ROCKiT

As the Executive Director of the Research and Innovation team, I build strong partnerships between MMSD and external organizations that leverage the best from both sides to disrupt inequities and foster better outcomes. I have deep expertise and experience in research, evaluation and strategic planning and love using data to learn more about how we work, our impact, and what creative things we can do to improve. In addition to my work with ROCKiT, I also serve as co-director of the Madison Education Partnership (MEP), the district’s research-practice partnership with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at UW-Madison. I have worked in K-12 and postsecondary education and public policy for almost 20 years as a researcher, analyst and teacher. Outside of work I am an avid sports fan and decent athlete, and excel at watching my Wisconsin Badgers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Seattle Seahawks.

Contact Info
envaade@madison.k12.wi.us

As a ROCKiT Innovation Strategist I support MMSD staff in thinking deeply about complex, equity-based challenges. From coaching design teams to facilitating district wide professional development opportunities, my role is to help grow the innovation skills, mindsets, and capacity of MMSD staff. I have been with ROCKiT since its inception in 2018, working with our awesome team to strategize and build the ROCKiT innovation process and framework. I am drawn to this work because it pushes us to think bold, to test our assumptions, to see failure as important learning, and create equitable solutions for complex problems. Before joining ROCKiT, I taught high school social studies and ESL for 12 years and was the department chair for the ESL Bilingual department for seven years. One of my greatest accomplishments was starting the East HS PA-MOJA program, a global leadership opportunity where students from Madison travel to Kenya to learn alongside Kenyan students about conservation, education and global leadership. Outside of MMSD, I serve on the board of PA-MOJA, an international education non-profit that provides educational opportunities for youth in Kenya. In my free time I love to cook and host dinner parties, travel around the world to see friends and family, and ride my bike.

Contact Info
lkvierstra@madison.k12.wi.us

As an Innovative Strategist for ROCKiT my role is to assist schools and departments in designing systems, structures, and procedures with a deeply empathetic, user-centered, and equity-focused approach. I am a passionate, lifelong learner who is dedicated to this work because it is imperative that we devote significant time and resources to rethinking and redefining an educational system in Wisconsin that will best serve underestimated and historically and systemically deprived populations in our ever-changing society. I hold degrees in Elementary Education and African American Studies (emphasis on Black Women) and am finishing up a masters in Administration and Director of Instruction. I’ve been dedicated to and working within education for over 15 years. Before joining the ROCKiT team in its inaugural year, I taught for seven years at the elementary level. Over my 15 years in education I have also worked with many local community centers and social impact groups. When I’m not ROCKiN it, I am engaging in anything that allows me to be creative (painting, dancing, sewing, and writing). I am also dedicated to social justice, traveling, the Milwaukee Bucks and concerts.

Contact Info
lwmorris@madison.k12.wi.us

As a ROCKiT Innovation Strategist, I support MMSD staff in using empathy and user-centered/liberatory design processes to dig into complex, equity-based challenges within the district. I have been working with the ROCKiT team since the spring of 2020. During this time I continue to pursue my passion for change toward the “new and better” as we look to disrupt systemic problems and improve the education system in MMSD. As we lead design teams, elevate the sharing of ideas, and facilitate PD, we hope to help grow the innovation skills, mindsets, and capacity of people working in MMSD. Through this work, we emphasize bold thinking, the testing of assumptions, and the importance of failure as a step toward growth. I have been coaching and teaching in the Madison community since 2005. Before joining ROCKiT, I taught 8th-grade Humanities at Toki Middle School for 8 years. Outside of my work in MMSD, I lead a Madison nonprofit called Intentional Mentoring which uses 1:1 mentorships to help bridge the gaps between school, community, and home. I am also an ice cream enthusiast who loves exploring the outdoors with my husband, daughter, and dog.

Contact Info
kdimhoffsmit@madison.k12.wi.us

As an Improvement Specialist I am here to help you work through process improvement and understand research and data. I bring to that over 5 years of experience in data analytics and research. Originally hailing from Michigan, I have degrees from Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee culminating in a Masters in Economics, focusing on Labor Economics, education, and Quantitative methods. In previous roles, I've worked with Milwaukee Public Schools and the Kenosha Unified School District through nonprofits that sought to make data accessible, usable, and actionable for teachers and schools. Outside of work I love to create with my hands--whether it's brewing beer, cooking, or woodworking. I'm still fairly new to Madison, so if you see me throw me a recommendation or two!

Contact Info
enlequesne@madison.k12.wi.us

As a research and school improvement specialist, I bring two decades of experience in teaching, teacher training and education research. I began my career as an elementary teacher in Chicago, where I worked as a teacher and arts integration coordinator for a decade. I moved internationally to Mumbai, India where I engaged in education reform and impact evaluations before embarking on a PhD in curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In the past few years, I have been on multiple research projects spanning from a study looking at the privatization of teacher education programs in India, to the effects of targeted Sesame Street curriculum on children who have an incarcerated parent, and two comprehensive early education interventions and analyses, as a part of UW's Madison Education Partnership. I also am currently a teacher educator at the University of Wisconsin, guiding new teachers into the profession. I love to draw, paint, screen print and antique. You might see me about town, walking my dog Maude.

Contact Info
ldlauter@madison.k12.wi.us