Opal Davis Dawson is an author, educational consultant, leadership coach, and award-winning retired PreK–5 public Montessori school principal with nearly 30 years of experience. She is currently Chief Education Officer of Best College Match, offering college coaching services.

Dawson has taught, led, and consulted in Title I and non-Title I schools. She supports school leaders, district leaders, and teachers in planning and implementing improvement initiatives, capacity building, and supporting high academic achievement for diverse student populations and instructional best practices.

Dr. Ashley McBride is a digital learning leader for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.She has experience as a secondary English teacher, instructional technology facilitator and director of technology. In addition to her work with the state of North Carolina, McBride serves on the board of the North Carolina Technology in Education Society (NCTIES). Her experiences in K-12 education and her research in the field informed her 2021 ISTE-published book, The Edtech Coaching Primer: Supporting Teachers in the Digital Age Classroom.

Andrés Guerrero is a passionate educator with over 20 years of experience, recognized for his commitment to quality education and his enthusiasm for learning. He holds a bachelor's degree in modern languages, a master’s degree in teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and another in Educational Excellence and Quality. Throughout his professional career, Andrés has held various roles in the field of education in the United States and Latin America.

He began his career as a teacher, where he developed his pedagogical skills and nurtured his passion for learning. Andrés has also worked as a coach, providing support and guidance to other education professionals. Currently, he serves as the Corporate Director of Academic Consulting at Santillana, the leading education company in the Spanish-speaking world. In this role, he is responsible for designing and coordinating training and professional development programs for teaching staff in 18 Latin American countries.

Dr. Kristen Mattson has been in education for nearly twenty years as a classroom teacher and school librarian. She now supports pre-service school librarians in the field and teaches grad courses in media literacy and digital citizenship at The University of Illinois. Additionally, Kristen has served as a subject matter expert on various projects with ISTE, the National Parent Teacher Association, the Bureau of Education & Research, and the Kentucky Department of Education. She also loves taking what she’s learned in the field and sharing it with educators through conference presentations, school district partnerships, webinars and writing. Kristen is the author of "Digital Citizenship in Action" (ISTE, 2024) and "Ethics in a Digital World" (ISTE, 2021). She also authored the “Digital Citizenship in Action” ISTE U course.

Tim Needles is an artist, educator, performer, and author of the book STEAM Power from ISTE. He has worked as an educator for over 25 years currently serving as a technology integration specialist and teaching art, film, and emerging media at Smithtown School District. He’s a TEDx Talk speaker, professor at Five Towns College, and has been featured on NPR, New York Times, Columbus Museum of Art, and Norman Rockwell Museum. He’s also a board member of NYSCATE and NYSATA, ISTE Community leader, NASA Solar System Ambassador, and Connected Arts Network PLC leader.

Brandon Petersen is an admitted geek, pop culture junkie, and fan of things learning. He currently teaches 5th Grade at Woodland Elementary in the Cherry Creek School District and is looking forward to starting up their STEM program there next year. He has served as a STEM, Design Thinking Teacher, and 3rd Grade teacher in CCSD over the past five years. He also spent two years serving as a Microsoft Learning Consultant for Microsoft in Education. He started his career however as an Preschool Teacher and Elementary Technology Teacher at Sand Creek Elementary (the school he went to as a kid) and as Course Developer for Douglas County School District over the course of 10 year, followed by a year as a Field Support Specialist for Denver Public Schools.

He currently serves as Board President for InnEdCO, Innovation Education Colorado, which is a local non profit that exists to inspire and sustain communities of innovative learners. Over the course of his career, Brandon has developed a huge appreciation for Computer Science and the power it plays in a lot of jobs in our world. He helped bring FREE Computer Science training for all teachers in Colorado, thanks in part to Code.org. He has enjoyed exploring modern day industry and careers and finding ways to integrate essential skills into schools.