About the Speakers: Fall Symposium 2009

Please check back soon for video uploads of the following speakers from the Fall 2009 Symposium:

Karen Kelley, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Karen Kelley is currently a Business Development Manager in the Public Sector Market Segment in the US and Canada Theater. In her current role, she works primarily with Community Colleges and K-12 School Districts on innovation and excellence in using Internet Technologies to achieve Institutional goals. Karen is responsible for developing and fostering the health of strategic relationship(s) across the education market segment and the unique interdependencies with government entities.

In her 11 years at Cisco, Karen has held positions in sales working with K-12, Community Colleges, Universities and 4- year Institutions. Most recently, Karen worked in the 21S Initiative in the Gulf Coast. She and a Cisco team helped 8 districts with over 50 schools in Mississippi and Louisiana transform into 21st century learning environments. By helping the district leadership develop a focused vision and strategy for changing teaching and learning, accelerated by technology, the team enabled remarkable improvements to occur in three years.

Karen’s passion is identifying effective pedagogical and educational technology solutions that deliver measurable results for learners and organizations. Karen also designed a program to help the 8 districts plan for sustainability. She has been a speaker for “Career Days” for high schools on career opportunities in both IT and Telecom, member of several Technology Boards and currently serves as a Board of Trustee member for Heartspring Schools in Wichita, KS (an autistic school for K-12). She remains actively engaged in mentoring young women to take an active interest in Math and Science in high school to pursue careers in IT.

Steve Hargadon, Elluminate's Social Networking Consultant

Steve Hargadon is Elluminate's Social Learning Consultant and the founder of Classroom 2.0 Social Network (www.classroom20.com). He blogs, speaks, and consults on educational technology, and is particularly passionate about Web 2.0, social networking, Free and Open Source Software, computer resuse, and computing for low-income populations. He runs the Open Source Pavilion and speaker series for the North-American NECC, CUE, and T+L edtech shows, is the organizer of the annual EduBloggerCon, and holds a series of free workshops (Classroom 2.0 Live) around the United States to help the in-the-trenches educators learn about the uses of Web 2.0 in the classroom. He is also the Emerging Technologies Chair for NECC, a regular columnist at School Library Journal, and a blogger at www.SteveHargadon.com. He has consulted for PBS, Intel, Ning, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, CoSN, and others on educational technology and specifically on social networking. His interview series can be found at www.FutureofEducation.com, www.Conversations.net, and www.EdTechLive.com. He and his wife have four children.

Kevin Krason, Biznet Internet Solutions, Inc.

Kevin Krason foundeb Biznet in 1994 to realize his passion for the Internet industry and business. Kevin is an expert in managing relationships and acting as a translator between business and tech units. and between clients and development teams. His teambuilding leadership and ability to translate client objectives into profitable online solutions is what continues to position Biznet as one of the most successful, if not the most enduring, web development companies in Michigan. Kevin is an educator, speaking frequently to groups and associations on the benefits and best practices for digital and social media marketing.

Kevin graduated from Western Michigan University's Haworth College of Business with a degree in Finance. As a Michigan business owner, Kevin expresses his values by participating in networks, such as Automation Alley, Motor City Connect, and Leadership Oakland XIX class. Kevin has been recognized as a "Leader & Innovator" by Lawrence Technological University as an emerging leader by Corp! Magazine.

Matt Roush, Great Lakes IT Report

As editor of the Great Lakes IT Report, Roush broadly covers the tech world from hardware, software, and advanced manufacturing, to life sciences and tech education. He joined WWJ-Newsradio 950 in August 2001 to spearhead the launch of the daily IT newsletter which is delivered via e-mail first thing every business morning. Prior to WWJ, Roush worked for more than 10 years at Crain’s Detroit Business. While covering retailing for Crain’s in 1994, he discovered a novel medium called the Internet, which retailers worried was going to put every store out of business. In 1998, he began covering technology full time, including the rise and fall (and rise) of the dot.com in Detroit. In October 2000, Roush was promoted to editor of CrainTech.com, a job he held until joining WWJ. Roush has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, Traverse City Record-Eagle, Leelanau Enterprise, and the Three Rivers Commercial. He received journalism awards from the Associated Press, UPI, and the Association of Area Business Publications, as well as internal awards from Crain Communications, Inc. He is a graduate of Albion College.

Bruce Umpstead, State of Michigan

As State Director of Educational Technology and Data Coordination, Bruce Umpstead is responsible for implementing Michigan's online learning graduation requirement and the State Educational Technology Plan. He is a nontraditional educator with a B.A. in Public Administration and an M.B.A. in Finance and General Management. Before joining MDE, Bruce served as operations director for an eLearning company, project operations director for a Math/Science Partnership, online learning faculty for a local community college, and marketing director for a non-profit organization. Bruce's major professional point of emphasis is taking information technology, media-based innovations, especially online learning, to scale. Bruce also teaches educational technology for Central Michigan University's Off Campus programs. He lives in DeWitt, Michigan with his wife Gina and two school age daughters.