Year
2026
Award Winners
2026: Berj Akian
2025: Christine Weiser
2024: Ari Flewelling
2023: Monica Cougan
2022: Adam Garry
2021: Mary Schlegelmilch
2020: Lillian Kellogg
2019: Gavin Lee
2018: Gus Schmedlen
2017: Sean McDonough
2016: John Harrington
2015: Gary Mainor
2014: Vicki Bigham
2013: Michael Flood
2012: Elizabeth Crawford
2011: Robert Moore
2010: Anne Wujcik
2009: Nick Mirisis
2008: Christopher Brown
2007: Farimah Schuerman
2006: Lillian Kellogg
2005: Linda Winter
2004: David Byer
2003: Steve Kohn
2002: Jennifer House
2001: Kathy Hurley
2000: Jeanne Hayes
CoSN works with many companies and individuals in the private sector who are making important contributions to education technology. Each year we recognize one person who has had an outstanding impact on the EdTech community outside of the confines of his or her job.
Eligibility
All CoSN members who work in the private sector are eligible. Past winners have included leaders from education and technology companies and beyond. The winner is selected each year by CoSN leadership and announced at the CoSN Annual Conference in March/April. There is no nomination process for this award. Honoring an individual from the private sector for outstanding service to the education technology community and CoSN.
2026 Award Winner: Hurley Private Sector Champion Award
Berj Akian, CEO, Classlink
Akian’s engagement with the education technology community spans decades and includes sustained support for CoSN and its mission. He founded ClassLink in 1998 and has led the company’s growth into a global education technology platform serving more than 21 million students and educators across all 50 states and 36 countries.
Beyond his professional leadership, Akian demonstrates a deep personal commitment to learning. With advanced degrees in instructional design, cognitive science, and learning analytics — and a newly earned Ph.D. in cognitive science — he embodies lifelong learning.
