Elevate Learning

Pre-Conference Workshop Presenter

Reframing Student Well-Being
Isaiah Noriega, Partner, Leadership + Design

Isaiah Noriega (he/him) is a partner at Leadership + Design. He is an experienced educator, counselor, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practitioner with a passion for student well-being and community building. Isaiah recently served as Dean of Community and Well-being, Chief Diversity Officer, and Founding Director of the Evergreen Institute at Indian Creek School, where he led initiatives that center student well-being, leadership development, and belonging. With a background in clinical-community psychology, Isaiah brings expertise in mental health and organizational psychology to his work. Before joining Leadership+Design full-time, he was a Fellow and a Leader in Residence.

At the heart of Isaiah’s work is a belief in the power of people—their stories, their leadership, and their potential to thrive when truly seen and supported. A certified life coach and trained restorative practitioner, Isaiah blends empathy with strategy to help communities move forward with clarity and purpose. Outside of work, Isaiah enjoys reading, sports, and spending time with his wife.

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Leslie Laud
Bring the Science of Writing Alive in Your Classroom with Releasing Writers (formerly think SRSD)

Dr. Leslie Laud pioneered using the science of writing, particularly SRSD, as a teacher in 2008 and began publishing peer-reviewed studies on the science of writing. She now keynotes at national education conferences, and has served as a Principal Investigator on major federally funded grants from IES and EIR which studied how to adapt evidence-based approaches such as SRSD for wide-scale. She is also the author of Executive Skills & Writing (Guilford Press, 2025). This book integrates the broad science of writing framework into a user-friendly framework for bringing the science of writing to their classrooms easily.

Following her doctoral training at Columbia University in system-wide school change, Dr. Laud now leads Releasing Writers’ national team of PD providers, partners multiple state education agencies and collaborates with leading experts in the science of writing instruction and assessment. What began in a handful of classrooms has now reached thousands of schools, districts, and state systems.

Dr. Leslie Laud’s work bridges research and practice—helping schools translate the science of writing into practical, scalable classroom solutions that improve student outcomes.

AI Panelists

Education in the Dawning Age of AI
Peter Nilsson
Educator & Musician
Peter Nilsson is an educator and musician. He has served as a head of school, administrator, teacher, tutor, coach, and board member in schools for over 20 years.  Most recently, he was Head of School at King’s Academy in Jordan. Before that, he taught, coached, and served in a variety of roles at Deerfield Academy, where he taught English and digital humanities. He is the vice-chair of the board of trustees at the Canterbury School.

Deeply engaged in the intersection of technology and education, he is the co-author of Irreplaceble: How AI Changes Everything (And Nothing) in Teaching and Learning. He won a 2017 Innovation Award from Wolfram Research for the design of a digital humanities course, the first Wolfram Innovation Award given to a high school teacher. He is the founder of Athena Lab, a technology platform for teachers to share practices, and is the editor of The Educator’s Notebook, a newsletter that circulates education and learning related news from around the web for the purpose of promoting innovation in education.

As a musician, Peter composed and performed in New York City with bands, in classical settings, with hip-hop performers, in off-broadway theater, and other contexts, including at the Rockwood Music Hall, B. B. King’s, The Bitter End, and the Newport Folk Festival. He is the creator of Schooled the Musical, a new musical under development that has had readings in New York City, San Diego, and most recently at Austin’s SXSW EDU festival.

Dr. Illah R. Nourbakhsh
Professor of Robotics,
Carnegie Mellon University
Illah R. Nourbakhsh is Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, where he directs the Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) Lab and serves as Associate Director for robotics faculty. His research explores community-based robotics, educational and social robotics, and ways technology can empower individuals and communities. Through the CREATE Lab, his work has helped develop programs spanning citizen science, education, data visualization, arts and robotics, and technologies that amplify student and community voices. CREATE Lab programs have engaged more than 40,000 people globally.

Illah previously served as Robotics Group Lead at NASA Ames Research Center and was a founder and chief scientist of Blue Pumpkin Software. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University and has been a Carnegie Mellon faculty member since 1997. A National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow, Illah has written extensively about robotics and technology, including Robot Futures and, along with Dr. Jennifer Keating, co-authored AI & Humanity. His work extends beyond the university through leadership and advisory roles focused on technology, environmental health, artificial intelligence, robotics, and their impact on society.

Dr. Jennifer Keating
Teaching Professor & Writing in the Disciplines Specialist,
University of Pittsburgh
Jennifer T. Keating is a Teaching Professor and Writing in the Disciplines Specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. Her work focuses on curriculum design, collaborative pedagogy, interdisciplinary teaching, and high-impact learning experiences. Before joining Pitt, Jennifer served as Assistant Dean for Educational Initiatives in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. Her teaching brings together multiple disciplines and perspectives, encouraging students to engage with culture, communities, and complex questions through critical inquiry, compassion, and empathy.

Jennifer’s research and teaching explore the intersections of writing, artistic practice, technology, human rights, and society. She has developed interdisciplinary courses including Digital Humanity, Writing as Witness: South Africa, and AI & Humanity, examining the relationships between people and rapidly advancing technologies. She is coauthor, with Illah Nourbakhsh, of AI & Humanity and the AI and Humanity Oral Archive, and has published extensively on Irish literature, art, language, identity, and technology. Jennifer holds a Ph.D. in English and Cultural Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.A. in English and History from the University of Rochester.

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