Privacy and Safety: What if the Call is Coming From Inside the House?

About the Presenters

Jonathan R. Werner brings his unique and diverse career path—spanning roles as a classroom teacher, education attorney, library and instructional technologist, and technology integrator—to his mission of helping educators create transformative learning experiences. Now in his fourth year facilitating the Maine Department of Education’s MLTI Ambassador Program, he has worked with more than 2,500 educators to support their purposeful integration of technology. Jonathan’s work is rooted in a learner-first philosophy: preserving our humanity in a digital world while using technology to meaningfully enhance engagement and understanding. He looks forward to meeting you and welcomes conversations before, between, during, and after sessions about how he can support you and your students.

Tali Horowitz is the East Coast Education Director at Common Sense Education, where she works with educators and families to empower kids to meaningfully harness the power of media and technology for learning and life. She partners with state-level organizations, school districts, and community organizations to help integrate Common Sense Education resources. She provides educational leadership through consultation with school districts, professional development (both in person and virtual), and conference presentations. Tali has been an educator for 20 years. Her passions include helping educators and families effectively navigate the digital world and building cultural competency. She has worked in a variety of educational settings, including as an elementary school teacher in the New York City Department of Education and the San Francisco Unified School District. In 2013, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to research culturally responsive pedagogy in New Zealand. In her free time, she loves face-to-face interactions with friends and family.

As an Infrastructure Specialist with the Maine DOE’s Learning Through Technology Team, James Chasse works with school districts and educational leaders across Maine to strengthen the technology foundations that support teaching, learning, and school operations. His work connects Maine schools with state and federal resources and practical strategies in cybersecurity, network infrastructure, incident response, student data privacy, technology planning, and student cyber safety. He serves on the planning committee of the State and Local Cybersecurity Planning Grant, a program of the Department of Homeland Security. The program has provided multifactor authentication and security awareness training for thousands of school personnel in Maine.

Jim's career reflects a unique progression through virtually every level of K–12 educational leadership. He has served as a teacher and coach, technology coordinator, principal, and superintendent of schools, including six years as a superintendent, 18 years as a principal, and five years as a technology coordinator. This broad experience gives him a distinctive understanding of both the instructional mission of schools and the increasingly complex technology systems required to support them.

A recognized advocate for practical cybersecurity education, Jim created K12 CyberStorm!, a statewide tabletop exercise designed to help Maine schools prepare for and respond to cyber incidents. Now in its fourth year, the initiative has brought together hundreds of educators, administrators, technology professionals, and school leaders to practice decision making in realistic cybersecurity scenarios.

Whether working with a superintendent, technology director, teacher, or classroom of students, Jim's central message is consistent: effective technology leadership is ultimately about people, preparation, and protecting the ability of schools to educate.

Common Sense Education develops high-quality digital citizenship programs and digital teaching resources, providing educators and students with the digital learning tools they need to harness the power of technology for life.