Digital Equity Summit Steering Committee

Trina Davis, Digital Equity Summit Co-Chair, Texas A & M University*

Trina Davis, Ph.D. has a rich portfolio of experiences in educational technology and mathematics. Currently, Dr. Davis is an Assistant Professor in Instructional Design and Technology and the Director of eEducation in the College of Education at Texas A&M University. Her professional experience includes teaching at the middle school and college level in both rural and urban settings. Since 1997, Dr. Davis has provided leadership on signature technology programs in the College of Education and Human Development; including programs funded by the U. S. Department of Education (R*TEC, PT3 and Transition to Teach), the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board, the Houston Endowment, and NASA.

Currently, the eEducation Group, in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, is offering an online teacher certification program for secondary teachers. Dr. Davis is particularly proud of her vision in designing and co-developing the eEmpowerment Zone & Integrated ePortfolio System, a comprehensive elearning and assessment system that serves as the primary delivery system for the Accelerate Online program.

Trina Davis has also served on a host of expert panels and committees at the state and national level. In 2005, Dr. Davis was re-appointed by the Texas Commissioner of Education, to the Texas Education Agency, Educational Technology Advisory Committee (2005-2008), she served as the co-chair of the ETAC from 2001-2003. Currently, Trina is the Treasurer of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), she was re-elected to the ISTE Executive Board of Directors through 2007. In 2002, she served as the co-chair of the ISTE Minority Leadership Symposium. In 2004, Dr. Davis was the moderator and served on the Steering Committee of the ISTE Leadership Symposium held in conjunction with the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC).

Affiliation:
ISTE Executive Board of Directors–Treasurer
Assistant Professor and Director of eEducation
Texas A&M University

Sharnell Jackson, Digital Equity Summit Co–Chair, Chicago Public School System

Sharnell Jackson is presently the Chicago Public Schools Chief eLearning Officer and the Area VII Learning Technology Center Director for the Illinois State Board of Education where she has served as an administrator and educator for the past thirty years. She managed a CPS team to design, develop, provide professional development and end user support for an interactive web–based curriculum instruction management portal with a suite of interactive tools to enhance leadership, teaching and individualize student learning.

Sharnell is currently providing leadership to a team of dedicated educational technology specialists to train, deploy and provide end user support for personal digital assistant early literacy assessments for over four hundred and fifty elementary school teachers and principals. She has worked with International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) to develop a Principal's Technology Leadership Institute, Data Driven Decision Making professional development, National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) assessments, curriculum, and professional development for teachers, students, administrators available to all CPS schools.

Sharnell is currently a CoSN Board Member, a participating member on the ISTE Policy and Advocacy Committee. She has served on several blue ribbon panels, served as the Past President of the Illinois Computing Educators for the State of Illinois, refined the Illinois State Learning Standards for Space and Earth Science, and received several local and state teaching awards. She obtained an Administrative degree from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University in Evanston, Illinois. Sharnell received a Masters of Education degree in Mathematics and Science as part of fellowship with NASA's Classroom of the Future located on the campus of the Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling West Virginia. She has also served as a member of NASA's Master Teacher Cadre.

Sharnell's proudest accomplishment is being the mother of Jisun and Marty, grandma of Daja, and wife of thirty-one years to her wonderful husband Martin Jackson.

Mila Fuller, Director of Strategic Initiatives, ISTE

Mila M. Fuller, MA (mfuller@iste.org, 1.202.861.7777 ext. 125) is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Mila is responsible for helping the CEO in establishing and maintaining strategic alliances. She also assists with identifying and exploring partnerships with institutions, agencies and other organizations to further the ISTE mission and to address technology in teacher quality. Mila is Past–President of the ISTE affiliate, MICCA–An Association in Maryland for Educators Using Technology. Mila is based out of the ISTE Washington, DC Office, and has provided a variety of national and international presentations focused on improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in education.

Prior to joining ISTE, Mila served as a district–level Coordinator for Technology Leadership, Program Manager for the Maryland Technology Academy Satellite Programs, Adjunct Faculty of Education for the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, University of Maryland at College Park, and 4th/5th grade teacher. Mila also served as a member of the Committee on Technology in Education (COTE) which was responsible for the development of the Maryland State Plan for Technology. Mila earned a Master of Arts in Leadership in Teaching with an endorsement in Administration & Supervision from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, and is currently enrolled in a Doctoral Program at Towson University in Maryland.

