Our mission
We are committed to elevating the educator workforce. We do this by centering our work around their voice; creating opportunities for their engagement in local, state or national efforts; and sometimes as simple as saying, ‘have we asked the teachers lately?’. Our team believes in the power of community and stakeholder engagement to predict the success of any educational programs. We have worked first-hand with thousands of educators across districts, the country, and the world. We have a deep understanding of the education industry’s needs and the solutions to support and improve the workforce.
Our Team
Ashley Bencan
Ashley Bencan is a highly energetic leader who values collaboration and impacting organizational change. She is a connector that believes in the power of people. Ashley has worked in education for over 17 years as a teacher, leader, policy maker, coach and advocate. She developed her education acumen, leadership and systems thinking through professional experiences at the New Jersey Department of Education, the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, the School District of Philadelphia and multiple educational non-profits. As a Teach For America educator, she deeply understood the power of a network within her school and across her district. She wrote and received $40,000 in grants and was awarded a commendation for the Ruth Hayre Wright Teacher of the Year award. It has been through each experience, that she realized her privilege to be connected to so many education professionals and now wants to expand that opportunity to everyone in education.Dr. Chelsea Collins
Chelsea Collins is a nationally-recognized educator, teacher coach, district advisor, and presenter. In 2016, she represented 125,000 NJ educators as the 2016 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year, where she served as an ambassador of education across the state, country and world and studied world-renowned education systems in Finland and China alongside top-notch U.S. educators. Chelsea has led statewide education work both independently and for the Department of Education. As a teacher, Chelsea helped lead her school out of “focus status” through data-driven, standard-aligned best practices, resulting in students scoring 25 percent higher than the state average in ELA at grade and school levels. When she later worked for the NJ Department of Education, she designed and led the NJ Teacher Leader Network, an initiative that received national accolades.
Dr. Scott Oswald
Dr. Scott Oswald is a former superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal for curriculum and counseling, and teacher. Dr. Oswald has been involved in setting policy surrounding academic achievement and school culture through the lens of equity for many years, as well as establishing initiatives at the school and district levels focusing on school culture, systems and systems change, curriculum development, resource allocation, professional learning, and student voice. Dr. Oswald also served on the New Jersey Department of Education Diverse and Learner Ready Teacher workgroup, focusing on diversifying the teacher workforce and better preparing current teachers for New Jersey’s increasingly diverse student population. 
Caryn Shaw
Caryn Shaw is passionate about providing the best educational experiences for today and tomorrow’s students. She is a former school board president and board member. She is experienced in K-12 education oversight and brings a board member’s perspective to her work. As a board member, she was part of various board committees, including leadership, finance and operations, communications, and strategic planning. In addition, she was involved in creating a new board committee to explore race and racism in the school district. She currently consults with school districts on superintendent searches and strategic planning. With her business background in marketing, marketing research, and management, coupled with her last 20 years in board leadership roles in non-profit organizations, she provides a unique perspective on leadership, management, communications, board relations, and governance. Caryn has a BA in Creative Writing and Literature from the State University of New York at Binghamton and an MBA in Marketing and Management from Hofstra University. 
Dawn De Lorenzo, Ed.S
Dawn is a seasoned educator, certified Structured Literacy teacher, and special education advocate with over two decades of experience supporting diverse learners. She is the founder of Lighthouse Literacy Solutions, LLC, where she provides evidence-based literacy instruction, executive functioning coaching, and special education advocacy. Dawn currently serves as a Writing Specialist at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Regional Center for Learning Disabilities and was a 2023–2024 JerseyCAN Teacher Leader Policy Fellow, advocating for statewide literacy reform. Her work is rooted in a deep commitment to educational equity and empowering students, families, and educators through clear, compassionate, and research-driven support.
Kristian Z. Phelan
Kristian has 25 years of K-3 teaching experience in diverse New Jersey and New York districts. She has given over 50 workshops and presentations about literacy at local, state, and national conferences. In 2018, she was Monmouth County Teacher of the Year and a State Teacher of the Year finalist. She graduated from Colgate University and has teaching degrees from Teachers College/Columbia University and Rutgers University. As a 2022-2023 JerseyCAN Teacher Leader Policy Fellow she worked with Senator Vin Gopal’s legislative team to craft legislation to improve reading instruction in New Jersey. In 2024-2025, she served on the New Jersey Department of Education’s Working Group on Student Literacy, established as part of the legislation, to provide recommendations and guidelines on universal literacy screening and high-quality literacy instructional materials.
Dr. Anthony Fitzpatrick
is Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for the Delsea Regional and Elk Township School Districts, leading human capital processes, professional development, and instructional programs. A former principal, supervisor, and NJDOE leader, Dr. Fitzpatrick is committed to raising student achievement through high-quality instruction, expanding CTE opportunities, and advancing equitable access.
Our Partners
Our education partners are experts in teacher development and professional learning, social emotional learning for educators and students, culturally responsive teaching practices, systems design, tiered supports and differentiation and much more.
Our networks are extensive in both depth and breadth. We have access to honored educators at the county, state and national level as well as leaders in education non-profits, decision makers in State Education Agencies and higher education institutions. Additionally, we are members of novice and veteran teacher networks across several states and work closely with professional development professionals and curriculum and assessment providers including several national networks that focus on improving educational outcomes for all students.
