Michael Dolcemascolo, now retired from presenting, is the former Executive Co-Director of Thinking Collaborative, the home of the Adaptive Schools Seminars and the Cognitive Coaching Seminars®. Formerly, Michael was Co-Director with Carolyn McKanders of the Center for Adaptive Schools.

Michael is co-author with Robert Garmston of the Teachers As Facilitators Study Guide (MiraVia, 2022), Storytelling Study Companion (Corwin, 2019), the Study Group Facilitation Guide for The Presenter’s Fieldbook (Rowman Littlefield, 2018), The Focusing Four: A Consensus Seeking Activity DVD Viewers Guide and Dialogue DVD Viewers Guide (Center for Adaptive Schools, 2009).
With Carolyn McKanders, Michael has co-authored the Developing Collaborative Groups Study Guide, and co-edited the Adaptive Schools Foundation Workshop Learning Guide (Thinking Collaborative, 2017).

Jane Ellison has been an integral part of the Cognitive Coaching community since 1989. Entrusted with the leadership and perpetuation of the work by Art Costa and Bob Garmston, she has served as the Executive Co-Director of Thinking Collaborative with Michael Dolcemascolo and the Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Coaching with Carolee Hayes. She provides training and consultation in the areas of Cognitive Coaching℠, Adaptive Schools, change and transition, quality professional and organizational development, curriculum development, effective instruction, supervision, and facilitation.

Jane has experience as a teacher at the elementary and graduate school levels, as a principal and a director of elementary education. She holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and Social Sciences from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, an M.Ed. in Elementary Supervision from the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, and an Ed.D. in Administration from VPI&SU, Blacksburg, Virginia. She is licensed as a teacher and supervisor in Texas and as an administrator in Colorado and Illinois. Jane’s experiences include teaching graduate classes in South America, attending the Principals’ Institutes at Columbia Teachers’ College and Harvard University, and chairing the Board of Directors of the Principal’s Center at the University of Colorado, Denver. She is also a certified teacher and Principal Perceiver Specialist. She is the co-author of Cognitive Coaching: Weaving Threads of Learning and Change into the Culture of an Organization and Effective School Leadership: Developing Principals with Cognitive Coaching.

Carolee Hayes is a founding director and owner for Thinking Collaborative. She retired as director in 2019. She is the also the former Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Coaching.

Her career includes 9 years as Director of Professional Development for Douglas County School District Re.1, in Colorado, where she developed and directed one of the first building-based instructional coaching programs in the US. She taught middle and high school in Jefferson County, Colorado and worked in professional development in that district.

Carolyn McKanders is the former Co-Director for Thinking Collaborative, the home of the Adaptive Schools Seminars and the Cognitive Coaching Seminars®. She is the former Co-Director of the Center for Adaptive Schools. As an educational consultant, Carolyn specializes in individual, group and organization development. Her passion is promoting quality human relationships through communication, collaboration and leadership skills development.

Carolyn’s background includes 28 years of experience in Detroit Public Schools as a teacher, counselor and staff development specialist. Presently, she presents seminars internationally on developing Adaptive Schools and organizations, Cognitive Coaching℠, enhancing presentation effectiveness, and facilitation skills. She also provides polarity management training, which supports organizations in identifying and managing competing tensions inherent in social systems.

Carolyn has extensive experience in group facilitation. She has successfully helped groups to clarify vision and work collaboratively to achieve professional community and desired results.

In addition to her work in educational settings, she is a family and women’s counselor. From her counseling experience she brings to her work a deep belief in the unlimited capacity and resilience of the human spirit.

Carolyn holds a BS degree in Child Development and Education from Michigan State University, an MA degree in Counseling and Education from the University of Michigan, and an MSW degree in Family and Children Services from Eastern Michigan University.

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