Christine Muchow
Parent Engagement Liaison, Clay Springs Elementary

Christine Muchow, a 25-year OCPS veteran, ensures Clay Springs students are ready to learn by creating a robust network of support. She founded the Black Bear Family and Community Resource Center, which connects families to vital resources such as counseling, healthcare, employment, and food.

By cultivating trust through home visits and other parent initiatives, she empowers families. She also facilitates engagement through events including attendance recognitions, report card assemblies, a neurodiversity awareness event and family multicultural night. She loves seeing the spark in a child’s eyes when their parent shows up to a school event for the first time.

Susana Ramos Villanueva
Program Coordinator, Federal Programs

Susana Ramos Villanueva specializes in supporting homeless and migrant students and families through enrollment and beyond. She has worked for the district for 17 years and approaches her complex role with patience, empathy, and resourcefulness.

She not only helps vulnerable parents secure enrollment, she communicates with school staff in a way that builds knowledge and fosters relationships. A problem-solver, Ramos Villanueva created an online approval system that cut processing time for field trip fees for homeless students from ten days to one or two. Students inspire her, such as a senior experiencing homelessness who recently shared their acceptance into college.

Justin Riggs
ASD Paraprofessional, McCoy Elementary

In just two years, Justin Riggs has become irreplaceable at McCoy Elementary. He anchors the self-contained Autism Spectrum Disorder unit, providing patient, transformative, individualized support. He consistently steps forward to support students in crisis, including those with severe behavioral challenges.

For example, Riggs helped one student who became aggressive when struggling to convey needs. Riggs customized new communication methods for the student and implemented routines to reduce frustration. Riggs also adapted a school-wide recycling initiative, breaking tasks into smaller steps so all students could participate, learn teamwork, and build independence. With love, humility and selflessness, Riggs ensures all students are empowered to succeed.

Gabriela Cardani
Paraprofessional, Bilingual Portuguese, Water Spring Elementary

Gabriela Cardani singlehandedly supports more than 220 Portuguese-speaking English-language learners and families at Water Spring Elementary. According to her principal, Cardani is a master of collaboration and problem-solving. She proactively created two simple but powerful guides: one for new students and another that defines school terms like “ELL” and “ELA” for parents.

Cardani, who has been with OCPS for four years, is a vigilant advocate who helped one student receive necessary ADHD accommodations and another be placed in gifted, where he is excelling. Her commitment to a “people-first” approach builds crucial trust for students and families navigating a new life chapter.

Laura Heintzelman
Program Assistant, ESE, West Orange High

Laura Heintzelman, a 30-year OCPS employee, supports special education students in developing essential life skills at West Orange High. Heintzelman co-founded Café WOW, a school-based coffee shop that employs 35 students and provides hands-on training in skills such as customer service and time management.

She supervises students on vocational job sites in the community, and helps special education bus riders through daily bus duty. Known for her patience, Heintzelman also guides students in the Advanced Studies program by proctoring extended-time AP exams. She finds inspiration in witnessing students develop confidence and independently complete tasks without relying on technology.

Amy Klaber 
Principal, Bridgewater Middle School

Amy Klaber has spearheaded academic and cultural turnarounds in three schools. At Bridgewater Middle, she enhanced student performance for students with disabilities by optimizing scheduling to increase instructional time. She also reduced disciplinary referrals by 50% with effective cell phone policy enforcement and communications.

Her "People First" approach and commitment to team-led improvement sets her apart. “Amy leads with heart. She knows every child by name and every staff member by strength,” said Atwater Bay Elementary Principal Matt Hendricks. Klaber actively mentors other principals, conducting workshops and even sharing her skilled staff with other schools. 
 

Cicely Marks 
Principal, Eccleston Elementary School

Cicely Marks is an exemplary principal who helped lift her previous school, Oak Hill Elementary, from a “C” to an “A.” Marks champions a "people first" philosophy, building strong relationships with students, families, and staff, leading to 93% staff retention at Eccleston. 

She never gives up on a child and believes "if you treat people right, they will walk over hot coals for you.” She works with partners to ensure her students have access to medical care, food, clothing and mental health services. And her behavior framework has reduced office discipline referrals by 23% and suspensions by 35%.
 

