Project Description
Kelly McMillan, Fellow
Apollo Beach Elementary School
Tampa, FL
Kelly McMillan is honored to serve as the Principal of Apollo Beach Elementary School. Since starting her tenure there in 2015, her school has been a twice recognized National School of Character and Character.org Promising Practice Award recipient. This fuels her passion for fostering a school culture that understands the vital need for developing social-emotional skills in children so they can thrive in school and life. Central to this work is her ability to build strong relationships within her school community that cultivate trust and create a safe, caring environment. Her efforts were recognized in 2015 when she was chosen as the Hillsborough County Public Schools School Counselors Association Principal of the Year. As a 28-year veteran of Hillsborough County Public Schools in the Tampa area, Kelly has served as a teacher, teacher mentor, instructional coach for writing, district trainer, Assistant Principal, and was formerly the Principal of Boyette Springs Elementary. She serves is several leadership roles within her school district, including being a principal mentor, a Lead Principal, and lead trainer for the Preparing New Principals Leadership Pipeline program. Kelly earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership form the University of South Florida. Outside of school, she loves to spend time with her family, read books, watch baseball, and boating in the beautiful waters of the Sunshine State.
Lisa McDaniel, Ally
Exceptional Student Education Teacher
Apollo Beach Elementary School
Tampa, FL
Lisa McDaniel is an Exceptional Student Education teacher at Apollo Beach Elementary in Hillsborough County and a proud mother of two wonderful sons, Dylan and Luke. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education from Bowling Green State University and a Master's Degree in Developmental Psychology from Walden University. Lisa has over 14 years of teaching experience, twelve of which have been with Hillsborough County Public Schools. She has experience in elementary, middle, and high school settings where she has taught Varying Exceptionalities (VE) through self-contained, co-teach, resource, and support facilitation models. Lisa was also a full-time ESE Specialist at Young Middle Magnet School, overseeing multiple Behavior Support and Autism Spectrum Disorder self-contained and mainstream classrooms. She was part of the District E.F.A.D. Project Team from 2012-2014, which developed a new Individual Education Plan (IEP) program. Lisa is a District Training Developer and Trainer who is passionate about behavioral issues. She has served on many committees at both the district and school level. As a two-time Ida S. Baker Award recipient and an Excellence in Action Award Nominee, Lisa is dedicated to using her education, teaching experience, developmental expertise, and invaluable experience as a mother to improve the educational experiences of every learner.