Keynote Speakers

Opening Day Keynote, Wednesday, November 8, 2023 - Dr. Joe Sanfelippo

Dr. Joe Sanfelippo is the Superintendent of the Fall Creek School District in Fall Creek, WI. The Fall Creek School District was named an Innovative District in 2016 and 2017 by the International Center for Leadership in Education. Dr. Sanfelippo started the #1minwalk2work Leadership Challenge, and co-authored The Power of Branding-Telling Your School's Story, Principal Professional Development: Leading Learning in a Digital Age and Hacking Leadership: 10 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Learning That Teachers, Students, and Parents Love. He was selected as 1 of 117 Future Ready Superintendents in 2014 and 1 of 50 Superintendents as a Personalized Learning Leader in 2016 by the US Department of Education. He attended summits at the White House for both distinctions. Education Dive named Dr. Sanfelippo 1 of 5 K-12 administrators to watch in 2018 and their National Superintendent of the Year in 2019. He has been a featured speaker in multiple states in the areas of Advancing the Use of Social Media for School Leaders, Telling Your School Story, Creating a Culture of Yes, and Personalized Professional Growth for Staff. 

Keynote Speaker, Thursday, November 9, 2023 - Julie Weatherly, Esq.

Julie J. Weatherly, Esq. is the owner of Resolutions in Special Education, Inc., a special education law and consulting firm in Alabama. Julie is a member of the State Bars of Alabama and Georgia and for over thirty-six years has provided consultation and legal presentations to school agencies across the country in the area of educating students with disabilities. Julie has developed a number of training programs (in-person and virtual) that support special education legal compliance and has been published nationally for her trainings, workshops, and seminars. In June of 1996, Julie appeared on the CBS news program “60 Minutes” to discuss the cost of meeting the legal requirements of IDEA. In 1998, she was honored by Georgia’s CEC as the Individual who had Contributed Most to Students with Disabilities, and in April 2012, Julie received the Award for Outstanding Service from the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE).

Friday, November 10, 2023 - Glenna Wright-Gallo

Glenna Wright-Gallo serves as the advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education on matters related to the education of children and youth with disabilities, as well as employment and community living for youth and adults with disabilities. The mission of her office is to improve early childhood, educational, and employment outcomes, and to raise expectations for all people with disabilities, their families, their communities, and the nation. Glenna Wright-Gallo has more than 25 years of experience supporting students and adults with disabilities. She served as the assistant superintendent of special education in the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in Washington from 2017–2022 and previously as the state director of special education for the Utah State Board of Education for seven years. In her state-level education leadership roles, Wright-Gallo provided expertise in the improvement planning, data analysis, and monitoring of public pre-K through 12th grade+ special education programs. Before her state-level education leadership roles, Wright-Gallo worked as a classroom teacher and administrator.