Board of Directors — Grow Beyond Grades

Kimberly Eckert - President

Kimberly Eckert serves as the Dean of Oxford Teachers College at Reach University and Educators Rising Louisiana Founder and State Coordinator. An educator for 16 years, Eckert was a 2020 Global Teacher Prize finalist, 2019 NEA Social Justice Activist of the Year national finalist, the 2018 Louisiana Teacher of the Year, and the inaugural Louisiana Public Interest Fellow for her work developing state-wide programming for targeted recruitment of a diverse and culturally responsive teacher pipeline. Kimberly is also a reading specialist, having served as an Innovative Programs Coordinator, LDOE Deputy Assistant Superintendent of Educator Development, an instructional coach, master teacher, reading interventionist, mentor teacher, English and special education teacher. As a classroom teacher, her primary focus is authentic, problem-based learning for all. She is co-author of Flip the System US: How Teachers Can Transform Education and Save Democracy, and enjoys cooking, eating cheese, video games, and Legos.

Kader Adjout

Kader Adjout is the Director of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation at Beaver Country Day School, a grade 6-12 independent school near Boston, USA. Kader has been working on and presenting about expanding the nature of school; innovation in teaching and learning; and fairness and equity in assessment practices. He continues to promote a "next practice" and "continuous improvement" mindset to support his colleagues and students. Kader is co-director of the Future FocusED conference and has presented at Challenge Success, OEB Berlin, BETT London, and Deeper Learning in San Diego, USA.

Susan Blum

Susan D. Blum is a professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of a trilogy about education: Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning (2024); "I Love Learning; I Hate School": An Anthropology of College (2016); and My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture (2009), all published by Cornell University Press, and is the editor of Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (West Virginia University Press, 2020). She has taught in higher education for thirty-five years, and at Notre Dame since 2000.

Johanna Brown

Johanna Brown is the Associate Director of Secondary Science for the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction where she leads 6-12 science instruction and manages one of the nation’s first statewide investments in climate learning, ClimeTime. Johanna previously taught chemistry and computer science in rural Pullman, Washington where her ungrading journey began. She has since championed ungrading and progressive grading via presentations and workshops most often through the National Science Teaching Association. Johanna is a 2022 recipient of the Robert E. Yager award for exemplary science teaching, a 2022 Geekwire STEM Educator of the Year, and a 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching Finalist. She is passionate about liberatory learning practices, climate solutions, and appreciation for all that her students have taught her.

David Kirkland

Dr. David E. Kirkland, PhD, is a visionary leader, scholar, and advocate for education justice. As Founder and CEO of forwardED, LLC, he pioneers transformative solutions for equity in education. Previously Vice Dean of Equity and Executive Director of NYU’s Metro Center, Dr. Kirkland’s scholarship has yielded groundbreaking insights into the systems of power and disparities perpetuated by academia. His work has played a pivotal role in reducing racial disparities in education and fostering culturally responsive-sustaining education, transforming educational services nationwide. Kirkland is the author of A Search Past Silence: The Literacy of Young Black Men, which shed light on the misuse of research evidence on vulnerable populations, advocating for a human-centered approach to scholarship. Recognized with awards like NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Dr. Kirkland shares his insights nationwide through lectures and media contributions.

Chris McNutt

Chris McNutt is the co-founder and executive director of Human Restoration Project, a nonprofit organization focused on student engagement, well-being, and motivation. His work centers on realizing systems-based change, examining how progressive pedagogical shifts (e.g. PBL, ungrading) reimagine school to best suit the needs of students and teachers alike. He was a public high school digital media & design educator who focused on experiential learning, portfolio-driven assessment, and community involvement.

Ameena L. Payne

Ameena L. Payne is a strategic PhD scholarship holder at Deakin University’s Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning. Ameena’s current research aims to better understand the lived feedback experiences of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse postgraduate coursework students in Australia. She is a recipient of her alma mater’s Outstanding Young Alumna Award (2022) and is interested in socially just and equitable education, specifically assessment design and feedback. Her recent publications include the article ‘Humanising feedback encounters: a qualitative study of relational literacies for teachers engaging in technology-enhanced feedback’ (with Rola Ajjawi and Jessica Holloway) in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Her website is ameenapayne.com, and she tweets as @AmeenaLPayne.