School Staff
Deborah Dantzler Williams
Executive Director
Deborah has more than 25 years of progressive experience in the field of education. She brings a breadth and depth of experience, having taught at the elementary, secondary, and college level, and served as School Director. Early in her career she served as Assistant Professor at the College of Education at UDC, teaching graduate and undergraduate students and chairing the faculty evaluation committee. Deborah taught at Stone Ridge, and served on the Board of Trustees’ Long-Range Planning Committee. She was recruited to teach at Beauvoir, where she later became the Primary Division Director. She served as the Lower School Technology Director at Sidwell Friends School, and sat on the Diversity Committee and represented the faculty on the Board of Trustees. Later she was appointed Director of the Lower School at Holton-Arms.
Most recently, Deborah served as the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Center for Inspired Teaching. She has worked closely with all facets of the Inspired Teaching School including developing curriculum, supporting student recruitment, hiring teachers, and school-year planning.
Deborah is a strong advocate for children and parents. Teachers praise her unfailing and proactive commitment to always do what is best for the student. She believes fervently in creating an educational environment that works to provide for all aspects of a child’s development. She is known as a mentor to faculty and a resource for parents. People who know her best describe her as a tireless and dedicated educator who cares deeply about her students, the families she serves, and the faculty she leads.
Deborah completed an M.A. in Education Leadership from the Klingenstein Center of Teachers College, Columbia University and has an M.C.P. and a B.A. from the Honors Program at Howard University.
Zoe Duskin
Principal
Zoe comes to us from from San Francisco, where she was the Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction at Galileo Academy of Science and Technology. In her four years at Galileo, Zoe has nurtured new and experienced teachers, and has developed a professional development model based on the principles of distributive leadership, building the capacity of teacher leaders to direct school improvement initiatives.
Zoe began teaching 11 years ago with Aim High, an innovative non-profit program for low-income youth in the San Francisco Bay Area. She went on to teach in two different charter schools in Washington, DC before returning to Aim High in 2008 as a site director.
Zoe is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University (BA) and Stanford University’s School of Education in the Policy, Organization, and Leadership program (MA).
In Zoe’s own words: “This is my dream job. I’m thrilled to be leading a school with the Inspired Teaching philosophy and instructional approach—which are so in line with the work I have been doing for years. And I am excited to be working with such a tremendous team. We’re going to show that when learning is at the heart of a school—both student and adult learning—great things are possible.”
Abigail Gifford
Project Manager
Prior to joining the Inspired Teaching School team Abigail pursued a rigorous professional and academic career in the arena of education law and policy. Abigail brings several years of professional experience in the practice of law, municipal government, legislative advocacy, policy creation and education reform to her position as Project Manager. Abigail is very passionate and dedicated to improving the well-being of all children by advocating and promoting strategic investment in public education.
Abigail is a three time graduate from the University of Connecticut. Abigail completed her B.A. from the University of Connecticut Honors Program in Developmental Psychology, a Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut school of Law with a focus of family law and policy and a Masters of Public Administration with focus in Non-Profit Management and Public Financial Management.
Tony Taylor
Operations Manager
Before joining the Inspired Teaching School, Tony served as an appointee in the Executive Office of the Mayor for the District of Columbia. As a Correspondence Management Specialist, Tony acted as a liaison for District residents and District of Columbia Government agencies.
Prior to his appointment at the Executive Office of the Mayor, Tony worked on local hate crimes policy at the National Coalition for the Homeless. Tony developed a strategy, from the ground up, that led to the passage of legislation to protect the homeless from hate crimes. Owing largely to Tony’s lobbying efforts, and his administration of an intensive data collection survey, the District of Columbia became the second state/jurisdiction in the nation to add homeless status to its hate crimes statute. As a relentless proponent of rights for the homeless, Tony has been quoted in Time Magazine, The Washington Post, and other print media.
Tony is a resident of the District of Columbia. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the American University.
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