1EdTech
Ask the Experts
Rob Abel
1EdTech CEO
Rob Abel is CEO of 1EdTech. He is available to speak on the evolution of educational technology, current trends and innovations as well as the ongoing work of 1EdTech.
Beatriz Arnillas
1EdTech VP of Product Management
Beatriz Arnillas is Vice President of Product Management at 1EdTech. She is available to speak on 1EdTech standards, certifications and ongoing projects.
Tim Clark
1EdTech VP K-12 Programs
Tim Clark is Vice President of K-12 Programs at 1EdTech. He is available to speak on trends in K-12, leveraging educational technology to improve teaching and learning and strategic collaboration between K-12 districts and state education departments.
Sandra DeCastro
1EdTech VP Marketing and Higher Ed Programs
Sandra DeCastro is Vice President of Community and HED Programs for 1EdTech. She is available to speak on trends in Higher Education, strategic partnerships and collaborations between institutions and the future of technology in higher education.
Blaine Helmick
1EdTech VP Software
Blaine Helmick is Vice President of Software at 1EdTech. He is available to discuss product creation and technological solutions.
Jeanne Imbraile
1EdTech VP Operations and Member Relations
Jeanne Imbraile is the Vice President of Operations and Member Relations for 1EdTech. She is available to discuss data privacy practices, instructional technology and educational leadership.
Mark Leuba
1EdTech Consulting VP
Mark Leuba is a Consulting Vice President at 1EdTech. He is available to discuss digital credentials.
1EdTech Board of Directors
Emily Bell
Chief Information Officer, Fulton County Schools
Emily Bell is the Chief Information Officer for Fulton County Schools in Georgia. She is a 20+ year educator who seeks to understand, plan, and develop innovative technology strategies for optimal productivity within the district. Emily holds degrees in English Education from Florida State University and Instructional Technology and Education Leadership from Valdosta State University provide the foundation for authentic work experiences in classrooms, online learning environments, and business operations.
Thomas Cavanagh, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Digital Learning, University of Central Florida
Thomas Cavanagh, Ph.D. is Vice Provost for Digital Learning at the University of Central Florida. In this role, he oversees the distance learning strategy, policies, and practices of one of the nation’s largest universities. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and often consults with other institutions regarding academic innovation. Tom’s research interests include e-learning, technical communication, and the societal influence of technology on education, training, culture, and commerce and he has published extensively in both peer-reviewed and popular outlets.
Annie Chechitelli
Chief Product Officer, Turnitin
Annie Chechitelli has spent the past two decades innovating with educators to expand access to education, meet the quickly changing needs of learners, and empower students to do their best, original work. As the Chief Product Officer at Turnitin, Annie oversees the Turnitin suite of applications which include academic integrity, grading and feedback, and assessment capabilities. Prior to joining Turnitin, Annie spent over five years at Amazon where she led Kindle Content for School, Work, and Government and launched the AWS EdTech Growth Advisory team, advising education technology companies on how to grow their product and go-to-market strategies with AWS.
Jim Chilton
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Cengage
Jim Chilton currently serves as Cengage Group Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As of May 2022, Jim also assumed the role of acting General Manager for Infosec, part of the Cengage Work business. Jim is a seasoned technology and business executive with an extensive background and deep expertise in technology optimization from technical product engineering to business systems management, process management, cybersecurity, and customer support. Prior to joining Cengage Group, Jim held executive leadership positions at a broad range of companies in the enterprise software, high-tech, and education industries, including Dassault Systèmes and SolidWorks.
Ed Clark, Ed.D
Chief Information Officer, California State University, Office of the Chancellor
Ed Clark, Ed.D., is a technology leader with decades of experience in higher education practices and has overseen institutional digital transformation initiatives ranging from online learning and course delivery to academic research computing, student recruitment, and retention. Ed is currently the CIO for the California State University (CSU), the largest university system in the United States, comprising 23 campuses, over 50,000 staff, and more than 470,000 students. Ed’s role is to serve as a strategic partner for the Chancellor’s Executive Team and collaborate with university campus presidents and their chief information officers to catalyze strategic and innovative administrative and academic technology initiatives to advance the mission of the CSU.