Mike Aubin

Michael Aubin is currently the Managing Director of Digital Education Initiatives for Maryland Public Television, and serves as the project manager for Thinkport, a comprehensive K-12 online resource for teachers, students, and families featuring lesson plans, online video clips, electronic field trips, and tools to support teachers in integrating technology into the classroom. Mr. Aubin develops instructional technology classroom resources for both teachers and students involving digital delivery of multimedia-based content. He has been involved in instructional technology for the past 20 years as a classroom teacher, computer coordinator, district instructional technology director, and IT leader. He has served on advisory boards for both PBS Teachers and the Verizon Foundation’s Thinkfinity programs. He is a member of the initial cohort of the Johns Hopkins University and ISTE Administration and Supervision Certificate Program with a focus on instructional technology and leadership.

Bonnie Bracey Sutton, Independent Educational Consultant

Bonnie Bracey Sutton  is a teacher agent of change and a mentor teacher who works with technology integration projects nationally and internationally. One of the first teachers to promote the role of the Internet in the classroom, she was the only teacher selected by President Clinton to serve on the National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council. She also served as lead educator on President Clinton's 21st Century Teacher Initiative. In 1993, she was selected as a Christa McAuliffe Educator, and subsequently worked with NASA on various education programs. Currently she is a national and international educational consultant and in this capacity conducts outreach activities for the George Lucas Education Foundation and other groups. She is an advocate for STEM initiatives ( science, technology, engineering and math and works with the Supercomputing Conference as outreach to K-12. She is the recipient of the third OSDE Award from SITE.

The third Outstanding Service to Digital Equity Award from SITE was presented in 2004 toBonnie Bracey for her work as a change agent and reformer within the U.S. and abroad, including her collaboration with GLEF: the George Lucas Educational Foundation.(http://glef.org/foundation/speakersbios.php#bonnie)

Camilla Gagliolo, Arlington County Public Schools in Virginia*

Camilla Gagliolo holds a position as Instructional Technology Coordinator in Arlington County Public Schools in Virginia facilitating and leading technology integration to enhance teaching and learning. Her passion for innovation in education has made her one of the leaders in implementing new technologies in all curriculum areas internationally. Before commencing her position in Arlington County, she held the position of Director of Information Technology at Rock Creek International School in Washington D.C for 12 years. Educated in Sweden and the US, she maintains an informed global perspective through a very active schedule of professional involvement. She has served on the European Council of International School's Technology Committee for several years and is a Co–facilitator for ASCD's Overseas and International School Network. She also organizes workshops for technology coordinators and teachers in the Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland area, and continues to provide professional development for technology leaders and teachers locally and internationally. She facilitates and creates online professional development courses throughout the Northern Virginia school districts and is serving as an online mentor in the ISTE–HP Technology for Teaching program.

Camilla is currently serving ISTE as the President of SIGTC (2002–2006) and as the Chair of ISTE Board's International Committee (2002–2006). Camilla commenced her involvement with ISTE by her participation in expert forums building ISTE's NETS for students, teachers, and administrators. She's also been integrally involved with NECC 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 as a member of the NECC Program Advisory Program Committee and as Proposal Review Chair for the Professional Development and Online Professional Development strands as well as Global Gallery. Camilla has presented at numerous national and international conferences, including NECC, VSTE, MICCA, ECIS and FETC.

Alysse Grant, Atlanta Public Schools

Alysse Grant is currently the Learning Technologies Director for Atlanta Public Schools, a large urban school district.  She has extensive experience with Curriculum Development, Project Management, Professional Development, Presentations and Technology Productivity and Integration training.  She educates, communicates, coordinates and advocates with all units of educational institutions, corporations, business and organizations.  Alysse taught school for many years upon completion of her Master’s Degree in Education.  Upon completion of the Leadership and Administration Certification program, Alysse was selected for and completed the two-year Superintendent’s Academy for Building Leaders.  Currently, she is a doctoral student pursuing her Ed.D. in Leadership for Learning, with a concentration in Instructional Technology.  Her work with teaching and learning is driven by her sincere desire to enhance learning for all. 

