SETDA - Key Persons
Ann-Marie Mapes is an Education Technology Manager in the P-20 Office of Data and Information Management at the Michigan Department of Education. She has served in various roles at the Michigan Department of Education for over 14 years, from coordinating teacher recognition programs to teaching technology to adult learners. Her current efforts focus on various statewide technology initiatives, including Michigan's State Education Technology Plan, the Michigan #GoOpen Community and the state refresh of education technology standards for students, in addition to technology planning and school connectivity. Ann-Marie believes that strategic partnerships are essential elements to accelerate, amplify, expand access and opportunity, and positively impact student achievement and engagement through technology.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the State Action Committee
- Board Member, Chairman, and President of the Hoosier Educational Computer Coordinators ( HECC ) Organization
- Director of Educational Technology in the Indiana Department of Education
Brad Hagg currently serves as the Director of Educational Technology in the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) in the areas of E-Rate, Cybersecurity, Connectivity, and Ed-Fi Data Modernization. He has worked in Indiana schools for over 22 years, serving as Director of Technology and Chief Technology Officer for two public school districts.
Hagg has served as a board member, chairman, and president of the Hoosier Educational Computer Coordinators (HECC) organization. He has also been an active member of the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) organization as well as its Indiana CTO Council chapter. He has been selected as the Technology Coordinator of the Year in Indiana and was also recognized by National School Boards Association (NSBA) as part of its "20 to Watch" Educational Technology Leaders program.
Hagg holds a teaching license in elementary education along with a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and is licensed as a school administrator. He is also a Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) and maintains other technology certifications and specializations.
Job Titles:
- Director of Projects and Initiatives
- Technologist for the St. Vrain Valley School District
Bud Hunt is the Director of Projects and Initiatives for SETDA. He comes to this work with twenty years of experience as a teacher, an instructional technologist, a facilitator, and a library administrator.
In his time with the Clearview Library District in northern Colorado, he served a highly committed team of librarians and support staff in their work to be of service to their community through access to information, tools, high quality resources and programming.
As an instructional technologist for the St. Vrain Valley School District, Bud worked to create environments that supported, and continue to support, innovative teaching and learning while preserving freedom, choice, and opportunity for all learners across multiple contexts.
His extensive experience in both pedagogy and technical systems helps him to build bridges between the educational and technological sides of educational institutions. Bud advises others on the thoughtful implementation of technology to support teaching and learning.
Early in his career, he taught high school language arts and journalism at Olde Columbine High School in Longmont, Colorado, where he learned about the importance of healthy human relationships in all matters of teaching and learning.
Bud writes curricula, book chapters, blog posts, articles, and far too many tweets. In all his work, written, spoken or otherwise, Bud aims to bridge and muddle contexts, with a specific emphasis on the intersections of the humanities and technology. He earned his Master's degree in English at Colorado State University, where he was also a founding member of CSU's local site of the National Writing Project.
In 2013, Bud was named a ConnectED Champion of Change.
Job Titles:
- Digital Learning Director for the Nebraska Department of Education
Dorann Avey is the Digital Learning Director for the Nebraska Department of Education, leading work across the state in Educational Technology and Digital Learning. In cooperation with the Future Ready Council, ESUCC and ESU's, Dorann currently supports work to identify, develop, and share high-quality practices and strategies to build the capacity of educators, leaders, and organizations across Nebraska in all areas of technology.
Prior to joining NDE, Dorann spent over a decade as a teacher and department chair with Lincoln Public Schools. Dorann brings a total of 17 years of teaching experience and has earned a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Doane University. The courses taught in those years were in the areas of computer science, technology and business which included several Dual-Credit and AP courses. In addition, she brings multiple years of experience with curriculum development and coaching for technology teachers and leaders.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Executive Director for the Connecticut State Commission for Educational Technology
Doug Casey serves as the Executive Director for the Connecticut State Commission for Educational Technology (CET). In that role, he designs and manages strategic plans that help ensure the successful integration of technology in Connecticut's schools, libraries, universities, and towns. The CET has direct oversight of statewide programs including the Connecticut Education Network (CEN, the state's research and education network), its digital library (researchIT, formerly iCONN), and other initiatives.
Prior to joining the CET, Doug served for nearly 10 years as the Director of Technology for the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) in Hartford. There he oversaw and implemented significant improvements in business processes, digital security, and information management for the agency's 25 schools, 36 districts in the Hartford area, and schools statewide.
