Our Speakers

Amy Mayer

Amy Mayer, founder of friEdTechnology, is a nationally known speaker and presenter and a veteran public school educator who is a sworn enemy of standardization. friEdTechnology is a Google PD Partner providing professional development and inspiration for educators across the land.

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Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey

Christine and Jessica have been in the field of Early Childhood Education for over 20 years collectively, collaborating on a daily, yearlong, basis from their locations in California and New Jersey for a number of years.

They have moderated the #InnovatingPlay/#GAfE4Littles Slow Flip Chat via Flipgrid for a year and half, and are proud to be published with Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. When opportunities arise, Christine and Jessica travel to present about Innovating Play and how they preserve, protect, and transform early childhood experiences in and beyond the classroom.

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Christopher Bugaj

Christopher R. Bugaj is a founding member of the Assistive Technology Team for Loudoun County Public Schools, author of The New Assistive Tech: Make Learning Awesome For All, co‐author of The Practical (and Fun) Guide to Assistive Technology in Public Schools, and co-host of the Talking With Tech podcast.

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Dan Lyons

Dan is starting his 20th year teaching math at Lakeview-Ft Oglethorpe High School in Catoosa County, GA. He came into education after spending his first 10 years out of college as a Naval Officer and Mechanical Engineer. He was certified through the Georgia TAPP certification program in 2002.

Dan has Masters and Specialist degrees in Educational Leadership and strives to incorporate real technology and pragmatic usage into his instruction. His favorite courses to teach are Algebra II and Precalculus. On the side, he enjoys acting in local stage comedies and spending time with his wife & 3 sons.

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Diana Petschauer

Diana Petschauer, M.Ed., ATP is a RESNA certified Assistive Technology Professional & Managing Director of AT for Education, ATforED.com. She manages her team of expert consultants who provide evaluations, consult & training to students & adults as well as professional development for professionals & families.

Previous to ATforED, Diana was the AT Specialist at UNH, supporting students transitioning to higher ed with AT & accommodations. She started her career in public school Special Ed. Diana presents often on AT & Literacy Intervention to provide multi-sensory support for Dyslexia or LD.

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Efren Rodriguez

Efren Rodriguez has been teaching for 23 years in the Rio Grande Valley. He attended UT-Pan American and received a B.S. in Chemistry. He has taught IPC, Physics, Computer Science and all levels of Chemistry. Efren has worked at Weslaco H.S., STISD Science Academy, Region One (as a Science Specialist mostly Chem and Tech), Port Isabel H.S. and now at South Texas ISD Medical Professions.

He is always looking for new ways of using technology in the classroom and ways to collaborate/help others and thinks Twitter is one of the best resources out there to connect with other educators and get new ideas.

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Eric Curts

Eric has been in education for 29 years, and serves as a Technology Integration Specialist for SPARCC in Canton, Ohio. He is a Google Education Trainer and Innovator, and provides training to schools, organizations, and conferences throughout Ohio and across the country. Eric is a co-leader of the Ohio Google Educator Group at bit.ly/gegohio and runs his award-winning blog ControlAltAchieve.com where all of his edtech resources can be found. He is the author of the book "Control Alt Achieve: Rebooting Your Classroom with Creative Google Projects".

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Erica Mark

Erica is an Assistive Technology Consultant for the York Region District School Board with a teaching background in high school math, science and special education. Her support plays at the intersection of education, technology and accessibility. Her goal is to support all teachers with the integration of technology into their classroom practice to support struggling learners achieve success.

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Holly Clark

Holly is an education thought-leader, international speaker, best selling author and an advocate for students. She is a twenty-plus year educator who has spent over 15 years teaching in a 1:1 classroom and over five years as an administrator in both public and private schools. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Design and Educational Technology from Columbia University in New York City. She is the author of The Chromebook Infused Classroom and co-Author of The Google Infused Classroom

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Jason Carroll

Jason is the Director of Product Management at Texthelp, an industry leader in literacy support software. He has trained thousands on the effective use of educational technology throughout the United States and beyond since his start in education over a decade ago. His focus is on helping to make smart, easy to use products that help diverse learners of all ages succeed and speaks internationally on these topics each year.

