Leadership Exchange

Sheryl Abshire, Ph.D., is the recently retired chief technology officer (CTO) for Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Louisiana. A longtime transformational technology innovation and integration expert, she has led the infusion of technology into curriculum for districts and states in the U.S. and internationally. Abshire has been a teacher, principal, library/media specialist, CTO and associate professor. She’s also an accomplished grant writer, trainer and reviewer for the National Science Foundation (NSF). A founding member of ISTE NETS/ISTE Standards and Accreditation Committee, she’s deeply involved in infusing technology into standards-based instruction. Abshire is an ISTE Certified Educator, and the first teacher inducted into the U.S. National Teachers’ Hall of Fame. She was appointed to the U.S. Department of Education’s Technical Writing Team to create the new National Educational Technology Plan; is a nationally recognized consultant, speaker and educator; and was appointed by the FCC to the USAC board representing the nation's schools/libraries on E-rate matters. As a sought-after speaker on educational and technology issues, she has presented and published nationally and internationally about funding, leadership, education and technology issues. ISTE awarded her the first Public Policy Advocate of the Year Award for her decades of work promoting educational technology. Additionally, she was honored with the prestigious ISTE Making It Happen Award. Abshire is the chair of the Louisiana CTO Council and former president and vice president of advocacy and programs for the Louisiana ISTE affiliate LACUE.

Dr. Desiree Alexander is an award-winning, multi-degreed educator, speaker, and author. She is Founder CEO of Educator Alexander Consulting. She holds various teaching, administrative and technology certifications, including Google Certified Trainer, Innovator and Partner and Microsoft Office Specialists. She is a 2022 & 2021 Texas Computer Education Association Featured Thought Leader, 2020 International Society for Technology in Education Featured Voice, 2020 Future of Education Technology Conference Featured Presenter, 2019 Better Business Bureau Customer Commitment Award Honoree, 2017 40 Under 40 Awards Honoree, 2017 Center for Digital Education Top 30 Technologists, Transformers & Trailblazers among other honors. Learn more: www.educatoralexander.com.

Becky Barrett is an educational technologist, former teacher and student voice enthusiast from Dallas. When designing campus initiatives and classroom projects, Barrett creates engaging, student-centered experiences that ignite learning and have real-world applications students can take beyond classroom walls and into their futures. When she began integrating Soundtrap for Education at her campus, a passion for podcasting was born in not only her students, but herself.

Bill Bass is the innovation coordinator for instructional technology, information, library media and federal programs in the Parkway School District in St. Louis, Missouri. In this role, he leads the district library and instructional technology programs, oversees grants and federal programs, and creates conditions to foster districtwide classroom innovation. During his over 20 year career in education, he has also held positions as a middle and high school English teacher, technology integration specialist, instructional coach, adjunct professor and graduate course designer for an edtech master's program, and an educational consultant. As a speaker, writer and professional developer, he focuses on systemic and sustainable integration of technology into classrooms at all grade levels, and seeks to empower students and teachers with authentic learning experiences. Bass has been honored with the ISTE Making IT Happen Award, the Divergent Award for Excellence in Literacy in a Digital Age Research, and as NSBA's 20 to Watch EdTech Leaders. He is a past president of the ISTE Board of Directors, president and active member of many ISTE PLNs and a member of the NCTE Executive Committee. Bass is also a frequent conference speaker and presenter. He has written numerous articles and book chapters, and is the author of three books: From Inspiration to Red Carpet, Digital Reading: What’s essential in grades 3-8 and Leading from the Library.

Lakisha Brinson, Ed.D., is the director of instructional technology and library services for Metro Nashville Public Schools where she oversees and supports the use of instructional technology and digital learning programming across 150 schools. She’s a member of the 2022 CoSN Early Career Academy and a 2015 School Library Journal National Librarian of the Year finalist.

Holly Clark is an education thought leader, international speaker, bestselling author and student advocate. She’s a veteran educator who has spent over 15 years teaching in a 1:1 classroom, and over five years as an administrator in public and private schools. She holds a master’s degree in instructional design and educational technology from Columbia University. Clark is passionate about helping teachers create classrooms where students want to learn and can become the agents of their own thinking and understanding. She’s is a National Board Certified Teacher , MIEE and Google Certified Innovator .

Richard Culatta, is the CEO of ISTE. Prior to joining ISTE, Culatta served as the chief innovation officer for the state of Rhode Island. He was appointed as the director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology. There Culatta was at the helm of numerous efforts to expand connectivity to schools across the country, promote personalized learning and develop the National Education Technology Plan.

Michele Eaton is the Director of Warren Online Academy for the MSD of Warren Township in Indianapolis, IN. She is also author of the book The Perfect Blend. Michele is a 2020 ISTE Making IT Happen award winner, CoSN CETL and NextGen Leader, 2018 EdWeek Leader to Learn From, ISTE Community Leader, Conference Chair for the Indiana Connected Educators organization, and moderator for the #INeLearn chat. You can follow her on Twitter at @micheeaton.Michele Eaton is the director of virtual and blended learning for the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Indianapolis, and the author of The Perfect Blend. In addition to focusing on personalizing instruction through online learning, much of her work centers on transforming adult learning to showcase how technology and online learning can have a positive impact for all learners.

Heidi Ellis is the senior director of membership and partnership strategy for ISTE. In this role, she develops member benefits and programs that help educators and school districts improve teaching and learning by leveraging technology. Ellis oversees several programs, including member benefits, awards and recognition, volunteers, professional learning networks and district partnerships. She enjoys working with educators and members to help them transform education and empower learners.

Carla M. Jefferson is the principal of the Darlington County Virtual Academy in the Darlington County School District in South Carolina. Jefferson’s motto, “Why Not Darlington?” was inspired by a colleague and motivates her to fight for digital equity, not only for the children of Darlington County, but for children everywhere. Jefferson is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified Educator/Trainer/Innovator, and PBS Lead Digital Innovator.. Her work has been highlighted in several publications, including ISTE’s Empowered Learner, Tech & Learning Magazine and District Administrator. Jefferson is currently a member of the Google Equity Board and an ISTE board member.

For more than two decades, Paige has led initiatives to transform and personalize education through the effective use of technology, both in the US and abroad. Before joining Microsoft, she was the CEO of EdCatalyst Group where she helped organizations design programs and products to improve education and learning. As the Education Strategist for Amazon Web Services, she promoted advances in cloud computing and data analytics to create more effective learning environments. Before that, she was the Education Strategist for Intel Corporation, where she collaborated with school systems around the world to help them build effective solutions to improve outcomes.

Jeffrey Kilner, M.Ed., is a technology integration specialist and coach for the Indian River School District in Delaware. He supports teachers by providing training, support and feedback on how to equitably and intentionally integrate technology into their teaching practice. Kilner earned a master’s degree in education from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a bachelor’s in biology education from Clarion University. He is a former Delaware STEM Educator of the Year, and was named both a fellow and later a leading fellow with Stanford University's Hollyhock Fellowship program. In addition to serving as an instructional technology specialist, Kilner has spent the past nine years as a head swim coach for the Sussex Central High School boys’ and girls’ swim teams. When not facilitating PD, coaching swimming or vetting technology tools, he can be found at the beach with his wife and two daughters.

Dee Lanier is the Lead Experience Designer for Lanier Learning and a lifelong educator who’s passionate about equity and inquiry-based learning. He’s also a Google Certified Trainer, Google Innovator and Google Certified Coach who specializes in creative applications for mobile devices and Chromebooks, low-cost makerspaces and gamified learning experiences.

Ashley McBride, Ed.D., is the digital learning initiative consultant for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction where she works to build statewide edtech partnerships and support public schools with educational technology initiatives and implementations that align with the state's digital learning plan. Prior to her current role, she served as a secondary English teacher, instructional technology facilitator and director of technology. In 2020, she earned a doctorate in educational technology from Central Michigan University. Using the research from her doctorate and her experiences in the field, McBride authored The Edtech Coaching Primer: Supporting Teachers in the Digital Age Classroom. She serves on the board of the North Carolina Technology in Education Society (NCTIES), and earned her Certified Education Technology Leader Certification from CoSN.

