Meet the Semifinalists for 2026 Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year!
Gwinnett County Public Schools congratulates the district's top 25 teachers, semifinalists for the county's 2026 Teacher of the Year (TOTY) competition. Please click on an educator's name (links below) to learn more about each of the semifinalists:
Photos by Glenn Martin of Glenn Martin Photography LLC
4th Row: James Shaver, Brett Peavy, Dr. William S. Cossen, Stephen Westbrook, and Sierra Stoddard
3rd Row: Lauren Ashley Whaley, Stephanie Aseltine, Cole Hembree, Victor Ruiz, Kristyn Dunn, Laura Wood, and Carmen Smith
2nd Row: Katie Lessard, Emily Heck, Sharese Colbert, Amber Melander, Abby Paul, and Jasmine Beasley
Front Row: Dr. Renee Smith, Dr. Alexandra Thomas, Jennifer Sevier, Nakaya Manning, Shannon Gee, Jessie Kelly, and Mia Johnson
We brought the top 25 teachers together for the group photo, and each teacher's name is hyperlinked to an individual profile page. In the individual pages, you'll read a quote from the TOTY semifinalist and learn more about each honored educator. Each individual teacher is pictured with something— a teaching tool or symbol— that represents the classroom and that educator's career.