Our Story

Who is behind LEL?

Nancy and Theresa founded Leading EDge Learning (LEL) because we believe that educators deserve engaging professional learning that meets their needs. As educators themselves, they experienced a lot of “one size fits all” professional learning in conjunction with poor adoption & implementation followed by the abandonment of initiatives to move on to the next. Determined to affect lasting change in schools, they saw a need for professional learning focused on leaders who shape school culture, guide instructional practices, and drive systemic change, with lasting support to operationalize change and improved student outcomes. With this passion for helping schools create lasting impact, LEL partners with teacher leaders, instructional coaches, principals, and district leaders to apply learning science and research-based practices that empower all learners. Our team, including valued collaborator Darren Hudgins, takes an in-depth approach—working alongside each organization to identify emerging challenges, operationalize promising practices, and design customized professional learning experiences that make navigating change feel manageable, impactful, and most of all enjoyable.

Meet the Team

Theresa Gibson

Darren Hudgins

Nancy Mangum

  • Founder

    Theresa began her education career as a high school mathematics teacher, shifting from the classroom to academic intervention and professional learning. Theresa earned her MBA, which supported her shift to focus on building leadership capacity in K-12 schools.  As the former Associate Director for Strategic Development at The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Theresa built partnerships with school districts and organizations nationwide.  Today, in her role at Leading EDge, Theresa continues to bring her passion for building learning communities by bringing leaders together to learn, share ideas, and transfer research to practice to serve all students best.

    When she is not working, Theresa reads a book and relaxes at the lake with her husband and two children.

  • Darren Hudgins is passionate about creating learning experiences that drive educators and their students to think, do, and thrive. He believes in this mission so strongly that he founded Think Do Thrive. With over 20 years of experience in education, edtech, and coaching, he inspires critical thinking, promotes active learning, and creates opportunities for educational communities to improve.

    Additionally, he co-authored two best-selling books on media and information literacy: Fact VS Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking In The Age of Fake News (ISTE 2018) and Developing Digital Detectives: Essential Lessons for Discerning Fact from Fiction in the 'Fake News' Era (ISTE 2021). Let's work together to navigate this complex world.

  • Founder

    Being the oldest of 3 siblings and the daughter of a middle-grades math teacher of 42 years, teaching has always been in Nancy’s blood.  During her tenure in the Wake County Public School System, Nancy was an elementary educator, instructional coach, and district administrator. After leaving Wake County, Nancy spent 10 years at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, most recently as the Associate Director of Professional Learning, where she built professional learning programs for instructional coaches, principals, and district leaders in North Carolina and across the US.

    Nancy has a passion for building professional learning and communities of practice to support instructional coaches and school leaders focused on current problems of practice. With both a local and national presence, she seeks to create meaningful learning experiences that inspire educators.

    When she is not at work, you can find Nancy enjoying time with her family on a beach or organizing a fun get-together with friends.

We make the tough stuff fun.

Change is hard, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build an experience that makes it feel much more manageable.