Sean Covel
Sean Covel is a Keynote Speaker, Writer, and Movie Producer who grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Covel’s credits include Beneath for Paramount Pictures, The 12 Dogs of Christmas directed by Academy Award Winner, Keith Merrill, and the iconic independent film, Napoleon Dynamite. Together, Covel’s films have won multiple awards, generated over one-quarter billion dollars in revenue internationally, and gotten nerds prom dates across the globe. He very much wishes that would’ve been the case when he was in high school.
Covel travels the globe on various film shoots, but maintains close ties to his
small-town midwestern roots. In 2015 he founded The 12 Days of Pizza charitable program, which supplies underprivileged families of elementary school-age children consistent meals across the Christmas break. In its first year, the program provided 144 meals to Black Hills area families. Just 3 years later, the program grew to provide over 12,000 meals across the midwest.
Covel is also a best-selling children’s book writer. His latest book series, Porter the Hoarder, has become a centerpiece of a family engagement project created by the United Way. As part of the project, 15,000 first graders receive a free copy of the book each year, along with the tools to inspire reading at home. The program began in South Dakota and is now expanding nationally.
As a keynote speaker, Covel has helped hundreds of business professionals and educators reframe thinking to “build castles in the clouds, and put foundations under them.”
Covel enjoys keynote speaking, traveling, and lecturing at the University of Southern California each spring. He hangs his nunchucks in Boulder, CO.
Weston Kieschnick
Weston Kieschnick is considered one of the world’s most recognizable and sought-after speakers and educational leaders. He is an award-winning teacher, best-selling author, TEDx speaker, coach, husband, and father. He is the author of, Bold School, Breaking Bold, co-author of The Learning Transformation: A Guide to Blended Learning for Administrators and the creator and host of Teaching Keating; one of the most downloaded podcasts in the United States for educators and parents. Weston has worked in collaboration with innovative tech and publishing companies (Google, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Apple) to redefine teaching and learning in schools. As such, he’s advised educators from every state in the US and more than 30 countries around the world. Districts where Mr. Kieschnick has designed content, implemented initiatives, and trained educational leaders have been recognized by the Learning Counsel as being among the top ten in the nation for their work in blended learning. You can find Weston’s work published in EdWeek, EdTech Magazine, The Spark, and featured on TED, the 10-Minute Teacher, Teaching Tales, Kids Deserve It, and LeadUp Teach. Connect with Weston on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or at WestonKieschnick.com.
Brian Mendler
Brian Mendler has extensive experience working with challenging students in general ed, self-contained, and inclusion settings. He provides staff development training for K-12 educators throughout the world with the focus on how to be successful with even the most difficult students. He trains tens of thousands of educators every year and is a highly regarded dynamic speaker. Educators love his seminars, because he is able to provide strategies that work immediately for today’s youth.
Mr. Mendler has recently authored a book titled, Watch Your Mouth, Non Negotiables for Success with Toughest Kids. The book provides educators with easy to use strategies for preventing and responding to difficult, disruptive, defiant and unmotivated behavior. He has also authored That One Kid and co-authored books, Turning Tough Parents into Strong Partners, Strategies for Successful Classroom Management, Power Struggles 2nd Edition, and the best seller Discipline With Dignity 4th Edition.
