THINK Global School is bringing Joann McPike’s educational vision to life.

“The school encourages students to develop a lifelong bond with people from all over the world. We foster academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and cultural adaptability. I’m so proud to be part of this venture along with our faculty, staff, parents, friends, and donors.”

Read more about Joann McPike’s story.

Mark S. Benno, Ph.D, is widely recognized as the Curriculum Evangelist. In this role he helps organizations envision and develop effective technology integration programs. He likes to challenge people to exceed their dreams; professional development is his passion. Most of his work over the past eighteen years has been in faculty development, for educators of students from preschool to graduate school. In addition to ten years at Apple, he has worked at Nolan Middle School in Killeen ISD in Texas; at Hillcrest PDS, a professional development elementary school for Baylor University in Waco, Texas; and at Tech4Learning in San Diego.

As a speaker, Mark addresses educators nationwide on the future of technology and education, and the ways that the needs of today’s students challenge our traditional educational systems. He also leads workshops that explore grade K-12 implementations of curriculum integration, technology planning, film production, digital photography, clay animation, and video conferencing. He has delivered keynotes in 35 U.S. states as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Mark completed his Ph.D. in Technology and Teacher Education at Mississippi State University in 2000, with a minor in Curriculum and Instruction. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator from the class of ’99 and is currently writing his third book. Mark is also past president of the Texas Association for Educational Technology (TAET).

Thomas Schaedler presently serves as the Director of Berlin Brandenburg International School. He has previously been the head of international schools in Singapore, Zurich, Stuttgart, and the Bahamas, and has also worked for the World Bank in Indonesia. He holds a B.A. in education from the University of Zurich in Switzerland and an MBA from the University of Hull in the U.K. and the Asia-Pacific-Management-Center in Singapore, and is currently pursuing a doctorate at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, focusing on the factors of success for internationally mobile students.

Ms. Myers is the Executive Vice President and consumer sector team leader at Franklin Templeton Investments, as well as the lead equity portfolio manager of Templeton Growth Fund and Templeton Global Income Fund in Canada, and the lead portfolio manager of Templeton Income Fund and co-portfolio manager of Templeton World Fund. She is the coordinator of Templeton’s global consumer team and has direct research responsibility
 for the global retail, textile, and apparel industries.

Prior to joining Templeton, Ms. Myers practiced law with Wilkie, Farr & Gallagher in New York City, where she specialized in corporate/real estate law and was involved in initial public offerings, acquisitions, and loan initiation and restructuring, among other securities-related transactions. She earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, where she currently serves on the Executive Board of The Penn Fund. She was awarded her J.D. from Georgetown University, where she also taught legal research and writing. Ms. Myers is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a member of the CFA Institute.

Ms. Waxman’s focus has always been teaching and helping others overcome, transcend, and transform. She has been living by this mantra since the time she was balancing single motherhood with maintaining a successful career as a real estate agent. While raising her two daughters, she became the first woman to be promoted to Vice President at the largest real estate firm in the southeastern United States.

Ms. Waxman worked for over three decades in the business world helping people to develop the skills for personal and professional success. Since leaving the corporate environment, Marlene has worked with people and groups who want to make significant changes in their lives and goals. As a certified Neuro-Linguistic Psychology Master Practitioner and Life Coach, she teaches self-awareness and effective communication techniques that can be applied in team-building, organizational development, conflict management, and organizational culture change. She is also an authorized practitioner of the VARK Learning Preference Assessment.

Marlene attended the University of Florida, majoring in Psychology. She earned her Neuro-Linguistic Psychology and Hypnosis certifications at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. In 2003, she travelled to Fiji to study at the Oneness University, receiving certification as a Oneness Facilitator and adding a wonderful spiritual dimension to her successful NLP practice. An enthusiastic member of the TGS family in more than one sense, Marlene is married to fellow TGS Board Member Stanley Waxman; her daughter Ashley Silver is Head of Administration and WeXplore.

Mr. Waxman is a New York attorney who has over forty-five years of trial practice experience, coaching, and consulting. He is formerly an assistant professor of law at Hofstra University in New York. His cases have been published nationally in many books and law journals. He has a desire and passion for his work, and aims to break new ground with each project he embarks on.

In addition to his master’s and doctorate degrees in law, Mr. Waxman earned a master’s level certification in the field of Neuro-Linguistic Psychology at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is currently working with Dr. Janet Konefal, Dean of the Division of Integrative and Complementary Medicine at the Miller School, to develop a coaching curriculum based on Neuro-Linguistic Psychology that will have applications to both personal and business development.

Stanley has been fortunate to work with a wide variety of people and organizations in the United States and abroad. He has recently become involved in work with the Oneness Movement from India and received certification as a Oneness Facilitator. In this capacity, his mission is to make as many people as happy and successful as he possibly can by helping them attain their dreams and goals. An enthusiastic member of the TGS family in more than one sense, Stanley is married to fellow TGS Board Member Marlene Waxman