General Sessions & Keynote Speakers
Opening General Session
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 • 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. • Palms Ballroom
Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr.
Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. is a lifelong educator, having begun his career in education teaching Social Studies and coaching baseball in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system in 1994. He then served as an Assistant Principal from 2007 to 2013 until becoming the Chief Operating Officer at Doral College. He was appointed Commissioner of Education by the Florida State Board of Education effective June 1, 2022.
Commissioner Diaz received his Bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas University, a Master’s degree in education from Nova Southeastern, and completed a Harvard Graduate School of Education program for principals.
He served with distinction in the Florida Legislature, originally elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2012, where he quickly became known as an expert and champion of education. During his tenure in the Florida House of Representatives, he served as Chairman of both the Education Choice and Innovation Committee and the PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee. In 2018, he was elected to the Florida Senate where he served as Chairman of the Education Committee. During his legislative career he sponsored numerous educational initiatives to support Florida’s students, families, and public-school teachers.
A devoted husband and father of four, he understands the importance and value of providing students with a world-class education and is honored to continue serving Florida as the Commissioner of Education.
Morning General Session
Thursday, October 20, 2022 • 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. • Palms Ballroom
Melissa Matz
2023 Florida Teacher of the Year
Melissa Matz, a seventh-grade mathematics teacher at Lakeside Junior High School in Clay County, was selected as the 2023 Florida Department of Education Teacher of the Year from among nearly 185,000 Florida public school teachers. Ms. Matz will serve as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education, elevating and celebrating the teaching profession by promoting the contributions of Florida educators.
After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, she attended the Great Florida Teach-In, an annual job fair hosted by the Florida Department of Education, where she was recruited to teach in Clay County. This began Melissa’s 18-year career positively impacting students’ lives.
Melissa Matz is passionate about teaching mathematics and inspires students to see math all around them. She builds confidence by creatively incorporating real world examples into her lessons and connecting math concepts to everyday life. Ms. Matz continuously monitors the progress of her students and celebrates small victories while working to meet larger goals.
Melissa’s love for teaching math goes beyond the classroom. She helped develop the district’s curriculum map for Algebra and 7th grade math and served on the math textbook adoption committee. As the department head, she developed a collaborative professional learning community that resulted in the highest standardized test scores in Clay County for 7th grade math for the past three years. After three years of teaching Pre-AICE Algebra, she saw a need to expand the math course selection to include pre-algebra. As a result, enrollment in the Pre-AICE/Cambridge program doubled in size.
Melissa is dedicated to both her school and her community. She raises awareness of water conservation as a member of the St. Johns Riverkeepers and shows her love of open water swimming with the Duval Ocean Swimmers. Ms. Matz also participates in Lakeside Ladies, a mentoring program that supports students as they transition to high school and helps connect them to the community.
Melissa is committed to building a rapport with each of her students, becoming their champion in and out of the classroom, and motivating them to give it their all.
Vince Verges
Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Division of Accountability, Research, and Measurement, Florida Department of Education
Vince Verges has overall responsibility for Florida’s K-12 statewide summative assessment system, as well as the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations and the Florida Educational Leadership Exam. He has been with the Department for seventeen years, and has been involved in developing Florida’s statewide, standardized assessments since 1999. Prior to coming to FLDOE, Vince served for ten years in Florida’s public schools and colleges as an elementary school assistant principal, high school mathematics teacher, and adjunct college mathematics instructor.
Note from Mr. Verges: PM1 and PM2 Scores - Each progress monitoring test covers the full “test blueprint,” meaning that all content expectations for that subject and grade level are assessed. Therefore, for PM 1 and PM2, your student may not yet be at grade level; however, this does not necessarily indicate that a student is not on track to succeed. It is important for teachers and families to understand that score information is intended to provide baseline and mid-year results for PM1 and PM2 respectively. These results are for informational purposes only and should be used to identify areas that may need additional instruction and support. These results should not be considered student achievement designations.
Closing General Session
Friday, October 21, 2022 • 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. • Palms Ballroom
Jacob Oliva
Senior Chancellor, Division of Public Schools, Florida Department of Education
Mr. Oliva began his career as a special education teacher and, over the last 20 years, has served in a variety of positions, including principal and superintendent. Currently, as the Senior Chancellor, he supports the teaching and learning of Florida's over 2.9 million students in approximately 3,600 public schools, promoting student achievement and closing the achievement gaps. Additionally, Senior Chancellor Oliva provides statewide leadership and communication between the Florida Department of Education and Florida's school districts.