Presented by Dr. Julie A. Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow; Christina Fleming, Vice President, Blackboard K-12; and a panel of K-12 students

Sponsored by Project Tomorrow

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For the past 17 years, Project Tomorrow has hosted an annual Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C. to share the national findings from the latest Speak Up research. The purpose of this event has been to inform the work of policymakers as well as education, business and community leaders who value the Speak Up findings as input into new programs, policies, and funding for education. For the first time, the Speak Up Congressional Briefing will be a virtual event enabling participation by a wider audience of K-12 education stakeholders.

This year’s Briefing aims to democratize access to research data that can inform local and national discussions about the future of education and the role of innovation in transforming learning experiences throughout the United States. Leveraging feedback data collected from over 136,000 K-12 students, educators, and parents nationwide, participants will gain an in-depth perspective on the state of digital learning in our schools, both before and during school closures. A special focus at this year’s event will be a discussion of how lessons learned from the sudden shift to digital learning in spring 2020 can help accelerate changes in K-12 education.

The research data comes to life with a panel discussion of K-12 students from around the country who will share their authentic views on the Speak Up findings and their expectations for new learning environments. This recorded edLeader Panel will be of interest to teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders of all levels.

About the Presenters

Dr. Julie A. Evans is the CEO of Project Tomorrow and the founder of the heralded Speak Up Research Project. She serves as the chief researcher on the Speak Up Project as well as leading research efforts on the impact of innovative learning models and interventions in both K-12 and higher education. As a national thought leader and influencer, Julie leverages her career experiences as a tech entrepreneur and nonprofit leader to stimulate new discussions within the education ecosystem. She is a graduate of Brown University and earned her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California, San Diego. Julie serves on several boards and advisory councils and is a frequent speaker and writer on digital learning. She was named in 2020 as the winner of EdTech Digest’s National Leader award and is the longest serving woman executive in the education technology nonprofit sector.

Christina Fleming is Vice President of K-12 Product Management and Marketing at Blackboard. In this capacity, Christina oversees management of Blackboard’s education technology portfolio designed for K-12. This includes the Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Classroom Learning Management Systems, as well as various communication tools including Blackboard Connect and the Blackboard Communications Suite. She is responsible for managing the product roadmap, the overall K-12 P&L, as well as marketing strategy and client communications. Christina has a Bachelor’s in Business with a concentration in Marketing from The University of Notre Dame. She lives in Maryland.

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Project Tomorrow is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure that today’s students are well-prepared to become tomorrow’s leaders, innovators and engaged citizens of the world. We support that mission with programs and research that focus on innovation and new learning models in the K-12 classroom, including through the effective use of technology.