Our People
Nicole Dimich
Founder | Author | Educational Consultant | Systems Change Leader
Nicole Dimich is an educational consultant, author, speaker, and systems-change leader who partners with educators, schools, districts, nonprofits, and organizations to create learning environments where both students and adults thrive.
For more than two decades, Nicole has worked nationally and internationally alongside teachers, leaders, and learning communities to strengthen instructional systems, build educator capacity, and design meaningful experiences that cultivate hope, efficacy, and achievement. Her work is rooted in a simple belief: when we lift up educators and students as partners in the learning process, transformation becomes possible.
A defining thread throughout Nicole’s work is her commitment to student co-design and learner-centered transformation. She helped launch an innovative nonprofit intentionally co-designed with students as an experiment in reimagining learning—centering student voice, ownership, and partnership in creating systems that reflect how learners grow, engage, and succeed. This belief in co-creation continues to shape every aspect of her work.
Nicole is the author and co-author of several influential books, including The Handbook for Design in Five: Assessment Tools and Protocols for Teachers and Teams (2026), Design in Five: Essential Phases to Create Engaging Assessment Practices (2nd ed., 2024), Essential Assessment: Six Tenets for Bringing Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement to the Classroom (2017), and Motivating Students: 25 Strategies to Light the Fire of Engagement (2011).
Her signature work focuses on assessment literacy, teacher clarity, student investment, collaborative teams, and systems design, helping educators align standards, learning targets, success criteria, feedback, and instruction in ways that make learning visible, actionable, and deeply meaningful.
Nicole’s passion is helping educators and organizations uncover their big ideas work—the practices and possibilities that create lasting change for learners and the communities they serve.
Dr. Betty Webb
Founder and President, Dr. Betty Webb Consulting Inc.
Knowledge is Power "I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better." - Maya Angelou
Lighthouse Learning is grateful to collaborate with Dr. Betty Webb! In 1999 after 30 years of service and experience in school-based and central office leadership, Dr. Betty Webb Consulting Inc. was founded as an organization that would partner with Community and School-District leaders, to build on and strengthen leadership capacity so that they are equipped to deliver on their identified and agreed on goals, strategies, and success indicators. Our mission is simple: Building capacity, coaching, and providing technical assistance to adults in service of improving identified outcomes. We do not believe in nor do we take a "cookie cutter approach". We do NOT assume that our partners or participants are "starting from scratch." Our technical assistance approach relies on facilitating conversations, coaching, providing feedback, and co-creating products and practices that are owned by our clients that have the best chance of being sustained over time. Our major strategies include: • Suspending and practicing a non-judgmental stance. • Building on and amplifying strengths VS a deficit approach. • Using and relying on evidence as a basis for actualizing and monitoring results. • Using an inquiring stance (asking questions) as a means of probing AND learning from our clients.
Dr. Webb, Founder and President of Dr. Betty Webb Consulting Inc., has provided services in organizational analysis, Non-profit and School Board development, as well as education consulting toward coaching, building on, and strengthening leadership capacity for various schools, school systems, and non-profit organizations. Organizations include but are not limited to the Counties, Hennepin County Department of Children Services, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Hennepin/Ramsey/Washington County CAP, The Rapides Foundation Education Initiative of Central Louisiana, Atlanta, Flint, Columbus, Racine, Cincinnati, Newark, San Diego, Elizabeth, Poudre, and Norristown School districts AND Programs. These bodies of effort focused on building capacity of teachers, principals, and district administrators, and community organization leaders. Dr. Webb holds bachelor, Master's, Specialist, and Doctorate degrees from the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Webb has specific expertise in growing instructional leadership and fostering excellence in School Board Governance.
See an example of a specific sequence of learning for principals, teacher unions and school boards that is part of our Signature Project: Aligned Leadership For Sustainable Change
Brooke Roper, M.Ed.
Vice Chair of the School Board, Hopkins Public Schools & Staff, Minneapolis Public Schools
Brooke Roper, M.Ed., is a distinguished educational leader and equity advocate serving as the Vice Chair of the School Board for Hopkins Public Schools ISD #270. With over a decade of experience in youth development, Brooke is dedicated to dismantling educational disparities and fostering inclusive environments. Her leadership centers on data-driven policy and authentic family engagement, which she considers the "core infrastructure" of a successful school system.
Beyond governance, Brooke is a Testing Coordinator and Media Specialist at Pratt Elementary within Minneapolis Public Schools, where she manages state assessment logistics and provides vital instructional support in math and reading. Her professional foundation includes significant nonprofit leadership, notably a four-year tenure as an Executive Administrator at the African American Leadership Forum and roles as a Youth Case Manager at YouthLink MN, supporting housing stability for vulnerable populations.
An alumna of the University of Minnesota with a Master of Education in Youth Development and Leadership, Brooke bridges policy and practice through her work with the Heading Home Hennepin Executive Committee and as a 2024 National Fellow with School Board Partners. She remains a vocal champion for legislative action and environmental health, ensuring an equitable future for all Minnesota students.
Cassandra Erkens
Educational Consultant | Author | Assessment and Leadership Expert
Cassandra Erkens is an internationally respected educational consultant, keynote speaker, author, and thought leader in assessment, instruction, leadership, and professional learning communities. With decades of experience supporting schools, districts, and leadership teams, Cassandra is widely recognized for helping educators transform assessment into a powerful tool for learning, clarity, and student success.
A former classroom teacher and district leader, Cassandra brings deep expertise in assessment literacy, instructional design, school improvement, and collaborative team processes. Her work is grounded in helping educators create systems that cultivate student confidence, teacher efficacy, and meaningful results.
Cassandra is the author and coauthor of numerous influential books that have shaped the work of educators across the country, including Collaborative Common Assessments: Teamwork. Instruction. Results., The Handbook for Collaborative Common Assessments, Essential Assessment: Six Tenets for Bringing Hope, Efficacy, and Achievement to the Classroom, Instructional Agility: Responding to Assessment with Real-Time Decisions, Growing Tomorrow’s Citizens in Today’s Classrooms, The Collaborative Teacher, The Collaborative Administrator, The Teacher as Assessment Leader, Leading by Design, Jackpot! Nurturing Student Investment Through Assessment, and Concise Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Assessment and Grading.
Known for her dynamic and engaging approach, Cassandra partners with educators to build practical, sustainable systems that strengthen instruction, deepen collaborative practice, and keep student learning at the center of every decision. Her work helps schools move beyond compliance-driven assessment practices and toward a culture of clarity, feedback, and continuous growth.
Her passion is helping educators create learning environments where students know where they are going, understand what success looks like, and feel empowered to take ownership of their growth.
Anisa Baker-Busby, EdD
Principal | Author | Consultant | College Professor
Dr. Anisa Baker-Busby is a distinguished educational leader, principal, author, consultant, and college professor with more than 20 years of experience serving students and educators in high-poverty school communities. She is passionate about walking alongside teachers and leaders to strengthen collaboration, build assessment literacy, and create systems that improve learning outcomes for all students.
As principal of Lindsey Elementary and Shirley Hills Elementary, both in middle Georgia, Dr. Baker-Busby led a powerful school transformation through the implementation of a PLC at Work® culture grounded in collective efficacy, clear systems, and a deep commitment to student success. Her work centers on helping educators use evidence of learning to make real-time instructional decisions that cultivate hope, confidence, and achievement.
She is co-author of The Handbook for Highly Effective Teams in a PLC at Work®: Essential Actions for Tackling Critical Issues and The Handbook for Design in Five, bringing practical frameworks and actionable tools to schools and districts committed to meaningful transformation.