Affiliate Membership Committee 2007–2008

Deborah E. Baker, Ph.D. (2006–2008)
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Brighton Central School District, Brighton, New York

In her role as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Debby oversees the curriculum development and alignment of instructional practice for the district’s 350 educators. The Brighton Central District is one of the country’s top rated districts which strives to be at the forefront of research-based instructional practices. Currently, the district’s 20/20 vision is guiding the work that Debby is leading including creating the 21st century learning environment where students can learn to become independent citizens in a diverse system. Debby's belief that technology is an integral part of that learning environment and her knowledge around how it can be applied helps shape the work she does throughout the district.

On a statewide level Debby serves as a board member for NYSCATE, the New York State affiliate and has coordinated the exhibit floor for the organization’s annual conference for the past nine years. She is also extensively involved in the EdTech Advocacy Network (ETAN) at both the state and national levels and participates regularly in the technology Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. each spring.

Ren Baldwin (2006–2009)
Director of Technology, St. Joseph Public Schools, St. Joseph, Michigan

Ren has worked for St. Joseph, MI Schools since 1969. He spent the first 25 years as a Choral Director and music teacher in the St. Joe Fine Arts department. In 1984, in addition to music classes, Ren began teaching Computer Use classes at Upton Middle School. In 1997, he became Director of Technology for the district.

In his role as Director of Technology, Ren has led his district in the development of its technology use in all areas, including technology planning, student use, curricular integration, instructional delivery, infrastructure development, and administrative applications. One of the recent major initiatives he led was the implementation of a district wide teleconferencing, or Distance Learning program.

Ren has been a member of MACUL (Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning), a Michigan ISTE Affiliate, for more than 25 years. He has been on the MACUL Board of Directors since 2002 and served as Conference Chair in 2005 and Board President in 2005-2006. Ren has served as a MACUL ISTE Affiliate Representative since 2005 and was elected to the ISTE Affiliate Executive Committee in 2006.

James Bolton (2006–2008)
Program Head for Educational Leadership, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Edinboro, PA

Dr. James Bolton currently is the ISTE Affiliate Representative for the Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and Technology (PAECT). As a member of the Affiliate Executive Board, Jim is the Chair of the Policies and Procedures Committee. He is the Past President of PAECT. During his presidency, PAECT was the host affiliate for NECC ’05 in Philadelphia. During his terms of president and vice president, Dr. Bolton served as the Conference Chair for the PAECT State Conference. His efforts lead to helping to develop a partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), Pennsylvania State Business Officials (PASBO), Pennsylvania Educational Technology Conference (PETC), and the Pennsylvania Instructional Media Services (PAIMS) to form the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Exposition and Conference. Dr. Bolton is also a Charter Member of NPAECT and CPAECT, which are local organization in northwest and central Pennsylvania.

Dr. Bolton’s 30+ years in education has provided him the opportunity to have 22 years in the classroom at the high school and middle school levels. During this time he became involved with technology to the extent of coauthoring the first technology grant to build his district’s first computer lab which moved their computers out of the janitor’s closet to the classroom. He continued his efforts to impact teaching and learning for students and educators as the Director of Curriculum and Technology. Dr. Bolton is currently the Chair of Professional Studies at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where he teaches in the Educational Leadership Program. He has been highly involved in changing the perspective of future leaders and administrators in their approach to leadership and technology. Along with his faculty, the program has moved to an extensive and Nationally Recognized online program for educational leadership.

Ron Cravey (2006–2008)
Executive Director, Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA)

Ron Cravey, the Executive Director for TCEA, oversees the operations of TCEA, develops programs, and provides information and recommendations to the Board of Directors. Cravey grew up in far West Texas and graduated from Pecos High School in 1970. He has been an oilfield worker and a custodian. He taught for 19 years and served in several Central Office positions for 8 years before coming to TCEA in March 2001. He has been a member of TCEA for over 20 years.

Ron holds a Masters in Education and a superintendent's certificate and is currently working on his Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Besides his work supporting technology in education, he also entertains and has done several openings of school presentations. He stated, "I am proud to be able to build on the marvelous work done by previous Executive Directors and the TCEA Board of Directors. Educating kids excites me and the way technology can be used to help teachers excites me even more."

Katherine Hayden, Ph.D. (2006–2008)
Associate Professor, California State University, San Marcos
Affiliate Committee Chair

Dr. Katherine Hayden is an associate professor at California State University, San Marcos. As coordinator of a professional development grant in California, she was responsible for the design and implementation of teacher and administrator training aligned with both the ISTE administrator standards for technology and state guidelines for administrator training. Her research involves teaching online and virtual communities and best practices for videoconferencing in K–12 learning. She has been involved in the development of customized professional development, technology planning and grant writing for school districts for more than 15 years.

Katherine is Past President of the Board of Directors for California Computer Using Educators and was the Regional Chair of Marketing, Volunteers and Partnerships for the 2006 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Diego. She believes in technology as an integral part of the educational experience and has worked extensively with students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members in order to promote the use of technology as a tool in education and lifelong learning. She has participated in projects in higher education at the national, district, county, and state levels in order to initiate change in teaching and learning.

