About Me

I am a father, husband, educator, and lifelong learner. Professionally, I’ve had the unique opportunity to teach and support educators and school leaders for the past twenty years innovate both in and out of the classroom primarily through the strategic use of technology in a classroom, school, and at scale in large districts and at the state, national and international capacities.

I am currently a full-time doctoral candidate attending New Jersey City University (NJCU) pursuing an Ed.D. in Educational Technology Leadership. Previously, I led the Educational Technology and Computer Science department with the Newark Public Schools (NPS) and as the Chief Innovation Officer with the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) responsible for developing and executing the vision for how to effectively use technology in the classroom, supporting innovations in the field and growing computer science throughout the State. In this capacity, I oversaw the Offices of School Innovation and Educational Technology,  led the Future Ready Schools – NJ initiative, initiated the revision of the NJDOE Technology Standards 8.1 and 8.2 to update to the corresponding national standards, expand and synthesize where necessary, and provide greater clarity and guidance to educators for how to successfully implement them in their classrooms, and authored the educational technology components of the NJ ESSA plan.

Prior to joining the NJDOE, I served as the Executive Director for Data, Assessment, and Educational Technology with NPS and as the Technology Director, a CTO/CIO role, with the Passaic City Public Schools (PCPS). In both capacities, I assembled and led a team responsible for implementing two large-scale 1:1 Chromebook initiatives, 10,000 student devices NPS and 4,800 student devices in PCPS, with a primary focus on improving student outcomes through the meaningful integration of technology.  To support the educational needs at PCPS, we leveraged E-Rate funds to overhaul the district-wide network including ubiquitous WiFi high speed access to support a high-density environment in the middle and high school.

From 2000-2005, I worked for the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at Stevens Institute of Technology as the Manager of Professional Development where I directed and authored professional development programs for K-16 teachers, administrators, and faculty in the use and integration of educational technology. In this capacity, I led a one and a half year technology integration pilot project in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru funded by the Inter-American Development Bank,

I also served over two years as a Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic from 1998 – 2000 teaching and collaborating with local educators and educational organizations and earned my Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor’s in Psychology, both from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).

Additionally, I’ve been interviewed by Forbes, ZDNet, T.H.E. Journal, and was featured on the cover of the Summer Ed Tech Magazine for a story about “How Do Districts Decide Which One-to-One Device to Deploy?” and keynoted several conference including the District Administration’s Superintendent Summit, a Chromebook Symposium (.doc), and at the University of Mainz in Germany.

Curriculum Vitae