Jason is a Google Educator and Authorized Google Education Trainer. He is a published author, has taught at the University level, and served as an independent consultant prior to his position at Texthelp.

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Jim Monti

Jim Monti has been an educator at West Warwick Public Schools in Rhode Island for over 32 years. He serves as a support for students, teachers, support staff, parents and administrators in his role as the Director of Educational Reform, Compliance and Technology. Jim works with a dedicated, visionary group of educators that continually strive to provide West Warwick Schools with the best educational experience that they have to offer.

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Joni Degner

Working shoulder-to-shoulder with learners and educators, Joni Degner is a recognized international expert on the implementation of UDL for schools, districts and institutions of opportunity.

A member of the CAST Professional Learning Cadre and now full time Texthelper, Joni is passionate about Universal Design for Learning, for instructional designers, teachers and leadership. Having previously worked UDL facilitator for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation, Joni brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the session.

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Jose Vilson

José Luis Vilson is a full-time math teacher, writer, speaker, and activist in New York City, NY. He is the author of This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education. He has spoken about education, math, and race for a number of organizations and publications, including the New York Times, The Guardian, TED, El Diario / La Prensa and The Atlantic.

He's a National Board Certified teacher, a Math for America Master Teacher, and the executive director of EduColor, an organization dedicated to race and social justice issues in education.

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Kasey Bell

Kasey Bell is a former middle school teacher turned award-winning digital learning coach, international speaker, author, blogger, and podcaster with a Texas-sized passion for technology and learning. She is the author of the Shake Up Learning blog and book, host of The Shake Up Learning Show Podcast and co-host of The Google Teacher Podcast.

As a skillful facilitator, Google Certified Innovator, and Google Certified Trainer, Kasey has led a variety of digital learning workshops across the globe and helped thousands of educators to transform their classrooms!

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Kimberly Nix

Kimberly R. Nix, Senior Professional Development Manager for N. America, has been with Texthelp for 10 years. As a reading and training specialist, she has traveled across the United States and Canada to present on Read&Write features and their applications to enhance learning.

After 14 years of middle and high school classroom experience, Kimberly has been working with K-12 and Higher Ed educators on using Literacy Strategies for learning for more than 15 years. She has a BS in Elementary/Middle Education and an MA in K-12 Reading Education.

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Louis Shanafelt

After spending 20 years in a large urban district as a teacher & administrator, Louis is excited to be a contributing member of the Texthelp family, a leader in Assistive Technology in the EdTech community.

Having taught both elementary & secondary mathematics as well as obtained extensive experience with Instructional Design, Louis has trained other instructional employees on how to use technology in the classroom & how instruction can be differentiated to meet the needs of learners. During his sessions, Louis is excited to share with you all the benefits of using EquatIO with your students.

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Marc Callahan

Marc Callahan has 20+ years of experience in the educational technology and publishing industries. He has worked extensively with Google Apps, testing and accountability, digital curriculum, RTI, and assistive technology. Marc loves vintage cars, learning new things and resides in Cincinnati-OH with his wife, daughters and great dane!

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Marilu Deal

Marilu started teaching High School Math and Chemistry in 2001 with the Ottawa Catholic School Board after completing Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Education degrees. In her current role as a 7-12 Mathematics Consultant, she is tasked with supporting teachers as they strive for success for all students.

Of particular interest is the use of technology and how it makes math and science accessible to all students. Helping students and teachers recognize how technology can enhance learning is continually at the forefront of professional development. Outside of education, Marilu loves playing board games and reading books that span a variety of genres.

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Mark Schwartz

Mark Schwartz is the Product Manager for WriQ, Texthelp’s online assessment tool for Google and MS Office. Mark taught a range of Social Studies and ELA classes for over 15 years at both the middle and high school levels, in both urban and suburban districts in Massachusetts.

