Program Directors:

Dr. Jack D. Dale joined Fairfax County Public Schools—the nation’s 13th largest school system—as Superintendent on July 1, 2004.

From 1996 until June 30, 2004, Dr. Dale served as Superintendent for Frederick County Public Schools. During his fourth year as Superintendent, he was named Maryland’s Superintendent of the Year. Previously, Dr. Dale was the Associate Superintendent for School Administration, Curriculum and Instruction of the Edmonds School District in Edmonds, Washington. He also served as Director of Personnel in the Everett Washington School District; Assistant to the Director at the Center for the Assessment of Administrative Performance at the University of Washington; Director of School Instructional Services; Assistant Principal; and mathematics teacher in the Bellevue School District, Washington.

Born in Seattle, Dr. Dale holds a B.A. in mathematics and education; a Master’s in educational administration; and a Doctorate in education, with an emphasis on effective school leadership and organizational change, from the University of Washington.

Dr. Dale is active in professional associations, serving as president of the Washington Area School Superintendent’s Study Council, 2003-04; he also is a member of the American Association of School Administrators; the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; the National School Board Association; and serves on other local professional associations and boards.

Dr. Dale is co-editor and author of the book: Creating Successful School Systems and has conducted workshops on teacher compensation systems for No Child Left Behind initiatives. He has also published papers in The Executive Educator; International Journal of Education Reform; American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA) Research Brief; and SIRS Management Information.

Dr. Dale believes that all students are highly capable and that parents, community members and businesses have a shared responsibility to ensure children achieve their excellence.

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Dr. Terri Breeden joined Fairfax County Public Schools in 2006 as Assistant Superintendent for the Department of Professional Learning and Training.  Previously, she was Executive Director of grades 5-12 for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.  She served the Nashville district for 20 years as a school administrator, mathematics consultant and teacher.  A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Dr. Breeden earned an Ed.D in school administration and a master’s degree in special education from the George Peabody College.  She also holds a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Tennessee State University and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Free Will Baptist College. 

She is the author of eight books on a wide variety of education topics, from positive classroom management, mathematics, to raising student achievement.  Nashville recognized Dr. Breeden’s accomplishments by naming her East Middle School’s Teacher of the Year, and she has received numerous grants from organizations such as the National Science Foundation.  Actively involved in several professional associations, Dr. Breeden has presented at national conferences and was a trainer for The College Board, Equity 2000.  She enjoys sharing her knowledge with others and served as an adjunct professor at two universities and as an education consultant for several states.  A strong proponent of continued professional growth for both herself and her district, she recently completed the Understanding by Design institute.

Dr. Breeden and her husband, Frank, are active members of their church and volunteer their time to help their community.  Together they reside in Fairfax, Virginia with one adorable dog.

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As the Director of LEAD Fairfax, Andrew (Andy) McKinley Cole heads the design and implementation of this innovative leadership development program.  Mr. Cole previously served as the Director of the Office of Employee Performance and Development for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).  In this position, he guides the performance evaluation process and new-hire orientation for more than 36,000 FCPS employees while also shaping succession management plans, labor relations policies, and career development polices.  Mr. Cole joined FCPS fifteen years ago and has nearly thirty years of experience in a wide variety of roles in government and not-for-profit organizations. 

Mr. Cole chairs the Virginia Department of Education’s Model Curriculum Committee for the Commonwealth Collaborative to engage school districts to work in partnership on leadership development issues.  He actively serves on many other regional and national committees including: the University of Virginia’s Statewide Advisory Council for the School of Continuing and Professional Studies; E-Lead (an on-line professional leadership service for school leaders), and; the American Society for Training and Development.

A graduate of Temple University, he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Administration and a Master’s Degree in Counseling, as well as several training certifications in leadership and professional development.  Nationally, Mr. Cole was recognized as a recipient of the Coro Foundation’s prestigious Public Affairs Fellowship.

Mr. Cole is a leader in a wide range of community and civic organizations and volunteers his talent to help strengthen communities. He has served on the Virginia State Library Board – the first African-American Chair;  helped develop a Board for the Hispanic Free Clinic; chaired the Reston Community Centers Governing Board; worked with city councils and unions; and managed state political campaigns. 

A Pittsburgh native, Mr. Cole has three grown daughters and one grandson.  He and his wife, Helen, have been married 30 years and reside in Fairfax County where she teaches fifth grade.  Mr. Cole is an avid sports fan and enjoys coaching women’s ‘AAU’ basketball.  Many of his teams have made it to the US Nationals where they finished in the top 10 several times.

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LEAD Fairfax Project Staff

Michelle Eugene
Project Manager

Michelle Eugene is responsible for managing all LEAD Fairfax cohorts and staff. As a 2001-2002 LEAD Fairfax Administrative Intern at Cunningham Park Elementary School, she brings first-hand knowledge of the LEAD programs, its interwoven components, mission and goals. She also serves as the coordinator for the district’s Assistant Principal Portfolio Program. Previously she served as assistant principal of Franconia Elementary School for almost five years.