Ryan Imbriale (2006–2008)
Assistant Principal, Perry Hall High School, Perry Hall, Maryland

Ryan Imbriale is currently an Assistant Principal at Perry Hall High School in Perry Hall, Maryland.  Perry Hall is a comprehensive four-year high school with more than 2,300 students in a suburban area north of Baltimore.

Prior to joining the administrative staff at Perry Hall, Ryan was the e-Learning Specialist for the Baltimore County Public Schools.  In this role, Ryan worked with online stakeholders including vendors, school administrators, instructors, parents, students, mentors, and the community to delivery a comprehensive e-Learning program district-wide.  Prior to coming to Baltimore County he was Facilitator of the Maryland Students Online Consortium, working with 17 Maryland school systems to review, pilot, evaluate, modify, and recommend online courses for students, as well as Program Coordinator for Professional Development at The Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education.

Ryan has extensive experience presenting to national and international audiences on online learning, technology infusion, curriculum design, and effective professional development models. Additionally, he teaches graduate classes for The Johns Hopkins University in project-based learning and advanced instructional strategies.  Ryan is also the immediate Past-President of MICCA, Maryland's ISTE Affiliate, and is a member of the ISTE Board of Directors.

Helen Padgett, Ph.D. (2006–2008)
Faculty, Arizona State University

Helen Padgett is the Chair of the ISTE Board Membership and Publications Committees and is a member of the Affiliate and the Policy and Procedures Committees. Helen worked on the development of the Sister Affiliate Initiative between 22 Australia/New Zealand Affiliates and United States Affiliates sharing organization management and professional development ideas and resources. She continues to work on Public Policy and Advocacy issues through ETAN which provides a forum for educators to engage in the political process and project a unified voice in support of improving teaching and learning through the systemic use of technology.

Helen’s involvement with ISTE includes serving as Program Chair for NECC ’91 in Phoenix, AZ, participating as a member of the writing team for the ISTE publication, NETS•T Resources for Assessment, presenting at NECC, and serving as the ISTE liaison for her local affiliate - Arizona Technology in Education Alliance (AzTEA). As project manager for two Arizona State University Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grants, Helen facilitated the development of a National Educational Technology Standards Digital Video Library (NETSDVL) and the development and implementation of the Integration of Technology Observation Instrument (ITOI).

During Helen’s career as a K–12 teacher and administrator, she developed a passion for integrating technology into the curriculum to improve student learning and achievement. She has designed and conducted professional development for teachers, administrators, parents, university faculty members, and business leaders. As a faculty member at Arizona State University, Helen presents and models standards-based technology integration lessons to preservice and inservice teachers.  Helen’s areas of research include assessment/classroom observation, technology integration and emerging technologies.

Jill Pierce (2006–2009)
Educational Technology Trainer,  Athens, Tennessee

Jill is currently a trainer working with schools across the state of Tennessee providing training on using instructional technology.  Jill worked for the last eleven years as the Technology Coordinator of Loudon County Schools. She had formed relationships with individuals in many school systems at the state and national levels to find solutions to issues that benefited not only Loudon County but other constituents as well.

Jill is currently serving on the ISTE Public Policy and Advocacy Committee. Jill has served as a member of the TETA (Tennessee Educational Technology Association), an ISTE Affiliate, for 11 years, and is the ISTE Liaison for TETA. Formally serving on TETA Board of Directors for eight years as chair, vice chair, and secretary for six of the eight years, Jill was the co-chair of the first Administrative Technology Academy. This endeavor began in East Tennessee and is now held in all of the three grant regions of the state. The State Department of Education recognizes leadership credit for participation at this one-day conference. As a result of Jill’s association with TETA she has been involved in organizing and implementing TETA’s Annual Statewide Summer Institute every year it has been held in East Tennessee.

Ralph Leonard (2007–2009)
General Manager Information Economy, Department of Further Education, Employment
Science and Technology, Government of South Australia

Ralph Leonard has over 30 years experience in the application of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in a variety of settings. This work, predominantly within education and government, has involved both the formation of policy advice and strategies for the use of ICT services and the design, development and management of pioneering systems.

Ralph has been an active volunteer within ISTE-affiliated professional associations for educational technology. He has served in leadership roles as President (1996–2002) of the Computers in Education Group of South Australia (CEGSA), a Board Member (since 1997) and current President (elected 2003) of the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE). Ralph has been the conference convenor (1998) and financial manager (2004) for the Australian Computers in Education Conference, the biennial national event of ACCE. He has served on ISTE’s International Committee since 2005 and was a member of the International Judging Panel for the ThinkQuest International Competition in 2005 and 2006. In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society for his long and dedicated commitment to the support of educational technology.

Ralph’s career in education includes diverse roles as a teacher, professional development trainer, software designer, online resource developer and author. In 1994 he transitioned to a consulting role and formed an independent consulting company in 1997. In 2003 he was appointed to a senior policy position in state government and is currently employed as General Manager, Information Economy in the South Australian Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology.