Dr. Daniel Clara is the Assistant to the Superintendent for the Southmoreland School District. In his twenty-six years of work in education, Dr. Clara has served students as a teacher, a principal, Director of Student Services and Federal Programs Coordinator. His work has centered on Professional Learning Communities, Mindset and building teacher leadership. Most recently, Dr. Clara has been a part of the district's movement toward Universal Design for Learning and empowering AI tools to enhance engagement and instruction.

During his time as a principal, Dr. Clara led two National School Models of Professional Learning Communities (Southmoreland Middle School and Southmoreland Primary Center). Southmoreland has been consistently ranked among the most overachieving school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by the Pittsburgh Business Times, including a #2 ranking in 2020. 

Dr. Clara is a member of Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honor Society, the American Education Research Association and the University Council for Educational Administration. In 2018, he was recognized by Duquesne University as the Henderson Prize winner in the School of Education and, in 2020, was selected as a UCEA CELSJ Scholar. Dr. Clara has presented on both the state and national levels on PLCs and educational leadership.

Dr. Clara serves as the WIU Curriculum Council Chair and as a member of both the WPIAL Wrestling Steering Committee and the Duquesne University Department of Education Alumni Advisory Board. Additionally, Dr. Clara founded the Westmoreland County Federal Programming Association and is the director of the “Leadership Speaks” series hosted by the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Dr. Clara currently prepares future teachers and leaders as an adjunct professor at Penn State New Kensington.