Raegan McCullough

Raegan McCullough grew up watching her parents, who were dedicated educators, experience exhaustion and diminishing energy levels throughout the school years. This observation transferred into the classroom, where she empathized with emotionally drained teachers. Seeing the detrimental impact the job has on teachers and their students, Raegan desired to make a difference in the lives of teachers.
Raegan attended Clemson University to study Food Science, Communication Studies, and Education. Equipped with a diverse skill set, Raegan became a PT at Freedom Fitness, where she taught educators health practices that lowered anxiety prescriptions, increased thought clarity, and revamped classroom awareness and energy! Raegan realized many educators believe self-care is selfish and have difficulty seeing their worth.
This realization motivated Raegan to create The Healthy Teacher (THT), a revolutionary wellness program. Today, Raegan fights to prevent burnout, enhance classroom management, and foster stronger teacher-student relationships. THT empowers educators to prioritize their well-being and create thriving learning environments.
Through THT’s innovative approach, Raegan is revolutionizing the field of education, demonstrating that teacher well-being is essential for student success. Her ongoing commitment to transforming education and supporting educators has made a lasting impact, helping teachers across the nation flourish and inspire future generations.

Lauren Ross

Lauren Ross brings a wealth of experience and expertise in promoting holistic well-being. As a D1 athlete, Lauren Ross quickly learned the skill of discipline, commitment, and the strength of a healthy mind. Her athletic achievements sparked her passion for brain nourishment, health, and fitness.
After graduating, Lauren became a personal trainer, training under Mr. USA himself. In 2014, she began teaching PE and Music at a private school, where her background in health drew numerous educators seeking advice. Lauren observed teachers improve classroom management, elevate their moods, and engage more deeply with their students.
In 2016, Lauren founded Freedom Fitness. With over 14,000 hours and 11 years of personal training, she has supported countless overworked, stressed, and burnt-out educators. 98% of her clients successfully reduced or discontinued their anxiety medication usage.
Lauren's approach empowers educators physically, mentally, and emotionally, profoundly impacting their students. She has also conducted Fitness Fridays with special needs classes and delivered impactful talks on the power of words and self- confidence to pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade students.
Lauren is committed to educator well-being and advancing students' academic and personal growth. Her work embodies a dedication to creating a holistic wellness and empowerment culture within the education community.

Ashley Bennetone

Schlonda Gates

Sarah Scattergood

Stacey Owens Howard

Amy Davis, Ed.D

Mia Pumo

Arasi Adkins

Arasi has worked in K12 and higher education human resources for over 20 years. Prior to independent consulting, she served as Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources in Durham Public Schools, NC. She became interested in helping school districts recruit and retain the right people in healthy working environments. Arasi is also interested in mindfulness and meditation and during the most stressful times in her career – especially and including during this COVID crisis. She’s interested in helping other busy women take practical steps to improve their overall health and well-being through mindfulness, meditation, and simple breathing techniques and exercises.

Sarah Scattergood

Becky Dukes

Andrea Freile

Molly McGowan Gorsuch, APR

As Director of Client Engagement for Rhodes Branding, a strategic branding and marketing firm that exclusively serves the K-12 education space, Molly McGowan Gorsuch is the liaison between education leaders and the agency, connecting the K-12 community with services designed to accelerate performance and market position. She leads content and partner engagement strategy and is a frequent conference presenter and podcast/blog guest. Prior to Rhodes, Molly led communication and public relations for a mid-size public school district for 8 years.

Molly is the 2024 Chapter President for the PRSA Western North Carolina Chapter, serves on the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA)’s APR Accreditation Committee, and is an NSPRA “35 Under 35” award winner. She is also a former board member and state coordinator for the North Carolina School Public Relations Association. Molly likes to push it to the limit, and races competitively in Obstacle Course Races and functional fitness events.

Amy Holcombe

Jewell Cooper

Paula Price

Christina O'Connor

Nicki Young

Beverly Britton

Dr. Beverly Emory has 41 years of experience in education and 25 of those as a superintendent in North Carolina and Ohio. She recently served as the NC Deputy State Superintendent and the NC Department of Public Instruction Executive Director of District & School Transformation. She has served as a Teacher, Public Information Officer, Principal and Adjunct Professor. Bev earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Appalachian State University and her doctorate from Vanderbilt University. Believing in lifelong learning, she is currently studying to earn licensure as a Personal Trainer from the American Council on Exercise.

