Our TEAM
Meet the founders and faculty of MASTERCLASS for Superintendents.
Our Team: Founders & Faculty
Steven Hiersche, Ed.D.
Founder & Faculty
Steve is an experienced superintendent with 23 years in the role in both Massachusetts and Vermont. He got his start as a mathematics and computer science teacher. His passion for technology expanded into school and district leadership. He served on various boards such as the MAPLE Advisory Board, and the Global STEM Education Advisory Board. Steve’s expertise comes from his years in the classroom and as a principal across several school districts. His continued dedication to innovation and education continues to shine through in MASTERCLASS for Superintendents. Steve brings his passion and commitment to build structures supporting educational leaders to continue to grow and thrive.
Ann Koufman-Frederick, Ph.D.
Founder & Faculty
Ann is an experienced educator with 35+ years of dedicated classroom, school, and district leadership experience focused on innovating and implementing effective change in learning and teaching. In public education, she worked in various positions including – school psychologist, k-8 classroom EdTech teacher, professional development instructor and director, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. As Chief Academic Officer at LearnLaunch, she led the statewide learning innovation, the MAPLE Consortium (Massachusetts Personalizing Learning for Equity & Excellence). She continues to teach and coach graduate students at Harvard Graduate School of education and mentors EdTech startups at LearnLaunch. Her commitment to innovation, learning design, and coaching k-12 district change-makers continues through MASTERCLASS for Superintendents.
Michael Welch, Ed.M.
Founder & Faculty
Mike brings 35+ years of experience as an educational leader in Massachusetts, focusing primarily on the district and secondary levels. He holds a Master’s degree in Administration from Harvard University, and recently retired from a lengthy stint as Superintendent of the Dedham Public Schools. His administrative experiences include extended roles as High School Principal in Newton and Framingham, and has also as a middle and high school Physics teacher. Mike is also a seasoned faculty member of the ACCEPT Educator Leadership Institute where he instructs and coaches teachers as they pursue administrative licensure. His areas of expertise include: organizational structures and teams, leadership coaching, union relationships and budgeting/finance.
Jeff Lawrence, MBA
Founder & Executive Leadership Consultant
Jeff is Founder and Managing Director of Organizational Agility Advisors. In this role, Jeff has served as an advisor to senior executives across multiple sectors for over 25 years. His work spans multiple sectors including corporate, public, and non-profit. Jeff is an Authorized Partner & Certified Facilitator of Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team® & Everything DiSC® on Catalyst. With 20+ years as a confidante, challenger, and thinking partner to C-suite executives and Leadership Teams. Jeff provides a powerful perspective for MASTERCLASS for Superintendents and he was one of our original innovators and Founders.
Our Team: Learning Design & UX/UI
Lisa Radden, ALM/Educational Technologies
Digital Learning Leader & Web/UX Designer
Lisa is an experienced k-12 education technology professional and web/UX designer. She studied computer science and art design at the University of Notre Dame and earned a Master of Liberal Arts in Educational Technologies from Harvard University. She is the founder of LKR Learning Design, LLC, working with school districts and ed tech startups to design innovative learning experiences. Lisa brings her k-12 educational technology leadership and design expertise to MASTERCLASS with Superintendents.
Emma Bailey, M.Ed.
Learning Designer
Emma first started with MASTERCLASS for Superintendents through her studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she earned her Master’s in 2022. Emma has worked in learning design for all ages – focused primarily on post-secondary education and workforce development. She also currently works in Education Technology to leverage AI for student persistence. She believes in the power of education to change the world and is excited to partner with the MASTERCLASS for Superintendents to develop executive learning experiences for K-12 education leaders.