KDAC Advisory Council

The Knowledge Development Advisory Council (KDAC)

The Knowledge Development Advisory Council (KDAC) is composed of new teachers, experienced teachers, teacher candidates, administrators, and faculty members who come together once a month to influence and plan the content being created by KDP to ensure that we are inspiring and equipping all teachers to thrive.

KDAC will ensure that we have input from diverse educators to guide the subject matter focus of KDP resources being developed for teacher candidates and PreK–12 teachers across America to set them up for success to deliver equitable education to all students. 

Isabel Quiñones is a third-year elementary special education teacher in New York. She went to Manhattan College and graduated in 2020 with her bachelor's and master's degrees in Childhood/Special Education with a concentration in mathematics. During her time at Manhattan, she served as the President of the Mu Sigma chapter of KDP. She has also been a part of KDP's Knowledge Development Advisory Council for the past two years. She has been a recipient of the J. Jay Hostetler and Marie E. Grein Scholarship as well as teacher classroom grants. Isabel is very passionate about educational equity, which has led her to be a Designated Representative for the United Nations NGO Kappa Delta Pi. She is also an avid crafter!

Isabel Quiñones

KDAC Advisory Council Member

White Plains City School District

Diane Courington, PhD

KDAC Advisory Council Member

Annsley Frazier Thorton School of Education

Dr. Diane Courington is a former K-12 educator who loves advocating for students. She has transferred her skills into higher education as full-time faculty in the Annsley Frazier Thorton School of Education. In addition, she has delved into the world of consulting, working as an Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) ambassador for the ABE Kentucky team at Bellarmine and an ABE Community and STEM Partnership Liaison for the program office. Both roles allow her to support new and existing ABE program sites in developing partnerships to reach underrepresented populations. She also leverages community assets, local and regional, Black-led organizations and initiatives, and STEM partnerships to support and scale ABE. Dr. Courington received her Doctorate in Education and Social Change at Bellarmine University. Her research interests are Trauma-informed care, traumatic racial experiences, belonging and safe spaces for students of color in preschool-collegiate settings, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and diversity equity and inclusion (DEI).

Marilyn Cook has been a member of KDP for 30 years. She has been awarded the KDP Teacher of Honor and Master Teacher of Honor. She served on KDP’s Executive Council for 2 terms and has served on the Public Policy Committee, Web Site Review Committee, Scholarship Reviewer, presented at different Convos, published in the New Teacher Advocate, and served as a KDP State Delegate.

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Marilyn Cook, BA, BS

KDAC Advisory Council Member