Sophia Mendoza is an innovative systems-level collaborator with over 20 years of experience as an education leader in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and a member of the ISTE Board of Directors. As the director of LAUSD’s Instructional Technology Initiative, Mendoza leads the implementation of computer science education and digital citizenship programs across 1,300 schools. She’s committed to cultivating leaders and learners who are prepared for a growing digital world. Mendoza was named a NextGeneration Leader by EdScoop and CoSN; made the 2018 Most Influential People in EdTech list from Tech & Learning; is a 2019 ISTE Impact Award honoree; a 2019 Education Dive Innovator of the Year winner; and the 2020 Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region 16 Technology Administrator, an honor that recognizes her work in establishing strategic partnerships and programs that expand instructional technology opportunities for all students.

Dr. Julie Mitchell is the Superintendent of Schools for the Rowland Unified School District, located in Los Angeles County. Julie has dedicated her entire career to ensuring that every child is given every opportunity to succeed and achieve. She considers herself a teacher at heart and public education is her passion. Her leadership philosophy is to create a positive learning environment for both students and staff, while building upon excellence with students at the center of all decisions. Her leadership has brought a laser focus and unwavering vision and commitment to “Innovative Learning for All” that supports the individual needs of students, families and staff.

Tom serves as the Director of Innovation for Future Ready Schools, a project of the Alliance for Excellent Education. He has testified before the US Congress and has previously worked alongside that body and the US Senate, the White House, and the US Department of Education. Murray serves as a regular conference keynote and is the co-author of ASCD’s best-seller, Learning Transformed. His most recent best seller, Personal & Authentic was published in the fall of 2019. Connect with him at thomascmurray.com.

Brandon Olszewski, Ph.D., ISTE’s director of research, leads many of the organization’s program evaluation and research efforts, as well as projects that focus on educational technology, product usability and design, the learning sciences and adult learning. He’s passionate about making research and science practical. Olszewski has over 15 years of experience in program evaluation and applied social science, and specializes in edtech and digital age skills, STEM instruction, social psychology and mixed-methods evaluations that leverage quantitative and qualitative methods. He has managed the implementation and evaluation of innovative projects funded by the National Science Foundation (including ITEST, Cyberlearning, IEECI and Noyce), the U.S. Department of Education, state departments of education (including Oregon’s Earning for a Lifetime program and Alabama’s ACCESS), and private foundations (HP, the Verizon Foundation, Walmart Giving, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative). He has published on topics including program evaluation, educational technology, sociology, special education, workforce development, and social science methodology and psychometrics. His dissertation focused on the relationship between the politics of small schools reform and changes to teachers’ work. He has also been an adjunct instructor in the University of Oregon Department of Sociology.

Adam Antoine Phyall II, Ed.D., is the director of technology and media services for the Newton County School System in Georgia where he’s focused on helping teachers put technology in the hands of students to keep them engaged in rigorous learning. Since getting his first laptop in college, Phyall has been hooked on the fantastic things technology can add to learning. Early in his teaching career, Phyall had students create videos and podcasts to explain advanced science concepts. Once he saw the impact technology had on learning in his classroom, he began to share his activities and strategies with peers. This led Phyall to work as a building instructional technology leader, technology facilitator, and then take on his current role as a tech director. Throughout his career, Phyall has worked extensively with Title I and urban schools to improve technology integration for economically disadvantaged students. He has developed mobile learning plans for school districts in Georgia and Missouri that have led to 1:1 device initiatives. His philosophy on teaching is, “If you’re having fun teaching it, then your students will have fun learning it.”

Arsenio Romero, Ph.D., is the superintendent of Los Lunas Schools in Los Lunas, New Mexico, and a New Mexico State University regent. He’s been honored as the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents National Superintendent of the Year, and the New Mexico Administrator of the Year.

