Erica Aguirre is a History-Social Science educator of 16 years from Gahr High School. Her classroom is a unique space where history comes alive through engaging discussions, interactive projects, and a seamless integration of pop culture references. Erica's innovative teaching methods have inspired others to think outside the box and transform their own pedagogical practices. 

Gary Allen is a distinguished educator with an impressive 30-year career in public education. Having spent 14 years in the classroom and 16 years as the Director of Educational Technology for a high school district of 22,000 ethnically and economically diverse students, he has been a driving force in keeping the district at the forefront of technology integration. Gary is a firm advocate for implementing technology that enhances teaching and learning experiences, backed by his Master's Degree in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University. Prior to his educational journey, he served with honor in the U.S. Air Force.

Brian Arnold is the Chair of the Department of Global Innovation, Social Emotional Learning, and Educational Technology. Formerly the Academic Program Director for the MS in Designing Instructional and Educational technology, the BA in Film Arts and the BA in Digital Media Design programs. Brian’s PhD is in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology; his career highlights include working as an Editor for Nickelodeon Animation Studios and running Video Game related undergraduate programs.

Lauren Burlison Janoska, widely recognized as the Canvas Queen on social media, is an education consultant, learning experience designer, and science educator with valuable experience working for the Nevada Department of Education during the pandemic. She played a pivotal role in assisting with Canvas webinars and Course Instructional Design, providing invaluable support to educators in effectively utilizing technology for remote and blended learning environments. With a Master's degree in Learning Experience Design & Education Technology, Lauren specializes in empowering educators to seamlessly integrate technology, particularly Canvas LMS, into their instructional practices to enhance student learning and foster innovative teaching methodologies.

Alejandro Chavira has been an Instructional Technology Outreach Coordinator at Los Angeles County Office of Education for 8 years where he provides instructional technology integration training and support for education staff.  Previously, he worked as a social studies and ELA teacher for 10 years.  He has also worked with the district's data team to compile test data reports.  Alejandro enjoys working on video media production and learning new technology tools that can be used in the classroom.  He holds an M.A. in Education Administration.

Dr. George Cheung is part of the Education Leadership team at Apple, working with school leaders to leverage technology to transform learning. Prior to joining Apple, Dr. Cheung served as a teacher for 15 years, a tech coordinator, professor, and professional development consultant in Los Angeles and across California. He is fluent in American Sign Language and holds a BA in Marketing, MEd in Special Education, and an EdD in Education Leadership. 

Sidnie Davis has worked at Google for a little over a decade, first in Campus Recruiting and Outreach, and then in Technical Education Program and Curriculum Development. She's always worked at the intersection of tech, access, and equity. She currently serves as the California Lead for Education for Social Impact, managing partnerships that increase access in quality technical education at the K-12, post-secondary, and workforce level. Before Google, Sidnie worked for an educational nonprofit and was a public school teacher in the California Bay Area, completing her student teaching in LAUSD.

Ms. Jeannine Flores is the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) Arts & STEAM Coordinator in the Center for Distance and Online Learning, a division of Curriculum & Instructional Services. She has been in education for 26 years, is an alum of California State University, Long Beach and Concordia University, Irvine. Prior to her position at LACOE, Ms. Flores was the VAPA Coordinator for the Santa Clara County Office of Education where she oversaw Artspiration and supported STEAM. Currently, she serves as Chair for Create CA and Regional Arts Lead for California County Superintendents Arts Initiative for Region 11.  

Jeannine brings a wealth of knowledge around discrete arts and arts integration curriculum, professional development, standards-based instruction, community arts partnerships, and arts advocacy leadership. Her background as a music educator in Orange County established strong roots and connections to all disciplines. Flores was named Teacher of the Year in 2005 and was awarded the ACSA Region 7 Doris Prince Scholarship in 2019. 

Dr. Patrick Gittisriboongul is currently the Assistant Superintendent of Technology & Innovation for Lynwood Unified School District. He has led a community-driven process to assess and tackle the broadband gaps that exist within the district and the City of Lynwood. As a result of his efforts, Lynwood FiberCity, a state-of-the-art community-wide, fiber optic network, will be built over the next several years.

