JoAnn Wood has been a teacher, elementary social studies supervisor, literacy/social studies consultant, and Social Studies Program Specialist at the Georgia Department of Education. She is the secretary of both the GCSS and of the NCSS Early Childhood/Elementary Community. She has a passion for reading, history, travel, and her beagles Rufus and Miko. She is happy to help launch the Georgia Council for History Education.
Regina Holland is a retired teacher with 21 years of Social Studies classroom experience. After leaving the classroom, she worked at the district level servicing Social Studies teachers K-12 and has considerable experience designing and delivering Professional Learning. Currently, Regina serves as a Program Manager with the National Council for History Education. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, serving in her church and playing tennis.
Leah Wetzler’s various roles in education enrich her passion for sound social studies practice. She spent over a decade at the secondary level instructing a variety of disciplines from Advanced Placement to credit recovery in both virtual and traditional settings and several years as a district-level leader supporting K-12 Social Studies teachers. As a National Board Certified teacher, state and national presenter, curriculum writer, professional development creator, and education consultant, Leah strives to continuously learn and develop strategies that ignite and enrich the classroom experience for both students and teachers.
Jennifer Zoumberis is the Social Studies and Special Education Content Integration Specialist for the Georgia Department of Education. She has been an educator for twenty-one years, teaching primarily kindergarten and first grade. She is passionate about inspiring, engaging, and empowering young learners.
John Garner is a veteran teacher with fourteen years of experience teaching both middle and high school. He currently teachers US History, AP Human Geography and AP US History at Temple High School in Carroll County. In addition to his duties as a teacher, Mr. Garner serves as the head wrestling and cross country coach. Outside of school he is the current President of the National History Club and is a Regional Coordinator for International Academic Competitions.
Joy Hatcher is the Social Studies Program Manager for the Georgia Department of Education and the President-Elect of the Council of State Social Studies Specialists. She was a National Board Certified teacher and is completing her PhD in Social Studies Education.
Ex-Officio NCHE Tony DiSario
A 1997 graduate of the University of Florida in Elementary Education with a minor in U.S. History, Tony DiSario began his career in Clayton County, Georgia, teaching 5th grade in an urban school south of the city of Atlanta. Known initially as an expert in mathematics pedagogy, Mr. DiSario taught Mathematics Methods at Georgia State University for three years before returning to his children’s school in Henry County, Georgia as a classroom teacher. Six years on a Teaching American History Grant shifted Mr. DiSario’s instructional focus to social studies, and after thirteen years, he left the classroom to support 27 elementary schools in social studies instruction as the Elementary Social Studies Teacher on Special Assignment. A Georgia Social Studies Teacher of the Year, and National Council for History Education Board member, Mr. DiSario currently serves as the Social Studies Coordinator for Griffin-Spalding Schools.
Mellanie Robinson has been an elementary and middle grades educator in the areas of Social Studies, Language Arts, and Math. For over a decade, Mellanie has taught, supervised, and advised both undergraduate and graduate students in the higher education sector. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Education at Dalton State College and teaches Social Studies and Language Arts methods courses to teacher candidates, serves on various school wide committees, and participates in community service projects with parents and children in grades K-12.
Dr. Ariel Cornett is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary and Special Education at Georgia Southern University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate elementary social studies methods courses. She received her doctorate from the University of Virginia in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Social Studies Education in 2020. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., she taught elementary school (i.e., kindergarten, first, and third grade) for three years in a Virginia public school system. Her research interests focus on the place-based teaching and learning of social studies in elementary classrooms and communities. She has been awarded a number of internal and external grants to support her scholarship. She has presented her work at several peer-reviewed conferences such as the College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA), National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), Virginia Council for the Social Studies (VCSS), Georgia Council for the Social Studies (GCSS), and American Educational Research Association (AERA). She has co-authored peer-reviewed publications in the following journals: Social Studies and the Young Learner (SSYL), Journal of Social Studies Research (JSSR), Social Studies Research and Practice (SSRP), American Journal of Education (AJE), The Teacher Educators’ Journal (TTEJ), and School Community Journal (SCJ). She also has two peer-reviewed edited book chapters in Hollywood or History? editions; Hollywood or History?: An Inquiry-Based Strategy for Using Film to Acknowledge Trauma in Social Studies and Hollywood or History?: An Inquiry-Based Strategy for Using Film to Teach World Religions.
Sarah Blascovich Brown is a teacher and curriculum developer with twenty years’ experience working in formal and informal education settings throughout Georgia. Sarah is passionate about helping students see the value of learning about the past, having been bitten by the history bug as a first grader who was slightly obsessed with ancient Egypt. This love of history took her through a history degree at Tulane, a master’s degree in early childhood education at Wesleyan College, and a professional career that allows her to share fascinating stories from the past. She lives in Lithonia with her husband, three children, and far more books than shelves.
Nicole A. Moore is a public historian and museum educator with over a decade of experience working with educators and students on interpreting and learning from the past with an emphasis on the interpretation of the enslaved at historic sites and museums. Her current role as the Director of Education at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, where she leads all educational initiatives, allows her to help the K-12 audience explore and learn more about the known and unknown stories of movement making across the globe.
Weonhee was raised in Virginia and now resides with her family in Decatur, GA. As a mother of three public school children and founder of Asian American Voices for Education, she advocates for all Georgia students to know they belong, are valued and empowered in the classroom. She spends her weekends living the travel baseball life or enjoying diverse flavors of Buford Hwy.
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