Educator Ambassador Program

Julian Kenneth Braxton is the Bezan Chair for Community and Inclusion and a history faculty member at the Winsor School in Boston, where he has served for more than 25 years. A former Howard Heinz Teaching Fellow and Rockefeller Brothers Fund Leadership Fellow, he has also directed the Summer History Institute at the Bostonian Society and served as a fellow for the Center for the Study of the Presidency.

His contributions to education and civic engagement have been recognized with the Diversity Medal of Honor, the Virginia Wing Outstanding Teacher Award, the Patrick Daly/​Mother Hale Community Service Award from the NYC Council, and selection as a 2022 finalist for Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year. He currently serves on the Harvard Graduate School of Education Alumni Council, the Gilder Lehrman Institute Teacher Advisory Council, and Facing History’s New England Advisory Council, and is a former board member of the Association of Independent Schools in New England.

Shari Conditt is a National Board–certified educator with 25 years of experience, currently teaching US history, AP US history, and AP government while serving as an instructional coach at Woodland High School in Washington. She was named the 2024 Bill of Rights Institute Civics Teacher of the Year, runner‐​up for the Washington State Sons of the American Revolution 2025 History Teacher of the Year, a 2015 finalist for Washington State Teacher of the Year, and the 2016 Gilder Lehrman Washington State History Teacher of the Year.

An active Sphere Ambassador, Conditt attended her first Sphere Summit in 2022 and Sphere 100 in 2024. She also serves on the Teacher Advisory Council for the National Constitution Center, is a member of iCivicsEdNet, and sits on the Retro Report Council of Educators. Beyond high school teaching, she is an adjunct professor at Washington State University–Vancouver, where she teaches social studies/​history methods to preservice teachers. Guided by a belief in civic virtue and engagement, Conditt works to empower students, colleagues, and communities as catalysts for democracy.

Serge Danielson‐​Francois teaches AP US history, AP US government and politics, debate, and world humanities at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he also serves as senior class co‐​moderator, debate and ethics bowl coach, and robotics team co‐​moderator. He earned a BA in history from Swarthmore College, an MA in information resources and library science from the University of Arizona, and an MS in educational technology from Lawrence Technological University. He is beginning a PhD in political science at Wayne State University with a focus on political theory and aims to author an open‐​source AP government and politics textbook.

His leadership extends nationally as a Vincentian with the St. Vincent de Paul Detroit Justice Initiative, an inaugural member of the Eastern State Penitentiary Justice Collaboratory, co‐​lead for the Educating for American Democracy Teacher Leadership Task Force, and judge for the 2024 A250 America’s Field Trip contest. He also contributes to the Gilder Lehrman Citizenship Project and African American Studies guide.

Danielson‐​Francois has been recognized for his work with student journalists through the 1 for All First Amendment Challenge sponsored by the American Society of News Editors and received a Knight Center for Environmental Journalism grant to lead students in investigating Detroit‐​area brownfield sites.

Rick Holifield is the assistant head of school at Providence High School in Burbank, California. He has over more than 25 years of experience in private school education. In that time, Holifield has held other leadership roles, such as the director of community life at the Walker School in Marietta, Georgia, and was the inaugural dean of diversity, inclusion, and community engagement at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Holifield is a certified mediator with the Supreme Court of Georgia and has served on the Teacher Advisory Council for the National Humanities Center in Durham, North Carolina, and the Advisory Board for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from Life Christian University; a Master of Ministry degree in Christian counseling from Jacksonville Theological Seminary; and a principal certification from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Holifield is also the president and principal consultant of MRH Consulting Group. His areas of expertise center around conflict resolution, team building, and coaching and mentoring students, teachers, and athletes.

Jennifer A. Jolley is the secondary social studies content specialist for grades 7–12 at Brevard Public Schools in Florida. With three decades of experience in education, she was honored as a 2010 James Madison Fellow and named Florida’s 2020 Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Teacher of the Year. As a dedicated teacher leader, Jolley serves on the National Social Studies Leaders Association Board and the Florida Council for the Social Studies Board. She also participates in various national teacher councils, including iCivics and Retro Report, and has collaborated on numerous projects with the National Constitution Center, National Council for History Education, and Teaching American History. Jolley attended the 2022 Sphere Summit and was named a 2025 Sphere Alumni Fellow. She holds a BA in social sciences and philosophy/​religion from Flagler College and an MA in American history and government from Ashland University.

Patience LeBlanc is the secondary social studies coordinator for Frisco Independent School District, where she oversees curriculum and supports secondary social studies teachers. With more than 26 years of experience, she has taught at both middle and high school levels, primarily eighth‐​grade US history, but also Texas history, AP US history, AP world history, constitutional law, and street law. She has also coached academic and athletic teams, including Academic Decathlon, Citizen Bee, We the People, and multiple sports.

LeBlanc has consulted for the State Bar of Texas Law‐​Related Education, the Center for Civic Education, the We the People program, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute, contributing curriculum and leading workshops nationwide. Her honors include the 2020 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teacher of the Year, 2018 Gilder Lehrman Texas Teacher of the Year, 2013 American Lawyers Auxiliary Teacher of the Year, 2011 Texas Lawyers Auxiliary Teacher of the Year, a 2010 James Madison Foundation Fellowship, and the 2005 Leon Jaworski Award for Excellence in Law Focused Education. She holds a BA in history from Texas A&M University and an MA in history from Texas Woman’s University.

