Presented by Greg Ottinger, Ed.D., Former Chief Business/Financial Officer, San Diego Unified School District (CA); Lenny Schad, Chief Information and Innovation Officer, District Administration; Kristina Ishmael, Deputy Director, Office of Ed Tech, US Department of Education; and Julie A. Evans, Ed.D., Chief Executive Officer, Project Tomorrow

Sponsored by iboss – Purpose Built to Securely Connect Any User, to Any Application, from Anywhere.
Hosted by Project Tomorrow

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The cybersecurity threat to K-12 schools and districts is at an unprecedented level. The increased technology dependency in our schools has emboldened bad actors determined to wreak havoc on district infrastructure and data systems. This edLeader Panel is the launch event for a new national campaign to drive greater awareness across all levels of K-12 district leadership on the realities of K-12 cybersecurity.

In this edLeader Panel, Project Tomorrow’s CEO, Dr. Julie A. Evans, shares new Speak Up research findings from 600 district leaders nationwide about their concern levels regarding cyberattacks and the steps they are taking to reduce vulnerabilities. A key finding is the significant disconnect between district administrators and technology leaders on the state of cyber threats to their districts. The panel discussion features the experiential insights and cold hard advice of two technology leaders with frontline experience safeguarding their districts.

Viewers gain access to a new national report on the state of K-12 cybersecurity from Project Tomorrow (a collaboration with iboss) and a ready-to-use checklist of immediate steps that should be taken by every K-12 district leader to reduce cyber risks today. This special event is highly recommended for superintendents, school board members and district technology leaders.

About the Presenters

Greg Ottinger, Ed.D. has spent more than two decades as an executive leader, researcher, and teacher focused on creating incredible outcomes for learners. Most recently, Dr. Ottinger served as Chief Business Officer for the San Diego Unified School District. In this capacity, he served as the chief financial officer and led/supported operational divisions for the second-largest school district in California.

Previously, Dr. Ottinger held the lead IT role for both San Diego Unified and the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), along with several years as the inaugural director of online and blended learning/education technology for SDCOE.

Dr. Ottinger holds a doctorate in education leadership and a master’s degree in education technology. Additionally, he teaches several courses focused on education finance, law, leadership, and research at both the master’s and doctoral levels and has served on doctoral committees at San Diego State University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Lenny Schad is the chief information and innovation officer for District Administration. He has been working in the technology field for 28 years. Lenny has worked in K-12 education since 2003, and successfully led implementation of BYOD and 1-to-1 in Katy and Houston ISD, respectively. Lenny is the former CIO/CFO for Houston ISD.

He is a past board member for CoSN and IMS Global and is a recognized leader whose innovative and process-oriented management styles have led to highly effective information technology departments. Lenny is a published author. His book, Bring Your Own Learning: Transform Instruction with any Device, has helped many organizations implement digital transformation initiatives.

Kristina Ishmael is an educator, learner, advocate, and agent of change. She is the Deputy Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education and brings a wide variety of experience to actively change teaching and learning to provide more equitable access and opportunities for every learner.

Kristina most recently worked as an educational consultant where she supported educators, schools, and nonprofits as they navigated new learning environments. Additionally, she was the Sr. Research Fellow on New America’s Teaching, Learning, & Tech team where she advised on the inclusive technology portfolio that picked up her prior OER work, and incorporated digital equity and culturally responsive and sustaining education.

Prior to leading the #GoOpen project at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Ed Tech, she was the Digital Learning Specialist for the Nebraska Department of Education where she led professional learning and advocated for school librarians. This experience granted her a unique perspective on leveraging educational technology in urban, suburban, and rural school systems. Kristina started as an early childhood and elementary teacher of emerging bilingual students in Omaha, Nebraska.

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, Dr. Evans 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. Dr. Evans 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. Dr. Evans is the longest-serving woman executive in the education technology nonprofit sector.

Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.

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iboss is a cloud security company that provides fast and secure access to the Internet on any device, from any location, in the cloud. The iboss SASE Cloud Platform eliminates the need for traditional network security appliances, such as firewalls and web gateway proxies.

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.