The AFT Center for School Improvement is staffed by a group of long-time educators with many years of experience providing technical assistance and professional development to educators working to improve schools. For questions or information about arranging technical assistance, please e-mail aftcsi@aft.org. 

Staff Biographies:  

Kathleen Buzad
Kathleen Buzad was a teacher in the Scranton School District, Penn. from 1980-2004. As an ER&D trainer and then local site coordinator for the Scranton Federation of Teachers, Buzad directed the union's professional development program and served as the induction program trainer for the district. Working collaboratively with the administration, the ER&D program and the local union gained national recognition from the AFT for its impact on student achievement. Buzad came to the AFT in 2004 to provide support and technical assistance to state and local affiliates in the area of school improvement and professional development as well as school discipline and safety.

Joan Devlin
Joan Devlin taught middle and high school in Boston, Mass. and was an active member of the Boston Teachers Union (BTU), working as an officer in the Boston local from 1974 to 1978. Devlin also was a field representative for the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers (MFT), the state-level affiliate of the AFT in Massachusetts. From 1980-87, she was Director of Organization for the MFT. In that capacity, she directed staff, negotiated contracts and represented the union and its members before legislative and administrative bodies.

In 1987, Devlin returned to teaching in Boston and continued to serve on the executive board of the BTU. She came to the AFT national office in Washington, D.C., in November 1993. At the AFT, Devlin works on charter schools issues and is part of the team of staff of the Center for School Improvement. Devlin was the co-author of the AFT's report on charter school laws and a policy brief on charter schools. She coordinated the AFT's report Do Charter
Schools Measure Up? The Charter School Experiment
After Ten Years.

Dawn Krusemark
Dawn Krusemark was a special education teacher and local union president in Ithaca, NY, for many years. During her 14 years at the AFT, she has worked on an array of issues, including high school reform, international school comparisons, and school-to-work. She also coordinates AFT's professional development conference, QuEST.

Dr. Linda Stelly
Dr. Linda Stelly coordinates the AFT's Center for School Improvement. She facilitates partnerships among union leaders, board members, superintendents, principals, teachers, paraeducators, parents and community members to improve schools that are identified as "in need of improvement." Through this project, Dr. Stelly provides teamwork, skill development and models of educational effectiveness in urban schools throughout the country.