Nov. 12, 2026 Virtual Event
Speakers
Andrea Wise-Smith
Andrea has worked at the intersections of community building, cross cultural engagement, public service, and leadership development for over 15 years. Her interests have led her to learn, lead, and serve in varying spaces such as faith-based institutions, the White House Obama Administration, and Congressional Civil Rights pilgrimages. Andrea works in affordable housing finance and loves singing, laughing, the outdoors, and authentic Mexican tacos.
Christopher Fontana
FCL Executive Director
A Chicago native with nearly four decades of education experience including 17 years as a classroom teacher; co-founded Global Visionaries in 1998, growing it to a $1.1M budget serving 5,000 youth across the U.S. and Guatemala.
Ganae McAlpin, M.A.
Program Director
20 years’ experience; Director of Equity, Evanston Township District 202; completing a doctorate in Democratic Classroom Leadership at DePaul University.
Yumiko Taniguchi
K-5 Teacher, Seattle Public Schools
Born and raised in Kawasaki, Japan. She has been teaching in the Washington for 19 years. She is in her tenth year at McDonald Elementary International School. She has the best job in the world.
Marjorie LaMarre
K-5 Teacher, Seattle Public Schools
Marjorie LaMarre was born in Haiti and moved to the United States when she was 14 years old. She is a veteran teacher of 33 years with the Seattle School District. She calls teaching a "calling" and loves to learn.
Noah Zeichner
High School Teacher, Seattle Public Schools
Noah Zeichner is a National Board-certified social studies and multilingual teacher at Ingraham High School in Seattle. For a decade, he co-led a team that provided curricular support to Seattle's ten international schools. From 2015-2022, he coordinated the youth-led Washington Global Issues Network (WAGIN) Conference.
Howard Choder
FCL Treasurer
Howard spent 15 years serving in the IRS in the Seattle office. He owns his own accounting business at Taxman.cc where he provides tax accounting, IRS problem solving, and other general tax solutions, as well as financial planning. When not in the office, he enjoys family and good non-profit causes like Blue Earth Alliance and Paws.
About Full Circle Leadership
Full Circle Leadership (FCL) develops democratic leaders equipped with 21st century skills to create just and sustainable communities.
We train educators, parents, and students to effectively create learning communities in which young people can gain the 21st Century skills: collaboration, communication, creativity [and innovation], and critical thinking.
Our model is a pedagogy that shifts the role of the educator from Giver of Knowledge to Facilitator of a Learning Community and from Behavior Manager to Leader. Leadership shifts from top-down to shared and democratic — enabling students to develop empathy, belonging, ownership, voice, agency, leadership, personal and collective accountability. Students “develop reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it.”
Learn More
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