Patrick served as Assistant Superintendent of Innovation for the San Diego County Office of Education, the Director of Educational Technology and Information Services with the Huntington Beach Union High School District and various administrative positions with Montebello Unified School District. He is also a credentialed administrator and teacher and began his career teaching mathematics at the secondary level.

Patrick has experience as a web and software developer, project manager, and programmer. He received his Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California in 2013 and has additional degrees from Cal State Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona. He is committed to using technology to support student learning and to help all students reach their full potential.

Julio Gonzalez, an educator in public and private sectors, and co-founder of Merge Creative, LLC. is taking their experiences in designing engaging and creative content to the education space to enhance online learning. With a passion for facilitating the inner creativity in every learner, Julio is proficient in conveying how educators can use web-based meeting platforms to enhance online learning through fun and engaging 3D spaces.

Julio holds a B.S. in Virtual Technology and Design and a M.S. in Integrated Architecture and Design, Julio has been teaching XR Applications and Design Theory at the College level for 3 years. 

Katherine Goyette is the Computer Science Coordinator for California Department of Education. She is an author, learner and educational leader who advocates for inclusive educational opportunities for all students within the communities they reside. Katherine was primary writer for California’s inaugural Computer Science Standards and is the founding president of the California Central Valley chapter of the Computer Science Teacher Association. She has been a keynote speaker, featured presenter, and panelist for organizations across the globe on a variety of educational topics. In previous roles, Katherine was a county office consultant, educational administrator, instructional coach, and classroom teacher. She spends her free time writing, playing piano, and spending time with her family.

Dr. Samaa Haniya is an Assistant Professor in Learning Technologies at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University. She has over ten years of expertise in designing, implementing, evaluating, and researching e-learning practices across different learning environments, including small-scale and large-scale settings, such as MOOCs. Driven by a passion for educational equity, she is currently working on a research project to develop an AI Literacy workshop for teachers in underserved schools, aiming to demystify the potential of AI for the public good.

Teacher of Physics & Artificial Intelligence at Whitney High School, with previous background in AI academia and industry. My AI course is the Completer of a two year CTE pathway that begins with AP Computer Science Principles.

Christine Jones, CTO, is the Educational Technology Coordinator for the Palmdale School District, a K - 8 district of over 17,000 students located in the northeast corner of Los Angeles County. She was formerly a Consultant at the Los Angeles County Office of Education with the California Technology Assistance Program (CTAP) for 14 years and was a classroom teacher for 14 years. Christine has a Master's Degree in Curriculum Design and an Administrative Credential, as well as multiple technical certifications. Her experience includes extensive familiarity with professional learning implementation and design as well as project management for large-scale events, including the Antelope Valley EdTech Summit. She is an active member of CUE, CITE, ISTE, and ACSA, contributing articles and participating on various boards. Previous presentations include the annual CUE Conference and the annual CITE conference, both in California, and the ISTE Conferences in Philadelphia and Denver. Christine was highly honored to keynote a business conference at the University of Lima, Peru, in Nov., 2017, on the topic of Cybersecurity and Ransomware.

Dr. Mary Jo Madda (@MJMadda) is Senior Program Manager on the Education for Social Impact team at Google. She is also a recent doctoral graduate from the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, with a dissertation on "Tech Social Capital in Black & Latino High School Communities: A Growing Aspect of Computer Science Education and Workforce Development." Previously, she was a Director at EdSurge, a member of the MIT Scratch team, and a STEM classroom teacher and administrator. Mary Jo has an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Northwestern University. She was featured on the Forbes "30 Under 30" list in 2016.

Innovative, systems-level collaborator with over 25 years experience as an education leader in L.A. Unified. Leading the implementation of computer science education and digital citizenship programs across 1300 schools. Committed to cultivating leaders and learners ready for a growing digital world. 

Scott has worked in K-12 education for 30 years and in higher education for 20 years. He has taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Scott currently works as an Instructional Technology Outreach Coordinator at the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Scott also works as part-time university faculty in instructional and educational Technology.  He's a Google Certified Innovator who has earned the Time Warner National Teacher Award and the Classroom of the Future Foundation’s Innovative Educator Award. He received his M.A. in Educational Technology from San Diego State University and his doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA.

