She Snoops for Scoops: The Personal Side of the EdNET Community
She Snoops for Scoops: The Personal Side of the EdNET Community
Vicki Smith Bigham — Friday, June 22, 2012
Here we are closing out another week, and you all have been pretty quiet. I know why—many of you are focused on pre-ISTE plans before heading to San Diego next week. Well, I do have a few scoops for you so take just a minute and read on....
Three teams welcome new hires!
Teach Me Tapes, Inc., the Minneapolis-based publisher of foreign language acquisition materials for children, has named Joan Coughlan Berge as vice president. Joan brings more than 15 years of experience in publishing for children and will lead the strategic development of Teach Me Tapes, Inc. Previously, she served as president of fiction for Capstone Publishers. In that role she launched Stone Arch Books and managed the complete operations of Stone Arch and Picture Window Books, both fiction imprints under the Capstone umbrella. Joan is a graduate of St. Catherine's University and holds a degree in Business. Join me in congratulating her on joining the Teach Me Tapes team!
Bernadette Grey has joined MDR's WeAreTeachers team. Bernadette will be focused on Business Development and on the creation of integrated programs and solutions for WAT clients. She has strong experience with client development leadership roles at CarrotNewYork, an agency focusing on education outreach, and at Scholastic Marketing Partners, where she was National Partnerships Director. In these roles, she had a strong emphasis on the non-profit foundation and consumer markets as well as the core education corporate market. Bernadette also has a very strong editorial background including leadership roles at Scholastic, Working Woman Network, and Home Office Computing. MDR is excited to have Bernadette join the team! Send her congratulations on her new position at GreyB@dnb.com.
And Brian Lewis has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Education advocacy, a commitment to equity and a focus on the best interests of students have been the building blocks of Brian's career. He joins ISTE following a distinguished 25-year career in both the public and private sectors, as an association leader in a number of non-profit organizations, education advocate and reformer, and as an elected school board member. He is well known as a strategist, collaborator, and communicator who engages and honors colleagues and stakeholders. Most recently, he served as the Chief Strategy Officer and Interim CEO for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) where he managed a $47M annual operating budget. He previously served as Executive Director of the California Association of School Business Officials and was Director of Governmental Relations for the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association. Brian will be introduced to nearly 20,000 educators and education technology representatives from around the world at the Opening Plenary Session at ISTE's 33rd Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego. Don Knezek, having served as ISTE's CEO for ten years, will be departing in September. Congratulation, Brian, on joining the talented ISTE team!
Loss of an education innovator
Joy Evans, innovative educator, publisher, and co-founder of Evan-Moor Educational Publishers, passed away on June 11th, at the age of 70. Joy dedicated her life to education, working devotedly until her death last week. After teaching in Southern California, Germany, and Japan, Joy moved to Monterey, California, in 1970 and began teaching in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. In the mid-1970s, Joy and her teaching partner, Jo Ellen Moore, created their first book to help inspire struggling students in their classroom learn basic skills. The original homespun, handwritten, and hand-illustrated book was short of a masterpiece in the eyes of publishers, yet effective in the classroom. Joy and Jo Ellen persevered in creating supplemental classroom resources to help their students learn, eventually developing and independently publishing six new titles. In 1979, Joy co-founded Evan-Moor Educational Publishers with Jo Ellen Moore and her brother, Bill Evans, CEO of Evan-Moor Educational Publishers. Since their first hand-crafted book, Joy infused her knowledge and passion for education into more than 500 Evan-Moor resources-all developed with the important focus on inspiring children to learn. As one of the first to recognize the effectiveness of hands-on center activities and the power of connecting art to the core curriculum, Joy helped to enhance teaching and learning across the U.S. and internationally with innovative, thoughtfully created educational resources. She touched many lives through her work. Remembrances and thoughts of Joy can be shared and viewed online. Our sympathies go out to her brother Bill and all of the Evan-Moor family!
Heading to ISTE?
So now that you have your scoops, for those of you heading to San Diego, enjoy a great ISTE conference—I know you will, and I will really miss not being there this year. There are still some pressing needs here that make getting on a plane and that far away from home not comfortable for me right now. But I will be there with you in spirit and interested in hearing your news and scoops from the event. Have safe travels and a fun and productive week!
And for you guys at ISTE, Chuck Amos, the new Chief Executive Officer at GuideK12, asked me to let you know that the DOGS (Dirty Old Guys of Software) will have an informal gathering on Sunday night. They plan to meet at the Hotel Solamar, San Diego, in the Rooftop Bar, 435 6th Avenue, 9:30 pm - ?? Go join them after your Sunday evening dinners. Chuck said everyone is welcome, and you can register online! I know the DOLS (Dirty Old Ladies of Software) have their own dinner planned that evening. And I know both will be a lot of fun! Enjoy!
EdNET 2012 Early-earlybird deadline is TODAY—act now to save!
Be aware that today is the last day to take advantage of the EdNET 2012 early-earlybird discount. Register today to save $500 with the early-earlybird rates or save an extra $100 with multiple registrations. Join hundreds of your colleagues in Baltimore September 30th-October 2nd for the not-to-be-missed program and networking opportunities. The Snoop wants to see you there!
Have a special weekend, friends! Mine will be a combination of baby celebration and memorial service events—it is the circle of life. Be good to your family and friends and also to yourself. Make your time this weekend special with those who matter most. Till next Friday....Vicki, the Snoop