Mark has a passion for making teachers’ jobs a little easier while also improving the writing skills of students at all ages and skill levels. He strives to balance the data analysis of WriQ’s writing metrics with the understanding that successful teaching is an artful mix of science, patience, caring, communicating, and collaboration.

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Martin McKay

Martin founded Texthelp in 1996 and has spent his life’s work developing education technology. Current areas of R&D include learning analytics and the automated assessment of writing and oral reading fluency. In the past, he has served on the Assistive Technology Industry Association Board as well as the NIMAS board for the USA Office of Special Education Programs.

In 2017, he received the Presidential Award in recognition of lifetime contribution to dyslexia and literacy from the International Dyslexia Association. He is currently serving in an advisory capacity on the Universal Design for Learning council and has recently been appointed as Texthelp’s new CEO. He takes up his post on September 1st.

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Megan Mongelli

Megan Mongelli is a Technology Integration Specialist in Fort Mill, South Carolina, supporting teachers and students in grades K-12. As a technology integration specialist, Megan creates and delivers district wide professional learning opportunities in addition to supporting, empowering, and inspiring teachers as they integrate technology into their curriculum through model teaching, co-teaching, and lesson planning.

Prior to her current role, she taught technology for students in grades K-5 and both first and second grades for a total of 16 years in education.

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Michele Haiken

Michele Haiken, Ed.D. has been teaching middle school English for more than 20 years and is an adjunct professor of literacy. She is the author of New Realms for Writing (ISTE, 2019) and co-author of Personalized Reading (ISTE, 2018). Learn more at http://theteachingfactor.com

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Shaelynn Farnsworth

Shaelynn Farnsworth is a leader in the convergence between literacy and technology. As a high school teacher, she redefined her English classroom as not only a place to learn about literature but also explore how technology is shaping the future of communications. Currently, Shaelynn is the National Director of Educator Outreach and Success at the News Literacy Project.

She is a MIEExpert, Google Certified Innovator, Apple Teacher, and has training in Project-Based Learning from the Buck Institute, Visible Learning with Hattie, Instructional Coaching, and K-12 Literacy Best Practices. Shaelynn shares her musings at https://shaelynnfarnsworth.com/

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Stacey Banks

Stacey is a highly motivated, adaptable special educator with 17+ years of experience working with students with special needs in a wide range of educational settings. With a growth mindset, focused on both classroom success and achieving individualized learning goals for students in center-based programs at the high school level, a self-contained cross-categorical elementary classroom, and as a teacher consultant in an alternative high school.

Current educational focus is Assistive Technology (AT) & Universal Design for Learning (UDL) program implementation and staff development in the 4th largest district in Michigan.

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Tinashe Blanchet

Tinashe Blanchet is a former high school math teacher with over 15 years of experience in education and teacher training. She currently travels around the United States to train hundreds of teachers on using technology to enhance their instruction each year. With a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, Tinashe also teaches practicing educators at Tulane University.

In 2014, Tinashe founded The Learning Laboratory New Orleans, a non-profit organization that seeks to inspire and excite children and teens in ways that they may never experience in a traditional educational environment with hands-on activities, projects, technology explorations, field trips and travel.

Recently, Tinashe was selected as one of New Orleans’ ‘40 under 40’, featured in the national Macaroni Kid newsletter as a ‘Mom Making Waves’, and chosen to speak at TEDxTulane. Visit msblanchet.net to learn more about the reach and impact of Tinashe’s work.

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Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher is a full-time classroom teacher in Georgia, author of the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, and hosts the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast. Recently named the top female #edtech influencer on Twitter, Vicki has worked with global collaborative projects since 2006, winning ISTE’s Online Learning award for the co-creation of the Flat Classroom Project.

Since that time, Vicki has co-created more than 30 global collaborative projects, most recently, MAD about Mattering, a global collaborative app development project. Vicki loves reaching every child and helping them find their strengths and helping teachers be remarkable.

She encourages teachers to “innovate like a turtle” and level up a little bit every day. Vicki is also mom to three children, two with learning differences including one with dyslexia and two with dysgraphia.

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