C. Scheffel, M.Ed., is an instructional technology specialist and coach for the Indian River School District in Sussex County, Delaware. She also has 10 years of experience teaching secondary English language arts, and seven as a mentor in her district’s comprehensive induction program for new teachers. An early adopter of edtech in the classroom, Scheffel earned a master’s degree in applied educational technology from Wilmington University. Her passions include leveraging technology to accommodate diverse learners, and encouraging teachers to embrace technology as a tool for differentiation.

Tammy Seneca, Ph.D. is the supervisor of information systems and educational technology for West Baton Rouge Parish Schools in Port Allen, Louisiana. She guides teachers in the successful use of technology as a tool for rigorous and relevant curriculum, and oversees the district’s movement toward 1:1 computing, technology professional development and curriculum development, using a combination of SAMR and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. Seneca holds a doctorate in educational theory, policy and practice, with a concentration in edtech, from Louisiana State University. She’s an active member of the tech community in the state of Louisiana and serves as a board member and president of the Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators (LACUE).

Ken Shelton has been an educator for over 20 years, many of which were spent teaching technology to middle school students. He has worked extensively at the policy level with a number of state departments of education, ministries of education and nonprofits, and was appointed to an Education Technology Task Force formed by a previous California State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Shelton regularly gives keynote presentations and consults and leads workshops on educational technology, equity and inclusion, anti-racism, multimedia literacy, cultural intelligence, visual storytelling and instructional design. He’s an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and a Google Certified Innovator. In 2018, he earned ISTE’s Digital Equity PLN Excellence Award. He was also named an influencer to follow by EdTech Magazine. Shelton holds a master’s degree in education with specialties in edtech and new media design and production.

Mary Sherwin is one-half of Ask The Sherwins LLC, a consultancy dedicated to growing skills around teamwork and process in the design community. She’s always ready to talk about disability in design and design education, whether that means inclusion, accessibility or universal design. Sherwin is also a faculty member at Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University in the MFA/MA in Collaborative Design and Design Systems program.

Marlon Styles Jr. is the superintendent of the Middletown City School District in Middletown, Ohio. Under his leadership, Middletown City Schools earned the 2019 ISTE Distinguished District Award for ensuring equitable, accessible and appropriate technology use for all students. Styles also earned the Center for Digital Education Top 30 Digital Trailblazers Award and was recognized in 2020 as the K-12 Dive superintendent of the year. He’s passionate about closing the systemic equity gaps faced by many students in the U.S. and is devoted to transforming education and finding ways to integrate technology, while creating inclusive learning experiences for all students.

Education, equity, supporting others, travel, good food ­– these are the things that drive Adina Sullivan-Marlow, a teacher effectiveness and preparation coordinator for the San Diego County Office of Education, a Google Certified Innovator and Trainer, and a Leading Edge Certification Instructor. She also recently founded the nonprofit EquityEDU. With a focus on student needs, teacher goals and equity/accessibility, Sullivan-Marlow presents for K-12 district teachers as well as at local, regional and national conferences, including the CUE conference and ISTE Annual Conference & Expo.

Nicole Zumpano has over 25 years of experience in education as a classroom teacher and instructional technology coach. In her current role, she serves as the director of instructional technology coaching for the Learning Technology Center of Illinois. In this role, Zumpano manages and supports 10 coaches who contract with 25 school districts across Illinois. She facilitates statewide instructional technology coach meetings where coaches come together to share best practices and solve problems of practice. A Google Certified Trainer and Coach, Zumpano leads Google Certified Coach cohorts for those seeking support in their certification journey. Also a National Board Certified Teacher, she teaches graduate-level educational technology courses as an adjunct instructor for National Louis University, Dominican University and Michigan State. Throughout her career, she has received awards and accolades for her teaching and coaching work, and has served on several boards of directors, including as a past president of the ISTE affiliate Illinois Digital Educators Alliance (IDEA). She’s an active member of the ISTE community and serves as an ISTE Community Leader, conference proposal reviewer, and occasional blog writer and book proposal reviewer. She’s passionate about education and technology, and active in her professional learning networks.