"It's not always the fight you choose. It's always how you choose to fight."

Nicole Tucker-Smith, founder and CEO of Lessoncast, helps schools implement professional learning initiatives focused on inclusive teaching and equity best practices. Nicole co-authored Supercharge Your Professional Learning: 40 Concrete Strategies to Improve Adult Learning (CAST Publishing, February 2020), which provides practical how-to information for applying the UDL Guidelines to professional learning experiences. In addition, she wrote Remote PD Zen, available on Amazon, Apple Books, and Google Play. She also leads the Jumpstart PD Network, a community of educators to share ideas, spread resources, post tips, and dialogue on key areas of interest related to designing and delivering effective PD focused on inclusion and equity. Nicole’s latest article, “The Illusion of Equity PD,” is featured in the March 2021 issue of Education Leadership.

She has served as a teacher, supervisor of parent support services, principal, and systemwide coordinator of professional development and training for Baltimore County Public Schools. Nicole was also a program coordinator for Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education and teaches as a faculty member for the JHU School of Education. Nicole is an international presenter on Universal Design for Learning, a member of the CAST National Faculty, and co-chair of the UDL Rising to Equity initiative, and she provides her professional development expertise to support the implementation of UDL in P12 and higher education learning environments

We’re creating a community for equity-minded educators to equip their ability to provide impactful PD, so that we can achieve equitable outcomes for all students.