USD 475 WINFest '25

A few years into her teaching career Monica attended a professional development workshop. She was eager to absorb every moment and hoped that the event would be a game changer for her classroom.

One day into the conference Monica was terribly disappointed. This PD didn’t feel life changing. Monica was bored as presenters read off power-points, told unrelatable stories, and didn’t capture her heart or head. She thought, “I can’t believe I wrote sub plans for this.” and “I feel bad my school spent a lot of money for me to be here.” It seemed like a waste of time and resources and that just wasn’t right.

It was at that event Monica realized teachers deserve better than this. Teachers should walk away from professional development with practical ideas, engaging strategies, and hear stories that motivate and inspire.

And Monica has now created that type of impact with over 500,000 teachers from all across the world.

As a current classroom teacher, everything Monica presents on is real, raw, and relevant to what is happening in schools today. And that makes a big difference.

Monica is the author of four books, Game Changers, 180 Days of Awesome, Crushing It For Kids, and The Rooted Classroom, a classroom teacher, and international educational consultant and keynote speaker. Monica’s TED talk has been viewed by thousands of educators from all over the world. She has earned a Masters in Curriculum & Instruction and a Masters in Educational Leadership & Administration and is a National Board Certified teacher.In her free time, she enjoys long road trips, accomplishing new challenges, eating unique pizzas, and impromptu dance parties. She is pumped to share her life and experiences with you and is confident you will laugh along the way.   Monica lives in Illinois and is surrounded by loving friends and family.