Raegan McCullough

Raegan McCullough grew up watching her parents, who were dedicated educators, experience exhaustion and diminishing energy levels throughout the school years. This observation transferred into the classroom, where she empathized with emotionally drained teachers. Seeing the detrimental impact the job has on teachers and their students, Raegan desired to make a difference in the lives of teachers.
Raegan attended Clemson University to study Food Science, Communication Studies, and Education. Equipped with a diverse skill set, Raegan became a PT at Freedom Fitness, where she taught educators health practices that lowered anxiety prescriptions, increased thought clarity, and revamped classroom awareness and energy! Raegan realized many educators believe self-care is selfish and have difficulty seeing their worth.
This realization motivated Raegan to create The Healthy Teacher (THT), a revolutionary wellness program. Today, Raegan fights to prevent burnout, enhance classroom management, and foster stronger teacher-student relationships. THT empowers educators to prioritize their well-being and create thriving learning environments.
Through THT’s innovative approach, Raegan is revolutionizing the field of education, demonstrating that teacher well-being is essential for student success. Her ongoing commitment to transforming education and supporting educators has made a lasting impact, helping teachers across the nation flourish and inspire future generations.

Lauren Ross

Lauren Ross brings a wealth of experience and expertise in promoting holistic well-being. As a D1 athlete, Lauren Ross quickly learned the skill of discipline, commitment, and the strength of a healthy mind. Her athletic achievements sparked her passion for brain nourishment, health, and fitness.
After graduating, Lauren became a personal trainer, training under Mr. USA himself. In 2014, she began teaching PE and Music at a private school, where her background in health drew numerous educators seeking advice. Lauren observed teachers improve classroom management, elevate their moods, and engage more deeply with their students.
In 2016, Lauren founded Freedom Fitness. With over 14,000 hours and 11 years of personal training, she has supported countless overworked, stressed, and burnt-out educators. 98% of her clients successfully reduced or discontinued their anxiety medication usage.
Lauren's approach empowers educators physically, mentally, and emotionally, profoundly impacting their students. She has also conducted Fitness Fridays with special needs classes and delivered impactful talks on the power of words and self- confidence to pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade students.
Lauren is committed to educator well-being and advancing students' academic and personal growth. Her work embodies a dedication to creating a holistic wellness and empowerment culture within the education community.

Paula Wilkins

Dr. Paula B. Wilkins is a native of Winston Salem. Paula has fond memories of attending Walkertown Elementary and Middle Schools and graduating from Carver High School.
Dr. Wilkins earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University, a Master of Arts in teaching from Wake Forest University, a master’s degree in educational leadership and an education specialist degree from Appalachian State University, and a Doctorate in Education from Gardner-Webb University.
Paula has a combined experience of over twenty-one years in public education with most serving in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. From April 2016 to November 2021 Paula served as the Principal/Executive Director at Cook Literacy Model School, Executive Director of Project Impact. In the role as Principal, Dr. Wilkins was able to support the school by being removed from both the low-performing and recurring low-performing status and helping support the school to increase a letter grade. Since 2022, Paula has served as the WS/FCS Chief Academic Officer. Dr. Wilkins focuses on pushing for high-quality learning experiences for our students and aligning to the WS/FCS goal to help students take ownership of their learning.
Currently, Dr. Wilkins is most excited and passionate about her current work to of ensuring that every student in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County has the experiences, supports, and instruction to learn to read by the end of third grade as the Chief Academic Officer. Reading for every student is mission critical and each of us in our community has a duty to support the students in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County to access this fundamental right! Dr. Wilkins believes that engaging our community and helping support educators is the key to transformational change in education. If we focus on working side-by side with our community and educators we will ensure that every student has a caring and supportive adult and continues to grow with the knowledge and skills to be life-ready!
Dr. Wilkins enjoys engaging her free time with her extended family and husband, Vincent Wilkins and three daughters, VeNay (25), VeNise (16), and Valentina (15) Wilkins traveling and learning from other cultures and experiencing the world. She believes that each of us has a zone of genius and the goal is to identify that zone and leave in the passions that bring you joy and help make an impact.

