Speakers
Keynote Speakers | |
 |
President, Achieve A nationally-recognized leader in education policy and standards-based reform, Michael Cohen became President of Achieve in 2003. He has held several key roles in education during the past 20+ years, including Director of Education Policy at the National Governors Association (1985-90) and Director of Planning and Policy Development at the National Association of State Boards of Education (1983-1985). During the Clinton Administration he served as Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Special Assistant to President Clinton for Education Policy, and Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley. Achieve is an independent, bipartisan, non-profit education reform organization based in Washington, DC that helps states raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments and strengthen accountability so all students graduate ready for college, work and citizenship. Under Mike’s leadership, Achieve launched the American Diploma Project Network, formed the Partnership for the Assessment of College and Career Readiness (PARCC), and helped develop the Common Core State Standards. |
 |
Deputy Chancellor, Instructional Support & Educational Accountability, Education Achievement Authority of Michigan Prior to joining the Education Achievement Authority last November to work with the 5% persistently lowest achieving schools in Michigan, Esselman was Assistant Superintendent for Professional Development, Assessment & Accountability for the Kansas City, Missouri School District. She played a critical leadership role in the development of the system of student-centered system of teaching and learning. Esselman has a demonstrated track record in the development of innovative technology solutions for both teachers and students. In the spring of 2010, she spearheaded the development and implementation of a customized, integrated teaching and learning platform which provides teachers with access to shared curriculum mapping, a powerful assessment engine for delivery of common assessments, individualized learning plans for students, and real-time standards-based reporting tools. Her research focuses on student-centered systems of learning where students are organized by instructional level rather than grade level and progress via mastery rather than time. |
 |
Ranking Member, Education & the Workforce Committee, U.S. House of Representatives Congressman George Miller is the Senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee and a leading advocate in Congress on education, labor, the economy, and the environment. First elected in 1975, he now represents the newly created 11th District of California in the East Bay of San Francisco, including the majority of Contra Costa County. Miller was Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee from 2007 through 2010. In 2013, Miller introduced The Transforming Education Through Technology Act to support learning and achievement for all students through technology. He was one of the four lead authors of the No Child Left Behind Act. |
 |
Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel was nominated for a seat on the Federal Communications Commission by President Barack Obama and on May 7, 2012 was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate. Commissioner Rosenworcel believes that in the 21st century strong communications markets can foster economic growth and security, enhance digital age opportunity, and enrich our civic life. Prior to joining the agency, she served as Senior Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, under the leadership of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV. In this position, she was responsible for legislation and policy development involving a wide range of communications issues, including broadband deployment and adoption and universal service. Before joining the staff of the Committee, she served as Legal Advisor to former FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps. She previously practiced communications law at Drinker Biddle and Reath. |
 |
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education Michael K. Yudin most recently served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). In this role, he helped lead policy development and operations of all grant programs administered by OESE, including Title I. Yudin also helped lead the Department’s efforts on Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility. He served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education from June 2011 to May 2012. Prior to joining the Department, Yudin spent nine years in the United States Senate, serving as legislative director for Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, senior counsel to Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, and HELP Committee counsel to Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont. Working for senior Members of the HELP Committee, Yudin helped draft, negotiate, and pass various pieces of legislation, including the No Child Left Behind Act, and IDEA 2004. Before joining the Senate, Yudin served as an attorney at the Social Security Administration and at the U.S. Department of Labor for nearly ten years. |
Additional Speakers | |
 |
COO, Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Tony Alpert serves as the chief operating officer for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, where he oversees the fiscal operations of Smarter Balanced, collaborating with Washington as the lead fiscal state; and provides expert guidance on assessment design and technology. Prior to joining Smarter Balanced, Alpert—who is recognized as a leading expert in statewide computer-based and adaptive testing—served as the director of assessment for the Oregon Department of Education. He also served on the U.S. Department of Education’s National Technical Advisory Committee where he provided technical counsel. Alpert earned his master’s degree at the University of Oregon. |
 |
