Educational Leadership Advisory Board

Antoinette Carr

Toni Carr

Toni Carr, EdD, is an Affiliate Instructor with the School of Education, Graduate Studies. She has taught educational leadership courses at Loyola since 2018. She received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore and a Master's Degree and Certificate of Advanced Studies from Johns Hopkins. Additionally, she completed a Doctorate of Instructional and Curriculum Leadership from Northcentral University. Dr. Carr is an elementary principal with Anne Arundel County Public Schools. She also teaches graduate courses at McDaniel College and dissertation courses at the National University. Her research interests include integrating technology across the curriculum and developing the educational leadership capacity of staff. She enjoys attending and presenting at local, state, and international conferences. 

Danielle Green

Danielle Green

Danielle R. Green is in constant pursuit of learning, growing, developing, and enhancing her skillset to be of service to the community. She considers her role as an educational leader and consultant a form of service - a ministry. Her mission is to change the landscape of education within a society that has historically denied education to people of color who are underserved and under-represented. For more than 25 years she’s helped communities understand the significance of education, how it can create opportunities, and how it can be leveraged to create one’s own destiny. Her knack for working with students during the most challenging times of their educational journeys has yielded lasting impacts in the lives of thousands of youth. She credits this success to her inherent ability to show love and compassion while building genuine relationships - and to her mother - who, early on, called her attention to the fact that all her jobs during her youth were either education-related or involved working with youth. Danielle’s journey spans four major school districts and various types of communities and academic settings. As one of three founding Principals within Baltimore City Public Schools, she developed and implemented a charter transformation program, yielding a 100% graduation rate and quadrupling the number of graduates in just one school year - an outstanding accomplishment at a school where more than 85% of students were already parents, had a history of incarceration or were violent offenders. The school then become the most requested alternative school in the district. In this role, she found personally recruiting students most rewarding. Being hands-on in her work is a natural extension of her adoration for the community, where she regularly facilitates and leverages partnerships. Students, families, teachers, administrators, and community partners would describe Danielle as a trustworthy master teacher who can operate in any space - and for whom training comes naturally when working with teams of various backgrounds.

Her vast experiences have made it explicitly clear that people of color who work in education have the expertise needed to support and serve their communities, rather than having other groups inform how it should be done. As the founder of DRG Consulting, LLC, Danielle gives grassroots education professionals a voice. Schools, academic leaders, service-based organizations, and parents benefit from her robust, 360° insight and tools and resources to ensure student success. Danielle has a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Medgar Evers College, a master’s degree in Administration & Supervision from The City College of New York, a master's degree in Literacy Education from Adelphi University, and a doctorate in Curriculum Instruction & Assessment from Walden University. She’s also a certified conflict manager and has certificates in DEI in the Workplace, and Inclusive & Ethical Leadership from the University of South Florida. Additionally, Danielle is a member of Cohort 8 of New Leaders, an esteemed program that prepares education leaders to deliver results in America's highest-needs schools and was recognized by President Barack Obama & Arnie Dunkin as one of the premier educational leadership training programs in the country. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Danielle currently resides in Maryland and is a loving caregiver to her mother. In her free time, she supports the Night of Peace Family Shelter, Inc., an organization dedicated to assisting homeless families with children, and enjoys good music, dancing, spa days, and binging on episodes of Law & Order. Staying true to her calling of service as a priority, Danielle supports the community as a member of the NAACP, National Urban League, National Alliance of Black School Educators, National Council of Negro Women, Top Ladies of Distinction, National Association of Parliamentarians, The National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Incorporated and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. Danielle serves as the inaugural international director for the Office of Training and Development of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.  Danielle wants to be remembered for living out her most treasured phrase: ETJ (enjoy the journey), for establishing and leveraging meaningful relationships to produce radical results, and for being a girl from the hood who’s making good, trying to uphold promises made to her family. An experienced speaker, emcee, and facilitator, Danielle gives insights on Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Organizational Dynamics, Community Relations, Leadership Development & Enhancement, Team Development, and DEI - all while keeping audience actively engaged.

Najib Jammal

Najib Jammal

Najib Jammal moved to Baltimore over 20 years ago to teach at Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore City. He joined teaching through Teach for America and went on to complete a Masters in the Art of Teaching at Johns Hopkins University. After several years of teaching, he worked with a group of fellow teacher to start a Youth Entrepreneurial Non-Profit helping students develop micro enterprises. In 2005 he was awarded the Open Society Institute’s Community Fellowship Award at which point he transitioned to being a part time teacher and full-time non-profit Director. Coming back into education on a full-time basis in 2009 he joined New Leaders for New Schools. In 2010 he was named the principal of Lakeland Elementary Middle School where he has served for the past 12 years. At Lakeland we have amazing students, staff, parents, and community partners who allow our students to shine by collaborating under a common mission of supporting students in their learning, growth, and exploration. As a Professional Development School site Lakeland has served as an education partner with Loyola for over 10 years, bringing on over 8 alums as full time teachers after internships. Partnerships have been pivotal in creating application and engagement opportunities that has fostered academic growth.

Carla Rae Knight

Carla Rae Knight

Carla Knight is a Vice Principal at Manchester Academic Charter School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As an educational leader, she focuses on creating a diverse and equitable school environment by ensuring that students have the educational foundation necessary for achieving both personal and academic growth. Additionally, she teaches 7th and 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA).  With over 8 years of teaching experience Knight gives her students an opportunity to connect with the world through reading, written expression, and speaking for change.

