Leadership Team
Janine Feil
Tech Facilitator
STEM Network Co-Chair
Having both BS and MS degrees in Chemistry, and self-contained K-9 classroom teaching certification, Janine is a Tech Facilitator for Arlington Heights school district in the Chicago suburbs. She is excited about all things STEAM and her experience includes piloting software, and applications, and training teachers in new technology usage. Certified as a Level 2 Google Educator, iSchools Teacher Leader, Apple Teacher, Nearpod Educator and a Common Sense Media Educator she is inspired by other amazing educators like our STEMpire team. Always looking for new ideas, she loves to collaborate to learn new ideas to bring back to her students to inspire them.
Fun Fact: I'm a total Nightmare Before Christmas fanatic.
Technology coach. former CS Educator. Adventure Seeker. Maker. #edcampmagic EdMagineer. Love helping teachers & students find THEIR passions using technology.
Faith Plunkett
Instructional Technology Coach
STEM Network Co-Chair
Fun Fact: Disney World is my favorite place on earth!
Jessica Shupik
Outgoing STEM Network Co-Chair
Jessica Shupik is a dedicated, self-motivated secondary educator with experience teaching and leading at the middle school and high school levels. She is passionate about the development and education of all students, and she enjoys being part of an innovative, collaborative environment. As one who likes to lead by example, Jessica continuously builds on her education with additional degrees and certifications. She is ecstatic to be serving ISTE as a member of the STEM Network's Leadership Team for a fifth straight year.
Fun Fact: I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a kid.
Julianne Ross-Kleinmann is passionate about instructional technology to support teaching and learning. An educator for close to 30 years, Julianne is currently an Instructional Specialist for the Ulster County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in New Paltz, New York. Past ISTE Board member and current ISTE Certified Educator.
Fun Fact: Julianne's goal is to become more confident riding her Harley 1200 Sporty alongside her husband on his Harley FXLR.
Julianne Ross-Kleinmann
Technology Integration Specialist
Outgoing STEM Network Co-Chair
Michelle Palmieri
Technology Integration Teacher
Incoming STEM Network Co-Chair
Michelle is a Technology Integration Teacher for Pine Plains Central School District in NY. She is certified in Childhood Education and Students with Disabilities 1-6. Michelle has experience as a Special Education Teacher and Computer Science Teacher, with an M.S. in Integrating Technology into the Classroom K-12. Michelle was awarded the 2019 ISTE Ed Tech Coaches Network Award. She is an ISTE Certified Educator, L2 Google Certified Educator, Nearpod, and BrainPOP Certified Educator.
Fun Fact: Michelle has fostered and helped over 15 dogs get adopted!
Denise Wright, is an online and face to face STEM Educator in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She was a nominee for 2015 National Online Teacher of the Year and was one of the first teacher's in her state to pilot a historic, Alvan Clark Refracting Telescope, in a distance learning environment. Classrooms across, South Carolina, use this technology, in cooperation with the South Carolina State Museum, to view the sun and night sky. She volunteers for NASA, as a Solar System Ambassador and started a community astronomy group, Grand Strand Astronomers. Denise, is currently a guest columnist for the National Science Teaching Association, Journal, Science Scope. Her column is called the "Online Teacher" which focuses upon best practices to teach science in an online or hybrid environment. In her classroom, she is looking forward to teaching about Artificial Intelligence, due to receiving classroom grants, from Toshiba and Waccamaw Community Foundation.
Fun Fact: Denise, has attended three NASA Socials, the launches of Parker Solar Probe, SpaceX CRS-18, and Smithsonian/NASA Langley 100th Year Celebration.
Denise Wright
STEM Educator
Incoming STEM Network Co-Chair
David Lockett
STEM Teacher
David Lockett is a STEM/IT/Robotics teacher at Edward W. Bok Academy in Lake Wales, Florida. He is passionate about technology integration, aerospace, astronomy, and robotics. He was part of the winning team in the NASA Space Apps Challenge and is currently helping design an app to track international rocket launch information. David believes that fostering students’ confidence in becoming independent learners is paramount. He enjoys fostering this confidence daily through the many programs offered by NASA JPL Education, as well as by teaching coding and programming skills with Tynker. Among other accomplishments, he has written articles for STEM Magazine, USA Today, and NSTA Reports.