Executive Director, Digital Learning Now!, Foundation for Excellence in Education John Bailey serves as the Executive Director of Digital Learning Now! He co-founded Whiteboard Advisors, which provides strategic consulting for investors, philanthropies, and entrepreneurs. John previously served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the Bush administration where he coordinated education and labor policy. John has also worked at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as serving as a top technology and innovation advisor to the Secretary of Commerce. He also served as the nation’s second Director of Educational Technology, where he oversaw more than $1 billion in annual grants and research projects. John has also served as a formal or informal advisor to three Presidential campaigns. |
 |
Chief Assessment Officer, Indiana Department of Education Wes is the Chief Assessment Officer for the Assessment Office at the Indiana Department of Education. Wes also currently chairs the PARCC Technology committee and served on the US Department of Education’s technical advisory committee. He was the 2006-07 Chair of the Education Information Management Advisory Consortium (EIMAC) for the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). He chaired the NCES Forum task force on accounting for student exits, dropout and mobility. Wes previously served as an administrator with South Bend Community School Corporation, and also served 11 years in the Kanawha County Schools of Charleston, West Virginia. |
 |
Deputy Director, Office of Educational Technology, US Department of Education As Deputy Director of the Office of Educational Technology for the US Department of Education, Richard Culatta focuses on leveraging open data to create personalized learning experiences for all students and promoting increased connectivity to improve access to education and make college more affordable. Prior to joining the Department of Education, he served as an education policy advisor to U.S. Senator Patty Murray. Culatta’s previous work centered around leveraging social media to create effective large-scale distributed learning environments. As Chief Technology Officer at CIA University, Culatta developed an online learning platform to extend learning opportunities to CIA officers worldwide. Prior to joining the federal government, Culatta was the Director of Operations for the Rose Education Foundation and learning technologies advisor at Brigham Young University where he was instrumental in redesigning the teacher preparation program at the McKay School of Education. He began working with educational technology at the University of Rhode Island where he co-taught the university’s first technology integration workshops for faculty. |
|
Deputy Chancellor, Instructional Support & Educational Accountability, Education Achievement Authority of Michigan Prior to joining the Education Achievement Authority last November to work with the 5% persistently lowest achieving schools in Michigan, Esselman was Assistant Superintendent for Professional Development, Assessment & Accountability for the Kansas City, Missouri School District. She played a critical leadership role in the development of the system of student-centered system of teaching and learning. Esselman has a demonstrated track record in the development of innovative technology solutions for both teachers and students. In the spring of 2010, she spearheaded the development and implementation of a customized, integrated teaching and learning platform which provides teachers with access to shared curriculum mapping, a powerful assessment engine for delivery of common assessments, individualized learning plans for students, and real-time standards-based reporting tools. Her research focuses on student-centered systems of learning where students are organized by instructional level rather than grade level and progress via mastery rather than time. |
 |
Principal, Pocatello (ID) Public Schools Betsy Goeltz is an elementary school principal in Pocatello, Idaho. Dr. Goeltz has served as a principal for nine years and is always advancing excellence in teaching and learning through the innovative and effective implementation of technology and 21st Century Tools in schools. She was a founding member of the Idaho Education Technology Association (IETA) and served twice as president for the organization. Dr. Goeltz supports the region as a longtime member of Northwest Council for Computer Education (NCCE) providing additional input and service as a board member for the past seven years. She was awarded the NCCE Administrator of the Year award in 2008. Previously Dr. Goeltz taught at the elementary level, worked as a curriculum director, technology director and district grant writer. |
 |
Director, Digital Teaching and Learning, Academic Services and Instructional Support, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction A life-long learner and educator, Neill is in his twentieth year in educational technology. He currently serves as the Director of Instructional Technology at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and has been with the NCDPI since October 2008. Prior to this, Neill was involved in technology in Stanly County Schools, North Carolina. He began his career as a computer lab assistant in 1991 and was the district's Chief Technology Officer when he left in October 2008. His current leadership roles include North Carolina educational technology leadership initiatives, including the NCDPI Race to the Top initiative, the NC Instructional Improvement System initiative, and the NC K12 Education Cloud initiative. |
 |
