Shelly Veron, MEd
Shelly Veron, MEd, is a creative educator and design professional dedicated to transforming learning experiences for students and teachers alike. Currently, she is an educational consultant, trainer, and speaker with a focus on design thinking, neurodiversity, and student voice. Her work focuses on elevating student thinking through enrichment programs, integrated lessons, and interdisciplinary projects that make learning both challenging and memorable. Before her current role, Shelly served as the Coordinator of Digital Design and Innovation in a dynamic educational technology department. There, she specialized in training educators across all grade levels in purposeful tech integration, emphasizing instructional impact and creativity. From digital storytelling to robotics, she helped transform classrooms, libraries and computer labs into hubs of collaboration, innovation, and discovery, always prioritizing experiences that make learning visible, meaningful, and unforgettable. She also spent time as an Advanced Learning Facilitator at an elementary campus, where she nurtured gifted learners and partnered with educators to create meaningful, layered, and engaging instructional opportunities. With a foundation in graphic design and brand development, Shelly extends her expertise through her consulting company, Shelly Said So Edu. She offers services including educational branding, lesson and presentation design, media packages, and creative support for events, podcasts, and introducing STEAM lessons in her community for homeschool students. Her professional journey began at USA Graphics, a family-run design business, where she honed her skills in client communication, project management, and storytelling through design. Today, she combines her passions for education, design, and creativity to craft bold, impactful experiences that empower both students and educators.
• Dynamic Public Speaker
• Technology Leadership
• Educational Technology
• Gifted and Talented Educator
• Experienced District Leader
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Design Thinking
• Graphic Design
• Adult Learning
• Certified ESL Educator
• IB PYP/MYP
• Lamar Univeristy - MEd
• University of Houston - BAS
• TCEA
• ISTE
• ASCD
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute much of my success to creativity and being given the chance to try. From a young age, I’ve always approached learning and problem-solving with a creative mindset, and I’ve enjoyed encouraging others to tap into their own creativity as well. While my approach hasn’t always been conventional, I’ve found that thinking outside the box often leads to the most meaningful and innovative results. I love bringing others alongside me as we become leaders that can shine together!
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Give ideas time to move through the grit. The first year of anything meaningful is hard and hard does not mean wrong. It’s often in the second or third year that clarity arrives. If the work no longer fulfills you, if joy is no longer exchanged, that is information. And it may be time to rise, shift, and move forward.
Some of the worst advice women are given is to lead like a man. The truth is, women lead powerfully by leading as themselves. Emotional intelligence is not a weakness; it is influence! Authenticity, empathy, and emotional awareness create trust and momentum. People do not follow systems; they follow leaders.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Since stepping away from traditional education, the question I hear most often is, “How did you do it?” What’s notable is who is asking. It’s rarely early-career educators. Instead, it’s teachers who have spent years giving everything they have and are now wondering what comes next.
My answer is rarely about logistics…it’s about clarity. Find a passion that won’t let you stay quiet. Find something worth championing. Claim a point of view, and then move forward with intention and courage.
For me, that clarity came through my neurodivergent son who deserved more than the system was prepared to offer. He sharpened my focus and gave my work a bigger purpose. When your “why” is personal, momentum follows. The path may be uncertain, but conviction creates direction. Meaningful change begins the moment you decide to go and take that step past “What if” into “What’s next!”
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Education is experiencing a systemic strain, one felt more deeply in some places than others. Burnout is real, and many exceptional educators are choosing new paths. Yet within this moment is opportunity. As pressures rise and classrooms evolve, we are being called to reimagine learning with intention and care. Today’s learners are different and that difference invites innovation, creativity, and deeper connection. With courageous leadership and human-centered change, education can rediscover its joy and emerge stronger than before as long as chances are taken!
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Authenticity, curiosity, empathy, courage, and sparkle… is sparkle a value?!?
I value joy over burnout, progress over perfection, create over consume.
At the core of everything I do is the belief that creativity is not extra, it is essential!
Locations
Shelly Said So Edu
New Caney, TX 77357