Board of Directors

Dr. Rob Abel is the Chief Executive Officer of 1EdTech, a nonprofit collaboration of the world's leading universities, school districts, government organizations, content providers, and technology suppliers, cooperating to accelerate learning technology interoperability, adoption, and impact. Rob has been the CEO of 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global Learning Consortium, since February of 2006.

Rob is a recognized expert on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for learning with over 40 years high tech and education market development experience. During Rob’s tenure, 1EdTech has experienced dramatic growth in terms of members, revenues, and achieved significant adoption of 1EdTech work by leading regional education communities worldwide. 1EdTech has grown over 17x since Rob became CEO and has risen to become one of the world's best resourced and dynamic standards-setting consortia.

Prior to 1EdTech, Rob was Senior Vice President at Collegis (now Ellucian Managed Services), the leading provider of ICT services to U.S. higher education, where he was responsible for online and academic services provided to over 60 U.S. institutions. Rob is also a seasoned high technology software development, business development, market development and venture investment veteran. As Senior Director at Oracle Education he was a leader and innovator in the development of online learning architectures and related standards. Rob also held executive positions at National Semiconductor, TRW and Hughes Aircraft.

Rob holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Change from Fielding Graduate University, a Masters degree in Management from Stanford, a Masters degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a Baccalaureate degree in Computational Physics from Carnegie Mellon University. Rob was honored with the TRW Chairman's Award for Innovation in the early 1990's for leading advancements in real-time networking and distributed software.

Timothy R. Beekman, President & Co-Founder, SAFARI Montage, was founder of Dynacom, Inc., and a partner/owner of the former SAFARI Technologies, Inc. Mr. Beekman holds a BSEE from Western Michigan University and a First Class Broadcast License. He was honored as “Fellow of the Decade” by Ball State University Center for Communication Sciences and served as Director of Technology for Grand Rapids Public Schools. Currently, he is president and co-founder of SAFARI Montage, and brings leadership and focus to the team. Mr. Beekman has pioneered the integration of video technology in the classroom through projects like AT&T School of the Future initiative and the “Campus of the Future” at Ball State University. Under Mr. Beekman’s leadership, SAFARI Montage has grown to be an industry leader in Educational Video Integration Technologies in both analog and digital formats.

Emily Bell is the Chief Information Officer for Fulton County Schools in Georgia. She is a 20+ year educator who seeks to understand, plan, and develop innovative technology strategies for optimal productivity within the district. Emily holds degrees in English Education from Florida State University and Instructional Technology and Education Leadership from Valdosta State University provide the foundation for authentic work experiences in classrooms, online learning environments, and business operations.

Thomas Cavanagh, Ph.D. is Vice Provost for Digital Learning at the University of Central Florida. In this role, he oversees the distance learning strategy, policies, and practices of one of the nation’s largest universities. In his career, Tom has administered e-learning development for both academic (public and private) and industrial (Fortune 500, government/military) audiences. He has been recognized with numerous awards from organizations such as the Online Learning Consortium, the United States Distance Learning Association, the IMS Global Learning Consortium, and the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technology. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and often consults with other institutions regarding academic innovation. He is active in the higher education community and serves on a number of national advisory boards. Tom’s research interests include e-learning, technical communication, and the societal influence of technology on education, training, culture, and commerce and he has published extensively in both peer-reviewed and popular outlets. He is also an award-winning author of several mystery novels.

Annie Chechitelli has spent the past two decades innovating with educators to expand access to education, meet the quickly changing needs of learners, and empower students to do their best, original work. As the Chief Product Officer at Turnitin, Annie oversees the Turnitin suite of applications which include academic integrity, grading and feedback, and assessment capabilities.

Prior to joining Turnitin, Annie spent over five years at Amazon where she led Kindle Content for School, Work, and Government and launched the AWS EdTech Growth Advisory team, advising education technology companies on how to grow their product and go-to-market strategies with AWS.

Annie began her career in EdTech at Wimba, where she launched a live collaboration platform for education which Blackboard ultimately acquired in 2010. At Blackboard, she led platform management, focused on transitioning Blackboard Learn to the cloud.

Annie holds a B.S. from Columbia University and an M.B.A. and M.S. from Claremont Graduate University. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and three children and is an avid tennis player.

