Michael Matsuda is a nationally recognized 21st-century educational leader known for innovation, entrepreneurship, and compassion. Under his leadership, the Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) has built a new educational model called the “Career Preparedness Systems Framework” in partnership with higher education, private, and non-profit sectors. This model has extended and transformed educational opportunities for all students, centering on their own voice and purpose. Mr. Matsuda is also the co-author, alongside David Brazer, of a new book, Educating for Purposeful Life, which serves as a blueprint for school district transformation in AUHSD.

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Dr. Anton R. Reece is the president of WKCTSC in Paducah, KY. At the regional and local level, Dr. Reece utilized his visionary, creative and leadership to actively build partnerships, convene teams with transformative results and intentionality outreach to rural and underserved communities, and engage K-12 education, business, industry, religious, Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development, and community partners in Paducah and the Jackson Purchase area. Dr. Reece sums up his leadership style, as “empowering others to find their voice by achieving their education and career dreams with direction and purpose.”

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Savannah Barrett is Exchange Director for Art of the Rural, a national organization that works to resource rural and Native artists and culture bearers to build the field, change narratives, and bridge divides. She co-founded the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange in 2014 and leads this work alongside hundreds of Kentuckians to combine grantmaking, leadership and network development, narrative change, and institutional bridging to strengthen Kentucky’s communities across racial, economic, and geographic divides.

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