Doug began his career as a middle school English teacher in Virginia after graduating from the College of William & Mary. He applied his classroom experience to educational publishing, managing communications for the Smithsonian Institution's office of education. He later earned a master of arts degree in online communications from Georgetown University and a master of science in management information systems from George Washington University. His diverse background includes managing technology for marketing firms as well as security and systems engineering for national security agencies and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Outside of work, Doug enjoys time with family, serving through missions, and triathlon.
Job Titles:
- Director of Innovation and Design for the State Educational Technology Directors Association
Dr. Jason Bailey is the Director of Innovation and Design for the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). For the past seven years, Dr. Jason Bailey has been the Senior eLearning Strategist for the Indiana Department of Education. His work provided leadership and support in digital innovation to Indiana classrooms. A former teacher, technology specialist, and district administrator, Jason's work at the district level included leading a talented team of eLearning Coaches and Technology Specialists in integrating a wealth of technology, including 1:1 computing for more than 14,000 students in 2009.
At the state level, Jason developed the Summer of eLearning conference series, designed and published the Indiana Tech Plan Survey, and authored Indiana's educational cybersecurity initiative. With degrees from Ball State University and the University of Southern Indiana, Jason completed his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Indiana State University. He was also one of the early recipients of CoSN's Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) designation. Honors include participation in various white papers, keynote speaking, publication in Educational Leadership, and ISTE's Making IT Happen award.
Job Titles:
- Director of Strategic Partnerships
Melissa is SETDA's Director of Strategic Partnerships and brings over 20 years of experience in education to the role, including experience working as a sales representative in educational publishing, and as a project coordinator in the Office of Higher Education at the NY State Education Department. As Director of Strategic Partnerships, Melissa is responsible for cultivating strong relationships with leadership in emerging educational technology companies, established businesses, non-profit and government agencies to encourage them to engage broadly and deeply with SETDA and the SETDA membership. She is responsible for managing the SETDA Private Sector Partnership program and sponsorships in support of the association's mission.
Melissa received her B.S. in Non-profit Arts Management at Russell Sage College in Troy, NY and her Master's degree in Teaching from SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, NY. Melissa completed her Ed.D. in Executive Leadership at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY in November, 2020. Melissa taught at the elementary level for over ten years and holds NY state certifications in K-6 elementary education and K-12 Reading.
Eric is the Executive Director of IT Services for Oklahoma City Public Schools, Oklahoma's largest and most diverse school district with approximately 45 thousand students and 4700 teachers. Prior to joining OKCPS, Eric served as the Director of Instructional Technology for the Oklahoma State Department of Education where he held that post for 14 years. Additionally, he conducts a church choir for an Episcopal parish in Oklahoma City. Eric holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Oklahoma City University, Master of Education in Instructional Psychology and Technology from the University of Oklahoma, and currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Teaching and Learning.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Professional Learning Committee
- Education
Geoff Belleau is an education program consultant at the California Department of Education. He has 25 years of experience as a highschool, middle-school, and elementary-school educator. Before joining the Department of Education, he was a county office administrator, serving as program manager for instructional technology. In this role, he coordinated instructional technology projects along with district IT administrators and worked with schools and districts on technology integration and professional development. He has presented at several state and national education technology conferences. In his current role he supports schools in CA and the broadband grant as well as facilitating several special construction grants bringing broadband to under/unconnected schools.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Assistant Director for Teaching
Janice Mertes is the Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning -Digital Learning team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Janice leads the statewide Future Ready and Wisconsin Digital Learning Plan programs in addition to the State Superintendent's Digital Learning Advisory Council (DLAC) focused on policy, practice, funding, and research. Janice coordinates partnership programming with the Wisconsin Digital Learning Collaborative (WDLC) to support online and blended learning along with other partners to support personalized, innovative student learning opportunities. The digital learning team supports the Wisconsin standards for Information and Technology Literacy, Keeping Kids Safe Online Cybersafety, digital leadership development, Title IVA and ESSA program support, coding, and district planning. Janice is a CoSN Certified Educator Technology Leader (CETL) and helps to coordinate the statewide credentialing program with the Wisconsin Education Technology Leaders. Janice currently serves on the SETDA Board of Directors and is the board treasurer. She currently serves on the CoSN Driving Innovation workgroup. She was named as one of Ed Scoop's Top 25 State Leaders in 2017.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association
Julia Fallon is the Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), where she works with U.S. state and territorial digital learning leaders to empower the education community to leverage technology for learning, teaching, and school operations.
Involved with learning technologies since 1989, her professional interest lies in making the case for public school systems wherein educators are able to optimize technology-rich learning environments to equitably engage the learners who fill their classrooms.
