About My School Improvement Partner

Dr. Terry Hofer is the director of WestEd’s Center for School Turnaround and Improvement, where he leads a team supporting state education agencies, districts, and schools across the country. His work is grounded in the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement and focuses on helping leaders translate ambitious priorities into consistent practice. Before joining WestEd, Hofer served as a teacher, instructional coach, principal, and district administrator and as the senior vice president for an education management organization. His current work explores how leadership practice, evidence, and emerging technologies can help school leaders sustain improvement in the realities of their daily work.

Dr. Contann Dabney is a nationally recognized education leader with extensive experience supporting school improvement and transformation at the state, district, and school levels. At WestEd, she leads school improvement initiatives and partners with education leaders to strengthen leadership capacity, use data to drive improvement, and translate research-based practices into meaningful action. Her expertise includes transformational and culturally responsive leadership, leadership coaching, continuous improvement, and the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement. She brings extensive practitioner experience to helping leaders identify priorities, make informed decisions, and turn improvement goals into sustainable action.

Giselle Sherry-Marsh assists SEA, LEA, and school leaders with the application of the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement to support continuous improvement efforts. Sherry-Marsh joined WestEd with over 10 years of successful school turnaround experience within urban and suburban schools and districts.

Dr. Jessica Gray’s expertise spans systems-level change, special education, literacy, and behavior. She holds a doctorate in educational psychology and methodology, is a certified special education and literacy teacher, and has published peer-reviewed research on writing instruction and inclusive practice. She began her career in a self-contained K–2 classroom and has since partnered with state agencies, districts, and school leaders to build capacity for sustainable improvement.

Jeannine Medvedich brings nearly 30 years of K–12 experience across public, Bureau of Indian Education, and Tribal Compact schools—from classroom teacher to principal, Special Education Director, Director of Instructional Leadership, and Chief Academic Officer. Her expertise spans turnaround leadership, curriculum and instruction, behavior and brain-based learning, special education, data and accountability, principal coaching, and grants compliance. At Chief Leschi Schools, she helped raise the Indigenous graduation rate from ~53 percent to above 90 percent and postsecondary enrollment from 10 percent to 50 percent, even through the pandemic. She is a published Routledge contributor, National BIE Bright Spot awardee, and national speaker featured in outlets from the Seattle Times to Verizon Business.

Joseph G. Sassone supports underserved schools and districts nationwide through leadership coaching, training, and technical assistance. His work focuses on helping educational leaders implement effective school improvement practices, including the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement, with a particular emphasis on partnering with Native American schools. Sassone is the author of Leading With Urgency: Five Levers for Effective School Improvement and Lasting Change, published by Teachers College Press.

Edgar Lin draws on his experience as a New York City school leader and his work with district and school leaders nationwide to build the conditions and processes that turn a school’s vision for student learning into reality. Grounded in curiosity (letting go of being right), generosity (assuming we’re all doing our best), and kindness (being clear), he partners with leaders to sharpen their supervision through the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement, driving continuous improvement and high-level learning for all students.

Shakinna Patterson partners with schools, districts, and state agencies to strengthen instructional leadership and support continuous school improvement. She provides transformational leadership coaching, facilitates comprehensive needs assessments, and supports strategic planning using the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement. Before joining WestEd, Patterson served as Director of School Improvement Programs at the Mississippi Department of Education, leading statewide efforts to strengthen leadership capacity and improve outcomes in the state’s lowest performing schools.