Kelly Galante, teaching for 18 years, is currently a 3rd-grade Montclaire Elementary School teacher. Going beyond the pages of the textbook, Mrs. Galante shows students what it is like to be part of a community that learns and grows together. During the pandemic, Mrs. Galante provided her students with opportunities to engage with each other through virtual meetups to play games or share jokes outside of regularly scheduled class time. Mrs. Galante strives to create a learning environment that encourages student choice and active ownership of their educational path.

Candace Love has been an instrumental music and band teacher for August Boeger Middle School and Mount Pleasant Elementary School Districts for six years. In Love's tenure as a music and band teacher, the music program has increased its student participation every year. While the pandemic may have kept students at home, Love endeavored and found a way to bring meaningful music programs to life during distance learning. When returning to in-person learning, Love had to restructure her classroom due to special restrictions on music and sports due to COVID. This restructure included moving classes outdoors, pivoting some classes from wind instruments to percussion instruments and the guitar, and problem-solving any issues that arose with these changes.

Jacqueline Whitwill is an English Teacher at Bayhill High School in Berkeley. She teaches a neurodiverse student body; including students with learning differences such as dyslexia, ADHD, and those on the autism spectrum. Ms. Whitwill instills confidence in her students by capitalizing on their learning strengths and fostering strong self-advocacy skills. As Head of the Humanities department and a supervising teacher, Ms. Whitwill demonstrates her commitment to all students by going above and beyond; redesigning the curriculum to include rich multi-sensory opportunities and diverse perspectives.

Stephanie Palmeri Farías has worked in education for 29 years and has served the San José Unified School District for the past 25 years. Before moving into an administrative role, Palmeri Farías was a Two-Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI) middle school teacher and district instructional coach. As principal, Palmeri Farías has ensured that Herbert Hoover Middle School fortify its strong community by supporting students through distance learning and the return to in-person instruction through the use of evidence-based strategies such as restorative practices. No matter the pandemic's challenges, Palmeri Farías continues to fiercely advocate for her students, teachers, staff, and families, creating a culture where everyone feels welcome and respected.

Marlon Richardson is the Director of Education for Hip hop for Change serving San Francisco and Oakland-based schools. Providing visionary leadership through design, implementation, and evaluation, Richardson has facilitated community-based Arts Education Programming for the past eight years serving over 200,000 students. By teaching students about the history and evolution of Hip Hop, Richardson has created culturally responsive opportunities for students to learn about social issues, music production, and STEM education. In response to the pandemic, Richardson also converted the arts educational program into a virtual platform to ensure students still had opportunities to engage while distance learning. Marlon works tirelessly to create and improve the arts program and expand its impact.