CoSN CTO Clinic

	About CoSN Chapters CTO Clinics Texas, June 2006 Colorado, January 2007

Speakers

Speakers Subject to Change

Jon Bernstein
President, Bernstein Strategy Group

Mr. Bernstein has been working on education, education technology and telecommunications issues since 1995. Currently, Mr. Bernstein advises and represents the Consortium for School Networking and the International Society for Technology in Education on issues related to the E-Rate program, education technology and federal education appropriations. He also counsels established corporations, such as IBM, Intel and Cox Communications on a wide-range of public policy issues. Prior to launching the Bernstein Strategy Group, Mr. Bernstein served as Vice President at Leslie Harris & Associates, where he worked with all of his current clients and the National Education Association, the State Educational Technology Directors Association, Time Warner, Verizon and WGBH in Boston. Before assuming his position at Leslie Harris & Associates, Mr. Bernstein served as an Attorney Advisor with the Federal Communications Commission, lobbied for the National Education Association, served as legislative counsel for The Lightspan Partnership and worked as a Legal Fellow for Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Mary Ann Beseda
Technology Director, Spring ISD

Mary Ann has served as Technology Director for Spring ISD for nine years. Her prior experience includes computer systems consulting for Accenture and Corporate Software and project management for Coca-Cola Foods. She has a B.A. degree in economics from Texas Tech University and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas.

Chris Dede
Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Technology in Education, Harvard University Graduate School of Education

Chris Dede is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Learning Technologies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. His fields of scholarship include emerging technologies, policy, and leadership. His funded research includes a grant from the National Science Foundation to aid middle school students learning science via shared virtual environments and a Star Schools grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help high school students with math and literacy skills using wireless mobile devices to create augmented reality simulations. Chris has served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Foundations of Educational and Psychological Assessment, a member of the U.S. Department of Education’s Expert Panel on Technology, and International Steering Committee member for the Second International Technology in Education Study. He serves on Advisory Boards and Commissions for PBS TeacherLine, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, and several federal research grants. In addition, Chris is a member of the Board of Directors of the Boston Tech Academy, an experimental small high school in the Boston Public School system, funded by the Gates Foundation. He was the Editor of the 1998 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Yearbook, Learning with Technology and recently completed a co-edited book on Scaling Up Success: Lessons Learned from Technology-based Educational Innovation, published by Jossey-Bass in 2005. Chris led a NSF-funded invitational research conference at Harvard last September on online teacher professional development; Harvard Education Press will publish that conference volume next summer.

Luke Fox
Chief Information Officer, Spring Branch ISD

Mr. Fox graduated from the United State Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1984 and was commissioned into the Infantry. He served in various leadership positions in the Army in the United States, Korea, and Germany. Mr. Fox helped deploy his unit from Germany to Kosovo in 1999 as part of the initial peace-keeping force. While in Kosovo, he helped design and build the communication network to provide proper command and control throughout the United States sector and back to Germany. In 2000, Mr. Fox became the Chief of the Information Systems Department at the United States Army Transportation School at Fort Eustis, Virginia. He managed Information Technology systems, a network operations center, and directed the development of distance learning courses taught worldwide. In 2002, Mr. Fox was assigned to the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York where he directed operations of the Academy’s Information Systems Division, providing information technology management, technology procurement, network administration, and Information Assurance. Upon retirement from the Army in 2004, Mr. Fox became the Chief Information Officer for the Spring Branch Independent School District. Mr. Fox has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the United States Military Academy and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems from Bowie State University.

C. Jackson Grayson, Jr., PhD
Chairman, American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC)

Dr. C. Jackson Grayson, Jr. has a bachelor's degree from Tulane University, an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in business from Harvard Business School. His academic career has included professorships at Harvard, Stanford, Tulane and SMU and he has acted as dean of two business schools - Tulane University and SMU - where he became known for instituting innovations in business education.

Dr. Grayson is a CPA and has been on the board of directors of a number of large corporations. Dr. Grayson's career, however, is not confined to business. He believes in variety, constant learning, experimentation and fun. His career has included being a newspaper reporter in New Orleans, a special agent of the FBI, a manager of a cotton farm in Louisiana, a member of an export-import firm and an owner of race horses.

