A New York State of Mind!

Sean Arnold is the director of school pathways for the New York City Department of Education where he works with the Student Pathways team to guide computer science, college/career readiness and career technical education. He previously worked as a special educator, music educator and STEM/CS coach in NYC’s District 75, citywide special education. Both roles have given him the opportunity to work with a diverse range of students and educators, and he remains committed to accessibly and equitably reaching ALL students through innovative technology and practices. Arnold is also an ongoing advocate for the power gamification and hands-on learning challenges to empower student achievement. He has received the ISTE Outstanding Teacher Honorable Mention, ISTE Inclusive Learning Network Outstanding Educator Award, NYCDOE Excellence in School Technology Award and the EDxEDNYC Excellence in Technology Award. He’s an Apple Distinguished Educator and Learning Coach; an Adobe Creative Educator Leader; a Google Certified Innovator, Coach and Trainer; and a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and Certified Trainer. He’s certified by Promethean, SMART, Nearpod, Pear Deck, BrainPOP, Discovery Education, Flocabulary, GoGuardian, Seesaw, Buncee, Newsela, Book Creator, Epic!, Lucid, Kami, Soundtrap, Microsoft Flip, Minecraft, Wakelet, EdPuzzle, Classcraft, Quizizz, Kahoot, Gimkit, Breakout, Sphero, Osmo, Bloxels, Code.org, Codesters, Tynker, Screencastify and more. He enjoys sharing his expertise and connecting with like-minded educators at conferences to empower educational change agents to impact the overwrought education system. He shares his expertise at making learning personally meaningful, intrinsically motivating and made for everyone at BraveInTheAttempt.com.

Bond, Virginia Bond began her teaching career in 1989 as a music educator, then transitioned to technology teacher in 2002. In that role, she served on the IST/RTi team, was data coordinator and provided teacher and student technology training. Since May 2015, Virginia has been with NERIC, as a Training Specialist and is a Google Certified Trainer, Tech integrator and supports multiple software products. In September 2020 she was named Trainer of the Month for North America by Google and has offered trainings at various Google events throughout NYS, presented at EdChange Global conferences, and at NYSCATE since 2016.

I am the Technology Coordinator for a small, rural, K-12 public school in Northern New York.

Joi Chimera is a 25+ year educator currently serving as the Assistant Director of Instructional Technology in the City School District of New Rochelle as well as their DPO. Prior to her arrival in New Rochelle, she was a Technology Coach (4 years) and Classroom Teacher (20 years). She is an ISTE Certified Educator, Canvas Certified Educator, and Google Certified Educator I & II.

Completing her 11th year as the Chief Executive Officer of NYSCATE, Amy has over 25 years of education technology experience serving as the Assistant Superintendent of Orange Ulster and Monroe 1 BOCES and previously at Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES. Amy has received several recognitions including The Athena Award, Forty Under 40 Award, 2021 Outstanding Woman of the Year Award, Making IT Happen recipient and the ISTE Technology Leader of the Year Award. Amy has served on several professional boards, including ISTE, COSN, and Ed Market Research Amy completed her doctoral studies in Executive Leadership at St. John Fisher University.

Dr. Cameron Fadjo is the Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services with the Pleasantville Union Free School District in Pleasantville, NY where he leads innovations in instruction, technology, and operations. A trained learning scientist, Dr. Fadjo currently advises leaders from across the country on developing strategies to integrate generative AI into their organizations. Previously, Dr. Fadjo held leadership roles at Google, Apple, and the New York City Department of Education. He holds a PhD in the Learning Sciences from Columbia University.

Jennifer Freedman is the Director of Instructional Technology, Innovation, and Libraries for the Lindenhurst UFSD. She is an ISTE Certified Educator.

Lynn has been teaching for Greece Central School District in Rochester, NY for 24 years. After 10 years as an elementary teacher and 7 years as a Math Interventionist, Lynn has been serving the 1,000 teachers and 11,000 students in her district as an Instructional Technology Teacher. She has implemented digital PD opportunities, coached teachers as they use a blended learning format, and supported the 17 district schools as they integrate technology meaningfully with 1:1 Chromebooks. Lynn has enjoyed presenting at several conferences including NCTM, NYSCATE, and AMTNYS and is proud to be an ISTE Certified Educator.