Christopher Davis, Ph.D.
Vice President of Academic Services and Quality, University of Maryland, Global Campus
Dr. Chris Davis serves as Vice President of Academic Services and Quality at the University of Maryland Global Campus. In over two decades in higher education, he has served in a variety of leadership and faculty roles at multiple universities in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Dr. Davis did his undergraduate work in sociology and Ph.D. in urban, technological, and environmental planning at the University of Michigan. He has also earned a Master's of Science in Higher Education Leadership from Capella University, a Master's of Science in Psychology from Walden University, and a Master's of Business Administration in IT Management and Accounting from Western International University.
Sarah DeMark, Ph.D.
Vice Provost of Workforce Intelligence & Credential Integrity, Western Governors University
Sarah DeMark serves as vice provost of Workforce Intelligence & Credential Integrity at Western Governors University, where she has worked since 2014. She is a strong advocate for creating skills-based credentials that benefit and align both individuals and employers to improve workforce development. She helps keep WGU at the forefront of competency-based education by leading the university’s credential integrity strategy and ensuring all program offerings align with in-demand and workforce-relevant skills. While at WGU, Sarah has also served as the vice president of program development and the vice president of General Education innovation. In addition, she currently serves as the interim Executive Director of the Open Skills Network, a 1700-member coalition dedicated to advancing an open skills-based education and hiring ecosystem.
Debbie Durrence, Ed.D
Chief Data Officer, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Debbie Durrence, Ed.D. currently serves as the Chief Data Officer in the Division of Data Governance for Gwinnett County Public Schools. The school district is in metro Atlanta and serves a very diverse population of over 180,000 students. She oversees the teams in student data management, data integration, data governance, state and federal reporting, data privacy, as well as SIS reporting. Prior to that role she served as the school district’s Executive Director of Accountability and Assessment in which she led the team that developed and administered a district assessment program, provided staff development regarding assessment literacy, and supervised the administration of all standardized assessments.
Nicole Engelbert
Vice President of Higher Education Development, Oracle Corporation
Nicole Engelbert is vice president of higher education development at Oracle. She is responsible for engaging the industry ecosystem to develop thought leadership and best practice with cloud technology and to use those insights to guide the development of Oracle’s higher education solutions including its Student Cloud product suite.
Prior to Oracle, Nicole served as the Director of Research & Analysis at Ovum where she spent the last decade advising institutions globally on critical areas such as cloud migration, legacy modernization, emerging technologies, and student experience.
Linda Feng
Vice President of Architecture, D2L Corporation
Linda Feng is currently Vice President of Architecture at D2L (Desire2Learn), a leading learning platform company at the heart of the largest transformation to modernize education and the Future of Work. At D2L, Linda serves in a senior leadership role, reporting directly to the chief technology officer and being accountable for strategic planning for technology alignment, innovation leadership, strategic partnerships, data strategy, scalability, and more.
She has helped design infrastructure and data processes for large-scale learning analytics implementation and provided subject matter expertise for major publishers and edtech companies related to implementations involving 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global) standards, such as Learning Information Services, OneRoster, LTI, and Caliper.
Rick Johnson
Vice President of Product Strategy, VitalSource
Rick Johnson, one of the founders of VitalSource Technologies, directs their product strategy, accessibility and standards work, VitalSource is the maker of Bookshelf®, the most widely used platform for delivery of electronic learning materials in the world.
Rick's career has been focused on bringing together his three passions: technology, publishing, and education. He is a frequent speaker on electronic textbooks, their integration into an institutional environment, and how the accessibility needs of individual students can best be accommodated in their delivery. He has served on multiple committees addressing the needs around delivering accessible content to students, was a member of the working groups responsible for version 2 and version 3 of the EPUB standard, and is the co-inventor of 3 domestic and international patents dealing with electronic books and their distribution.