Katie Klinger, National University, La Jolla, CA

Dr. Katie Klinger  is an associate faculty member in specialized programs in the School of Education at National University, the primary designer of the National University Virtual High School, and former lead faculty across California for the Educational Technology master's degree program. Klinger has more than twenty-five years of experience in teaching students of all ages how to use computer technology effectively in their lives and in their classrooms. She is responsible for writing grants and building relationships with external educational, business, and industry consortiums to support growth and innovation in curriculum development and learning resources, student scholarships for underrepresented youth, professional development for high-quality teachers, and standards-based evaluation and research. Klinger was the principal investigator on a $1.27 million PT3 U.S. Department of Education grant. She actively presents at international conferences and publishes on how to integrate technology into K-12 learning environments for faculty, K-12 educators, and pre-service teachers.

Elsa Macias, Center for Urban Education

Elsa Macias, Ph.D. is the Director of Research and Development at the Center for Urban Education (CUE), and Associate Research Professor at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include academic leadership and organizational change in urban colleges and universities, minority access to higher education, and educational technology.

Dr. Macias has spoken extensively on education and education technology issues at national conferences, including briefings with elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels. She has served in an advisory capacity to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), The Children's Partnership, and the Center for Media Education (CME), and has been funded by such noteworthy organizations as the National Science Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Dr. Macias received her Ph.D. in public administration from the Arizona State University School of Public Affairs, where her area of concentration was policy analysis. Her dissertation examined the course of federal policy decisions affecting bio–medical science research. She also holds master's and bachelor's degrees in biochemistry.

Aside from her current work, Dr. Macias has conducted research on several other issues, including the workforce pipeline for information technology careers, online content needs of Latino communities, an evaluation of the federal Head Start program, medical rehabilitation research, and establishing a national women's health research agenda at the National Institutes of Health.

Robert McLaughlin, ISTE SIGDE & NICI

Robert T. McLaughlin, Ph.D. is executive director of the National Institute for Community Innovations, a leader in digital equity solutions learning technology research and development. He founded and co-chaired the PT3 Program’s Digital Equity Network, founded and chairs ISTE special interest groups on digital equity and innovative learning technologies, and has served on the National Commission on Technology and the Future of Teacher Education since its inception in 2002. He presents and writes extensively about practical digital equity strategies, and through the nonprofit Digital Equity Service Center has led several pioneering initiatives to dramatically improve learners’ and educators’ affordable access to technology resources including the Virtual Library Co-op and Hardware Co-op. He also advises leadership groups such as the Big 21 Network, comprised of the superintendents and staff development system leaders of the nation’s 21 largest districts, regarding technologies that enhance learning and support knowledge management for continuous school improvement.

Joyce Pittman, Advisory Committee Chair, University of Cincinnati*

Dr. Joyce Pittman, founder of Urban Education Technology Research Associates, an applied research group and a professor of Curriculum and Instructional Technology. She received her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Instructional Technology from Iowa State University of Science and Technology. She began her career over 35 years ago in secondary education teaching in the Chicago area and across the country. From teaching in the public and private schools, she began to pursue a career in the corporate and higher education research and service community.

Dr. Pittman was the 2005 Digital Leadership Caucus Chair at NECC Philadelphia and is the recipient of the 2005 National Digital Equity Award from the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), the College and University Research Scholarly Award for her research contributing to the field of Ed Media, and the ISTE Making It Happen Leadership Award. She is an active member/co–founder of the National Digital Equity Task Force, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Education, a Member of the National Commission on the Future of Teacher Education and Technology (Association of Teacher Educators). She has received numerous awards for her contributions to education. Dr. Pittman has been a principal investigator for over $25M in federal funds during her career. Most recently, this included a $2.7M, PT3 initiative known as CERTI (Comprehensive Educational Restructuring, and Infusion). Her research agenda centers on educational reform with a focus that includes: educational and technology standards, online learning, digital equity, and teacher preparation. Dr. Pittman's works are published widely in books, journals, periodicals, online, and in other scholarly and popular publications. Dr. Pittman is an ISTE Board member and Co-Chair of Digital Equity SIG.

