Shelia Banks is a senior program specialist at NIET. She has served as the Teacher Advancement Program director and executive master teacher for Orleans Parish Schools. Shelia successfully supported and grew both traditional and charter schools in the city of New Orleans. She has also served as a program design specialist for Orleans and network support specialist for Jefferson Parish Schools. Shelia has engaged with the Louisiana Department of Education as a teacher leader advisor, PARCC Cadre member, and trainer for the Literacy Design Collaborative. Her other endeavors in education include highlighted videos on teachingchannel.org and serving as president of the board for the Learning Laboratory New Orleans, a local nonprofit organization focused on cost-effective enrichment instruction and summer camps for children of all socioeconomic levels. Shelia earned a Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University in biological sciences and a Master of Arts from Xavier University of Louisiana in educational leadership. She is pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership from Xavier.