Highly committed to public education, Devron Armstrong manages the Best In Class coalition at The Commit Partnership. Devron has more than fifteen years of experience as an education professional, and is currently a 2020-2021 fellow in Leadership ISD’s Civic Voices Fellowship in the Dallas, Texas area. He has taught and coached all subjects across grades 5 – 12 while serving in various capacities such as content leader, teacher leader, Dean, Dean of Instruction, and Assistant Principal.

As a founding Dean and Dean of Instruction at two large public charters in the Houston area, Devron observed, coached and evaluated a cohort of teachers across all grade levels and disciplines and shaped school culture using a fully restorative justice-based approach. Due to the hard work of the staff, teachers, parents, students, and community, 100% of students since the school’s first graduating class have earned a high school diploma and admission to a two- or four-year college at both schools.

Devron has also worked as a professional development consultant. He supported campuses and districts in developing targeted academic intervention plans using MAP essential reports. Devron also works as an adjunct professor at Houston Community College in the Alternative Teacher Certification Program. In his spare time, Devron pursues his passion for health and nutrition and rollerblading with his business and non-profit Wholelistic Foods.

A public-school graduate from Killeen High School in Killeen ISD, Devron earned his master’s in education – Administration and Supervision from The University of Houston Main Campus in 2012. Devron graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX in 2006. Devron is actively certified as a K – 12 principal and generalist (grades 4 – 8) with English as a Second Language supplemental from the State Board for Educator Certification. He is currently pursuing an advanced degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Devron currently lives and serves in West Dallas area.

As a brown girl born and raised in East Austin, Ana Luz quickly realized that the American Dream was not accessible to kids that looked and sounded like her. Ana Luz’s early exposure to community organizing and education advocacy through her immigrant mom undoubtedly influenced her decision to explore work that spoke to her values and convictions.

Although she launched her career engaged in advocacy work, she soon realized she had a knack for details and found cross-functional projects rewarding. She particularly enjoys building trust and relationships through the work. In her most recent role she helped Dallas ISD launch a new headquarters, executed a relocation strategy, and managed the renovation of 72,000 square feet of office space. Ana Luz holds a Master of Public Administration from New Mexico State University, a B.A. in Political Science, and a B.A. in Anthropology from Southwestern University.

Chelsea is a native to Dallas County, growing up in Coppell, TX and graduating from Coppell High School. Chelsea chose to stay in Dallas and attend Southern Methodist University after being named a President’s Scholar and receiving a full-tuition merit-based scholarship. At SMU, Chelsea became passionate about education while completing research on Texas education policies her sophomore year. In 2012 she joined Teach for America as part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Corps where she taught Algebra, Geometry, and Math Models for two years at Dallas Can Academy, an alternative high school.

Since leaving the classroom, Chelsea has been with Commit, where she’s workeding on a variety of initiatives including data analysis, college access and success, 4th grade math and 3rd grade literacy learning networks., and nowShe currently works to increaseing access to high-quality Pre-K and child care across the DFW metroplex. Chelsea focuses on bringing together the birth to age 5 community around common strategies, leading the DFW Regional Pre-K Campaign, and supporting the child care community with innovative business models. Chelsea strongly believes that if we can set a strong academic, social, and emotional foundation in a child’s early years, many of the learning gaps that she saw as a high school teacher would be closed.

Chelsea graduated from Southern Methodist University Magna Cum Laude with a B.B.A in Accounting. She is also a board member of The Community School of Park Cities, a non-profit child care center.

Nicholy grew up in Baton Rouge, LA where her passion for education was sparked by her parents, both of whom were educators. Both came from very poor towns in North Louisiana, and education was the tool that paved the way for a better life. Nicholy’s parents instilled in her the value of an education and since that time, Nicholy has been passionate about ensuring that all young children, regardless of race or socio-economic status, have access to a quality education.

Prior to joining the Commit Partnership, Nicholy worked as a PreK-2 Lead Instructional Specialist at DISD in the Early Learning Department where she helped PreK-2^nd grade teachers in urban schools improve their instructional practices to increase child outcomes. She also worked at the Louisiana Department of Education for seventeen years where she helped to manage a statewide Pre-K program, worked with Child Care Resource and Referral agencies, served on a committee that was responsible for developing Louisiana’s first set of Birth-5 Standards, and worked on multiple initiatives that were centered around improving and increasing access to quality childcare programs. In addition, Nicholy taught kindergarten for seven years in East Baton Rouge Parish, so she will always be an early childhood educator at heart!

Nicholy graduated from Southern University A&M College with a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and a M.Ed. in Elementary Education.

Dominique McCain embodies dedication and commitment. She began her career as a classroom teacher in Aldine ISD and quickly became a teacher leader and instructional coach. Through modeling best practice in preparation, planning, and instruction, her work proved impactful in developing and fortifying the instructional capacity of campus and district faculty.

In 2014, Dominique accepted an opportunity to support the efforts of Dallas ISD through its Teacher Preparation Program. As Senior Manager, she oversaw the transformation and redesign of the program focused on sustained quality.

After acknowledging the need for a strong start for both teachers and students, Dominique continued making a significant impact in the district by serving as the Director of Instructional Strategy for the Dallas ISD Early Learning Department. In this role, she oversaw all curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for the district’s PK-2 grade classrooms.

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