Angela Bain

Que Tucker

Marilyn Que Tucker is currently serving as the Commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, a position she assumed in December 2015. In this role, Tucker oversees the entire operation of the Association, which includes a staff of 17, a sports’ program consisting of 13 different sports, culminating in 90 state team championships for men and women in 4 classifications for 443 member high schools.
A native of Rockingham County, Marilyn Que Tucker (called Que--by her middle name) was an outstanding basketball player for 4 years at Stoneville High School. Upon graduation, she went from there to Mars Hill College, where she played basketball and graduated in 1974 with a B.S. degree in physical education. She earned her master’s degree in physical education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1977, serving as a graduate assistant there in women’s volleyball and basketball. Her first teaching position was in 1975, in Marion, NC, where she taught and coached at West McDowell Junior High School. She finished her public-school career in 1989, after 12 years at Reidsville Junior and Senior High Schools, while serving as Varsity Volleyball and Basketball Coach for the Reidsville High School Rams.

In 1989, she was named Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at North Carolina State University, working along-side the famous Hall of Fame Head Coach Kay Yow. Among her duties there was to oversee the team’s academic progress. Additionally, she helped guide the Wolfpack women to an ACC Championship in 1991.

In June 1991, Que hung up her coaching whistle when she was named an Assistant Executive Director of the NC High School Athletic Association and was put in charge of developing a student services program to address drug use by high school athletes, and to help develop leadership skills of student athletes, coaches and athletic directors. From 2005-2015, she served as Deputy Commissioner, where she oversaw the entire sports program for the Association.

She has an excellent background in officiating, serving as a game official in volleyball, basketball and softball. She is a charter member of the Mars Hill College Athletic Hall of Fame, a member of the NC Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame, the NC High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, and in May 2024 inducted into the NC Sports Hall of Fame.

Rose Else-Mitchell

Rose has extensive experience as a corporate executive, R & D advisor, education researcher, teacher, and Board Member. She teachers the course Impact by Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She serves on the Board of Newsela and as a Trustee of Success Academy Charter Schools,the highest achieving charter school network in the country serving over 20,000 students prek-12 in New York. She is Executive Director of the Science of Reading Center at SUNY in upstate New York. Rose was previously President of Scholastic Education, and Executive Vice President, Global Product Development responsible for Ed Tech product strategy, including highly-researched and proven programs including: READ 180, MATH 180, System 44, and iRead. From 2016-2019, Rose was Chief Learning Officer at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), where she oversaw Efficacy Research, Learning Science, and Data Analytics teams, as well as General Manager of the Professional Services division that provided professional learning to over 300,000 educators each year. Rose is the founder of the podcast Teachers in America, which she started to elevate the real-life stories of classroom teachers, and what drives them.

Rose began her career as a high school teacher in Sydney, Australia and holds a master’s degree from the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from the University of Oxford, UK. She lives in the Hudson Valley, New York with her husband and her daughter who started as a high school Freshman this month.

Beverly Britton

Dr. Beverly Emory has 41 years of experience in education and 25 of those as a superintendent in North Carolina and Ohio. She recently served as the NC Deputy State Superintendent and the NC Department of Public Instruction Executive Director of District & School Transformation. She has served as a Teacher, Public Information Officer, Principal and Adjunct Professor. Bev earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Appalachian State University and her doctorate from Vanderbilt University. Believing in lifelong learning, she is currently studying to earn licensure as a Personal Trainer from the American Council on Exercise.

Raegan McCullough

Raegan McCullough grew up watching her parents, who were dedicated educators, experience exhaustion and diminishing energy levels throughout the school years. This observation transferred into the classroom, where she empathized with emotionally drained teachers. Seeing the detrimental impact the job has on teachers and their students, Raegan desired to make a difference in the lives of teachers.
Raegan attended Clemson University to study Food Science, Communication Studies, and Education. Equipped with a diverse skill set, Raegan became a PT at Freedom Fitness, where she taught educators health practices that lowered anxiety prescriptions, increased thought clarity, and revamped classroom awareness and energy! Raegan realized many educators believe self-care is selfish and have difficulty seeing their worth.
This realization motivated Raegan to create The Healthy Teacher (THT), a revolutionary wellness program. Today, Raegan fights to prevent burnout, enhance classroom management, and foster stronger teacher-student relationships. THT empowers educators to prioritize their well-being and create thriving learning environments.
Through THT’s innovative approach, Raegan is revolutionizing the field of education, demonstrating that teacher well-being is essential for student success. Her ongoing commitment to transforming education and supporting educators has made a lasting impact, helping teachers across the nation flourish and inspire future generations.

