Katie Casey
Instructional Director, Curriculum Director, Case Manager
With over 15 years of experience in education. She was the director of Valley Youth Theatre's (VYT) Education Department, where she directed, choreographed, taught classes, hired and managed the instructional team; Katie continues to teach and choreograph VYT productions. Katie has taught English in Japan and worked as the Literacy Specialist at Scottsdale Unified School District’s Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center. Most recently, Katie has taught Visual Arts, Music and Drama at Rancho Solano School in Phoenix. She also has taught, and continues to teach, private dance lessons. In addition to her work as an educator, Katie is a talented actress, singer and dancer, and has performed with professional theatre companies, including Phoenix Theatre and Arizona Broadway Theatre. Katie enjoys being a wife and also a mother to two adorable young boys. Taylor Jones Nelson
Administrative and Instructional Director, Curriculum Developer
Taylor Jones Nelson holds an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Columbia University Teachers College, an Ed.M. in Administration and Social Policy from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. in English Literature from Boston University. She has over twenty years of teaching, curriculum development and educational administration experience in grades Pre-K through eighth. Taylor has taught in Montessori, independent and public schools in Boston, New York City and metro-Phoenix. She was the Assistant Principal of Scottsdale Unified School District's Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center (K-8) for five years, and then most recently teacher of Middle School English at Phoenix Country Day School in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Taylor loves spending time with her family, and she and her husband are proud parents of their one-year-old daughter. Judy Rex
Instructional Director, Curriculum Developer, Case Manager
Judy Rex was an employee of the Scottsdale Unified School District in Arizona for over twenty years, where she taught and coached in multi-age K-8 classrooms. She has also been a professional development facilitator specializing in differentiated curriculum, instructional strategies for diverse student populations, and positive classroom management. Judy has been the recipient of the Scottsdale Mayor’s Council Award for the successful inclusion of special needs children in her general ed classroom, as well as an award for District Teachers of the Year. Prior to teaching in Scottsdale, she taught at the middle school level in southern California followed by the pre-school level in Phoenix, AZ. As a member of the ASCD faculty, she has consulted and coached internationally on the topic of Differentiated Instruction for over twelve years. Judy’s classroom is the featured site for the ASCD video A Visit to a Differentiated Classroom. Most recently, Judy has joined the Educational Development and Support Specialists team at Grand Canyon University to share her educational expertise with local school districts. Judy prides herself on being a wife, mom of three grown children and grandmother to two grandchildren.