News: NJCTL Elects New Officers to its Board of Directors

TRENTON – January 25, 2026 – The New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning (NJCTL), a non-profit charitable organization that has produced hundreds of in-demand teachers to broaden access to a quality education, has elected new officers to its Board of Trustees.

The Board has elevated two of its members: Peggy Stewart will serve as Vice Chair, while Dr. Ross Danis has been named the Secretary/Treasurer.

Stewart rejoined the Board in 2024, after serving from 2007 to 2011. Widely known as an accomplished and well-known educator, she was a social studies teacher in Vernon Township for 20 years and among the early board members of NJCTL.

Stewart has been continually recognized for her work in education circles, earning the Princeton University Prize for Distinguished Secondary School Teaching, as well as being named the 2005 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.

“I’m honored to continue sharing my expertise in practice and policy perspectives, to accelerate the mission and impact of the New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning,” said Stewart, who has served as president of Learning Forward New Jersey since January 2024.

A private education consultant since 2012, Stewart served on the National Education Association’s Committee on Effective Teachers and Teaching and was a member of the New Jersey Professional Teaching Standards Board. She has also worked internationally as a leadership development consultant in Japan, Germany and Italy.

Dr. Danis has spent more than 45 years as a reform-minded teacher, staff developer, supervisor of instruction, principal, district administrator, foundation program director, and university dean.

Prior to being named president of MeckEd in Charlotte, NC and launching Education Partnership Advisors in Falmouth MA, Dr. Danis served as the president & CEO of the Newark Trust for Education, as well as served as a founding board member of NJCTL.

“I have been a proud member of the Board of NJCTL for more than 20 years,” Dr. Danis said. “From the very beginning, NJCTL has been turning bold ideas in teacher preparation and certification into reality. NJCTL continues to expand programs across a growing landscape of disciplines and geographic regions. It is an honor and a privilege to serve alongside so many talented and forward-thinking educators as NJCTL increases its footprint and impact.”

NJCTL, founded and supported by the New Jersey Education Association, is a nonprofit that is providing a simple, scalable solution for our nation's teacher shortage and the great social injustice that comes from depriving underserved students access to in-demand coursework. Learn more at NJCTL.org