Laurie Guyon is Coordinator for Model Schools at WSWHE BOCES. She is the Capital Region Director and a trainer for NYSCATE. Laurie won the ‘Best Overall Implementation of Technology’ award from Tech and Learning and Global Impactor Award from the Digital Citizenship Institute in 2022. Laurie was named CoSN’s NextGen: Emerging EdTech Leaders in 2020 and earned the Spotlight Award at BOCES. Laurie was part of the NYSED authoring committee for the Computer Science and Digital Fluency standards and is a member of the NYSED Content Advisory Panel for those standards. She is an ISTE Certified Educator/Trainer and Google Certified Educator/Trainer.Laurie Guyon is Coordinator for Model Schools at WSWHE BOCES in NY. She is Capital Region Director and trainer for NYSCATE. Laurie won “Best Implementation of Technology award” from Tech and Learning. She is a chapter co-author of Professional Development is a Plan, Not a Fix in the book What teacher educators should have learned from 2020. Laurie was CoSN’s NextGen: Emerging EdTech Leaders in 2020. Laurie was part of the NYSED authoring committee for the Computer Science and Digital Fluency standards. Laurie is an adjunct professor for SUNY Plattsburgh teaching in Digital Age Learning in the SBL prog

Mary Howard is a Nationally Board Certified sixth grade teacher in Grand Island New York. She is a two time Teacher of the Year Finalist , and a Master Teacher. She recently authored a book titled, Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Educators. Mary enjoys pursuing 'shiny things' in the form of technology that can enhance instruction.

Philip Jarosz has been an educator in the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School district for over 20 years and currently serves as an Instructional Innovation Support Specialist. Phil provides job-embedded, personalized support to teachers and staff to expand technology integration in classrooms across the district. He also serves as the Infinite Campus liaison providing data and student information system support. Phil is an ISTE Certified Educator, a Canvas Certified Educator and a member of NYSCATE and ISTE. Phil also serves as the WNY Director on the board of NYSCATE.

Dr. Sharon Matthews is an instructional coordinator at NERIC, focusing on supporting the integration of technology into learning. Her expertise includes teaching P-12 special education, as well as preparing pre-service teachers in general and special education. Areas of expertise include supporting and developing inclusive, universally-designed and differentiated instruction as well as data-literacy for instructional decision making. Dr. Matthews' work as an instructional designer, educator, and teacher-leader focus on advocacy for enhancing educational opportunity for all students through a social justice approach to teaching and learning to empower teachers to lead in the 21st century classroom.

Tim Needles is an artist, educator and author of STEAM Power. He’s a TEDx Talk speaker, technology integration specialist, and teaches art and emerging media at Smithtown Schools and Five Towns College. His work has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, Columbus Museum of Art, and the Norman Rockwell Museum. He’s the recipient of ISTE’s Technology in Action and Creativity Award, NAEA’s Eastern Region Art Educator Award & ArtEdTech Outstanding Teaching Award, and The Rauschenberg Power of Art Award. He’s also a board member of NYSCATE, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, an ISTE Community leader and NAEA ArtMediaTech chair.

Brianna Pride, a former Special Education Teacher, and Instructional Technology Coach, is the Supervisor of Instructional Technology Programs with the Buffalo Public Schools. She has a strong track record of success in creating and overseeing student programs and ensuring they are effective and engaging. Brianna is passionate about student agency and empowering students to become leaders in educational technology by providing opportunities to develop their skills, share their knowledge, and create innovative solutions that improve learning for themselves and their peers.

An educator passionate about instructional technology in the service of teaching and learning. ISTE Board member 2017-2020. ISTE Certified Educator. Proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Yaritza Villalba leads professional learning opportunities, centered on culturally responsive sustaining education (CRSE), to an international network of educators. With thirteen years of experience in Urban education, Yaritza supplies many effective strategies and resources for educating and supporting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous. and people of color) students and families. Over her career, Yaritza became an Assistant Principal and an author of culturally relevant children's books creating opportunities and experiences for students of color to gain fair access to resources that spark critical thinking and meaningful conversations in and out of the classroom.

Alana Winnick lives in New York City and currently holds key leadership positions as the Educational Technology Director and Data Protection Officer for Pocantico Hills Central School District in Sleepy Hollow, NY, and the Hudson Valley Director for The New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education (NYSCATE), where she blends her degrees, certifications, and experience in Childhood Education, Educational Technology, and Leadership. Alana is also the host of Generative Age, a live web show and podcast that explores the rapidly evolving world of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on education.

I am semi-retired from my position as an Educational Technology Specialist for the Mohawk Regional Information Center, where I spent the past 25 years providing technology integration services to 50 school districts in the Central & Northern New York state area. I have continued to work on special STEM-related projects for the MORIC since my retirement in September 2022. I am a member of the Board of Directors and a consultant for NYSCATE, an organization of dedicated technology using educators, committed to transforming teaching and learning, to provide students with an education that prepares them to live satisfying and productive lives.