Vince Kellen, Ph.D.
Chief Information Officer, University of California San Diego
Dr. Vince Kellen currently serves as the chief information officer for the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), as well as a member of the Chancellor's Cabinet, and vice chancellor and chief financial officer's senior management team. UCSD is recognized as a top 15 university world-wide and 7th best public university in the world, with over $1 billion in annual research funding, 34,000 students, 16 Nobel laureates who have taught on its campus and 161 faculty with national Academy memberships.
Dr. Kellen brings a rare combination of academic, business and IT strategy experience to his role, with a focus on transformational leadership within IT, applying leading edge approaches to current business challenges. His twenty-five years of executive-level information technology experience offers a proven track record of successfully integrating innovative applications of information technology into all aspects of teaching, learning, and student success.
Melissa Loble
Chief Customer Experience Officer, Instructure
Melissa Loble serves as the Chief Customer Experience Officer for Instructure. In this capacity, she leads Instructure's customer success, services, and partnership organizations, all of which enable customers to successfully leverage Instructure’s solutions to create highly engaging and effective learning environments for their communities. Driving innovation in the customer experience is central to Melissa’s mission. Melissa has spent 20 years in the educational technology world, working for a number of technology suppliers and educational institutions, as well as teaching leadership courses focused on managing technology for educational change. Melissa earned her MA in Educational Policy from Teachers’ College, Columbia University, and an MBA in Leadership from the Columbia Business School.
Jeff McCoy
Associate Superintendent of Academics, Greenville County Schools
Jeff McCoy currently serves as the Associate Superintendent of Academics for Greenville County Schools. Greenville County Schools is the largest district in South Carolina and the 44th largest in the nation, with over 77,000 students in attendance. Jeff oversees the Offices of Academic Support, Academic Innovation and Technology, Virtual Learning, Accountability and Quality Assurance, Career and Technical Education, Special Education, Special Programs, and Early Childhood Education. Before assuming the Associate Superintendent role, Jeff held various district leadership positions and is proud to be starting his 21st year with Greenville County Schools. Over the last five years, Greenville County Schools has increased student achievement and closed achievement gaps, moving them into the top 15 out of 81 school districts when ranking student achievement scores and accountability metrics. Jeff is proud to lead the Academic Division in a district known for innovation in technology and curriculum initiatives and continuously transforming learning practices to improve student outcomes.
LaTanya McDade, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Prince William County Public Schools
LaTanya D. McDade currently serves as the Superintendent for Prince William County. Previously, she was Chief Education Officer of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). LaTanya oversaw all academic offices within the CPS Central Office and supports all principals and Network Chiefs in their leadership roles. In this capacity, Mrs. McDade was responsible for improving and supporting all aspects of teaching and learning district-wide. Her commitment to over 340,000+ students across 638 schools (district and charter) is to ensure equity in access to high quality educational opportunities. This was a natural transition from her previous role as Chief Officer of the Office of Teaching and Learning (T & L), where she managed all core academic departments and oversaw the design, implementation, and evaluation of instructional programs and services for CPS teachers and administrators.
Kim Moore, J.D.
Executive Director of the Office for Workforce, Professional and Community Education, Wichita State University
Kimberly Moore, JD, is the Executive Director of Workforce, Professional and Community Education at Wichita State University. She is an innovative and entrepreneurial leader, focused on establishing collaborative business and industry partnerships, which lead to the development of skill-based learning and training initiatives, support employers and job seekers, and stimulate the state and local economy. Kimberly has more than 35 years of experience in developing and leading workforce and professional development initiatives in government, higher education, business, and industry. She was tasked nine years ago with developing and launching the first digital badge program in the state of Kansas. Since then, Kimberly has led the development of 100+ online, for-credit badges. Kimberly is a founding member of the 1EdTech TrustEd Microcredential Coalition.
