Amanda Shuford Mayeaux is an Assistant Professor in Educational Foundations and Leadership at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Dr. Mayeaux has been an educator for over twenty-five years. She has worked on a variety of campuses spanning grades Pre-K through 12 and in several districts in a variety of contexts from teacher to administration. Her diverse career has allowed her to understand, regardless of the circumstances, an expert educator can change the life of child. Dr. Mayeaux has won several national teaching awards, including the Milken Educator Award in 2003 and Disney's Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2006, along with her teaching team partners, Monique Wild and Kathryn Edmonds. The award winning teachers she met through these award programs inspired her dissertation, which focused on the motivating factors of teachers who continuously pursue expertise. Dr. Mayeaux received the Rayma Harchar Outstanding Research Paper Award from the Louisiana Educational Research Association in 2014 for her dissertation research. Her research interests include expert teachers, motivation factors, professional learning, change process, school culture, and effective leadership. Dr. Mayeaux has co-authored a book with Stenhouse Publishers and has several publications on effective teaching and learning. She is also a National Board certified teacher in Early Adolescent Mathematics.