Knight earned her B.A. in Communications from the University of Pittsburgh, where she will return this summer to begin pursuing her Doctoral Degree in Urban Education. She holds a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Carlow University. Aside from teaching, Knight enjoys reading, hosting youth writers’ workshops and volunteering for community programs.

James McCoy

Karen Murphy

Karen Murphy

Karen Murphy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Pathology/Audiology from the University of Maryland and a Master of Education in School Administration and Supervision from Loyola University.  With 26 years of experience in elementary education, she has served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in the Archdiocese before becoming Associate Superintendent.

Brandon Pinkney

Brandon Pinkney

Brandon Pinkney is a Principal within the Baltimore City Public School System currently at Walter P. Carter Elementary/Middle School with eight years of experience as a principal and seventeen years of experience overall as an educator.  Brandon received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education from Morgan State University, in 2006.  In 2010, Brandon attended Loyola University of Maryland and received a Master’s of Art degree in Reading Specialization.  In 2012, Brandon received a certificate in Education Administration and entered into the Ed.D program at Morgan State University pursuing a degree in Urban Educational Leadership (dissertation candidate).  Brandon specializes in transformational leadership and is responsible for leading schools in an urban district through data driven and highly effective instructional practices with the intent of greatly impacting student outcomes (academic and social-emotional) with a keen focus on family community engagement. Brandon is an influential force in the field of Education and uses his positive attitude, servant leadership, and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Brandon is a 2020 “Heart of the Schools Honoree”, 2016 “Morgan State University Distinguished Alumni”, and has received a host of other honors and recognitions.

Amanda Rice

Amanda Rice

Amanda P. Rice has served in Baltimore City Public Schools for the past 20 years as an educational leader. She began as the assistant principal of Cross Country Elementary School for three years before moving on to become the principal of George Washington Elementary School, where she improved the school into a 90/90/90 status  ( more than 90% of  students eligible for free and reduced lunch, more than 90 percent of students from ethnic minorities, and more than 90% of the students met or achieved higher academic standards). From there she was assigned to Waverly Elementary Middle School in 2014. She moved Waverly into the first $27 million school building in Baltimore City in over 50 years. In the same year she was honored to become a Transformational Principal for Baltimore City Public Schools. This designation recognizes school leaders who are having an impact on schools and who will then mentor new principals, teacher leaders, and other talented staff members with leadership potential. As a mentor principal she mentored six New Leaders for New Schools Resident Principals into becoming principals. She continued receiving her training as a leader as a student of NISL (National Institute for School Leaders) and with the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She Is currently serving as the principal of her third school in Baltimore City Public Schools, Hazelwood Elementary Middle School, which has since moved out of Comprehensive Support and Improvement Status and into a thriving school that has a warm and caring staff and serves as a Community School, meeting the needs of the students, families, and community members.

Jael Samuel

Jael Samuel

Jael Samuel graduated from Morgan State University with a bachelor’s in Elementary Education. She began her long and distinguished career as an elementary school teacher at Govans Elementary School. There, she was voted Teacher of the Year in 1994 by her colleagues.  In 1997, she earned a Master of Arts in Education at Goucher College and a Graduate Certificate in School Administration and Supervision at Johns Hopkins University in 1999.  At the start of the 2000-2001 school year, Jael achieved promotion and became the Assistant Principal at Govans Elementary School. In January 2009, she was appointed the principal of the most outstanding school in Baltimore City, Tench Tilghman EMS.  At that time, Tench Tilghman was categorized as a school in “Restructuring” by the Maryland State Department of Education due to consistently low student achievement. Upon joining the school community, she developed a strong leadership and teaching team that embodied knowledge, grit, and passion for education. After years of training and supporting the staff, students, and parents, Tench Tilghman Elementary Middle School was ranked among some of the top-performing schools in Maryland as they earned 4 out of 5 stars by the Maryland State Department of Education in school years 2017-2018 and 2018 -2019 and had one the highest attendance records in the BCPSS School District, that consistently exceeded the state standard.

Principal Samuel has received many honors and awards over her illustrious career that, include the Hathaway Ferebee Neighborhood Achievement Award, the City of Baltimore Presidential Citation, The State of Maryland Governor’s Citation for her work with the community surrounding Tench Tilghman, and the 13th Councilmanic District Honorary Certificate for the most significant increase in math of all Baltimore City Public Schools, as well as a Heart of the School Award Honoree. After 31 years of service, she concludes her beloved career with many achievements that will impact the school, community, and the world for years to come. 

Kelsey Schroeder

Kelsey Schroeder

Kelsey Twist Schroeder, Ed.D., is an educational leader, strategist, and consultant. She serves as the Managing Director of the Collaborative Consulting Group and on the faculty of the Gardner Carney Leadership Institute. Over the course of her career, Dr. Schroeder has served in a variety of leadership roles in independent schools, including teacher, coach, dean, and division head. She has lectured on the pedagogy of leadership at local and national conferences, including the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference, the Association of Independent Maryland and D.C. Schools (AIMS) conferences, and the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (NCGS) conferences. Kelsey earned her B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University, where she was an Academic All-American and captain of the Women’s Lacrosse Team. She earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.