If we come away from work with students having learned nothing new ourselves, we can’t hope to do better for them the next time around.
Season 8/Collab Lab 61
We started the season with a challenge to Heed the Call of Students.
Did you heed the call?
If you heard that call, where did it take you?
What did you learn from your students?
As always, you’ll be joined by peers and collaborators from K-12 higher education, industry, and the nonprofit community. If you work with or know of a student who would like to join the discussion, please extend the invitation.
Agenda
| 5:30 to 6:00 pm | Grab something to eat, meet some interesting, passionate people |
| 6:00 to 6:15 pm | Welcome and introductions |
| 6:15 to 8:00 pm | Let’s talk through some ideas |
| 8:00 to 8:30 pm | Wrap up and next steps |
Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. There is no charge for participation but space is limited!
Featured Participants
Stay tuned, we’re lining up a great group of Featured Participants you’ll want to have a chance to meet.
Bevin is a seasoned social entrepreneur and educator, who is deeply committed to holistic education and workforce development. She drives initiatives to equip individuals with skills for success in today’s economy through strategic partnerships and mentorship. With a background in nonprofit leadership and education, Bevin spearheads innovative programs that prepare students and adults for careers and foster community engagement. She believes in the transformative power of education for building a more just society.
Jasmine and Mandi are co-leaders of 
Deidre joined the School District of South Milwaukee in July of 2023. Prior to that role she served as the Assistant Superintendent, Director of Leadership and Learning, Coordinator of Special Education, instructional coach, and classroom teacher. Her philosophy of education has always been to empower every learner with an absolute faith in themselves to be curious, try anything, work hard and prepare for life after school. She models creating inclusionary communities when she coaches teachers and leaders and as an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to be a part of growing into the next version of what we need for kids. She is also a contributing author of 
PJ has worked in education for over 13 years with the majority of that work in Milwaukee schools. He has spent time working with students directly, as coach for educators, and a program director. Playworks’ mission is to improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play. PJ & his team coaches youth, school staff, and out-of-school-time professionals to create great recesses, youth leadership opportunities, and infuse play into their curriculum.
Dr. Minshew also holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the MCW Pharmacy School. She is a learning scientist, design thinker, educator, and researcher whose
Nina is a design thinker, entrepreneur, and educator. She is a University Innovation Fellow through the d.school at Stanford University and received a Curriculum Innovation Grant and Fellowship through the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, where she is a former lecturer. In her free time, Nina loves to read, refinish furniture, garden, and learn new creative skills.
In her role as a Youth Director at North Shore United Soccer Club, you will find Shannon on the field working with both youth and high-performance players ages 3-23 years old. For the past 10 years, she has worked for the US Soccer Federation in the Coaching Education department to help implement methodologies and curriculums created to promote “free play.” Through a 
A leader of agile software development projects at JCI, Amber is a passionate advocate for building high performance teams that look like and have roots in the communities they work in. The practices she uses to manage uncertainty, build trust and, and foster courageous conversations are central to her work. As the spouse of a high school teacher and with two children in MPS, she recognizes the value those practices can offer to both educators and students looking to take on real-world challenges.
Kelsey is Marquette’s representative for engagement in the community, tasked to explore and promote community-engaged opportunities for Marquette students, faculty and staff. Previously she served as the Director of Innovation at the 707 Hub at Marquette University. There she ran business bootcamps for students and community entrepreneurs and helped to build a social innovation ecosystem in Wisconsin. She is naturally curious and enjoys connecting the dots between people, ideas and resources! She was recognized as one of Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 winners in 2019.
Collab Lab 54 explored issues around youth mental health and violence. One of our largest groups to date, which included middle and high school student leaders, focused on factors that impact the degree to which students and teachers feel safe and affirmed at school. Matt Nink and Vanessa Rodriguez from 
Mike is an interactive designer and former VP and Creative Director of the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. He currently splits his time between producing museum exhibits and running a small carpentry business out of his shop in Bayview.
Anamarie is a Multidisciplinary Contemporary artist and artist educator currently based in Milwaukee originally from the deep south . She often intersects social justice, her identity, and interactive education to influence her paintings, installations, sculptures, and performances. With the experiences she has with community and through life itself, she builds her practice to relay that information visually to those interested in learning a variety of topics.
For the past eight years, Jeff has been working in interactive development alongside his business partner Hector Borges, first as the co-founders of Outer Rim, where they produced and released their first game in their first year of school. They operated under the name Outer Rim for four years before rebranding as Foresight Studios. In his role at Foresight Studios, Jeff is focused on creating innovative experiences that leverage new and emerging technologies, including VR, AR, and XR. The company has worked with the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. to create a VR demo and developed “
Dionna is a creative professional with extensive experience planning and executing commercial projects centered on graphic design, including brand identity and logo design initiatives. Developed at an early age, some of her artistic and creative abilities include illustration, painting, photography, and graphic arts. Her extensive background in visual and graphic arts has enabled her to serve in the creative arts industry for over 20 years. Her experience also includes the founding of a children’s book imprint, serving as author, publisher, illustrator, and designer. In addition, Dionna serves at ArtWorks for Milwaukee as Lead Artist to high school interns in the graphic design + mental health advocacy program. (website: 
Cindy is passionate about instilling a love of nature, demonstrating the value of community, and embracing the curiosity and wonder in students. A strong advocate for project based learning, Cindy loves teaching children to communicate with their peers, collaborate on designs and solutions, and look to nature for inspiration. This year, The Riveredge School educators are partnering with the talented art educators at Lynden Sculpture Garden to create an integrated, interdisciplinary curriculum that is nature based and aligns with our science and social studies curriculum for every grade level. The arts integrated framework will enable students to explore the intersection of arts, culture and nature across the curriculum.