Lois MacMillan, a James Madison Fellow and National Board–certified teacher in her 33rd year of teaching, has taught at all three levels of education: elementary, middle, and high school. In 2024, she earned the Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Award from the Organization of American Historians for her service to K–12 history education and the Daughters of the American Revolution’s National Teacher of the Year. A master teacher, MacMillan has coordinated more than 40 teacher seminars for the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the University of Virginia’s John L. Nau III Center for Civil War Studies. In 2018, she won the GRAMMY Museum’s Jane Ortner Education Award for her work incorporating music into the nonmusic classroom, which led to a sabbatical year as the senior education fellow for the Hamilton Education Program, where she facilitated the implementation of a Founding Era–curriculum to high school teachers and students, culminating in their attendance to the Broadway show, Hamilton. Today, MacMillan teaches AP government, American history, world cultures, and an elective on the American Civil War at Grants Pass High School in Grants Pass, Oregon.

Betty Nordengren, an English as a second language–endorsed K–8 teacher in Illinois with more than 17 years of experience, fosters inclusive dialogue in multilingual classrooms. An International Society for Technology in Education‐​certified and Guardians of Democracy Bronze Educator, she’s contributed to Sphere Education Initiatives’ civil discourse curriculum through lesson plans and webinars. Nordengren blends policy expertise with classroom practice, having presented on educational policy implementation at DePaul University, where she received a master’s in public policy in 2024. Her 2025 research revealed a gap showing that teachers overestimated student confidence in civil discourse, while students expressed the need for more support. She developed resources to bridge this gap.

Tim Stevens has spent the past two decades working in both rural and urban education. Beginning with a yearlong stint as an Americorps tutor, Stevens discovered a passion not just for the field of education but for the art of teaching students how to think deeply and communicate that thinking meaningfully. He has served in numerous capacities across multiple communities, including eight years as a classroom teacher in a small rural school district and another two as a school media specialist and special education resource teacher. He served as the assistant director of a Washington, DC, learning center and worked two years as a collegiate academic coordinator. For the past four years, Stevens has worked as a professional learning developer and training specialist, focusing primarily on social studies education. In this role, he is fortunate to be able to provide training and resources to teachers and students across multiple school districts, always with a focus on the intersection between rigorous alignment and active student engagement. Nothing brings Stevens more joy than helping teachers discover how to engage their students in complex thinking in social studies.

Bruce Stubblefield currently serves as a Humanities teacher at Girls Preparatory School (GPS) in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Prior to GPS, Stubblefield gathered 12 years of experience in public education in Chattanooga at Hamilton County Schools serving as the high school social studies content lead (9–12), teaching economics, International Baccalaureate history of the Americas, and US history. He is president‐​elect (2025–26) of the Tennessee Council for the Social Studies and serves on the Board of Delegates for the National Council for the Social Studies.

Stubblefield spearheaded the districtwide implementation of the Inquiry Design Model and received the Financial Literacy Leadership Award from the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission in 2024. He has contributed to educational publications, including Middle Level Learning, and has coauthored position statements for the National Council for the Social Studies. He holds a BS in secondary education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is pursuing an MA in educational leadership from the University of Alabama.

With 28 years of experience in education, Candi Tucker has inspired thousands of students in social studies and citizenship, fostering a deep appreciation for these subjects while instilling a strong work ethic that prepares them for future success. Tucker is particularly passionate about empowering students to be active, engaged members of their communities. To this end, Tucker developed and implemented a Civics Day program, providing students with the opportunity to engage directly with elected officials. This initiative helps students build relationships with government leaders, encouraging them to recognize the value of their voices in shaping democracy. In addition to her classroom work, Tucker is committed to advancing the teaching profession. As a clinical teacher, mentor, and instructional coach, she strives to support and inspire colleagues, helping to elevate and expand the impact of educators beyond the classroom. Outside of her professional life, Tucker believes in the importance of civil discourse, even amid differing political ideologies. She and her husband, despite political differences, have been happily married for 20 years. Tucker is also the proud parent of two nearly grown children. Her daughter and she are both set to graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the coming years—her daughter with a degree in drama, and Tucker with an EdD in organizational learning and leadership.

Kevin Wagner is in his 28th year with the Carlisle Area School District in Pennsylvania, where he serves as social studies program supervisor for grades 6–12, overseeing 26 teachers, and teaches AP seminar, AP research, and AP US history. He also advises the Model United Nations club.

An advocate for social studies education, he has held leadership roles in the Middle States Council for Social Studies, Historic Carlisle Inc., the Pennsylvania Council for Social Studies, and the International Model United Nations Association. He also serves on the Pennsylvania Teachers Advisory Council, collaborating with legislators and stakeholders on statewide education policy.

Wagner has received numerous honors, including the Thomas W. Holtzman Jr. Educational Leadership Award, the National Liberty Museum’s Teacher as Hero Award, the American Historical Association’s Beveridge Family Teaching Award, the Middle States Council for Social Studies’ Harry J. Carman Award, the Gilder Lehrman Pennsylvania History Teacher of the Year Award, the PA National History Day Teacher of the Year Award, and recognition as a 2001 Walt Disney Teacher of the Year finalist. In 2018, he earned the National Council for Social Studies’ Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award for his Silent Heroes Project, in which students research and create websites to honor Pennsylvania World War II soldiers buried in Normandy. He has also led three study abroad programs to Normandy, France, called The Power of Place. Wagner holds a BA in social studies from Messiah University and master’s degrees in history and educational leadership and policy from Shippensburg University.