Dr. Pittman's future applied science research projects will involve working with higher education in the International community and with online universities to support technology infusion and educational equity in teacher education from an intercultural perspective. Contact her at e-mail: joyce.pittman@gmail.com or joycepittman51@yahoo.com.
Website: http://www.uc.edu/certi

Sylvester Robertson, California State University San Bernardino

Sylvester E. Robertson is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, College Of Education, California State University, San Bernardino, CA. His educational background consist of a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Secondary Education from Drake University, a Masters Degree (MA) in Teacher Education Training from Governor's State University, a Masters Degree in Educational Technology (MS), and a Doctorate in Institutional Management (Ed.D) with an emphasis in technology management from Pepperdine University. His professional experiences include teaching in elementary K–8, secondary 9–12, Chapter I coordinator (secondary), community and adult education, special educational consultant for Prescription Learning Corporation and manager of technology services for Pepperdine University, Malibu CA.

His current responsibilities at California State University at San Bernardino (CSUSB) are teaching technology credential courses to pre–service and in–service teachers. He has taught graduate courses for the Instructional Technology and Integrative Studies Programs. Sylvester has worked in this capacity as a full–time faculty member at CSUSB since 1990. His areas of expertise are integration of technology into instruction, reading in the content area (K–12), and development of instructional technology models for schools. He has supervised pre–service teachers within the five counties of Southern California and worked with schools in Moreno Valley, San Bernardino City, Snowline, Inglewood, and LAUSD School Districts.

Dr. Robertson believes that technology can be an effective tool for teachers to enhance their teaching and learning when matched with student needs and achievement. When technology is used as a delivery system to introduce content first, especially for students of color, learners use their strengths to overcome their weaknesses at a rate greater than the current rate of growth. Dr. Robertson has presented these concepts at local and national conferences throughout his tenure at California State University in San Bernardino.

Van Robinson, Chicago Public Schools

Van E. Robinson is an Organizational Field Manager for the Talent Development High Schools school reform model with Johns Hopkins University.  Her position is as a liaison between Johns Hopkins University and the Chicago Public Schools District, where she assists in managing the TDHS program in nine of the district’s high schools.  Ms. Robinson was previously a senior instructional facilitator in English language arts for the Talent Development High Schools model, working with coaches and teachers in Baltimore, MD; Kansas City, MO; Guilford County, NC and Los Angeles, CA.  During her career with the School District of Philadelphia, Ms. Robinson taught English at Germantown High School, where she taught Strategic Reading in the Ninth Grade Success Academy.  Ms. Robinson became a team leader and later co-coordinator of the Ninth Grade Success Academy.  She also performed as coordinator of the Twilight School program. Ms. Robinson holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education from Hampton University, and a Master’s degree in Computers & Technology in Education from Arcadia University.  She is currently enrolled in the first cohort of the JHU Graduate Certificate Program in School Administration & Supervision, which is in partnership with the International Society for Technology in Education.

James Smith, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington State

James L. Smith, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington State, Program Supervisor, ESEA Title II D, Enhancing Education Through Technology, Consolidated Federal Programs/Special Programs Unit. Mgr: $8,000,000 program.

Former Community Outreach Director for Generation Yes Inc; the organization that was formed to continue the success of the U.S. Department of Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant, Generation www.Y, 9–96 to 9–01, where Mr. Smith was the Program Support Specialist. This non–traditional staff development model began in the Olympia School District, Olympia, WA. Mr. Smith was instrumental in its expansion to forty–one states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Gen Y uses partnerships between students and teachers to infuse modern computer technologies into the classroom.

Prior to joining Gen Y Mr. Smith taught 2nd grade in Tacoma, WA; After 25 Years of Broadcast production, marketing and advertising in the Seattle area with CBS, NBC, and Independent Television and Radio stations. Smith is a Vietnam Era veteran, and holds a BA/BS in Journalism and Marketing from the University of Washington, and has completed two years toward a Master's in Teaching degree from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. (96–98)