Tim Needles is an artist, educator and author of STEAM Power: Infusing Art Into Your STEM Curriculum from ISTE. He teaches art and media at Smithtown School District in St. James, NY, is a TEDx Talk speaker, and his work has been featured on NPR, in the New York Times, Columbus Museum of Art, and Norman Rockwell Museum. He’s the recipient of ISTE’s Technology in Action Award and Creativity Award, NAEA’s ArtEdTech Outstanding Teaching Award, and The Rauschenberg Power of Art Award. He’s also a National Geographic Certified Teacher, a PBS Digital Innovator, and an Adobe Creative Educator and Education Leader alumnus.
Fun Fact: In addition to education he also works as an arts and film journalist and has interviewed actors such as Woody Harrelson, Carrie Fisher, And James Franco.
He’s active on social media at @timneedles
Tim Needles
Artist, Educator, and Author
Nancy Penchev
I LAB Teacher & Instructional Technology Coordinator
Nancy Penchev is an I LAB Teacher and Instructional Technology Coordinator. Her presentations include local, state, and international conferences. She has led webinars on the Uncommon Test Prep for EdWeb.net and Common Sense Media and Teacher ideas for Distance Learning during a Pandemic for PBS SoCal. She has been published in Teaching in the Middle magazine, Association of Middle Level Educators, ISTE point/counterpoint, and PBS SoCal blog. Nancy founded Girls Building STEAM and is a local award winner for the National Council for Women in Information Technology and a 2019 honorable mention for the STEM Excellence award from ISTE. Nancy is an ambassador for Common Sense Media, Osmo, and Wonder Workshop. She is certified with Common Sense, Newsela, and Google level 1, Nearpod, Screencastify, and others. She curates and creates content on her website http://www.nancypenchev.com/
Fun Fact: Nancy loves to change her hair color and often lets students pick the fun colors she adds to cover her gray hair!
@penchevable on Twitter and Instagram
Clint Carlson is always looking for areas where technology, creativity, and community intersect. Fresh at a new position as the Program Manager of Digital Education and Academic Technology at the University of Colorado, he is excited to be back in the United States after 7 years of living in India and Turkey working in international education.
Clint is thrilled to join the ISTE STEM Network Leadership Team and cannot wait to find the opportunities to build collaborative programs that are more powerful than the sum of their parts.
Fun Fact: Clint lived in Puerto Rico for a few years and owned a second-hand store with 100% proceeds going to the local animal shelter.
Clint Carlson
Program Manager of Digital Education
Laurie Guyon
Assistant Coordinator for Model Schools
Laurie Guyon is the Coordinator for Model Schools at WSWHE BOCES in Saratoga Springs, New York. She is a Common Sense Ambassador, Google Cloud Certified, a Google Certified Educator and Trainer, Buncee Ambassador and Educator, Seesaw Ambassador and Pioneer, Nearpod PioNear, Flipgrid Ambassador, Sphero Hero, Wonder Squad Ambassador, Kami Hero, Tynker Blue Ribbon Educator, Amazon Inspire Innovator, Apple Teacher, BreakoutEDU Authorized Trainer, Alpha Squirrel, Wakelet Ambassador, 3D Bear Ambassador, Osmo Ambassador, Screencastify Master Screencaster, and a member of the NYSCATE Social Media Team. Laurie is ISTE Certified and was named one of the NextGen: Emerging EdTech Leaders for 2020 with CoSN.
Laurie is a member of the Volunteer Hall of Fame for NYSCATE. She has presented at NERIC TechADay, NYSCATE, LIT, Apple Conference, Google Summits, NYSMSA, and ISTE. She has taught workshops at Skidmore College on integrating technology in literacy and taught classes with the Greater Capital District Teacher Center. Laurie recently completed her SBL and SDL certification and is an adjunct professor for SUNY Plattsburgh where she teaches Digital Age Learning.