Jim Chilton currently serves as Cengage Group Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As of May 2022, Jim also assumed the role of acting General Manager for Infosec, part of the Cengage Work business.

Jim is a seasoned technology and business executive with an extensive background and deep expertise in technology optimization from technical product engineering to business systems management, process management, cybersecurity, and customer support. Prior to joining Cengage Group, Jim held executive leadership positions at a broad range of companies in the enterprise software, high-tech, and education industries, including Dassault Systèmes and SolidWorks.

Jim enthusiastically embraces the importance of ‘giving back’ and leverages his experience and network to influence the industry and community. Jim is an active Advisor and Board Member to numerous Boston area efforts and startup companies, including Apprenti, MassHire, and Evanta, among others.

Jim holds an MBA from New Hampshire College (now part of Southern New Hampshire University) and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Franklin Pierce University. Jim received the 2020 Inspire CIO of the Year/Boston ORBIE award and was a finalist for the prestigious National InspireCIO of the Year ORBIE Award for 2021. Jim is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and lives in Hollis, New Hampshire.

Ed Clark, Ed.D., is a technology leader with decades of experience in higher education practices and has overseen institutional digital transformation initiatives ranging from online learning and course delivery to academic research computing, student recruitment, and retention.

Ed is currently the CIO for the California State University (CSU), the largest university system in the United States, comprising 23 campuses, over 50,000 staff, and more than 470,000 students. Ed’s role is to serve as a strategic partner for the Chancellor’s Executive Team and collaborate with university campus presidents and their chief information officers to catalyze strategic and innovative administrative and academic technology initiatives to advance the mission of the CSU.

In 2019, Ed was selected as Minnesota’s non-profit CIO of the year. He was appointed by Governor Walz to serve on the State of Minnesota’s Blue Ribbon/Technology Advisory Council, and currently serves on numerous boards, committees, and interest groups to advance the cause of higher education while promoting better student outcomes for all.

Dr. Chris Davis serves as Vice President of Academic Services and Quality at the University of Maryland Global Campus. In over two decades in higher education, he has served in a variety of leadership and faculty roles at multiple universities in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Dr. Davis did his undergraduate work in sociology and Ph.D. in urban, technological, and environmental planning at the University of Michigan. He has also earned a Master's of Science in Higher Education Leadership from Capella University, a Master's of Science in Psychology from Walden University, and a Master's of Business Administration in IT Management and Accounting from Western International University. He and his wife Tena have ten children ages 6 - 21.

Sarah DeMark serves as vice provost of Workforce Intelligence & Credential Integrity at Western Governors University, where she has worked since 2014. She is a strong advocate for creating skills-based credentials that benefit and align both individuals and employers to improve workforce development. She helps keep WGU at the forefront of competency-based education by leading the university’s credential integrity strategy and ensuring all program offerings align with in-demand and workforce-relevant skills. While at WGU, Sarah has also served as the vice president of program development and the vice president of General Education innovation.

Sarah also currently serves as the interim Executive Director of the Open Skills Network, a 1700-member coalition dedicated to advancing an open skills-based education and hiring ecosystem. Additionally, she sits on UPCEA’s Council for Credential Innovation and the Credentials Future Coalition.

Prior to WGU, DeMark spent more than 15 years at leading IT companies, serving in various leadership roles where she oversaw the strategy and execution of the design, development, and deployment of innovative, large-scale curriculum and assessment portfolios. As part of this work, she also developed the strategy for leveraging skills-based assessments for internal employee professional development, retention, and workforce management. Previously, she was an independent consultant working with state and local school districts and worked with The College Board on SAT and AP program evaluation. DeMark also served on the American National Standards Institute’s Personnel Certification Accreditation Committee, which serves to validate whether certification programs adhere to standards.

Sarah earned a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Educational Psychology (Measurement, Statistics, & Methodological Studies) from Arizona State University. Sarah earned B.S. degrees in both Elementary Education and Psychology from Vanderbilt University. Sarah has been published in numerous journals and books and is a sought-after speaker.

