Brenda Vogds
Director
Institute for Personalized Learning (i4PL)

Brenda Vogds, PhD is the Director of the i4PL, an education innovation lab dedicated to the transformation of public education. The Institute serves a growing number of member school districts engaged in personalized, competency-based education.

Brenda has 23 years of experience in various educational roles in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. She began her career as a Business and Marketing Educator, and subsequently served as an Instructor in the College of Education at UW-Whitewater, a K- 12 Technology Coordinator, an Elementary School Principal, a Secondary Director of Teaching and Learning and most recently as the Leader of Personalized Learning and Innovation for Secondary Schools. She was a key leader in the beginning phases of competency-based education in the Kettle Moraine School District (WI), and Eastern Carver County School District (MN).

Mrs. Vogds holds a PhD from Cardinal Stritch University where she studied the key elements of the journey of the Kettle Moraine School District to personalized, competency-based education. She presents at national and international conferences on the research, pedagogies and implementation strategies of PCBE and uses her on the ground floor experience to provide interactive professional learning and coaching to administrators, school boards, coaching and resource teams and educators around learner-centered practices.

Twitter: @teachinb

Zak Lenski
Professional Development Specialist
Institute for Personalized Learning (i4PL)

Zak Lenski has spent the past ten years working with Wisconsin's K-12 students in the Green Bay and Waukesha area. For the last six years, Zak worked with KM Global, a learner-centered charter environment in the Kettle Moraine School District. There he developed student-centered practices and curriculum focused on leadership skills, innovative thinking, and making an impact. In his role as a Professional Development Specialist, Zak hopes to share strategies and practices that will help districts and staff nurture student agency, voice and choice, and interpersonal skills development. As someone who has navigated the shift to learner-centered practices, Zak knows that this shift takes time, patience, and a village. He is excited to work alongside districts and their staff as they navigate their journey towards a more learner-centric ecosystem.

Our GOLearn PL Framework provides an overview of the learning experiences we offer. This systems approach supports continuous improvement and allows members to identify the offerings that meet their needs, providing a personalized experience. It includes three strands: Systems Thinking, Safe and Collaborative Culture, and Highly Effective Teaching and Leading.

We use the Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning when designing our experiences to ensure that we provide professional learning that leads to high-quality leading, teaching, and learning for students and educators.

Review our GOLearn Framework to identify sessions that meet your needs, see what sessions are currently open for registration on our PL Events webpage, and access the content in our on-demand catalog to start learning now.