Nicholas Torres (nick@socialinnovationspartners.org) is a seasoned and successful Business, Healthcare and Human Services Executive with over 25 years of experience in C-suite executive leadership, serving in CEO and C-Suite Consulting roles throughout his career in start-up, small, and large social sector organizations.  Nicholas works at the cross section between the private sector, government, and not-for-profits aligning them toward action on mutually agreed upon strategies and goals. He has designed, founded, led, and managed multiple for-profit, not-for-profit, and cross organization/system social ventures that are driven by social impact, financial sustainability, and systems change.  

Nicholas serves as the strategist and lead for international and domestic multiple organizational initiatives bringing them relevancy, accountability, and impact.  Currently, he is leading 1) the Social Accountability international initiative to move global medical and public health schools to be responsive to people and society’s needs; and 2) Social Innovations movement to recognize and drive investments to legitimate change agents in Greater Philadelphia.

Nicholas serves as President of The Network: Towards Unity for Health (TUFH) a non-state actor in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO); CEO of Social Innovations Partners that publishes the Social Innovations Journal and oversees regional Social Innovations Awards process to drive financial capital to community changemakers; and Faculty at The Fels Institute of Government and Social Policy School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mary Schuler (mary@educationplushealth.com), Co-Founder, MA, specialized trainer/tutor, is an experienced and result-oriented special education teacher with over 50 years of experience in the special education field. Obtaining her B.A. in elementary education from the College of St. Catherine’s in St. Paul, Minnesota, and her M.A. in Special Education, Schuler taught kindergarten, 1st grade, 5th grade, and Special Education in public school settings. Then “retiring,” privately, while tutoring a number of public-school students for over a year, three times a week for an hour at a time; she realized that having them accomplish just one year of growth during that time would just not be enough. As a result, she developed/founded the literacy (based on Orton-Gillingham), math (using math manipulatives), and writing foundational approach resulting in hundreds of students achieving academic and life success. She now works with Parent Reading Coach to train/coach parents/teachers on this foundational approach.

Carolyn Torres (c.torres@laschools.net), EdD, teacher of 34 years, has remained National Board Certified since 1995. She is currently teaching for Los Alamos Public Schools where she has been an active mentor, teacher, and math coach. She co-authored a third grade CCSS-based online curriculum for LLS. She was the 2014 New Mexico State Teacher of the Year, a 2017-2020 National STEM Fellow, and the 2023 New Mexico STEMY Kdg-8th Teacher of the Year.