Debbie Durrence, Ed.D. currently serves in the Department of Data Governance for Gwinnett County Public Schools. The school district is in metro Atlanta and serves a very diverse population of over 180,000 students. She oversees the teams in student data management, data integration, data governance, state and federal reporting, data privacy, as well as SIS reporting. Prior to that role she served as the school district’s Executive Director of Accountability and Assessment in which she led the team that developed and administered a district assessment program, provided staff development regarding assessment literacy, and supervised the administration of all standardized assessments. In addition to previously serving as a member of the board of directors for the National Council on Measurement in Education, she has served on several advisory panels for the state of Georgia Department of Education and various other organizations.

Nicole Engelbert is vice president of higher education development at Oracle. She is responsible for engaging the industry ecosystem to develop thought leadership and best practice with cloud technology and to use those insights to guide the development of Oracle’s higher education solutions including its Student Cloud product suite.

Prior to Oracle, Nicole served as the Director of Research & Analysis at Ovum where she spent the last decade advising institutions globally on critical areas such as cloud migration, legacy modernization, emerging technologies, and student experience.

A sought after presenter on the higher education technology conference circuit, Nicole is also regularly quoted in publications such as the NY Times, University Business, Campus Technology, and the Wall Street Journal. Nicole holds a BA in classics from Union College and an MEd in educational administration & policy analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Rick Johnson, one of the founders of VitalSource Technologies, directs their product strategy, accessibility and standards work, VitalSource is the maker of Bookshelf®, the most widely used platform for delivery of electronic learning materials in the world.

Rick's career has been focused on bringing together his three passions: technology, publishing, and education. He is a frequent speaker on electronic textbooks, their integration into an institutional environment, and how the accessibility needs of individual students can best be accommodated in their delivery. He has served on multiple committees addressing the needs around delivering accessible content to students, was a member of the working groups responsible for version 2 and version 3 of the EPUB standard, and is the co-inventor of 3 domestic and international patents dealing with electronic books and their distribution.

Prior to VitalSource, Rick spent more than 12 years with Apple Computer, Inc. As a Senior National Consulting Engineer for them he was instrumental in the implementation of complex solutions for many higher education and corporate customers, and received numerous national and international awards.

A graduate of the communication and business departments of Biola University in 1984, Rick has lived in the Phoenix area with his family since they moved from Southern California in 1991. Married to his wife Susie for more than 35 years, together they have raised two children, have two grandchildren, and are very active in their church and community. Rick also serves on the board of directors for several non-profit ministries.

Dr. Vince Kellen currently serves as the chief information officer for the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), as well as a member of the Chancellor's Cabinet, and vice chancellor and chief financial officer's senior management team. UCSD is recognized as a top 15 university world-wide and 7th best public university in the world, with over $1 billion in annual research funding, 34,000 students, 16 Nobel laureates who have taught on its campus and 161 faculty with national Academy memberships.

Dr. Kellen brings a rare combination of academic, business and IT strategy experience to his role, with a focus on transformational leadership within IT, applying leading edge approaches to current business challenges.  His twenty-five years of executive-level information technology experience offers a proven track record of successfully integrating innovative applications of information technology into all aspects of teaching, learning, and student success.  These innovations have resulted in markedly improved efficiencies and enhanced learning environments, as well as fruitful, collaborative relationships with researchers, faculty, staff, and students across all levels of higher education and the world. 

Dr. Kellen formerly served as the senior vice provost of Analytics and Technologies for the University of Kentucky, one of the top public research institutions and academic medical centers in the US., where his areas of responsibility included institutional research and analytics, enterprise software, research computing, academic technology, IT infrastructure and cloud services, and supporting the university’s 17 colleges, 30,000 students, and 14,000 faculty and staff.  Prior to that role, he held the position of chief information officer for three years. 