Johndrell Jones
Principal, Liberty Middle School

Johndrell Jones has reshaped Liberty Middle, improving its rating from a "C" to a high "B" for the first time in two decades. He has driven historical academic gains across subject areas, including a 17% increase in proficiency for students with disabilities and a 92% pass rate on the Algebra 1 end of course exam. 

Jones, who experienced homelessness as a child, sees himself in students. His leadership is “deeply felt and changes lives," increasing morale and a sense of purpose among staff. He fosters respect among students, leading to a 63% decrease in student suspensions through restorative practices. 

Elvon Nelson
Assistant Principal, Lockhart Elementary

Elvon Nelson is a dynamic assistant principal driven by the belief that every child can and will learn. At Lockhart Elementary, her leadership has significantly improved student performance, with math learning gains increasing from 42% to 50% and proficiency growth from 19% to 32% for students with disabilities. 

Nelson, who started out as an OCPS speech therapist 20 years ago, transforms school culture by shifting mindsets, prioritizing staff wellness, and building strong community partnerships. She has overseen a significant reduction in referrals and discipline incidents, leads data-driven decision-making and fosters a collaborative and positive school culture. Nelson's compassionate advocacy profoundly impacts students.
 

Rebecca Young
Assistant Principal, MetroWest Elementary 

Rebecca Young is an exceptional leader who helps transform school communities. At her former school, Rosemont Elementary, she spearheaded historic math proficiency growth, boosting annual scores to a 13-year high. Young created Rosemont Teams, an attendance incentive that became a school-wide movement promoting belonging and character.

She started “Girls on the Run" and helped with "My Sister's Keeper," supporting crucial extracurriculars and offering mentorship. Young fosters student resilience by drawing on her own personal challenges. Her leadership significantly boosted family engagement in the PTA and SAC and increased student enrollment. The Rosemont community gave her the "Elmer's Award" for being the school's 'glue.’
 

Joni Casamento
Assistant Principal, Rosemont Elementary 

Joni Casamento's “student-centered mindset” transformed lives at Vista Lakes Elementary, her previous school. She helped decrease student suspensions by 29% through restorative practices, and her reading intervention changes led to a 27-point increase in learning gains for the bottom quartile. Her mentorship has spurred student turnarounds. 

Casamento also co-founded "Keepin’ It Real with Key and Casamento" to provide in-person opportunities for parents and the community to share concerns. Her active engagement with the parents of students with disabilities contributed to a 4% increase in the performance of those students on federal accountability measures.
 

Carlos Hernandez
Assistant Director, Web and Graphic Design

A creative force with more than 26 years of expertise in design, digital content leadership and communications, Carlos Hernandez has worked tirelessly over the past four years to help grow the OCPS brand through innovative design management.

This year he demonstrated next-level customer- focused service in transitioning OCPS to its new web platform, delivering an intuitive, modern web site that has dramatically improved the online experience for students, parents, and staff. He was also responsible for the new look and feel of the OCPS 2030 Strategic Plan in a visually-appealing way that effectively communicates the district’s vision, mission, values and objectives.

Kimberly Gilbert
Senior Executive Director, Federal Programs

With more than four decades of dedicated service to OCPS and our community, Kimberly Gilbert directs, oversees and evaluates state, local and federal funding of more than $214 million. She also supervises the collection and analysis of school-level data to provide data- driven decisions for grant-funded initiatives.

Her keen eye and expert leadership have guided the district through many program and financial audits with no financial findings. Known as a fierce protector of district resources, Gilbert recently allocated Title I funds to reduce class sizes in mathematics, which led to improved math proficiency in Algebra and middle school general math courses.

Christopher Reed
Director, Warehousing and Distribution Services

Christopher Reed has been leading the district’s warehousing, distribution, printing, and mail services for 11 years. He led a shift toward a customer service and safety culture that transformed the OCPS warehouse into a logistics hub that supports schools and departments and coordinates large donations.

The warehouse seeks out opportunities for collaboration, such as handling donations of food, hygiene products and school supplies that totaled 69,863 pounds this past year. One of his recent successes involved his team receiving, sorting and labeling over 50 pallets of science materials for STEM programs and delivering them to schools throughout the district.