About the Presenters

Jay McTighe is a veteran educator and accomplished author, having co-written 18 books, including the award-winning and best-selling Understanding by Design® series with Grant Wiggins. His books have been translated into 14 languages. Jay has also written more than 50 book chapters, articles, and blogs, and has been published in leading journals, including Educational Leadership (ASCD), Edutopia, and Education Week. Jay has an extensive background in professional development and is a regular speaker at state, national, and international conferences. He has made presentations in 48 states within the United States, in seven Canadian provinces, and internationally in 41 countries on six continents. Jay received his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, earned his master’s degree from the University of Maryland, and completed post-graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Jay Meadows serves as Exemplars’ Chief Executive Officer. He is a former middle school math and science teacher and has been working in education for almost three decades. Jay holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Vermont and a Master’s in Mathematical Pedagogy from Southern New Hampshire University.

Jay is also one of Exemplars’ primary performance task writers and professional development consultants for the middle level. Leading sessions throughout the United States, Jay works with teachers to integrate performance tasks and research-based best practices into their curriculum. Through Exemplars, Jay dreams of teaching a generation of students to become powerful problem solvers.

Prior to his time in the classroom, Jay coordinated educational exchange programs for delegations from the former Soviet Union through the U.S. State Department and is a former Peace Corps volunteer.

Brendan Scribner, Director of Implementation and Success for Exemplars, began his career in education as a middle school math teacher in Vermont in 1998, before spending the last 20 years as a fourth-grade classroom teacher in Hanover, New Hampshire. He earned his Master’s in the Science of Teaching Mathematics from the Vermont Math Initiative. As a passionate classroom educator, he strives to be a mathematical identity builder with a keen focus on learning experiences that cultivate wonder, joy, and reveal the beauty of mathematics for all. Brendan supports educators at Exemplars, with a strong commitment to building contextually relevant problem solving into established curricula. An area of particular importance in his work is the power of productive discourse and how “talk moves” within a classroom. When he is not immersed in his work as an educator, he enjoys family time, cycling, hiking, skiing, leisure travel, and crafting unique wood products.