Individually, our core team members have been iterating and refining the practice of online, blended, and personalized learning since its inception, bringing over 100 years of collective experience to this relatively new and evolving practice. Now that we have joined together at iLC, we look forward to scaling the impact of our work nationally and internationally to promote equity and access in education.
At its heart, however, iLC is first and foremost a collaborative. The success of our work is built on a foundation of committed members, partners, and practitioners, who devote their time and energies towards advancing the practice of student-centered learning. We welcome the involvement of all who share our passions.
MEET THE TEAM
Judy Perez, Chief Executive Officer & Founder
Judy has been identified as a national level expert in K-12 online and blended learning by the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to founding the iLearn Collaborative, she directed district-wide blended learning at Jeffco Public Schools and led their online school from turnaround status to Performance accreditation.
Judy’s career in education includes science teacher, assistant principal, principal, district leader and CAO for the Charter School Institute at the Colorado Dept. of Education. In her 29-year career as an educator, she led districtwide and statewide implementations in innovative learning environments impacting 50+ Colorado school districts. She led and developed Colorado’s largest statewide multi-district online school middle school and a districtwide blended learning program for Colorado’s largest school district.
She is a recognized national expert in blended and online learning contributing to research for the U.S. Dept. of Ed, iNACOL, State of Colorado, and numerous publications. Judy has consulted for the Secretary of Education Manizales, Colombia, S.A., Universidad Nacional de Colombia, The ASCENT Initiative, and other international agencies. She most proud of her role as mom of blended learners.
Natalie Lundberg, Chief Operations Officer
Natalie has more than 25 years in education as a teacher, administrator, professional development facilitator, and advocate for students in both traditional and online educational environments. She started her career in education as a first-grade teacher in Santa Ana, CA delivering instruction to English Language Learners (ELLs) in a Sheltered English Immersion classroom. It was during this time that she developed a passion for ELLs and went on to receive her master’s degree in ELL Instruction for K-12 students.
She then moved to Arizona where she worked with both traditional brick and mortar schools and online charter schools. While working with traditional district schools and online charter schools in Arizona, she had the opportunity to fill various responsibilities from state compliancy to school-wide blended program implementation. Natalie has also delivered and managed professional development services provided to schools and districts nationwide. Natalie currently is focused on supporting iLearn Collaborative as they grow and expand to provide student-centered professional development that also builds capacity and sustainability.
Joshua Solomon, Chief Development Officer
Josh is an accomplished and creative leader possessing multifaceted experience and demonstrated success for driving financial and operational excellence in highly regulated industries and challenging business environments. Having spent the last 16+ years working in the education sector, supporting schools and districts, Josh is charged with expanding iLC’s footprint in line with its mission.
Josh and his family reside in South Bend, Indiana where he is active in his community and serves on the executive boards of two local private schools.
Valerie McCormick, Director of Leadership Support
Valerie McCormick understands the importance of student-centered learning and personalized professional development. Her experience as a teacher, principal, and district-level Curriculum Director makes her a leading expert in instructional quality and education technology.
Mrs. McCormick holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and a Masters of Education in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Colorado. She currently serves as the Director of Leadership Support, leading a team of educational consultants in partnering, coaching, and developing school and district leaders.
Jill Pellegrini, Director of Professional Development
After a brief stint in marketing and sales, Jill followed her heart and has spent the last 20 years as an educator. In addition to her experience in a traditional school setting, Jill has eight years of experience teaching both online and blended classes in English and Humanities. Besides developing courses, she also mentors teachers new to the field of blended learning. Her talent and dedication were recognized when she was granted the 2015-16 Colorado Department of Education Blended and Online Teacher Recognition Award.
Rosemary Sweat, Content Development Manager
Rosemary has over 20 years of experience in the field of education. She is endorsed in both Secondary Social Studies and English, and has taught middle school and high school in brick and mortar, online, and blended settings. She also has experience in the expeditionary and project-based learning classrooms. In her various roles, Rosemary consistently incorporated project-based, experiential, and hands-on field work in her content areas. She has overseen myriad educational expos and community events, encouraging award winning student projects.
