Bonnie Fineman

Director of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction, Windsor Public Schools

Bonnie Fineman is from Windsor, Connecticut, and is the Director of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction at Windsor Public Schools. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Rutgers University, a Master of Science in English Literature with Secondary Certification from Southern Connecticut State University, and completed a program in Educational Administration at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests include middle-level central office leadership, education politics, equity in education, curriculum and instruction, crisis leadership, and the role of gender, sexuality, and identity in educational leadership. Her dissertation, Middle-Level Central Office Leadership in a Turbulent Edu-Political Climate, examines how central office leaders operate in a national context that is increasingly resistant to culturally, historically, and racially responsive curriculum. She is particularly curious about how leadership styles differ based on leaders’ self-identified race, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and how existing crisis leadership frameworks might apply to edu-political turbulence. Bonnie selected the University of Kentucky for its commitment to equity-centered research, supportive faculty, and the flexibility of its online Ph.D. program. After comparing programs at Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and UConn, she found UK to be more affordable while still offering high-quality, research-driven education. When she’s not researching, writing, or reading, Bonnie enjoys daily yoga, hiking with her two sons and their teacup Yorkie, Neo, and spending time in cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. She also enjoys gardening, cooking, historical nonfiction, and hopes to one day attend a survival school. Bonnie previously coached boys' volleyball and led her team to two Connecticut state championships. She holds a motorcycle license and is related to Roy Bittan of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Vice Admiral James Zimble, former Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy.