2024 NIBA Fall Conference Speakers

Joseph (Joe) Bento is an experienced IB Psychology and Personal and new Professional Skills (PPS) teacher based in Renton, WA, where he also serves as the IB Career Program Coordinator. In addition to his teaching roles, Joe has been deeply involved in safe schools training for the past 20 years. He has served as a National Education Association (NEA) trainer on Social Justice and LGBTQ issues for the last 15 years, demonstrating his commitment to fostering inclusive and equitable educational environments.Joe's leadership extends beyond the classroom; he is currently the President of the Rainier UniServ Council  and has previously served on the Kent School Board. Outside of his professional life, Joe enjoys traveling, gardening, and spending quality time with his family. 

Mauricio Carabali has worked for 20 years in IB schools worldwide and has been an IBEN member for 13 years, visiting schools across America and Europe. He has also conducted workshops on both continents and is currently an advisor for two schools in the USA in the MYP program.  Mauricio’s workshops have included MYP subjects such as Mathematics, Design,  Projects MYP, and Business in DP. Regarding transversal themes, Creating authentic units in the MYP, Service-Learning in the MYP, and developing concepts for both MYP and DP.

Ms. Kallie Chauvez

PYP Trainer Bio Coming Soon

Jamie Davis was part of the team that guided North Salem High School through the rigorous authorization process to become an IB World School. With three years of experience teaching IB English Language and Literature, he also serves as the Extended Essay Coordinator. Although initially skeptical of IB programs, he has come to appreciate the transformative impact of the "IB for All" philosophy, recognizing its potential to enrich the entire school community.

This is Josh Eerkes'  eighth year teaching Computer Science at Kennewick High School where he has created a program that has focused on helping students master the core elements of Computer Science while solving real world problems. Before he ventured into the world of education, he was the Director of IT for a Washington based petroleum company where he designed, managed and supported the technology infrastructure for convenience stores including networking locations, wiring and installing POS systems, and handling the security of payment processing. He is married and has two kids, twins, that are just starting the ninth grade. His favorite hobby is fishing and he can guarantee that he will get sidetracked at some time during the roundtable with a few fishing stories

Amy Green has served as the IB Coordinator for both DP and CP at North Salem High School for the last three years. Coming from a background in special education, she is passionate about inclusivity and access. After witnessing the growth of North’s first cohort of IB graduates, she became a huge proponent of the IB and its potential to work towards closing knowledge gaps.

Gillian Malacari is currently the Orchestra Director and IB Music Teacher at Edmonds-Woodway HS has been working with the IB Curriculum as a music educator for over 20 years. She has experience developing  PYP and MYP curriculum in new International schools in Asia. She has taught both the old and new versions of the IB Music courses (SL and HL) and has examined IB Music Music on and off since 2006. She has also supervised several Music EE students.

Colin Pierce, an experienced and dedicated educator with a passion for promoting equity in education. With a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Secondary Education and Teaching from Lewis and Clark College and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies from Sarah Lawrence College, Colin is well-equipped to educate, inspire and empower students from diverse backgrounds. Colin's career has been focused on providing access to high-quality teaching and learning for low-income students and students of color. He has worked at the levels of the classroom, teacher development, school leadership, and local and state policy. Notably, Colin is a Senior Advisor for K-12 School Programs at the Department of Education and Early Learning. He has also served as a Consultant for the Bridging the Equity Gap Project at The International Baccalaureate, as well as IB Diploma Program Coordinator/Teacher at Seattle Public Schools and Desert Academy in Santa Fe.

Ben Ryan is entering his 10th year in education, teaching at Newport High School in Newport, Oregon. He has taught IB History for 9 years, and is an Examiner for the program, specializing in Paper 3 and the Internal Assessment. He pioneered the effort to transition Newport High School away from IB History and towards IB Global Politics and is entering his second year teaching the subject. Ben is looking forward to facilitating a discussion with other teachers that live and breathe IB Global Politics!

Shannon Thissen, Ph.D., Administrator Digital Innovation, Capital Region Educational Service District 113, Tumwater, WA. Shannon is passionate about inspiring connections, innovations, and transformations. She offers broad knowledge of instructional pedagogies to integrate technology; change through Implementation Science; and provides educator training and support for using Artificial Intelligence. As a leader, she emulates visionary leadership, is an effective communicator, is a lifelong learner, and focuses on digital equity and inclusion. Shannon has served school districts in Washington State and provided guidance as the Computer Science Program Supervisor for OSPI (Dept. Ed). Her Ph.D. (2022) research examined increasing teacher efficacy of technology use in elementary education through Computational Thinking as a foundation.

For over twenty years, Ms. Gretel von Bargen has been a dedicated and passionate International Baccalaureate Biology teacher, who aims to motivate students with engaging lessons and an infectious curiosity for the study of life. Her classes are infused with multiple interactive instructional methods- music, dance, games and modeling- to support science learning. Ms. von Bargen values collegiality and works closely with teachers locally and globally to learn new techniques and to share knowledge of successful techniques with others, all with the goal of improving student learning. Ms. von Bargen is a National Board-Certified Teacher in Adolescent and Young Adult Science.  She has received the Presidential Scholar Teacher Recognition Award, the Sammamish Learning Promotion Award, the Skyline High School PSTA Teacher of the Year and was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. Ms. von Bargen loves learning and teaching biology with an undercurrent of optimism.