization of new school principals. In recognition of his contribution to educational research, Spillane was elected to the US National Academy of Education in 2013 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.
President Elect – Danette Parsley
Danette Parsley is chief executive officer at Marzano Research. Danette brings over two decades of experience leading people and projects to support school systems in pursuing evidence-based change to the company. Under her leadership, staff combine deep content, scientific inquiry, and system improvement expertise with a wealth of practical experience to support partners in improving education systems, practices, and outcomes for all learners. She is passionate about creating conditions for individuals, teams, and organizations to develop and thrive.
Dannette is an expert in school system improvement, professional learning networks, rural education, research-practice partnerships, and out-of-school-time programs and practices. She has led dozens of large-scale projects supporting the efforts of schools, districts, and state education agencies in improving student outcomes. She has presented and published widely on these educational improvement topics. Danette received a doctorate in organizational change from Pepperdine University and a master’s degree in educational psychology, research and evaluation methodology, from the University of Colorado at Denver.
Board Member – Dorothy Andrews
Dr Dorothy Andrews, B.A; Dip Ed; M.EdSt; PhD, FACE, FACEQ, FACEL, is an Associate Professor, and Director of the Leadership Research International at the University of Southern Queensland. Dorothy teaches and researches in the areas of leadership and processes of whole-school improvement.
Dorothy has been engaged in three longitudinal studies tracing the impact of whole school improvement processes (IDEAS). The LRI team was awarded the Australian Council for Educational Leaders Gold Medal in 2003 for excellence in research. Dorothy’s current research is focused on Leadership (including Teacher Leadership), capacity building and organisational change.
Board Member – Paul Campbell
Dr Paul Campbell is a (Research) Assistant Professor of Education Policy and Leadership at The Education University of Hong Kong. His research and teaching focuses on the intersection of collaboration, leadership, and educational change, with a particular interest in education policy development and governance. Prior to moving into higher education, Paul was a Vice Principal, Senior Leader, and Primary Teacher in Scotland, Australia, Spain and Hong Kong, and a Scholar-Practitioner Fellow of the Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change.
Paul is widely engaged in the broader education community. He serves as a Co-coordinator of ICSEI’s Educational Leadership Network and sits on the editorial board of the School Leadership and Management (SLAM) andManagement in Education (MiE) journals, the Publications Committee of the British Educational Research Association (BERA), and is a member of the WISE ALL-IN network.
Board Member – Melanie Ehren
Melanie Ehren is a Professor in Educational Governance at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, director of research institute LEARN! and honorary professor at University College, Institute of Education.
Melanie combines a strong disciplinary background in educational and school effectiveness with a comparative approach to understanding outcomes of education systems. Her international work on school evaluation and improvement has included various countries in the EU, Africa, Asia and the U.S, including visiting scholarships at Harvard University and Columbia University and consultancies for the OECD, UNICEF, and the EU.
Board Member – Christine Grice
Dr Christine Grice is an Australian educator. Christine’s research seeks to understand what underpins pedagogical decisions in schools. Her key research interests are in leading learning, curriculum, and pedagogy, using practice theory approaches.
Christine has over 25 years of teaching and leadership experience in schools and universities. She enjoys supporting educators to connect theory and practice for purposeful leading in her research and practice. She coordinates the Master of Educational Leadership at The University of Sydney.
Board Member – Trista Hollweck
Dr. Trista Hollweck is a pracademic who integrates the worlds of research, policy, and practice. She is a former teacher, vice-principal, and school district consultant. Currently, Trista is the Principal Investigator of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)-funded research project “Teaching Matters – Scaling Quality Teacher-Driven Communities of Practice and Learning in Sierra Leone,” led by the Canadian non-governmental organization CODE. She also teaches courses in teacher education and graduate studies at the University of Ottawa, Ontario. Trista has designed, implemented and led educational networks at the local, provincial, national and international level, such as the Teacher Induction Program (TIP) at the Western Quebec School Board, the Accompaniment Project for the Leadership Committee for English Education in Quebec (LCEEQ), the Canadian Playful Schools Network and the ARC Education Project.