Lauren Ross

Lauren Ross brings a wealth of experience and expertise in promoting holistic well-being. As a D1 athlete, Lauren Ross quickly learned the skill of discipline, commitment, and the strength of a healthy mind. Her athletic achievements sparked her passion for brain nourishment, health, and fitness.
After graduating, Lauren became a personal trainer, training under Mr. USA himself. In 2014, she began teaching PE and Music at a private school, where her background in health drew numerous educators seeking advice. Lauren observed teachers improve classroom management, elevate their moods, and engage more deeply with their students.
In 2016, Lauren founded Freedom Fitness. With over 14,000 hours and 11 years of personal training, she has supported countless overworked, stressed, and burnt-out educators. 98% of her clients successfully reduced or discontinued their anxiety medication usage.
Lauren's approach empowers educators physically, mentally, and emotionally, profoundly impacting their students. She has also conducted Fitness Fridays with special needs classes and delivered impactful talks on the power of words and self- confidence to pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade students.
Lauren is committed to educator well-being and advancing students' academic and personal growth. Her work embodies a dedication to creating a holistic wellness and empowerment culture within the education community.

June Atkinson

Beverly Britton

Dr. Beverly Emory has 41 years of experience in education and 25 of those as a superintendent in North Carolina and Ohio. She recently served as the NC Deputy State Superintendent and the NC Department of Public Instruction Executive Director of District & School Transformation. She has served as a Teacher, Public Information Officer, Principal and Adjunct Professor. Bev earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Appalachian State University and her doctorate from Vanderbilt University. Believing in lifelong learning, she is currently studying to earn licensure as a Personal Trainer from the American Council on Exercise.

Raegan McCullough

Raegan McCullough grew up watching her parents, who were dedicated educators, experience exhaustion and diminishing energy levels throughout the school years. This observation transferred into the classroom, where she empathized with emotionally drained teachers. Seeing the detrimental impact the job has on teachers and their students, Raegan desired to make a difference in the lives of teachers.
Raegan attended Clemson University to study Food Science, Communication Studies, and Education. Equipped with a diverse skill set, Raegan became a PT at Freedom Fitness, where she taught educators health practices that lowered anxiety prescriptions, increased thought clarity, and revamped classroom awareness and energy! Raegan realized many educators believe self-care is selfish and have difficulty seeing their worth.
This realization motivated Raegan to create The Healthy Teacher (THT), a revolutionary wellness program. Today, Raegan fights to prevent burnout, enhance classroom management, and foster stronger teacher-student relationships. THT empowers educators to prioritize their well-being and create thriving learning environments.
Through THT’s innovative approach, Raegan is revolutionizing the field of education, demonstrating that teacher well-being is essential for student success. Her ongoing commitment to transforming education and supporting educators has made a lasting impact, helping teachers across the nation flourish and inspire future generations.

Lauren Ross

Lauren Ross brings a wealth of experience and expertise in promoting holistic well-being. As a D1 athlete, Lauren Ross quickly learned the skill of discipline, commitment, and the strength of a healthy mind. Her athletic achievements sparked her passion for brain nourishment, health, and fitness.
After graduating, Lauren became a personal trainer, training under Mr. USA himself. In 2014, she began teaching PE and Music at a private school, where her background in health drew numerous educators seeking advice. Lauren observed teachers improve classroom management, elevate their moods, and engage more deeply with their students.
In 2016, Lauren founded Freedom Fitness. With over 14,000 hours and 11 years of personal training, she has supported countless overworked, stressed, and burnt-out educators. 98% of her clients successfully reduced or discontinued their anxiety medication usage.
Lauren's approach empowers educators physically, mentally, and emotionally, profoundly impacting their students. She has also conducted Fitness Fridays with special needs classes and delivered impactful talks on the power of words and self- confidence to pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade students.
Lauren is committed to educator well-being and advancing students' academic and personal growth. Her work embodies a dedication to creating a holistic wellness and empowerment culture within the education community.

Annie Wimbish