Amrita Rathi, Curriculum Developer

Amrita has completed her graduate studies in Psychology in Education from Columbia University, New York, and has a Master’s of Commerce from the University of Mumbai.  She has taught underserved populations in India and developed SEL curriculum for A2Q Education LLP. Both of these experiences have given her a strong understanding of the value of promoting SEL as an educational tool to help create more confident, competent, collaborative and compassionate generations for a better tomorrow.

Christine Galib, Project Consultant.

 After co-founding a successful investment management team on Wall Street, Christine Galib taught science, health and wellness, and yoga through Teach For America.  A nationally certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and yoga teacher, Christine founded Plan My Plate and offers workshops on stress management, wellness, mindfulness and meditation.  Christine is Co-Founder of and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Bridges to Wealth, a social enterprise closing the wealth gap through teaching business literacy, entrepreneurship, and investing.  Currently, Christine is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Wellness Programs at The Village School. Ms. Galib holds her AB from Princeton University and MSEd from the University of Pennsylvania and will complete her EdD in Educational Leadership and Management with a concentration in Creativity & Innovation from Drexel University in December 2019. 

Laila Wakim Zabaneh, Consultant

Laila Zabaneh is a seasoned curriculum writer and instructional coach. Laila taught in both inner city public and charter school settings, including The University of Texas Elementary School. . She then moved into the world of professional development as an instructional coach for Houston ISD and later as the Manager of STEM Teacher Development for the district. Currently Laila is a Training Solutions Associate for Ellevation Education and a freelance consultant. Laila is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants and grew up speaking Arabic as her first language. She holds two degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, a bachelors in Applied Learning and Development with a minor in Business Administration and a Masters in Multicultural Special Education.

Ramona S. Trevino, Ph.D., Project Advisor

Ramona Trevino is considered a national expert in SEL. Ramona and her team at Austin ISD implemented SEL district-wide and developed what are considered the best SEL standards and objectives in the nation which we are using in our SEL platform.  Ramona has most recently served as at District and School Design Director of the Center for Collaborative Education.   She previously served as Chief Academic Officer, Austin Independent School district;  Principal/CEO, University of Texas Elementary School where she implemented SEL; and Principal of an award winning elementary school in Austin ISD. She holds a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin.

Sukriti Grover, Graphic Designer

Sukriti is an experienced creative manager with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. She is the founder of Urban Hand, a graphic design firm.  Sukriti holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) focused in from Carnegie Mellon University.

Marina Ballantyne Walne, Ph.D.,, Executive Director, Teach A Class USA

Marina has 40 years of experience in education including Director of Admission, Rice University, founding head of The John Cooper School, consultant to seven other start-up schools including The University of Texas Elementary School that pioneered SEL in 2004. She was Executive Director of the Institute for Public School Initiatives at UT System and Vice President for Education at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. She holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. She is a board member of The Learning Accelerator.