Former Chairperson of the (ISTE) International Society of Technology in Education Minority Leadership Symposium, NECC Chicago, June 2001. Current Co–Chair of the ISTE Minority Leadership Online Community/Leadership Bureau. Member, METT, Washington State Multi–Ethnic Think Tank, http://www.k12.wa.us, NABSE–WABSE, National Alliance of Black School Educators, http://www.nabse.org/ Past President–elect of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Pierce County, WA. Alumni–Chair of the Economic Opportunities Program University of Washington Minority Affairs Dept. Alumni of Garfield HS, Seattle, WA along with Quincy Jones and Jimi Hendrix, the latter who Smith attended classes. NCCE, Northwest Counsel for Computer in Education, Board member. NECC, National Educational Computing Conference 2003, Student Showcase Co–Chair. Seattle, WA. Co Chair NECC Philadelphia Mayors Digital Leadership Caucus 2005.

Helen Soulé, Cable in the Classroom*

Helen Soulé, Ph.D., Executive Director of Cable in the Classroom, the cable telecommunication industry's education foundation. The mission of Cable in the Classroom is to improve teaching and learning for children in schools, at home and in their communities.

Previously Soulé served as chief of staff to the assistant secretary for the Office of Post Secondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education and for eight years, was director of the Mississippi Department of Education Office of Technology

Soulé is one of the founders and past chairman of the State Education Technology Directors Association, is a member of the George Lucas Educational Foundation Advisory Board and has served on the board of the Consortium for School Networking. She is the recipient of Converge magazine's 30 "Shapers of the Future" award for 2001 and a recipient of the 2001 E–School News "Impact 30 Award for Excellence".

Soulé holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Mississippi State University, M.A. in Educational Administration from Mississippi State University and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Laura E Sujo de Montes, Northern Arizona University

Laura E Sujo de Montes holds a M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) degree and a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies from New Mexico State University. Her work includes teaching in and researching learning environments, connecting schools and university in meaningful partnerships that emphasize the use of technology, especially for schools with high enrollment of ethnic minority students, and being an active member of several Latino organizations. She is presently a faculty member at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ where she coordinates the Educational Technology program and teaches online graduate and undergraduate technology courses.

James Sweet, Senior Vice President of Digital Education Architects

James Sweet is Senior Vice President of Digital Education Architects, an education consulting practice specializing in technology literacy, digital curriculum, and personalized learning. He previously served as Senior Program Associate in the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) at Learning Point Associates, Director of Online Learning for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and Research Associate in the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Sweet managed a multi-state NCREL research project that explored how selected high-performing schools use technology to help close achievement gaps. He has managed research and development projects involving technology literacy assessments and curriculum for students and technology integration assessments and professional development for teachers. At CPS, James designed and led a comprehensive technology infusion program that was archived in the 2000 Computerworld Smithsonian Collection. As part of this program, he designed a custom Internet application that enabled teachers to publish online curriculum projects and students to publish digital artifacts.

Sweet has presented at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC), the Illinois Technology Conference for Educators (IL-TCE), and NCREL's National Educational Technology Conference (NETC). He has also presented at the annual conferences of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), and the National Rural Education Association (NREA).

Carole Wacey, MOUSE

Carole Wacey joined the MOUSE team as Executive Director in early 2003. Carole's education expertise is focused in the areas of technology and interactive media.  Since joining MOUSE, the organization has grown from working in 32 schools in NYC to working over 100 schools in NYC, expanding to five states and creating partnerships with over 20 countries.

Prior to joining MOUSE, Carole was the Director of the Interactive Media for Children program at the Markle Foundation. Under her leadership, the IMC program worked to help realize the potential benefits of interactive media for children by building partnerships between industry, the academy and consumers.

Ms. Wacey came to Markle from her position as Deputy Director of the Office of Education Technology and Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Education. In that capacity, she provided leadership for the Clinton Administration on the development and implementation of national educational technology policy, e-Learning: Putting a World-Class Education at the Fingertips of All Children, and addressed issues such as telecommunications, the digital divide, Internet safety, privacy, and e-commerce.

Wacey received her B.A. in Economics from the American University, and her J.D. from Vermont Law School. She has also studied public international law at Oxford University, and Environmental Leadership at Yale University.

Carole has been actively involved with Vermont Law School (Board of Trustees:  2003-2006).  Carole also is a Member of the Board of Trustees and Treasurer for The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education:  2003-present.  She lives in Manhattan.  

Sandi Williams