In November 2003, Dr. Grayson received a Distinguished Service Medal from the American Society for Quality for: ".sustained distinguished service to the quality profession through his contribution as the initiator of quality improvement programs at the national, state and local levels and his continuing challenge to take quality into every aspect of human life."

Jim Hirsch
Associate Superintendent for Technology, CIO, Plano ISD

Mr. Hirsch is in his 31st year serving public education and promoting the use of educational technology. During that time he has worked with thousands of teachers across the U.S. and Canada to integrate technology into their daily classroom activities and hundreds of school districts on strategic technology planning and curriculum design. Mr. Hirsch is a Past-Chair of the Board for the Consortium for School Networking, a Washington, DC-based advocacy group, serves on editorial advisory boards for Scholastic Administr@tor and eSchool News, is a member of the Eduventures K-12 Technology Panel and has served on education advisory panels for Apple Computer, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Palm Computing, Dallas Morning News and Knowledge Adventure. He is also active in the national Society for Information Managers as well as the Dallas CIO Council and Texas K-12 CTO Council. Recent recognitions include being named as an Ed Tech Leader of the Year Finalist by Technology + Learning magazine. He has published more than 90 articles on educational technology, most recently a series on technology leadership for AASA. Mr. Hirsch has also written three books, with his latest book, 'Palmtops: Computing @ Every Student', published by FTC, released in Fall 2002.

Rich Kaestner
Project Director, Total Cost of Ownership and Value of Investment, CoSN

Mr. Kaestner was responsible for coordinating the development of the CoSN-Gartner K-12 TCO tool and provide support and training for this web-based tool. He is also focusing on CoSN ubiquitous student computing and Value of Investment initiatives. Prior to CoSN, Mr. Kaestner developed a strong technology background in sales, support and management for various vendors, most recently as a consultant with Gartner.

Keith Krueger, CAE
CEO, CoSN

Mr. Krueger is CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), a national nonprofit that promotes the use of information technologies and the Internet in K-12 classrooms to improve learning. He has a Masters of Arts in Public Affairs from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. He serves on the Advisory Board for The New York Times Learning Network, onCourse, eSchool News, Riverdeep and Scholastic Administr@tor Magazine. He is a representative for the National Science Foundation on a joint EU/US committee planning a joint research agenda for eLearning. He is a past Board Member for the Organizations Concerned about Rural Education (OCRE) and the National Committee on Technology in Education & Training (NCTET). He has been honored as an eSchool News IMPACT 30 key U.S. leader in educational technology.

Alice Owen, PhD
Executive Director of Technology, Irving ISD

Dr. Owen is a veteran educator, who been a bilingual teacher, principal, staff development director, adjunct professor, technology director and served as the executive director for a non-profit organization, the Texas Computer Education Association in Austin. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master's degree from Austin College and her Doctorate from the University of North Texas (UNT). Dr.Owen's background also includes conducting research at the Texas Center for Educational Technology (TCET), supervising student teachers through the Center for Professional Development & Technology (CPDT) at UNT and teaching on-line university courses. Dr. Owen has also served on a national committee sponsored by the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) and the National Institute for Community Innovations (NICI) to develop standards for online professional development. The work of the committee was recently published in the Journal of Staff Development as well as a publication entitled, E-Learning for Educators. Dr. Owen has also written for ISTE's journal, Learning & Leading with Technology. She is a member of CoSN and serves as secretary to the newly created Texas K-12 CTO Council, an affiliate of CoSN.

Harold R. Rowe
Associate Superintendent, Technology and School Services, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Mr. Rowe has over 35 years of experience in the field of information technology. Prior to joining the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District, the 3rd largest school district in Texas, serving 87,000 students at 60 campuses, Mr. Rowe held technology management positions in the aerospace, manufacturing and mortgage banking industries. Mr. Rowe joined CFISD in 1991 as Director of Information Services. In 1994 Mr. Rowe was appointed Sr. Director of Technology Services and was named Assistant Superintendent for Technology Services in 1999. In this role, Mr. Rowe was responsible for all instructional and administrative technology systems. In 2003 Mr. Rowe was named Associate Superintendent for Technology and School Services and is responsible for technology, transportation, plant maintenance and housekeeping operations. Mr. Rowe holds a B.S. Degree in Mathematics and an M.B.A in Systems Management.

Gray Salada
Chief Information Officer, Austin ISD

Gray Salada is the CIO for the Austin Independent School District. His office is responsible for the overall planning, implementation, operation, and maintenance of information systems and processes for AISD and its 80,000 students and 10,000 staff. This includes communications network, hardware and software infrastructure as well as data management, report generation and technology customer support.

Betty Sanders, PhD
Director of Instructional Technology, Bryan ISD

With 30 years of education experience, Betty Sanders is the Director of Instructional Technology for Bryan Independent School District. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Teaching (Elementary Education) from Sam Houston State University, a Master of Education (Curriculum and Instruction) from Texas A&M University, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Administration) from Texas A&M University. In addition to her current responsibilities, Dr. Sanders also has experience as a classroom teacher, a professional development specialist, a technology specialist, and a project director. She has been involved in a 1:1 laptop initiative in Bryan ISD for the past two years, as both a grant writer and project director. Dr. Sanders has written for T.H. E. Journal. She is a member of the Texas Computer Education Association, the Consortium for School Networking, the National Staff Development Council, and the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Linda Sharp
Project Director, Cyber Security for the Digital District, CoSN

Linda Sharp is an education and learning professional with over 30 years experience. She is currently Project Manager for CoSN’s Cyber Security and Accessible Technology for All Students Initiatives. Prior to her work with CoSN, Linda worked with AlphaSmart, Inc as Vice President of Professional Services and Vice President of Sales. Linda was responsible for customer and internal professional development, curriculum integration support, and overall revenue growth. Linda was responsible for training materials, developed and implemented the AlphaSmart Certified Trainer and AlphaGrant programs, and served as liaison to education community. Linda also worked with Educational Resources as Director of Staff Developmen and Western Regional Sales Manager. Prior to her work in the education industry, Linda was a teacher, coach and District Technology Advisor for Cherry Creek Schools in Englewood, CO where she provided leadership and coordination for schools in the area of technology integration, long range planning and staff development. She served as Project Manager of the Middle School Technology Bond Project and coordinated 2.5 million dollar technology bond for district middle schools where she was responsible for network design, technology purchasing and training. Linda has a BA in Education from University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO and a MA in Education Technology from Lesley College, Boston, MA.

Irene Spero
Vice President, CoSN, and Project Director, Data-Driven Decision Making: Vision to Know and Do, CoSN

In addition to her positions with CoSN, Ms. Spero is also the Director, External Relations, at NetDay (www.netday.org), an organization dedicated to expanding the technology opportunities of students. Prior to joining CoSN in 2003, Ms. Spero was the first executive director of SchoolTone Alliance, a global consortium of education technology and service provider companies. Ms. Spero served as Director of External Relations at the Web-based Education Commission where she was responsible for directing its outreach efforts, organizing its public hearings and managing its public relations and communications efforts. The Commission submitted its report, The Power of the Internet for Learning: Moving from Promise to Practice, to Congress and the President in December 2000. Ms Spero worked for 16 years as Executive Director for Federal and State Relations at the College Board. Based in Washington DC, her primary responsibility was to represent the interests of the association by conducting and directing a comprehensive government relations program at the federal and state level. As the College Board's representative, Ms. Spero was frequently asked to advise policymakers and comment on issues relating to the transition from secondary to higher education, access and equity issues. In that capacity, she testified before congressional committees and state legislative bodies and appeared at national education association meetings. Ms. Spero received a BA degree cum laude with honors in political science from Bryn Mawr College and an MA in Public Law from Columbia University.

Ernie Stripling
Technology Information Officer, Denton ISD

As the Technology Information Officer for Denton ISD since May 2000, Ernie Stripling has brought major changes to the DFW Texas metroplex school district. His first implementation was to reorganize the Technology Division into a "customer first" driven technology help center for all staff. He worked to redefine the network from an ATM architecture to Cisco's Gigabit high speed WAN. "Denton ISD has been very lucky to have had its own leased fiber optic network WAN since 1996." This was a leased service from the city-owned Denton Municipal Electric. Today, with all the recent and future growth in and around the Denton ISD area which covers 180 square miles, "We have had to rethink our financial support model with the uncertainty of school finance. It was a business decision to move the yearly leased fiber service from our M&O budget to a long term bond expense with eventually owning our own fiber optic infrastructure plant." The new meshed 65 mile Denton ISD fiber optic network was fully operational in October 2005. Today The Technology Division has a world class Help Desk that provides personalize service to an average of 300 calls per day. Every port in every switch, server and application in every building is monitored from the Helpdesk with Cisco's CIC - Cisco Information Center through a complex series of SNMP connections. "We want to know there is a problem before the teachers know it. This way we are able to keep the services we support up and running and provide a better service level for our district while protecting the classroom instruction time." Denton ISD was the first school district in the nation to convert to an all Cisco VoIP telephony system in September 2001. Today the district is served by approximately 4,000 Cisco IP phones and video phones. DISD also has implemented Cisco's E911 to every campus phone for superior emergency services.

Greg Veal
Executive Director of Technology, Lewisville ISD

Biograpical sketch not provided.

Micha Villarreal
Director of Instructional Technology, Ysleta ISD

Micha Villarreal is Director of Instructional Technology with Ysleta Independent School District. Mrs. Villarreal has 16 years of teaching and campus/district administrative experience. Under her leadership, the district has received more than three million in competitive grants, including the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Technology Immersion Project (TIP) grant and the TEA TARGET grant. Mrs. Villarreal manages all major functions of the district’s instructional technology focus: District Library Services, Career and Technology Education Program (CATE), Instructional Technology Professional Development programs, and Acceleration, Remediation, and Credit Recovery services (ARC). Mrs. Villarreal is currently working to refresh the more than 3800 teacher laptops in the district.

Julie Wallace
Executive Director of Technology, Birdville ISD

Julie Wallace joined BISD as Executive Director of Technology and Information Management Systems in July 2003. She oversees and manages the operation of the Technology Department, which includes Instructional Technology, Network and Technical Support Services, Telecommunications and Information Management Systems, along with PEIMS and Records Management. Julie has more than 14 years of experience in technology. She served as director of technology and information management services at Tuloso-Midway from 1998 to 2003, where she started the Coastal Bend Cisco User’s Group. She was the career and technology/secondary instructional technology director at Richardson ISD and prior to that served as CATE/technology administrator in Corpus Christi and Kingsville, Texas. She taught high school computer courses for five years and served as an adjunct professor in educational technology at Southern Methodist University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 1998 to 1999. She co-wrote “Powerful Partnerships: School-to-Careers Success through Business and Education Cooperation” that was published by the American Vocational Association in 1996. Wallace earned her bachelor’s degree in business management from Texas A&I University in Kingsville and master’s degree in education administration from Texas A&M University, Kingsville. She is a member of Texas Computer Educator’s Association (TCEA) and served on the TCEA Board in 2002-2003.

Lee Whitcraft
President, School Technology Solutions

Lee Whitcraft currently is president of School Technology Solutions, a company he formed to provide Chief Technology Officer services to K12 schools. Lee recently retired from TIES, a Minnesota K12 education technology cooperative, after 35 years of service. He served the past seven years as Co-Executive Director and has over 25 years of technology leadership and management experience. Mr. Whitcraft earned his MBA from the University of < ST1:PLACENAME w:st="on">St. Thomas. School Technology Solutions is a member of the CoSN, Minnesota Association of School Administrators and the Association of Education Service Agencies.

Ed Zaiontz
Chair, Texas K-12 CTO Council
Executive Director, Information Services, Round Rock ISD

Mr. Zaiontz has spent 31 years in K-12 education including teaching middle school math, serving as RRISD's Director of Instructional Technology, and for the last 14 years, serving as the Executive Director of Round Rock ISD's Information Services department. Mr. Zaiontz also serves as the chair of CoSN's CTO Council and is currently the chair of the newly created Texas K-12 CTO Council, CoSN's first state chapter.