A native of New Orleans, Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Dillard University and a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of New Orleans. After beginning her professional career in Louisiana, she joined FCPS in 1999 as a first grade teacher at Fort Belvoir Elementary School. She has held progressively responsible positions with FCPS including lead teacher, assistant principal, and summer school principal. Additionally, Michelle has chaired several committees, served as a mentor to new teachers and assistant principals, and was actively involved in shaping the Virginia Reading Assessment. For the past three years she has served as a site supervisor for student teachers for the University of Phoenix.

Michelle is committed to ongoing professional development for both herself and her staff and has completed numerous training and certification programs. She is a Strengths Performance Coach for the Gallup Organization. She is an active member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary organization for women educators, and is president of the Psi Chapter of Northern Virginia. She is an avid reader and also enjoys mentoring students.

Delores Herndon
Specialist

As LEAD Fairfax Specialist, Ms. Delores (Dee) Herndon’s responsibilities are extensive in providing development, implementation, and management of leadership programs for support employees and the community. She assists in the curriculum design and content for these programs. Ms. Herndon also works with the Career Development section of the Office of Employee Performance and Development (OEPD) for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) to provide training, instruction, and career counseling for support employees. She oversees the Support Services Institute, a leadership program for support employees, and the LEAD Community Cohort, our first community program.

Ms. Herndon is a certified instructor of the following programs: Aha Process, Inc. “A Framework for Understanding Poverty” facilitator, Global Learning’s “Action Learning Team Coach Training”, Gallup Organizations “Strengths Coach Training” and “Teacher Perceiver Training”.

A Washington, DC native, Ms. Herndon earned a business certification from ITT Business Institute. Ms. Herndon is an experienced voice-over artist and donates her talents for various FCPS television programs. Ms. Herndon has one grown son and resides in Maryland where she is a member of her church’s television ministry and is “the voice” for their radio and weekly television programs. She is a movie buff, enjoys listening to jazz and gospel music, and traveling.

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FCPS Consulting Staff:

Ms. Pajardo was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Cluster II, Fairfax County Public Schools in July 2006 after having briefly held the position of Cluster Director, Cluster VIII. Prior to her joining the Leadership Team of FCPS Ms. Pajardo was the Project Manager of LEAD Fairfax, a position she held for four years and was instrumental in developing the LEAD vision, missions and goals of the project.

A Virginia native, Phyllis earned a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from the University of Virginia and a M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from George Mason University (VA). She is currently an Ed.D. candidate at the University of Virginia focusing on Education Leadership and is expected to earn her doctorate in 2006. A lifelong learner, Phyllis has pursued education outside of her regular program of study to include coursework in instructional curriculum and working with diverse populations. Phyllis has worked for FCPS since 1981, holding progressively responsible school-based and central-office positions such as classroom teacher, consulting teacher, assistant principal, principal, staff developer, and coordinator for the Cluster VIII administrative office.

Ms. Pajardo is an appointee to Virginia’s Department of Education “Comprehensive Internship” Subcommittee. She holds certifications from Gallup University (Strengths Coach), Linkage Incorporated (Powerful Conversations), Global Learning (Action Learning Coach), and Aha! Process Inc. (A Framework for Understanding Poverty). She is an adjunct faculty member for the Center for Creative Leadership (NC). Most recently, Phyllis was named as an Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development adjunct in their What Works in Schools cadre.

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Dr. Recardo Sockwell, coordinator for the office of Program Evaluation for FCPS, leads the evaluation component of LEAD Fairfax. Dr. Sockwell is responsible for the design of the evaluation questions that measure the success of the LEAD project. He has broad experience in educational leadership including high school teacher, curriculum coordinator, senior researcher with Council of Chief State School Officers, executive director for research, standards and accountability, and consultant to the US Department of Education. He received his B. A. in English from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, M. A. in English from the University of North Carolina and his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction also from the University of North Carolina.  In his wide-ranging roles, Dr. Sockwell has written research documents, program evaluations, and instructional guides. He is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the American Educational Research Association.

As the evaluator of LEAD Fairfax, Dr. Zhang designs and implements evaluation activities around the operational cycles of the program.  Her responsibilities range from evaluation design to instrument development, data collection, data analyses, report writing, and the presentation of evaluation results to program staff and the School Board.  Prior to her employment with Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) as an evaluation specialist in 2001, Dr. Zhang worked as the Associated Director of Institutional Research at Virginia Military Institute for five years.    

>Dr. Zhang received a Ph. D. in Educational Research from the University of Alabama, a M. Ed. in Multicultural Education from the University of New England in Australia, a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Northern Virginia, and B.A. in English Literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University in China.  Her publications cover the areas of research methodology, teacher classroom assessment practices and skills, intellectual and cognitive development of college students, and reading strategies.  Dr. Zhang is the mother of a college student who graduated from FCPS in 2003.

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