RAIL
Meet The Advisory Team
MAHA BALI
Professor of Practice, Center for Learning & Teaching, The American University in Cairo
Maha Bali is a professor of practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching at The American University in Cairo (AUC). She has a PhD in education from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. She co-founded Virtually Connecting, a grassroots movement that challenges academic gatekeeping at conferences.
AMBER BERRY
Vice President of AI & Strategy
Amber leads MSA’s most important innovation projects. Most recently she was the Head of the Middle School at St. Luke’s School (CT).
Amanda Bickerstaff
Founder & CEO, AI for Education
Amanda is a former teacher and long-time education technology leader. Under her leadership, AI for Education provides free, high quality resources to enable schools to use AI for powerful learning experiences.
Justin Cerenzia
Executive Director, Buckley Center for Teaching & Learning, Episcopal Academy, PA
Justin is the author of “The Academic DJ,” a blog on generative AI in learning, and he provides regular professional learning experiences to teachers on genAI. Episcopal is an MSA member school.
Michelle Haag, PH.D.
Associate Vice President, Middle States
Michelle is a former school leader who spent most of her career in the Middle East and Europe, and now helps schools [around the world] to earn and retain accreditation.
ERIC HUDSON
Facilitator & Strategic Advisor, Eric Hudson Consulting
Eric Hudson is a facilitator and strategic advisor who supports schools in making sense of what’s changing in education. He specializes in learner-centered assessment, human-centered leadership, and strategic program design. His Substack newsletter “Learning on Purpose” has been featured in The Marshall Memo and The Educator’s Notebook. He has a M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. from Cornell University. He lives on Cape Cod, MA, USA
MORGAN mifflin
AI Project Manager, Middle States
Morgan is a Philadelphia native who recently earned her Master of Arts in International Security from the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals in Spain.
Peter Nilsson
CEO, Athena
Peter Nilsson, founder of ed-tech company Athena and editor of The Educator's Notebook, has over 20 years of experience in education. Recently, he returned from a tenure as Head of School at Jordan's King’s Academy, following various roles at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Also a musician, Peter has collaborated with diverse ensembles and theater groups. He is the composer and lyricist for A Boarding School Musical, a one-act, Hamilton-style musical, which is currently being adapted into Schooled The Musical. He serves on the advisory boards for SXSWedu and the Center for Curriculum Redesign, which drive innovation in global education, and he won a 2017 Wolfram Innovation Award from Wolfram Research for the digital humanities course he designed for high school students, the first Wolfram Innovation Award given to a high school teacher.
Peggy Pelonis
President, ACS Athens (Athens, Greece)
Under Peggy’s leadership, ACS Athens has been working on AI in learning since 2018. As a trained psychologist, she brings additional expertise on the impact of AI on student wellbeing and agency. ACS Athens is a Middle States member, and Peggy is an MSA Commissioner.
KACEY STROCK
Associate Vice President, Middle States Association
Kacey’s experience spans 15 years in education, almost 10 of which were spent as a classroom teacher. She holds both a reading specialist certification and a supervisor certification. Her professional experiences include: classroom teaching, curriculum writing, grant writing, leading professional development, 1-1 push-in/pull-out intensive reading assistance, summer school teaching, and student assessment upon entry.
CHRISTIAN TALBOT
CEO & President, Middle States
At the helm of MSA, Christian remains dedicated to aligning mission, vision, culture, and strategy, then helping organizations to *implement* transformation. He is highly passionate about ushering schools and school systems into the new era of AI.
Tom Vander Ark
CEO, Getting Smart
Tom has been involved in educational technology for thirty years, beginning with his time as the President of the Gates Foundation’s Education practice. Under his leadership, Getting Smart has focused on AI in learning for many years.
Alisha Wilson
Doctoral Candidate at U. Minnesota in Communications Studies
Alisha is an MA candidate in Media & Culture at Drexel University, where she has focused some of her scholarship on AI in education, especially regarding questions of equity, belonging, and mental health.