Brandy Erholtz, Professional Development Coordinator
Brandy has been in education for over 20 years and had a vast array of experiences. From teaching a self-contained classroom of middle school boys with behavior disorder to co-teaching at a brick-and-mortar blue ribbon high school. The past 13+ years she has taught online special education, a variety of elective courses, been an instructional coach, facilitated and developed online professional development courses and helped out with administration and registrar work. She brings an insightful perspective as both a special education and general education teacher. She earned her Masters of Education in Curriculum & Instruction from St. Mary’s University (MN) in 2005. She’s certified in K-12 Special Education, Health Education, CTE (ACE) and has also passed the PE place test. Her passion for teaching and learning has made her an expert in course curriculum & development. She’s the mother of two active boys, married to her husband Matt (also an educator) and lives in Steamboat Springs, CO where she loves running up mountains, hiking, camping and spending time outdoors!
BOARD
Dwight D. Jones, Board Member
Dwight Jones most recently served as Denver Public Schools Interim Superintendent and Senior Deputy Superintendent, Equity and Engagement. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President of Equity, Inclusion & Urban Markets at McGraw-Hill Education. In his role, he worked with leading national, regional and local associations and organizations to find new ways to partner together to address the needs of administrators, teachers and students in some of the largest and most academically diverse U.S. school districts.
Before joining McGraw-Hill Education, Dwight served as Superintendent in Residence and provided strategic guidance and advice. Prior to that, he served as the superintendent of Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada, the nation’s fifth largest school district. During his tenure there, he initiated a school reform agenda designed to raise the academic bar and ensure all of the district’s 315,000 students were prepared for college, a career or the military. Prior to his time in Nevada, Dwight served as the Colorado Commissioner of Education, overseeing the education of more than 830,000 students across more than 1,700 schools in 178 public school districts.
Dwight has been recognized by numerous organizations throughout his career. He has been awarded the AASA Distinguished Service Award (2019), the NAACP’s Heartbeat Award (2013), the Asian Chamber of Commerce Community Achievement Award (2013), Chairman’s Award of Excellence, Nevada Latin Chamber of Commerce (2012), Alumni Fellow for Kansas State University’s College of Education (2011), and Troops to Teachers Hall of Fame (2010). Dwight and his wife Jenifer are the parents to 3 children and reside in Colorado Springs, CO.
Alex Magaña, Board Member
Collaborative with an experienced perspective on how to increase academic achievement in schools that serve high-poverty/ high-minority populations. In the nine years that Magaña has guided the leadership at Grant Beacon Middle School, the school has been nationally recognized for its innovative practices, and boasts one of the highest growth rates of all middle schools in Denver Public Schools. Due to the successful approach he’s built with his team, he was given the opportunity to replicate the model and add an additional school. He is currently leading the expansion of The Network with a focus around the Four Pillars: Personalized Learning, Enrichment Programming, Character Development, and Critical Thinking.
Erika Twani, Board Member
Erika Twani is a learning enthusiast and an optimist of a better world built by humans with practical and useful skills, and life purpose. She is the co-founder and CEO of the Learning One to One Foundation, where, along with experts, she explores how to foster human achievement through Relational Learning based on applied neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, pedagogy, and technology. Her philosophy is to simplify complex concepts and make them useful for everyone, starting with children. Erika has advised government officials and education leaders around the world on the use of technology in education, has written various articles on the topic, and worked with public and private schools to guide practical use of Relational Learning.
Far and foremost, Erika’s 20+ years of experience working with corporate technology companies enabled her to shape products and services for worldwide scalability. Innovation on learning usually happens in silos, and Erika wants to empower educators to scale it. The corporate experience also gave her a clear understanding of large organizations’ challenges to motivate employees, foster creativity, and to create a long-lasting relationship with customers and partners, regardless of their location on earth. Corporations benefit from the same principles identified in her work, as they implement simple learning and skill development processes that contribute to individuals’ personal growth, intrinsic motivation, and life purpose. Consequently, individual achievement results in the organization’s success.
Erika is the author of the book “Becoming Einstein’s Teacher,” released in 2021. Erika is also an international speaker, adviser, avid reader, and an adventurer. Most of all, she is a Learner, committed to investing 20% of her time in learning. Her organization serves schools and institutions around the world with professional development, consulting services, and education technology. She has a B.S. in Software Engineering and an MBA in Entrepreneurship. She sits on various boards. Erika lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL USA, with husband, Brian.
