How do school leaders navigate complex change while balancing policy expectations, structural obligations, and the evolving needs of students, staff, and communities?

Join Dr. Zinnia Un, Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Multilingual Services for the Tigard-Tualatin School District, for an engaging pre-conference session designed to equip educational leaders with practical tools to guide transformational change.

This interactive session introduces Systems Health Checks and adaptive leadership frameworks that help leaders examine how policies, structures, and everyday practices shape the experiences of students and staff. Participants will explore how structured reflection, research-based protocols, and collaborative inquiry can help leadership teams identify system strengths, uncover gaps, and guide meaningful improvement.

A central theme of the session is the Hero to Host leadership journey—a shift from individual problem-solving toward creating the conditions for collective leadership and shared responsibility for change. Through examples from district practice, participants will see how leaders can move from reacting to problems toward designing systems that foster belonging, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

This session centers participant choice and voice, featuring real examples of district practices and action-driven outcomes that demonstrate how systems health checks and adaptive leadership tools can guide meaningful systems improvement.

Participants will engage with practical tools, case examples, and facilitation strategies that can be applied immediately in schools and districts.

Session Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will:

• Develop tools for examining systems conditions -  Learn how systems health checks can help leadership teams identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Understand the Hero to Host leadership shift -  Explore how leaders can move from individual problem-solving toward creating conditions for collaborative leadership and shared responsibility.
• Access adaptive leadership tools and protocols -  Gain practical facilitation strategies and decision-making frameworks that support courageous conversations and systems improvement.
• Connect leadership decisions to school conditions -  Understand how policies, structures, and leadership practices influence student belonging, staff collaboration, and organizational effectiveness.

This session will provide leaders with actionable tools, protocols, and examples to support transformational leadership and guide meaningful systems improvement.

Presenter: Dr. Zinnia Un, Ed.D.
Dr. Zinnia Un brings over two decades of experience in education with a proven track record of strengthening systems through policy development, continuous improvement, and collaborative leadership practices. As the Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Multilingual Services for the Tigard-Tualatin School District, Dr. Un develops frameworks and strategies that help schools examine system conditions, strengthen organizational practices, and improve outcomes for students.

Her work focuses on systems health checks, adaptive leadership, and participatory decision-making, supporting school and district leaders in navigating complex change while fostering belonging, collaboration, and continuous improvement.