LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Angie Tillery was nominated by her colleague, Paula Leidel.

Ms. Tillery is a beacon for everyone in the world of education, especially at her school. She is a well-seasoned veteran who teaches what it means to go "above and beyond" in meeting the needs of students. She has made a difference in the lives of so many children and staff members!

Ms. Tillery is always striving to find the academic and social-emotional interventions a struggling student may need. With a world full of challenges for our youth, Ms. Tillery is doing her part to prepare her students in the smallest and grandest ways.

From her well thought-out lessons and classroom management techniques, to her quiet cadence and the respectful way she approaches children, her students know she cares.  When she takes the time to bend down on her knee and  ook in a child's eyes, that child learns. Everyone learns.

Many teachers become burned out and even closed-minded to new approaches after years of service.  Not Ms. Tillery.  Far from being  "set in her ways," she is constantly implementing and researching strategies and interventions for her students.  You might walk into her room and find her role-playing with little action figures to teach a child how to line up.  On another day, you'll find she has assigned activity baskets to a child needing to focus, or that she has established a sticker chart for a student to help him feel successful. The next day, she is trying a new strategy she learned at a conference on sensory needs.  The list is endless, and so is her work.

"As a special education teacher, I work extensively with Angie to help meet the needs of children," said Leidel. "No matter how often I change up the game plan or try new strategies, she is there, open to all ideas and suggestions, brainstorming and implementing it all. She always collaborates with a smile or a twinkle in her eye...Again, she is an example for us all.  She is a team leader, a true professional, but most importantly, a LifeChanger for us all!"