Prior to joining SETDA as the executive director in 2021, Julia worked for Washington's K-12 education agency, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) as the Title II, Part A Program Lead, where she provided operational leadership and oversight of the federal program designed to improve the quality of instruction and administration. In her previous role as the state's Technology Integration Program Manager, she streamlined strategic planning for districts, championed robust professional learning programming for educators, and advocated for smart, flexible network policies. Representing Washington, she was a longtime SETDA state member and had been instrumental in the leadership of the organization as a member of the Board of Directors serving in various board positions including board chairman.
Julia holds a master's degree in educational technology from Pepperdine University and a bachelor's degree in business education from New York University. She was the 2019 recipient of the SETDA State Leader of the Year award, and was also a recipient of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Making IT Happen and the Northwest Council for Computer Education (NCCE) President's awards.
Julia Legg is the State E-rate Coordinator in the Office of Data Analysis & Research at the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE). She has been in education for the last 24 years as a fourth-generation educator. She holds teaching licenses in English and School Library Media, along with a Masters' Degree in Instructional Technology Leadership and is a licensed school administrator. Her roles have included graduate-level instruction, high school, middle school, elementary and virtual instruction.
In her 16 years with the WVDE, she has provided professional development as a Technology Integration Specialist coordinator and served in other roles including supporting the School Library Media Specialists across the state. In her current role, she supports broadband initiatives as a member of the state Broadband Enhancement Council Education Committee, administers the statewide strategic technology planning initiative, manages state master contracts for school networking and Internet access, and provides technology support to school districts, along with filing assistance and support to her districts for E-rate and the Emergency Connectivity Fund.
Mrs. Legg is the former Chair of the State Action Committee within the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA), a leadership member of the E-rate Collaborative group, the board liaison to the Strategic Partnerships committee, as well as holding membership in the State E-rate Coordinator Alliance (SECA).
Job Titles:
- Digital Access Coordinator
- Secretary / Learning Technology Center of Illinois
Melinda Fiscus is the Digital Access Coordinator for the Learning Technology Center of Illinois. In this role she provides networking opportunities, consulting services, professional development for school districts, and advocates for the advancement of educational technology across Illinois. She serves as one of the Illinois representatives to the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA) and also serves as a governing board member. She is one of the Illinois State E-rate Coordinators (SECA), and is a founding member of the Classroom Connectivity Project. Melinda is in her 21st year working in IL educational technology, and is currently excited about IL broadband opportunities and is passionate about creating immersive learning experiences for staff and students.
Rick Gaisford has 35 years in education and has been involved with educational technology for over 30 years at the classroom, school, district and state levels. He has been an elementary school teacher, school technology specialist, district technology specialist and trainer, state Internet specialist and state education technology specialist. In his current state responsibilities he works with districts, schools and the the state network, UETN, on how to effectively integrate technology tools and resources into teaching and learning. He helps oversee Utah's Digital Teaching and Learning program implemented by the Utah State Legislature in 2016. This legislation has provided over $80 million to implement a comprehensive program to effectively bring technology into all classrooms in the state and to assist in personalizing education for each student.
Away from technology and work Rick enjoys spending time puttering around in his yard and garden and being Grandpa to his 5 grandchildren (soon to be 7).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Membership Engagement Committee
Sean McDonough is the Corporate & Member Engagement Coordinator for NYSCATE, New York's premier educational technology member association and affiliate to SETDA. Sean works with members and partners on ways to enhance technology's role in supporting teaching and learning. He has 30 years of educational technology leadership experience in the public and private sectors as a teacher, district, regional, and state technology administrator, and consultant. Sean is an active leader in various educational technology organizations including ISTE and CoSN. He is the former Bureau Director of Educational Technology for PA Department of Education and served as a SETDA member while at PDE. Sean holds a B.A. in Mass Communications and Government and a M.S. in Instructional Technology.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Strategic Partnerships Committee
Stan Silverman specializes in the application of instructional technologies to enhance teaching and learning in K-12 settings. He currently serves as the chair of the NYS Teacher Center Technology Committee, as a member of the NYS Board of Regents Technology Council, with the Professor Garfield Foundation, and is serving as a mentor in the Intel Education Accelerator. Silverman also runs the Technology Based Learning System Department that supports numerous grants and contracts supporting K-12 education throughout the United States, as well as coordinating the establishment of public/private partnerships in New York State. He received his degree in Physics from SUNY Stony Brook and his administrative degree from C.W. Post (LIU).