Presenters
Presenters: Mark Coley, Elizabeth Dillard, Melissa Fearrington, Penny Kelly, Jamie Lang, Josh Madore, Kristy Ryer, Srinivasan Srividya, Uche Uche.
Profile:
Elizabeth Dillard: Betsy Dillard earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management Information Systems from Babson College, a B.A. in American History from Simmons College, and a Graduate Certificate in Computer Science Education from the College of St. Scholastica. Before going into Education Betsy worked in the industry as a Senior Systems Analyst for over 18 years.
Melissa Fearrington: Melissa teaches AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, and CS Principles II at Simsbury High School in Simsbury, Connecticut. As a second career teacher, she combines her experience in IT with her love of teaching to promote computer science education. She was named 2015 Educator of the Year by The Simsbury Board of Education for her efforts to promote computer science throughout the district. She is a member of Connecticut Computer Science Teachers Association. She and her family reside in Simsbury, CT.
Penny Kelly:
Jamie Lang:
Jamie Lang is a technology education teacher at South Windsor High School. She studied management information systems in college
and worked in the information technology field prior to becoming a teacher. Since beginning her teaching career 9 years ago, Jamie has added three different computer science courses to the elective options at her school, completed a fellowship abroad in Iceland where she studied the relationship between computing and climate change, received an honorable mention for the Aspirations in Computer Educator Award by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT), and was honored as the South Windsor Teacher of the year in 2018-2019.
Kristy Ryer:
Kristy teaches AP Computer Science Principles and Exploring Computer Science at CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering High School in Windsor, Connecticut. Before teaching, Kristy served in the U.S. Navy and the Army National Guard, retiring after over 20 years of combined service. Highlights from her career include working in Military Law Enforcement, Training Regiments and various Intelligence communities. Kristy shares her military experiences with students to help expose them to some of the real-life applications of computer science as well as non-traditional STEM career fields that exist today.
Dr. Uche Uche:
Dr. Uche is a science teacher at the Greater Hartford of the Academy of the Arts. He has been involved in teaching and research for over twenty years in Nigeria, United Kingdom and the US. He completed his graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh Scotland, UK.