Patricia Smeyers was awarded the 2019 NJ State Teacher of the Year Finalist and the 2020 ITEEA Teacher Excellence Award. She earned a Master of Educational Technology and a Technology Integration Specialist Certificate and is a Google Certified Trainer and Lego Master Educator. Patricia is the State Lead for Teacher Recruitment and Training Priority for the NJ STEM Pathways Network and Lead for the Liberty STEM Alliance Ecosystem. She serves as an advisory board member for the NJ Technology and Engineering Educators Association and is committed to advocating STEM education and policy by focusing on technological history, SEL, accountability, privacy, and security as the pillars to successful innovation. She has presented at many conferences including, ITEEA, NJEA, ISTE, NJTV’s Think Tank, NJASA TechSpo, and the NJDOE Equity Conferences. During NJ STEM Month, she advocates STEM education with her students at the NJ State House STEM Fair and was an invited innovative educator at the New Jersey School Boards and US Army STEAM Tank Command Center. Her passion is to share her experiences and reflect to advance her own professional learning from educators and leaders throughout the globe
Patricia Smeyers
Math and STEM Educator
Dr. Jacie Maslyk
Educator and Author
An educator for the last 23 years, Dr. Jacie Maslyk, has served as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, elementary principal, and assistant superintendent. She is the author of STEAM Makers: Fostering Creativity and Innovation in the Elementary Classroom, Connect to Lead: Power Up Your Learning Network to Move Your School Forward (ISTE), Remake Literacy: Innovative Instructional Strategies for Maker Learning and Unlock Creativity: Opening a World of Imagination With Your Students. Jacie is a featured blogger with Defined STEM, Teach Better, and Education Closet, as well as maintaining her own blog, Creativity in the Making at www.jaciemaslyk.blogspot.com . Jacie has presented across the country on STEAM, literacy, maker education, and leadership, as well as serving as a keynote speaker for a number of organizations. Her presentations and resources can be found on her website www.steam-makers.com.
Fun Fact: Jacie's happiest place on earth is the beach!
Connect with Jacie on Twitter @DrJacieMaslyk
Dr. Sian Proctor is the open education resource coordinator for the Maricopa Community College District in Phoenix, Arizona. She has over 20 years experience teaching geoscience in multiple modalities. She has a bachelors in Environmental Science, masters in Geology, and her doctorate is in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus science education.
Fun fact: Sian is an analog astronaut and has lived in multiple Moon and Mars simulations.
Dr. Sian Proctor
Open Education Resource Coordinator
Dr. Heather A. Pacheco-Guffrey
Associate Professor of Science Education
Dr. Pacheco-Guffrey teaches science, technology and engineering methods to the wonderful, dedicated pre- and in-service teachers who attend Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts for their undergraduate and graduate degrees. She has crafted technology-rich courses that target teacher technological pedagogical content knowledge TPACK development in STEM. Heather researches educator TPACK and writes the “Tech Talk” column for NSTA’s Science & Children journal.
Fun fact: Heather spends as much time as possible outdoors in nature!
Dr. Saul Duarte is a multifaceted and experienced educator who has enjoyed teaching in Bilingual/Dual Immersion Programs, Special Education Programs, and STEAM Education from Kindergarten to 12th grade. His ability to blend different areas of education has taken him to be also a professor at several universities' Schools of Education in Los Angeles, CA where has worked as a professor and Program Director. Currently, he is the STEAM Magnet Coordinator at Fletcher STEAM Magnet Elementary, LAUSD. While he continues to pursue his higher education goals, he is currently working in the implementation of Project Lead the Way in LAUSD, promoting the integration of Game-based Learning, robotics, and digital boards into STEAM education using ISTE Standards and the application of computer science and physical computing.
He is always ready to take on new challenges and ways to fulfill the STEAM education call to an intra-disciplinary approach to education.
Fun fact: Dr. Duarte loves fishing when he can escape the city, and when not, walking the dog and meeting new folks along the way is always fun!
Dr. Saul Duarte
Educator
Ariel Jankord
K-5 STEM Teacher
Ariel Jankord is a K-5 STEM teacher in Spring Hill, KS. She spent the previous 11 years teaching 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade. She runs after school STEM programs and a Girls Who Code club. Another passion is working as an ambassador for Fork Farms to integrate Hydroponic farming in schools. Ariel is the founder of the Johnson County Edcamp. She is an ISTE Certified Educator and received the Making It Happen award in 2019. Apple Teacher, Google Certified Educator, Microsoft Innovative Educator, Seesaw Ambassador, and Flipgrid Certified.
Fun Fact: When I grow up, I want to have a job that requires me to travel all over the world.
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