Stefanie Wager
NCSS President 2020-2021

Stefanie Wager is the Education Partner Manager for the OER Project. Prior to this role, she served at the Iowa Department of Education providing leadership and guidance at the state level for social studies education. She also taught high school social studies for Des Moines Public Schools and Dallas Center-Grimes Schools and worked at Instituto Thomas Jefferson in Naucalpan, Mexico. In addition, she formerly served as the coordinator of a Teaching American History Grant. She received both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from Drake University in Des Moines, IA. Stefanie has been involved in the Iowa Council for the Social Studies since 2010, first serving as co-chair for the Annual Conference, then Vice-President, and now President. She is also currently serving on the National Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors. In that capacity Stefanie has worked on the Strategic Plan Committee, Executive Director Search Committee and the Associated Group Ad-Hoc Committee, among others. She is also a member of CS4. In 2011, Stefanie was named an Emerging Leader in Education by ASCD. Stefanie lives in Grimes, IA with her husband Jake, who is also a social studies teacher, and their two children, Lincoln and Grace.

Danielle Allen, Ph.D.
James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University

Danielle Allen is a political theorist who has published broadly in democratic theory, political sociology, and the history of political thought. Widely known for her work on justice and citizenship in both ancient Athens and modern America, Danielle is the author of The World of Prometheus: The Politics of Punishing in Democratic Athens (2000), Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown vs. the Board of Education (2004), Why Plato Wrote (2010), Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (2014), Education and Equality (2016), and Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A. (2017). She is the co-editor of the award-winning Education, Justice, and Democracy (2013, with Rob Reich) and From Voice to Influence: Understanding Citizenship in the Digital Age (2015, with Jennifer Light). She is a former Chair of the Mellon Foundation Board, past Chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. Danielle Allen is also the principal investigator for the Democratic Knowledge Project, a distributed research and action lab at Harvard University. The Democratic Knowledge Project seeks to identify, strengthen, and disseminate the bodies of knowledge, skills, and capacities that democratic citizens need in order to succeed at operating their democracy. The lab currently has three projects underway: the Declaration Resources Project, the Humanities and Liberal Arts Assessment Project (HULA), and the Youth and Participatory Politics Action and Reflection Frame.

David Bosso, Ph.D.
Social Studies Teacher, Berlin High School

David Bosso, a social studies teacher in Berlin, Connecticut, is the 2012 Connecticut Teacher of the Year, the 2012 National Secondary Social Studies Teacher of the Year, and a 2019 inductee into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Over the course of his teaching career, he has traveled to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe to work with international peers and to enrich students’ understanding of global issues. David currently serves as the President of the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council and is a past president of the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies. He holds Master's degrees from the University of Hartford and Central Connecticut State University, and a doctorate from American International College. David Bosso's areas of expertise include teacher motivation, morale, and professional identities; educational history and policy; global education; and teacher leadership.

Lynn Jennings, Ph.D.
Senior Director of National and State Partnerships, The Education Trust

Lynn C. Jennings, Ph.D., leads strategy and advocacy initiatives, as senior director of national and state partnerships for The Education Trust, a premier national organization committed to eliminating education inequities in p-12 and higher education systems that disproportionately impact Black and Latinx students, and students from low-income backgrounds. In this role, she oversaw the organization’s growth by building and sustaining advocacy networks in 12 states. Under her leadership, Ed Trust works with communities, educators, policymakers, experts, and other key stakeholders on issues including funding equity, educator diversity, and college affordability and completion. 

Prior to entering the education policy space, Lynn taught American Literature, African American studies, and women’s studies courses at varied institutions of higher education including Spelman College, Columbia College Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two sons who attend a D.C. public school.