The Board of Directors are responsible for the overall policy and direction of the FLCHE, and delegates responsibility of day-to-day operations to its officers and committees.
Members of the Board of Directors volunteer their time to serve the community and the FLCHE members.
Board of Directors
Dr. Tammara Purdin, Executive Director
Tammara Purdin is a mom and mamaw, a native Floridian, an educator at Lamarque Elementary School in Florida, is passionate about history education, and is the Executive Director for Florida Council of History Education. Her 21 years of teaching experience include Gifted, ESE, and Title I. She holds a doctorate in Teaching and Learning, with a concentration in American history. Her research includes elementary and secondary history instruction, and student literacy proficiency; using historical thinking strategies.
Dr. Jennifer H. Jaso, Secretary
Jennifer Jaso is a sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teacher of social studies and critical thinking classes at Sarasota Middle School in Sarasota County. Her 19 years of teaching experience include Montessori, Gifted, Title I, and virtual learning. She is the 2022 Sarasota County District Teacher of the Year and was a 2023 Florida Teacher of the Year State Finalist. She is regarded for her ability to build relationships and work with students to develop historical thinking skills and apply disciplinary literacy strategies, while building content knowledge in the social sciences.
Jennifer is a district coordinator for National History Day, a program that inspires confidence and prepares middle and high schoolers for the world beyond their secondary education. She integrates National History Day in the curriculum to cultivate disciplinary literacy and enduring societal skills. She also helps implement it district-wide to support teachers and involve the
community. Jennifer feels it is important for students to understand the power of their voice and value of experiences that challenge them.
Jennifer holds a doctorate in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in American history. Her research has included secondary social science instruction and student proficiency, historical literacy, and the impact of the Teaching American History Grant on teaching and learning. Continued efforts to support historical literacy in schools and in the community led her and her colleagues to create the Florida Council for History Education, a nonprofit dedicated to the advocacy of history in education.
Jennifer’s passion for history and for its power to shape the future, collide with her love for working with children. She is committed to cultivating a community of life-long learners who appreciate the past through research, inquiry, corroboration, and project-based learning.
Jennifer has been married to her husband, Ryan, for 15 years. They have two children. Jack is six years old, and Sutton is two. She loves to host parties, travel, watch sports, and spend time with family and friends.
Mrs. Deborah Kaiser, Membership Chair
Deborah Kaiser teaches seventh and eighth grade United States History and Civics at Sarasota Middle School in Sarasota, FL. She obtained her Bachelors of Science in Social Science Education from the University of Central Florida and completed her Masters of Arts in American History and Government from Ashland University.
Mike Klapka, Treasurer
Mike Klapka recently retired after 41 years in the Pinellas County school system, 40 of those teaching U.S. History at Largo High School. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of South Florida in Tampa. He was recipient of the James Madison Fellowship in 1999, the Barringer Fellowship (Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello) in 2011 and 2014, a participant in the Master Teacher Program with the Order of
the Cincinnati in 2016, and First Union/ Batten Fellowship with the International Center for Jefferson Studies in 2019.
Ms. Crystal Robinson, Communications Chair
Mrs. Jean Faulk, Editor of In Context
Jean Faulk teaches high school at Bayshore High School in Bradenton, Florida. She teaches in several different areas including World History, AICE Global Perspectives and Journalism. Her journalism class produces a print newspaper created and written by her students. Her 40 years in print media help in her position as the editor of In Context.
Her second career began in Desoto County, Florida teaching middle school United States history and journalism at Desoto Middle School where she received the honor of Rookie Teacher of the Year her first year and Teacher of the Year her third.
She transferred to Oasis High School in Lee County after several years to teach at a Cambridge School where she taught AICE classes in World History, United States History and a journalism class. After one year, she felt a need to be closer to home and became a teacher in Manatee County where she has taught reading at the middle school level before transferring to her present position.
Her life growing up traveling the world as a military kid, a degree in Political Science and her certificate in teaching Social Sciences 6-12 and journalism provide a well-rounded class load for students to read, write, and discuss society today.
Dr. Kacie Nadeau, Board Member
Kacie Nadeau is a fifth-grade teacher of the gifted in language arts and social studies in Sarasota County. Her 20 years in the district has included experiences in interdisciplinary curriculum design, professional development, and leadership in social studies content and pedagogy. Beyond her degree in elementary education, Kacie has her M.A. (2006) in gifted education and her Ph.D. (2017) from the University of South Florida in Interdisciplinary Education. Her research includes the history of American education and curriculum reform, as well as social science content and instruction. She is currently an Educational Advisor for NCHE, taught undergraduate and graduate elementary social studies methods courses at USF and is currently an adjunct professor in the College of Education and Professional Studies at the University of West Florida.
Dr. Bernadette D. Bennett, Board Member
Dr. Bernadette Bennett is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum development
focusing on social science/literacy curriculums. She specializes in developing curriculum for
nonprofit organizations and creating instructional programs to meet targeted goals. She
provides effective staff development at all levels offering objective-based solutions for
achieving student-oriented goals. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary
Education, a Master of Art in Curriculum and Instruction as well as a Doctorate in Teaching
and Learning with an emphasis on disciplinary literacy and staff development. Bernadette
has an established track record creating partnerships with educational facilities, for
–profit, non-profit and community agencies supporting educational initiatives bridging
educational and community partnerships.
Dr. Kimberly Voss, Board Member
Kimberly Voss (PhD, Maryland) is a full professor at the University of Central Florida. Her research agenda focuses on historical analysis of women journalists’ careers, women’s political influence and the definition of women’s news in the post-World War II years. She has published five books, including Newspaper Fashion Editors in the 1950s and ‘60s (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), Re-Evaluating Women’s Page Journalism in the Post-World War II Era (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) and Women Politicking Politely (Lexington, 2017). Her book, The Food Section (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014) was honored with the Award for Service to Food Journalism from the Association of Food Journalists.
Mr. Michael Kaiser, Chief Technical Officer