Daniel Ritchie is a PhD student in the School of Education at UC Irvine and Vice Chair of AI for California. As a computer scientist and educational researcher, his work focuses on addressing the impact of AI on education by creating curricula and technology to teach students about AI. 

Mark Schwanz is a Coordinator II with Instructional Technology Outreach. He has been an educational technology specialist for 30 years with experience as a teacher, tech coordinator, technology coach, and school administrator.  Mark holds Google Educator, Google Trainer, Leading Edge Digital Educator, Digital Administrator, Blended Learning, and Technology Enhanced Arts Learning/Social Emotional Learning (TEAL-SEL), Iorad.com and SoundTrap Educator certifications. He has been involved in the Arts since he first played the sax in Middle School and has been an advocate for the Arts through various community, district and school arts initiatives. He is a graduate of Azusa Pacific University (B.A., M.A.), California State University Fullerton (M.S.).

Vicky Sedgwick is an elementary educator in the Los Angeles area and is passionate about teaching computer science (including artificial intelligence) in elementary school. She was a writer on the 2017 CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards and served as the K-2 Grade Band Lead on the AI for K12 Initiative. Vicky was also a writer on the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers and is currently still part of this group working on resources for reflective teachers. She also moderated the #csk8 chat on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month during the school year on Twitter from 2015 through June 2023.

Jeff Share’s research and practice focuses on preparing educators to teach critical media literacy for social and environmental justice. He has worked as an award-winning photojournalist, bilingual elementary school teacher, and since 2007 he has taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He authored: Media Literacy is Elementary: Teaching Youth to Critically Read and Create Media, Teaching Climate Change to Adolescents: Reading, Writing, and Making a Difference, and The Critical Media Literacy Guide: Engaging Media and Transforming Education. Jeff is a Fulbright Specialist who has taught critical media literacy in India, Argentina, Mexico, China, and Germany. 

Chris has been an educator for over 18 years primarily teaching CTE courses in graphic design, A/V production, computer science, journalism, and theater arts. In 2014, he organized one of Colorado’s first high school esports programs and shortly after founded Colorado's first statewide competitive esports league. Chris now works with Generation Esports assisting teachers and administration improve student outcomes through competitive and academic scholastic esports solutions. 

Alan Sitomer, California Teacher of the Year award winner, author of 22 books and CEO of Mastery Coding will share tools, resources and best practices in coding instruction that will afford students the opportunity to step into high-paying, high-need jobs right out of high school. 

Sue Thotz is the Director of Outreach for Common Sense Education and co-founder of Equity in Action CA. In 2011, Sue began working for Common Sense by providing support and training for educators and administrators on issues of digital culture and wellness. As a co-founder of Equity in Action CA,m she has facilitated conferences that emphasize the importance of identity and belonging and strives to amplify marginalized voices in the education technology space. Sue is the winner of the 2023 ISTE's Making IT Happen Award. Prior to Common Sense, Sue was a research and educator. Sue holds a master's degree in public health and an undergraduate degree in zoology and chemistry. 

Aryanna Trejo is a Professional Learning Manager at Code.org. Before joining Code.org, she worked for the Los Angeles-based nonprofit 9 Dots. There, she taught computer science in local elementary schools and facilitated professional learning for K-6 teachers throughout LAUSD and Compton USD. Aryanna is passionate about providing teachers with the tools they need to be successful, as well as ensuring that all students have access to and belong in CS.

Tory Wadlington is in his 7th year as a special education teacher in Southern California. He is a tech enthusiast with a passion for building equity and creating safe spaces for BIPOC students, staff and families. He is a co-founder of Equity in Action CA which has brought teachers and leaders of color together for professional development. As a graduate of Grambling State University, an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) Tory noticed stark differences in student achievement and motivation based on cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. This propelled him into many mentorship positions, eventually leading him to get his Master’s degree in Educational Technology, with a credential focusing on Special Education. Tory used computer science to create safe space classrooms, and new ways to engage previously unmotivated students. His heart for special education and Social and Emotional Learning has helped him develop training on engaging and welcoming all students. 

Dr. Mark Warschauer is a Professor of Education and Informatics at UC Irvine where he directs the Digital Learning Lab. A former Spanish bilingual math teacher, Professor Warschauer’s research focuses on development and evaluation of digital tools and resources to help diverse children learn.