2016 (Spring) Suwyn Family Lecture Series in Education
Introducing Keith Wheeler
As Founder and CEO of Infinite Motivations, Keith B. Wheeler couples his impressive resume as an educator with his inspiring life story. Keith is a native of Seattle, Washington. Starting from the ranks of a classroom teacher, Keith still bonds with how valuable this role (teacher) is, when shaping the minds and hearts of tomorrow’s leaders. With every position he’s occupied, Keith remains committed to transforming and inspiring children and adult learners—for they are the nexus to a healthy school system, productive communities, inspired economies, and a forward-thinking nation. Throughout Keith’s career in education, he has purposely served in schools, labeled as Title I or academically challenged. As a comprehensive high school principal, Keith has steered schools towards achievement gains in math and writing, specifically working with students that were labeled as at-risk and/or falling behind state and national learning acceleration rates. Always looking for a way to “crack the achievement code”, Keith is now working as an educational leader who is reshaping Adult Education (AE) in California. This new feat has only differentiated his K-12 leadership experiences, where he is now working with many different stakeholders, community colleges leadership teams, school district superintendents, community organizations, and state officials in order to secure a brighter future for AE in his district and statewide.
To date, Keith holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Criminal Justice, with a minor in Sociology from Washington State University; a Masters of Arts (MA) in K-8 Education from Washington State University; and is now completing his doctorate in Education Leadership (Ed.D) from California State University, Fullerton. Alongside his educational accolades, Keith has also obtained several credentials, from his Residency Teaching Certificate, Master Teacher Certificate, Principal (K-12) Credentials (multiple states), and maintains thousand of hours in credentialing and/or professional training experience. Keith has dedicated his life to education, public service, and leadership, while embracing his role as a national empowerment specialist, experienced educator, and proven leader, with a passion to transform every facet of the human experience.
Keith’s career has thrived, while he established a deep connection with contemporary educational, political, and psychological research, and how it was being applied within his field of education. Always determined to make a global impact, Keith started as a small circuit speaker, as he improved his craft as an educator. Evolving as a professional speaker, he always concentrated on having a significant message that would reach the core of everyone listening. As his career progressed, his work as an educator and now consultant consistently represents organized approaches to presenting information and addressing key issues and providing critical insights for change. Audiences have been captivated by passion, useful insights, and positive contributions he offers, in the forms of researched-based and personally connecting solutions for essential repositioning of one’s life. Keith has been recognized for having exceptional skills through his hands on involvement, regarding the understanding of curriculum, instruction and assessment principles. He has deepened his comprehension about best practices in high schools, leadership and learning theories, collaborative systems, motivational frameworks, student and adult learning engagement systems.
As a nationally leading empowerment authority, Keith realized that he could inspire others to find their motivation and turn their challenges into stories of excellence, regardless if they are employed as an educator or not. He developed his thinking into a transformational system called The In Pursuit of Excellence Framework (IPEF), which is a multi-level configuration that involves assessing one’s baseline circumstances and then taking specific steps to create life-changing results. Founded in 2011, the mission of Infinite Motivations is to empower students, parents, educators, and organizations with strategies that increase productivity, self-efficacy, and resilience in the face of adversity.
Keith has extended his passion and research into the realm of motivational writing. His first book, H.O.P.E.: Helping Others Pursue Excellence, delivers personal accounts of heartbreaking adversity paired with evidence that excellence can be pursued and achieved even in seemingly impossible circumstances. Rooted in the IPEF, the book offers readers practical strategies that can be studied, shared, and replicated in order to create radical transformation.