Anni K. Reinking, Ed.D., is the Founder and CEO of Reinking Education Consulting, LLC. She started her career in education nearly 20 years ago when she traveled to Mombasa, Kenya to teach art and English to orphaned boys living on the streets. Upon her return to the US, she taught on the southside of Chicago, Northwest Indiana, and in Central Illinois. Throughout her time in the classroom, she taught pre-kindergarten (early childhood) through college (graduate level). After leaving the classroom environment, she continued her passion in research and began connecting to organizations around the country. She is currently the Director of Prevention Services at CHAIL, a local non-profit focused on maternal pre and postnatal health. She is also an elected official as the Vice President of Peoria Illinois District 150 School Board. Throughout her professional career and volunteer positions she has been able to provide workshops, consultation, and leadership guidance. Finally, she is a best selling author with her most recent book focused on Implicit Bias in education settings.
Laycee Thigpen, MS.Ed., is a lead consultant at Reinking Education Consulting. Her work focuses on creating equitable environments, including schools, organizations, churches, and wider communities. She was a classroom teacher in childcare and Head Start for 8 years in Southern Illinois. She completed her Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education and Masters in Educational Leadership from Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville. She has instructed pre-service and in-service teachers, coached apprentices to earn their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, designed and directed a Summer Program for children, and provided training on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Laycee focuses her work on developing racially inclusive environments for early childhood students and combating biases and stereotypes in environments.
Sue Krummel, M.Div. is a teacher, leader and minister in the Presbyterian Church. For over 40 years she has led congregations and governing bodies to move in new directions and to seek new ways to bring hope to a battered world. Her BA is in Speech Communications from the University of Illinois and she received a Phi Beta Kappa key for her work as an undergraduate. Her Masters of Divinity degree is from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and she received an award as an outstanding student upon her completion of this degree. She has extensive training from the Lombard Mennonite Peace Institute; a certificate in Executive Leadership from McCormick Theological Seminary; and years of experience teaching interim/transitional pastors. She is a recognized leader in her denomination and a sought after preacher. Others recognize in her an ability to help calm troubled systems and bring clarity to confusing situations. She is known as a truth teller. In 2021 she became a Qualified Administrator for the Intercultural Diversity Inventory (IDI), continuing her work to address issues of equity and equality across cultural barriers.