Trista’s research examines professional learning networks, teacher retention and evaluation, mentoring and coaching programs, women and educational leadership, learning through play, and systemic change. Trista received her doctorate from the University of Ottawa and is an active ICSEI member. She was the ICSEI Early Career representative from 2017-2019, co-chair of the Generational Renewal, Inclusion and Diversity (GRID) Standing Committee and co-editor of the ICSEI Dialogic. Trista is a proud mom of three and is committed to supporting schools and systems to improve education for all students within and across educational systems globally.
Board Member – Pierre Tulowitzki
Professor Pierre Tulowitzki is Chair of Educational Management and School Improvement at the School of Education of the FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. His research interests revolve around leadership and innovation in schools. In addition to serving as a board member of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI), Pierre Tulowitzki serves as the Link Convenor of the Educational Leadership Network of the European Educational Research Association (EERA).
Pierre Tulowitzki has conducted and presented research on various topics from the realm of educational leadership and school improvement research. He has spoken at numerous conferences and other academic and public engagements. He serves on the editorial board of several international journals (for example Leadership and Policy in Schools, the Journal of Educational Administration and the International Journal of Educational Management). He in addition, he is the co-editor of the Journal für Schulentwicklung, one of the leading German-speaking journals for practitioners.
Board Member – Rania Sawalhi
Dr. Rania Sawalhi is a dedicated educator and leader with a PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of Warwick. With over two decades of experience as a teacher, principal, and in higher education, she has worked alongside educators, leaders, and students across the Middle East and beyond.
Her contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Study UK Alumni Award for Social Impact, the AERA International Fund Award, the ICSEI Innovation Award, and the Sheikh Faisal Award, highlighting her commitment to empowering educators and fostering sustainable school improvement.
Dr. Sawalhi co-founded Eduenterprise, a non-profit organization promoting leadership through design thinking and mentorship, and has supported numerous initiatives to uplift educators and foster educational innovation. She is also a published author and frequent speaker at international conferences, contributing to organizations like FranklinCovey education.
As an Assistant Professor based in Jordan, Dr. Sawalhi views education as a collaborative journey, inviting educators to embrace equity, innovation, and shared responsibility to transform education into a force for positive change.
Board Member – Larissa McLean Davies
Dr Larissa McLean Davies is Deputy Dean and Professor of Teacher Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Larissa’s research spans the fields of teacher education and professional learning, and literacy and English education. Her scholarship is concerned with the ways in which teacher knowledge is built and developed, particularly in the context of justice, anti-colonial, and sustainability imperatives. Larissa is known for her strong partnerships with governments and not-for-profit organisations which are mobilised to support large-scale projects to improve educational outcomes for diverse learners. Since 2019, Larissa has co-directed the Literary Education Lab https://literaryeducationlab.org/, which hosts a range of interdisciplinary projects focusing on the role literature plays in shaping national and global narratives and building new disciplinary and pedagogical understandings of major social and environmental challenges.
Board Member – Asmaa Al Fadala
Dr. Asmaa Al Fadala, an Assistant Professor at the College of Public Policy at HBKU, holds a rich 28-year career spanning K-12 education, higher education, and policy development. Her multi-faceted journey includes roles as a governmental policy writer, professor, author of leadership reform publications, and board member of educational organizations. Dr. Al Fadala’s research expertise covers leadership for learning, education transformation, teacher professional development, educational reform, innovation in education, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr Alfadala holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil from the University of Cambridge in Educational Leadership and Policy and has made significant contributions to the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute. In addition to her scholarly achievements, Dr. Al Fadala advises global entities like Karanga and the Hughes Hall Development Strategy Group, while also serving on advisory committees for organizations like Greater Share. Notably, she is a jury member for the Riyada Award in Oman and sits on the board of the University of Doha for Science and Technology. Furthermore, Dr. Al Fadala is an active member of the Comparative International Education Society and International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, highlighting her commitment to advancing educational discourse globally.
Company Secretary – Jackie Brien
Executive Director – Andrea Stringer