Dr. Will Penner

Dr. Will Penner has worked with young people for more than three decades. For 15 years, he served as a local church youth minister; national speaker, coach, and consultant for youth leaders; and editor of an international youth ministry journal.

He taught high school English for a decade and has served as a middle school administrator for almost another decade. During the 2020-2021 school year, he was named Middle Tennessee’s Middle School Principal of the Year by the Tennessee Secondary School Principals Association.

Dr. Penner joined DoDEA in Fall 2022 as the Secondary English Language Arts Instructional Systems Specialist for the Pacific South district. He concurrently served as the Acting Assistant Principal at Lester Middle School during Spring 2023 and became Lester’s Principal in SY 2023-2024.

He has authored 20 chapters and 24 articles, edited 16 books and 53 periodicals; presented at 28 conferences; and consulted with dozens of firms and organizations about leadership, organization, communication, and adolescent development. He earned a B.S. in English and Political Science from Baylor University in Waco, TX; an M.S. in Curriculum & Instructional Leadership from Baylor; and an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership and Strategic Change from Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. His wife, Christine, is a pastor in the United Methodist Church; and they have five children and six grandchildren.