Aleta Margolis is the Founder and Executive Director of Center for Inspired Teaching, an organization working to transform education through innovative teacher training. Inspired Teaching is building a better school experience for children by helping teachers move from information providers to Instigators of Thought, classroom leaders who empower students to learn not just what to think, but how to think. Aleta previously served as a professor of education at American University, specializing in authentic assessment, science and math education, and curriculum reform. A former public school teacher, Aleta taught in both elementary and middle schools and designed and ran alternative educational programs for court-referred high school students. In 2001, Aleta was awarded a Fellowship from Ashoka in recognition of Inspired Teaching's transformative teacher training. In 2011, Aleta helped launch the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School, a DC public charter school that puts into practice the work of Center for Inspired Teaching. The school also houses the Inspired Teacher Certification Program, a teacher residency program in which Inspired Teaching Residents work under the guidance and supervision of Lead Teachers as they earn their certification.Aleta was recently profiled in a new book, Rippling: How Social Entrepreneurs Spread Innovation Throughout the World, for her innovative work in teacher training. Aleta received her bachelor’s degree at Brown University and her master’s degree in Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University.