Our Guest, Dr. Gracie Branch, serves as the Associate Executive Director for Professional Learning at the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and formerly served as the Executive Director for Elementary Principals at the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA).

In her current position, Dr. Branch sustains and grows leadership opportunities by providing quality professional learning for administrators that encompasses national educational standards and initiatives. In 2011, she earned her PhDfrom the University of Oklahoma (OU) in Educational Administration, Curriculum and Supervision where she was named a David L. Clark Scholar by the American Educational Research Association and the University Council for EducationalAdministration (UCEA). She also holds a M.S. in Elementary Education and a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from the University of Oklahoma.

In 2000, Dr. Branch received National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist. In 2016, the UCEA recognized Dr. Branch for excellence in educational leadership. Dr. Branch feels that her 46 years in education serve as a solid foundation to carry out her responsibilities at NAESP and to achieve high professional standards in our nation's schools.

Your Host: ⁠⁠Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP⁠⁠

Sponsor: The 2.0 Conferences.

Register for the 2026 2.0 Conferences in Las Vegas, Nevada and receive a discount courtesy of EDUP Xcelerated Excellence with the code EDUPXE15OFF.

Your choice of the 2.0 Conferences include: CXO 2.0, Education 2.0, Health 2.0, Founders 2.0, and the Fueld Conference.

Xcelerated Excellence Consulting. Xcelerated Excellence, LLC is dedicated to offering support to educational leaders and their organizations to meet their full potential for excellence. We do so by upholding the value of design thinking for solutions, integrity of practice, continuous quality improvement, and innovation to unlock potential.⁠

Resources:

• EDUP The Experience
• The Wallace Foundation
• Learning Policy Institute
• NAESP

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Greeting: Devin Rankin

Research Assistant: Emma Worthington

#EDUPXE #EDUCATIONALEXCELLENCE #EDUCATIONALEQUITY #NAESP

Our Guest, Dr. ⁠Sundeep R. Muppidi⁠, is a transformative higher education leader and Professor of Digital Media and Journalism at the ⁠University of Hartford⁠.

He has substantive experience driving institutional excellence through strategic innovation, adaptable program review systems, multi-year assessment models and student-centeredinitiatives. A distinguished scholar with a doctorate from ⁠Bowling Green State University⁠, Dr. Muppidi brings nearly three decades of global expertise. His research focuses on international communication, complexity, and communication for social change and empowerment.

His scholarly contributions include four co-authored/edited books, over 50 book chapters and refereed journal articles, numerous media productions, and more than a hundred refereed conference presentations and invited talks worldwide. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Asia-Pacific Media Educator, Media Asia and as the Associate Editor of the Asian Journal of Communication. He continues to serve on several disciplinary editorial boards, including for the International Journal of Politics and Media, International Communication Research Journal, and the Global Media Journal India.

A committed educator, Dr. Muppidi is recognized for his innovative teaching methods and leadership in classroomtechnology integration. He serves as a trained Peer Reviewer for the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (CTEI).

In 2021, he received the prestigious Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Award for Distinguished Service to the University of Hartford.

Your Host: ⁠⁠⁠Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP⁠⁠⁠

Sponsor: ⁠The 2.0 Conferences⁠. Register for the 2026 2.0 Conferences in Las Vegas, Nevada and receive a discount courtesy of EDUP Xcelerated Excellence with the code EDUPXE15OFF.

Your choice of the 2.0 Conferences include: ⁠CXO 2.0⁠, ⁠Education 2.0⁠, ⁠Health 2.0⁠, ⁠Founders 2.0⁠, and the ⁠Fueld Conference⁠.

⁠Xcelerated Excellence Consulting. ⁠Xcelerated Excellence Consulting, LLC is dedicated to offering support to education leaders and their organizations to meet their full potential for excellence⁠.

Resources:

• Dr.Sundeep R. Muppidi—21st Century Media Instruction, CriticalThinking, Polarization, and Social Responsibility (Part 1 of 2) Podcast

⁠

• EDUPThe Experience⁠

Greeting: ⁠Jake Small⁠

#EDUPXE #EDUCATIONALEXCELLENCE #EDUCATIONALEQUITY

Our Guest, Dr. Sundeep R. Muppidi, is a transformativehigher education leader and Professor of Digital Media and Journalism at the University of Hartford.

He has substantive experience driving institutional excellence through strategic innovation, adaptable program review systems, multi-year assessment models and student-centered initiatives. A distinguished scholar with a doctorate from Bowling Green State University, Dr. Muppidi brings nearly three decades of global expertise. His research focuses on international communication, complexity, and communication for social change and empowerment.

His scholarly contributions include four co-authored/edited books, over 50 book chapters and refereed journal articles,numerous media productions, and more than a hundred refereed conference presentations and invited talks worldwide. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Asia-Pacific Media Educator, Media Asia and as the Associate Editor of the Asian Journal of Communication. He continues to serve on several disciplinaryeditorial boards, including for the International Journal of Politics and Media, International Communication Research Journal, and the Global Media Journal India.

A committed educator, Dr. Muppidi is recognized for his innovative teaching methods and leadership in classroom technology integration. He serves as a trained Peer Reviewer for the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (CTEI).

In 2021, he received the prestigious Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Award for Distinguished Service to the University of Hartford.

Your Host: ⁠⁠Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP⁠⁠

Sponsor: The 2.0 Conferences.Register for the 2026 2.0 Conferences in Las Vegas, Nevada and receive a discount courtesy of EDUP Xcelerated Excellence with the code EDUPXE15OFF.

Your choice of the 2.0 Conferences include: CXO 2.0, Education 2.0, Health 2.0, Founders 2.0, and the Fueld Conference.

Xcelerated Excellence Consulting. Xcelerated Excellence Consulting, LLC is dedicated to offering support to education leaders and their organizations to meet their full potential for excellence⁠.

Resources:

EDUP The Experience

⁠

Greeting: Jake Small

#EDUPXE #EDUCATIONALEXCELLENCE #EDUCATIONALEQUITY