Dr. David Cantrell serves as Director for the Office of Program and Grantee Support Services, with the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), in the U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC. He is responsible for overseeing the technical assistance investments funded by OESE serving all 50-states, the U.S. Insular Areas, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Technical assistance services address a wide range of educational topics designed to increase the educational outcomes of children and youth. He has 29-years of educational experience serving as Director, Special Education and Student Support Services, School Administrator, and Special Educator. 

Dr. Dean Nafziger is the Director of the National Comprehensive Center. He has more than 40 years of experience in education, research, and business, and is recognized as an expert in educational assessment and education research and development. Dr. Nafziger also serves as Vice President for Education Studies at Westat.

Hamed Negron-Perez Education Program Specialist in the Office of Safe and Healthy Students.  He is the Competition Manger for ED’s School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) grant program, a Federal Programs Officer for the Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grant program and serves as the Contract’s Office Representative for the Title IV-A TA Center.  Hamed is a former Secondary School Principal and Science Teacher with over 14-years of experience.  Hamed retired from the US Navy Reserves after 25-years of service.

Christine Pilgrim has served as an Education Program Specialist for the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for the past ten years. In this role, she has supported implementation efforts of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) through her work as a program officer for a number of States, and led OSEP’s Data Implementation Team which oversees the analysis of States’ State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report submissions and the Determinations process.  In addition, she facilitates the collaborative efforts between OSEP and other offices within the Department to ensure coordinated support to States as they engage in efforts to improve outcomes for all students. 

Bronwyn Roberts has 16-years of experience managing large training and technical assistance projects and conducting quantitative and qualitative program evaluations across the fields of public health, prevention, criminal justice, and education. She is currently the project director for two U.S. Department of Education Office of Safe and Supportive Schools technical assistance centers – the Title IV-Part A Technical Assistance Center (known as the T4PA Center), and the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center, a role she has fulfilled for nearly 12-years. Through this work she has supported the delivery of a broad portfolio of in-person and virtual technical assistance to a national audience as well as through numerous grant programs at the state and local levels, for K-12 and higher education populations, and for a variety of governmental and other organizational entities. 

Danielle Smith serves as Group Leader for the Office of Program and Grantee Support Services, with the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), in the U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC.  She coordinates support for technical assistance to OESE grantees and oversees the design and delivery of results-driven, differentiated, and research-informed technical assistance opportunities to all States and U.S. Territories. Ms. Smith leads planning, implementing, and evaluating technical assistance activities to implement federal K-12 education programs and oversees multiple technical assistance programs, including the Comprehensive Centers Program, the Equity Assistance Centers, the State Support Network and other national technical assistance centers. Previously, Ms. Smith served as the Technical Assistance Functional Support Team Lead for the U.S. Department of Education Office of State Support, and the U.S Department of Education’s Reform Support Network. Ms. Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and French from Georgetown University and a Master of Public Policy degree from the McCourt School of Public Policy.