As the Chief Academic Officer at Instructure, Melissa Loble will build out the global academic strategy function to ensure the educator experience remains core to everything the company does. At Instructure, she has held executive leadership positions for over nine years in roles overseeing support, client success, services, community, partnerships and platform. She’s a champion for crucial customer-focused topics like data usage and privacy—her mission is to drive innovation in our customer experience and enable customers to leverage our solutions in engaging and effective learning environments. Melissa has spent 20 years in educational technology working for a number of technology suppliers and educational institutions, as well as teaching leadership courses on managing technology for educational change. She has a master’s degree in educational policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Jeff McCoy currently serves as the Associate Superintendent of Academics for Greenville County Schools. Greenville County Schools is the largest district in South Carolina and the 44th largest in the nation, with over 77,000 students in attendance. Jeff oversees the Offices of Academic Support, Academic Innovation and Technology, Virtual Learning, Accountability and Quality Assurance, Career and Technical Education, Special Education, Special Programs, and Early Childhood Education. Before assuming the Associate Superintendent role, Jeff held various district leadership positions and is proud to be starting his 21st year with Greenville County Schools. Over the last five years, Greenville County Schools has increased student achievement and closed achievement gaps, moving them into the top 15 out of 81 school districts when ranking student achievement scores and accountability metrics. Jeff is proud to lead the Academic Division in a district known for innovation in technology and curriculum initiatives and continuously transforming learning practices to improve student outcomes.

Jeff holds a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and a Master's Degree in Education Technology with a focus on leadership. He is active both state and nationally on multiple advisory boards, including the National School Transformation Conference Advisory Board and the National Chief Academic Officers Working Group. He serves as Board Chair for The Children’s Museum of the Upstate Board of Directors. He has also served on the South Carolina Ed Tech Conference Board and the Education Research and Development Institute Advisory Board. Jeff has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels in the areas of technology integration and technology leadership. He and three national colleagues recently published a series, "Blueprints on Personalized Learning, Cybersecurity, The Marriage of Information Technology and Academics and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion." He is a regular contributor to books, webinars, and national publications.

LaTanya D. McDade currently serves as the Superintendent for Prince William County. Previously, she was the Chief Education Officer of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). LaTanya oversaw all academic offices within the CPS Central Office and supported all principals and Network Chiefs in their leadership roles. In this capacity, Mrs. McDade was responsible for improving and supporting all aspects of teaching and learning district-wide. Her commitment to over 340,000+ students across 638 schools (district and charter) is to ensure equity in access to high-quality educational opportunities. This was a natural transition from her previous role as Chief Officer of the Office of Teaching and Learning (T & L), where she managed all core academic departments and oversaw the design, implementation, and evaluation of instructional programs and services for CPS teachers and administrators.

Mrs. McDade worked to streamline and reduce waste by aligning the Office of Teaching and Learning programs to district priorities and advocating for the consistent, formal evaluation/ROI assessment of services and supports provided by central office departments. As a veteran educator, she challenged the efficacy of traditional education models and initiated the PK-12 Curriculum System Project to modernize instructional practices across the district.

A proud graduate of CPS, LaTanya was a student in Chicago from Kindergarten through 12th grade and dedicated her entire career to the children of Chicago. In her various roles, including teacher, assistant principal, principal, and Network Chief, she has prioritized instructional equity and excellence for every child.

A passionate believer in lifelong learning, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and an M.A. in Educational Leadership and Administration. Mrs. McDade was a member of the main advisory group for advancing teaching and learning through the Charlotte Danielson Teaching in Excellence Framework Pilot. She completed the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association Cohort “Leadership Initiative for Transformation (LIFT).” She is currently a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Illinois Principals Association (IPA), and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. LaTanya was named Future Chief in the 2019 Cohort of Chiefs for Change.

With more than 20 years of experience in Chicago Public Schools, Mrs. McDade deeply understands school communities and knows how to support their academic growth. She is dedicated to the field of education and passionate about improving the quality of life for all children through a lens of equity. Her mantra is, Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. – John Dewey

Marc Nelson is the Vice President of Platform Product Management for Savvas Learning Company. At Savvas, Marc leads a talented team committed to delivering innovative solutions for K-12 teachers, students, and administrators. Marc’s 25+ year career has been devoted to the thoughtful application of technology to inspire, engage, and personalize learning at scale. Savvas’s flagship learning management system, Savvas Realize, provides over 1100 standards-aligned core curriculum programs and powerful features built to improve teaching and learning. Savvas Realize reaches millions of teachers and students each day by offering plug-and-play interoperability with top classroom tools and industry-leading integrations.

