Phil Hunsberger
Phil Hunsberger was formerly the Executive Director of the Metro East Consortium for Child Advocacy (MECCA), which is a partnership of six Illinois School Districts that include East St. Louis, Cahokia, Madison, Dupo, Venice and Brooklyn. MECCA provides professional development for these districts in the areas of literacy, school leadership, mentoring, and social justice advocacy for teaching and leading. He also served as the Coordinator an Illinois State Board of Education RESPRO Region V grant. This initiative provides professional development for schools not reaching their adequately yearly progress (AYP) in a sixteen county area of southern Illinois. From 1971 until the 1998 assignment, Phil served as a teacher, principal and central office administrator in the Sterling Unit #5 School District. He received his Bachelor of Science in Education and his Master in Science in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University. His doctorate in Educational Leadership was from National-Louis University, Wheaton Campus. In 1994, the National Association of Elementary School Principals selected Phil as the National Distinguished Principal from Illinois. Most recently Phil served on the faculty for the National Conference for Community and Justice: Dismantling Racism from 2002-2006. He is the Director of the International Network of Principals’ Centers and has presented for school districts and leadership centers in the Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, Atlanta, Rochester, New York, Little Rock and Columbus, Ohio area.