Principal, Penn Hill Group Victor “Vic” Klatt has been involved in federal education policy for more than two decades — as a senior education official in the executive branch, the top education staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives, and now a principal of Penn Hill Group. Klatt served as a vice president at Van Scoyoc Associates from 2000–2005 and 2008–2010, where he created one of the most significant education policy shops in Washington, D.C. Klatt served three years as GOP staff director for the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor. He helped guide the committee’s deliberations on education, workforce, and social policy issues. Klatt first began specializing in education in 1989, when he served as director of legislation and deputy assistant secretary for congressional affairs at the U.S. Department of Education. With Secretaries Lamar Alexander and Lauro Cavazos, Klatt helped coordinate the legislative dimension of President George H.W. Bush’s education policy. |
 |
Executive Director, State Educational Technology Directors Association Doug Levin is the Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). In this position, Doug works with educational technology directors in state education agencies in all 50 states and DC and works with policy makers in other educational organizations. SETDA provides national leadership on educational technology, professional development, and partnership engagement with the public and private sector to collaborate on how educational technology supports teaching and learning. Doug has nearly 20 years of Washington, DC-based education policy and research experience. He formerly served as Deputy Executive Director of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) and prior to that as Senior Director of Education Policy at Cable in the Classroom, the cable industry's national education foundation. Levin also served as a principal research analyst with the American Institutes for Research. |
 |
Assistant Editor, Education Week Michele McNeil is an assistant editor and federal policy reporter at Education Week, a national newspaper covering K-12 education issues based in Bethesda, Md. She covers the U.S. Department of Education, federal education policies, and school finance issues. She's also the creator of Politics K-12, a blog that tracks the intersection of education, policy, and politics. Before she joined Education Week in 2006, McNeil worked for 10 years at The Indianapolis Star as an education reporter and a Statehouse reporter. A graduate of Franklin College in Indiana, McNeil now has her master's in public policy from the University of Maryland. |
 |
Senior Director of National Policy, KnowledgeWorks Lillian Pace works to craft and advance KnowledgeWorks’ federal policy agenda, advocating for policy conditions that empower state, community, and school-level transformation. She works closely with other education, philanthropic, non-profit, and business organizations to forge partnerships around the world of learning. Pace came to KnowledgeWorks after directing the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, chaired by Rep. Dale Kildee (MI). Pace worked on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Head Start Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Before joining the Committee, Pace served in various legislative and communications roles for a number of Congressional offices. |
 |
Executive Director, Committee for Education Funding Joel Packer is a Principal with The Raben Group and serves as Executive Director of the Committee for Education Funding. The Committee for Education Funding (CEF) is a coalition that was founded in 1969 with the goal of achieving adequate federal financial support for our nation’s educational system. Packer is the former director of educational policy and practice at the National Education Association. Joel has successfully represented educators, state universities and college students before Congress and the Administration for more than 35 years. At NEA, Packer was responsible for key issues, including educator quality, funding, special education, high school reform, 21st century skills/STEM issues, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In 1993 Joel served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs in the U.S. Department of Labor. |
 |
Coordinator, Technology Policy, New York State Education Department Dr. Lawrence Paska leads the New York State Education Department's Office of Educational Design and Technology. He develops policies and initiatives to foster and implement educational technologies across learning and teaching environments statewide, in partnership with other NYSED offices, and state and national organizations. Larry was previously an Associate in Social Studies Education at NYSED, serving as a statewide curriculum and assessment specialist for P-12 social studies education. He also served as a middle school social studies teacher in the New Rochelle and Oceanside school districts, both in New York. He is also an adjunct professor of education at the University at Albany (State University of New York). Larry is an ex-officio Board member of NYSCATE (New York State Association for Computers and Technology in Education) and an active member of ISTE, ASCD, the National Council for the Social Studies, and SETDA. |
 |
Learning Scientist for Educational Systems & Faculty Affiliate, Johns Hopkins School of Education Philip Piety is author of "Assessing the Educational Data Movement" recently published by Teachers College Press. His career began with organizational technology where he worked with many large government and commercial organizations to develop data systems to improve productivity and enable to models of work. A lifelong learner, he returned to school as an adult and completed several degrees, including a PhD from the University of Michigan in 2008 where his dissertation looked at the assessments, including the data practices that resulted from them, across several levels from classrooms to the state testing office in a single state. He advocates for understanding educational practice deeply, both what they have been and what they can be with blended and personalized learning models. |
 |
Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary, United States Department of Education Hal Plotkin is the Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education. The OUS has responsibility for all federal higher education policies and programs. Previously, Mr. Plotkin was a trustee and board president at the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, based in Silicon Valley California, where he oversaw two community colleges with a combined enrollment of approximately 45,000 students. Mr. Plotkin is a writer and editor by profession, who has published more than 600 articles on business, science, technology and education. His publishers include Inc. magazine, Forbes ASAP, Family Business magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com, and CNBC.com, where he served as Silicon Valley correspondent. He is also a founding editor of public radio’s Marketplace program. |
 |
Program Director, Education Division, Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association Ryan Reyna is a Program Director in the Education Division at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center). Ryan leads the division’s work on college and career readiness, including standards, assessment, accountability, and transition into postsecondary education and training. He also leads the NGA Center’s work on dropout prevention and recovery. Ryan previously held Senior Policy Analyst and Policy Analyst positions at the NGA Center and worked as a Research Associate at the Data Quality Campaign. Ryan holds a B.A. in American Politics from the University of Virginia and an M.P.Aff. from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. |
 |
Co-Founder and Partner, Bellwether Education Partners Bellwether Education Partners is a non-profit organization working to improve educational outcomes for low-income students. Rotherham leads Bellwether’s thought leadership, idea generation, and policy analysis work. He also writes a weekly column on education for TIME.com as well as the blog Eduwonk.com and is co-publisher of “Education Insider” a federal policy research tool produced by Whiteboard Advisors. Rotherham previously served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the Clinton administration and is a former member of the Virginia Board of Education. In addition to Bellwether, Rotherham co-founded Education Sector and served on the boards of several other successful education start-ups. Rotherham is the author or co-author of more than 125 articles, book chapters, papers, and op-eds about education policy and politics and is the author or editor of four books on education policy. He is on the board of directors for the Indianapolis Mind Trust and the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and serves on the Visiting Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education. |
 |
Associate VP for Policy and Strategic Alliances, The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning Amy Sherman's work focuses on increasing access to adult learning and improving its quality. In this role, Amy engages in policy research and analysis, coalition-building, advocacy, and technical assistance to state and federal policy leaders and legislators. Amy's diverse areas of expertise range from supporting the mature workforce to promoting access and degree completion through Prior Learning Assessments. Prior to joining CAEL, Amy was Executive Director of the Manufacturing Workforce Development Project (MWDP), a project of the Chicago Federation of Labor funded by the U.S. Dept. of Labor. Amy practiced employment law at major law firms such as Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. Early in her career, Amy managed Emergency Services at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago and served as a financial caseworker at Cook County Hospital. |
 |
Executive Director, Democrats for Education Reform Joe Williams has built a reputation as one of the most effective strategists and coalition-builders in the education reform community. He is a nationally recognized analyst and public speaker on education policy and politics, reaching thousands of listeners in audiences from coast to coast each year. Joe is also one of the most prolific writers and commentators in the education reform world, often tapping into his experience as a newspaper reporter and author to make the case for reform. He previously worked as an award-winning education journalist for the New York Daily News and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He has written extensively on education politics nationally and has served as a non-resident senior fellow for the Washington-based think-tank Education Sector. He is author of the book Cheating our Kids: How Politics and Greed Ruin Education. |
 |
Partner, Education Counsel LLC, an affiliate of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP Steve Winnick practices in the area of education law and policy with EducationCounsel LLC, an affiliate of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. He served as deputy general counsel and the designated agency ethics official of the U.S. Department of Education, where he worked for 34 years. Winnick is experienced in federal education law and policy, particularly at the elementary and secondary levels. He focuses on issues related to the No Child Left Behind Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as well as administrative laws and regulations that impact federal education programs. |
 |
Director of Federal Relations, Council of Chief State School Officers Peter Zamora is Director of Federal Relations for the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), representing public officials who head state departments of elementary and secondary education. Prior to CCSSO, Zamora was Senior Education Counsel, Office of Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee. He was previously the Washington, D.C. Regional Counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a Hispanic civil rights legal organization. He has also served as a bilingual-credentialed English teacher in a California public high school, an education lawyer in private practice, and a consultant to the D.C. Public Schools. |