Marc Nelson
Vice President of Product Management, Savvas Learning Company
Marc Nelson is Vice President of Platform Strategy for Savvas Learning Company. At Savvas, Marc leads a talented team committed to delivering innovative solutions for K-12 teachers, students and administrators. Marc’s 25+ year career has been devoted to the thoughtful application of technology to inspire, engage, and personalize learning at scale. Savvas’s flagship learning management system Savvas Realize, provides over 1100 standards aligned core curriculum programs and powerful features built to make teaching and learning better. Offering plug-and-play interoperability with top classroom tools and industry-leading integrations Savvas Realize reaches millions of teachers and students each day.
Keith Osburn, Ed.D.
Deputy Superintendent for Technology Services and Chief Information Officer, Georgia Department of Education
Dr. Keith Osburn is the Chief Information Officer and Deputy Superintendent for Technology Services at the Georgia Department of Education. With over three decades of service in education, he advocates for technology’s potential to revolutionize education. Now, as the CIO, Dr. Osburn has outlined an aggressive five-year comprehensive plan to modernize the agency’s technology infrastructure and data collection processes to help usher in 21st-century practices that will ensure the availability of modernized equipment to support teachers’ and students’ classroom and learning needs.
Kathe Pelletier, Ed.D.
Director of Teaching and Learning Program, EDUCAUSE
With more than 20 years of experience in higher education across areas such as academic advising, student success, curriculum design and competency-based education, Dr. Kathe Pelletier is currently the Director of the Teaching and Learning Program at EDUCAUSE. She brings an expertise for combining traditional higher education evidence-based practice with innovative delivery models. She has been recognized by the International Center for Supplemental Instruction for starting and scaling the first online Supplemental Instruction program, and she has also been recognized for a hybrid program and course framework that creates a structure for creativity for faculty yet ensures consistency and quality. During her career, Kathe has accomplished such things as building an online student success center from scratch, establishing a competency-based curriculum model that became an anchor for a self-paced CBE program, developing an assessment and outreach system that delivered personalized resource recommendations to incoming students, and guiding faculty communities of practice
Shana Rafalski, Ed.D.
Chief of Staff, Clark County School District
Dr. Shana Rafalski has served in a variety of leadership roles over her 28-year career in public education and the business sector. She has built a reputation for maintaining high expectations while working collaboratively to solve problems, meet goals and engage in systems building. She is an action-oriented leader who believes in the immense potential of each student as a leader and learner. Her adaptability and resolve have derived partly from being part of a military family, experiencing educational systems around the country, and adapting to new cultures and environments. These experiences have contributed to her commitment to creating equitable learning opportunities for all students. In June of 2022, Dr. Rafalski joined the Clark County School District as the Chief of Staff. CCSD is the 5th largest school district in the nation and serves over 300,000 students.
Darlene Rankin, M.Ed.
Director of Instructional Technology, Katy ISD
Darlene Rankin has been an educator for the past 31 years and has pursued her love for technology-integrated education by obtaining her master’s degree in Education Technology in 2002. Darlene began her years teaching elementary and middle school students and then continued her career at the high school level, teaching in the computer science field. Darlene is a director with Katy Independent School District (ISD), which serves 92,000 plus students in the west Houston area. Major initiatives that Darlene has accomplished include deploying a Learning Management System, integrating online resources using 1EdTech standards, developing Katy ISD’s own virtual high school, deploying a single-sign-on environment for all stakeholders, including parents, endorsing professional learning through digital credentialing, leading the development of asynchronous and synchronous courses and the deployment of devices during COVID.
Jeff Rubenstein
Education Solutions, Google LLC
Jeff manages Google Cloud's education services, which focus on educationally focused AI, the interoperability of learning data across systems, and student success tools. He has been in the edtech space for over 25 years, working mostly in startups before joining Google.
Serena Sacks-Mandel
Global Chief Technology Officer for Education, Microsoft
Ms. Sacks-Mandel is the Global Chief Technology and Transformation Officer at Microsoft for the education industry. Prior to joining Microsoft, she was the Chief Information Officer at two unique technically advanced large public school districts where she enabled student-centric teaching and learning which resulted in significant improvements in student outcomes.