Malika Ali

Malika (she/her) is passionate about community-driven change management to scale and sustain culturally responsive education, driven by a liberatory data approach. As the Chief Innovation Officer at Throughline Learning (formerly Highlander Institute), she leads program visioning and R&D initiatives across all partner schools and districts. She was a Rhode Island District Teacher of the Year, served on Governor Raimondo’s STEAM and Equity in Educator Preparation Committee, and was named one of the nation’s top emerging and inspirational Black leaders in education innovation by LearnLaunch. 

Malika holds an M.Ed. in Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Public Health from Brown University. As a daughter of strong and brilliant Eritrean refugees, Malika has spent her life critiquing the systems that perpetuate educational inequity, and she is proud to be a part of the struggle to ensure that all children have access to, and can take advantage of, an empowering education.

You can follow Malika on Twitter:  @Malika_Ali, LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/malikayali/ or visit her website: throughlinelearning.org

Tom Driscoll

Tom Driscoll is an author, keynote speaker and CEO of EdTechTeacher.  His career in education began teaching high school social studies in two public school districts in Connecticut.  Following his graduate research at Teachers College of Columbia University, Tom began writing and speaking nationally about his practical experiences teaching and iterating blended learning models. Before joining EdTechTeacher, Tom served as Digital Learning Director for the Bristol Warren Regional School District in Rhode Island, leading their Future Ready Educational Technology Initiative and 1-1 device program. Tom has authored chapters for several instructional technology books and media outlets (ex. Edutopia, Edsurge, NY Times) and his most recent book “Becoming Active Citizens” was published by Solution Tree Press in 2022.

Tom was the recipient of the Rhode Island Department of Education’s Digital Learning Champion for Leadership Award and is a Google for Education Certified Trainer, Newsela Certified Trainer, Formative Certified Trainer, Adobe Creative Educator and Microsoft Certified Educator.

You can follow Tom at @TomDriscollEDU.

Karen Janowski

Karen Janowski is an Inclusive and Assistive Technology Facilitator and the President and owner of EdTech Solutions, Inc. in Reading, MA, established in 2002. She is passionate about supporting educators in their efforts to ensure all learners have access to the inclusive strategies, tools, and resources they need for success, independence, and empowerment. She presents both locally and nationally about assistive, inclusive, and educational technologies, She co-moderates #ATChat on Twitter and co-authored Inclusive Learning 365: EdTech Strategies for Every Day of the Year, published by the  International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

Amanda Nguyen

Amanda Nguyen is a Director of Coaching at Great Schools Partnership, co-leading a team of coaches who support schools and districts across the country. She is a Board Member of ACTEM (Maine’s ISTE Affiliate) and co-chairs ACTEM’s fall conference committee.  She supports programming and partnerships that create opportunities for learners to thrive in innovative and career-focused pathways. She is a former high school math/science teacher and administrator. She has created and implemented several professional learning and teacher leadership programs for educators. She earned her B.A. from Bowdoin College and M.Ed. focused on Technology, Innovation, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is an ISTE Certified Educator, the 2021 ACTEM ACHIEVE award winner (the Making IT Happen award from Maine), an ISTE 20 to Watch awardee, and ISTE Community Leader.

John Sowash

John Sowash is an experienced classroom teacher, former school administrator, author of The Chromebook Classroom, and founder of the Google Certification Academy. John inspires educators to use technology to connect with and challenge students. John lives in Michigan with his wife, Nellie, and five kids. You can connect with John via his blog Chrmbook.com/blog or Twitter @jrsowash.