With more than 20 years of experience in higher education across areas such as academic advising, student success, curriculum design and competency-based education, Dr. Kathe Pelletier is currently the Director of the Teaching and Learning Program at EDUCAUSE. She brings an expertise for combining traditional higher education evidence-based practice with innovative delivery models. She has been recognized by the International Center for Supplemental Instruction for starting and scaling the first online Supplemental Instruction program, and she has also been recognized for a hybrid program and course framework that creates a structure for creativity for faculty yet ensures consistency and quality. During her career, Kathe has accomplished such things as building an online student success center from scratch, establishing a competency-based curriculum model that became an anchor for a self-paced CBE program, developing an assessment and outreach system that delivered personalized resource recommendations to incoming students, and guiding faculty communities of practice

Darlene Rankin has been an educator for the past 31 years and has pursued her love for technology-integrated education by obtaining her master’s degree in Education Technology in 2002. Darlene began her years teaching elementary and middle school students and then continued her career at the high school level, teaching in the computer science field. Darlene is a director with Katy Independent School District (ISD), which serves 92,000 plus students in the west Houston area.

Major initiatives that Darlene has accomplished include deploying a Learning Management System, integrating online resources using 1EdTech standards, developing Katy ISD’s own virtual high school, deploying a single-sign-on environment for all stakeholders, including parents, endorsing professional learning through digital credentialing, leading the development of asynchronous and synchronous courses and the deployment of devices during COVID. Darlene continues leading the technology strategic design plan for Katy ISD, overseeing the supplier relationship and the multi-million dollar software budget for the Katy ISD technology department. Driving innovation, Darlene keeps abreast of new technologies and associated standards to ensure the digital teaching and learning ecosystem is robust and responsive for students and teachers.

Darlene was named by NSBA's “Top 20 to Watch Educators” in 2011 and has served on the HMH Technical Advisory board and continues to serve on the 1EdTech K-12 Board. Most recently, she has served on SMART’s Advisory Council and CoSN’s Advisory Committee for Digital Standards. Under her leadership, Katy ISD has continued to receive numerous awards for digital content from organizations: the Center for Digital Education, Consortium of School Networking, The Learning Counsel, the National School Boards Association, and TXDLA.

Dr. Shana Rafalski has served in a variety of leadership roles over her 28-year career in public education and the business sector. She has built a reputation for maintaining high expectations while working collaboratively to solve problems, meet goals and engage in systems building. She is an action-oriented leader who believes in the immense potential of each student as a leader and learner. Her adaptability and resolve have derived partly from being part of a military family, experiencing educational systems around the country, and adapting to new cultures and environments. These experiences have contributed to her commitment to creating equitable learning opportunities for all students.

In June of 2022, Dr. Rafalski joined the Clark County School District as the Chief of Staff. CCSD is the 5th largest school district in the nation and serves over 300,000 students.

Prior to her new role, Shana served as the Executive Director/Assistant Superintendent for the Educational Choices and Innovation Department in the School District of Osceola County, Florida. She has also served as the Vice President for Digital Instruction Strategies for an educational technology company, Executive Director for Elementary Education for Pinellas County Schools, and Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Orange County Public Schools.

Dr. Rafalski welcomes the opportunity and challenges that will present themselves in the role of Chief of Staff for the Clark County School District after a lifetime of serving as a teacher, trainer, coach, curriculum specialist, school principal, and district leader in diverse public school settings. She is committed to keeping her service and solution orientation at the heart of the work in support of students, staff and instructional leaders.

Ms. Sacks-Mandel is the Global Chief Technology and Transformation Officer at Microsoft for the education industry. Prior to joining Microsoft, she was the Chief Information Officer at two unique technically advanced large public school districts where she enabled student-centric teaching and learning which resulted in significant improvements in student outcomes.

Prior to pivoting to Education, she led innovation teams at IBM, Walt Disney World, and HMH and provided management consulting at many others. Serena has won numerous state, national, and global awards for leadership, vision, technical excellence, and her commitment to supporting women in technology.

Carrie Vail has 20 years of developing EdTech solutions spanning K12, Higher Ed, and Corporate Training for both publishing and platform applications. After 12 years at Pearson creating technologies to support the Higher Ed, International, Professional, and K12 divisions, Carrie moved on to focus her efforts on how video can be fully leveraged for effective instruction and engagement at Viddler. More recently, she returned to K12 at Schoology to build out curriculum capabilities within their LMS. Now, Carrie is working across the entire PowerSchool portfolio to bring educational products together to support a district’s educational ecosystem.