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IGNITING FUTURES
IN TECH
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Jessica Tinnin
Asheboro City Schools
Nina Darnell
Cabarrus County Schools
Victoria Sylvestre
Chatham County Schools
Jennifer Milton
Cumberland County Schools
Marquita Faison-Burrus
Edgecombe County Schools
Zaina René
Elizabeth City Pasquotank Schools
Daniel DuLany
Granville County Schools
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Nicole Baize
Guilford County Schools
Garland Beamer
Lexington City Schools
Barry Hill
Mount Airy City Schools
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Sara Toothman
New Hanover Schools
William Bradshaw
Rockingham County Schools
Ashlynn McNeely
Rowan-Salisbury Schools
Roshein McClain
Scotland County Schools
Nicholas Barrett
Vance County Schools
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TBD
Warren County Schools
Lindsay Lewis
Wake Tech East
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Donald Evans
Wake RTP Campus
Who
we are.
The SparkNC Team
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SparkNC supports SparkLab Leaders through the efforts of the core SparkNC Team, our Board of Directors, SparkNC’s Business Advisory Council, and an amazing group of engaged and committed SparkNC Partners. Click on the links or scroll down to learn more about each of these groups of leaders and how they collaborate to guide and shape the work of SparkNC.
SparkLab Leaders, Board of Directors, SparkNC's Business Advisory Council
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Igniting Futures in Tech
SparkLab Leaders
The heartbeat of SparkNC is our SparkLab Leaders. These innovative educators advise and support students participating in learning experiences in SparkNC’s interdistrict model.
SparkLab Leaders co-design and deliver in-person learning experiences to students in their SparkLabs, and they partner with other SparkLab Leaders and industry experts to deliver blended and remote learning experiences to students across the SparkNC interdistrict network.
The SparkNC Team
The SparkNC Team supports the SparkLab Leaders and guides the work of SparkNC’s Strategic Advisors, Business Advisory Council, and Partners. Our team is deliberative and strategic, but also impatient and driven to action. We are passionate about transforming learning, particularly for those who have been disengaged or left behind by traditional systems. We believe strongly in public education and the power of innovative educators to build impactful, personalized learning experiences for all kinds of learners.
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The SparkNC Team
Lynn Moody
President
Lynn, SparkNC President, is best known for her passion for transforming education. She helped to co-create the proposal and the vision for SparkNC.
Dana Brinson
Vice President of Strategy
Dana, Vice President of Strategy, has spent her career in service of equity, innovation and transformation in K-12 public education.
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Keith Babuszczak
Vice President of Programs
Keith, Vice President of Programs, As Vice President of Programs leads the development of innovative learning experiences that connect students with high-tech careers.
Patricia Hilliard
Senior Director of District Leadership
Patricia, Senior Director at SparkNC, brings to her role a depth of knowledge on educational equity, instructional design, and pedagogy,
Kelly Martin
Administrative Manager
Kelly Martin, Administrative Manager, works to ensure that operations are completed efficiently and effectively.
McClain Musson
Director of Learning Design and Accessibility
McClain is joining SparkNC after recently completing her 10th year of classroom teaching. She is driven by the belief that all students deserve to
Morgan Draughon
Director of Technology
Morgan brings extensive expertise in technology-driven design, spanning instructional systems, product innovation, and user-centered graphic design.
Nate Myers
Learning Experience Designer
Nate joins SparkNC with a vision to change the way students learn through design thinking and inquiry-based, discovery-driven experiences.
Rayshoun Chambers
Director of Development and Business Partnerships
Rayshoun is an innovative leader with over two decades of experience in education technology, strategic partnership development, and fintech.
Stacey Shumake
Director of Implementation
Stacey comes to SparkNC with almost two decades of experience in education. Her passion in education lies in supporting
Stanton Fields
Director of College and Career Navigation
Stanton serves as the Director of College and Career Navigation at SparkNC. He has extensive
experience in higher education and program leadership.
Joe Ableidinger
Senior Advisor and Co-Founder
Joe, Executive Director of SparkNC, is a nationally-recognized leader in education innovation, with expertise in personalized learning, emerging technologies, and advanced teaching roles.
Amie Caudle
Creative Director
Amie Caudle, Creative Director at SparkNC, has spent nearly two decades as a teacher, assistant principal, and director of professional development.
Live Units are designed and led by SparkLab Leaders and industry experts in a live format either in-person or virtually in SparkLabs. Live Units will be available to students across the network of SparkNC districts and are great for those who enjoy learning in a cohort and a time-limited way. Keep checking on the SparkNC platform for new Live Units that will be launched throughout the year!
Experiential Units are live events and programs such as student conferences and summits, hack-a-thons, teamships, job shadowing and hands-on learning opportunities. They might be offered in SparkLabs, at high-tech companies, with university and community college partners, or at other sites across participating communities. Experiential Units take place in real-world settings that help learners build familiarity and comfort within professional and high-tech environments.
On-Demand Units on the SparkNC platform are available for learners to choose and complete at any time that works for them. These Units can be done by a single learner, or students can partner with others to learn in a small group to collaborate and encourage one another's progress.
SparkNC
Business Advisory Council
Members of the SparkNC Business Advisory Council serve as thought partners in our work, brainstorming with our team to vet bold ideas from the perspective of business leaders with a deep commitment to K-12 public education.
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Apple, Inc.
Manager, Strategic Initiatives
ArtificiaI Intelligence Consultant
Live Oak Bank
Director of Corporate Philanthropy
Lenovo
Vice President of Public Sector
Epic Game
Senior Manager Programs and Partnerships
IBM
Distinguished Educator
Learner-Centered
Students own their learning journeys. SparkNC lets students choose learning experiences to explore fields like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software development, data analytics, game development & design, and computer systems engineering.
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Industry-Relevant
Through partnerships with tech businesses, SparkNC helps students develop professional networks and build the “success skills” employers value. Students gain a competitive edge by completing real-world projects that create strong portfolios of relevant work.
Competency-Based
Students move at the pace of learning. They can speed up, or slow down, based on their passions, their abilities, and their learning styles. SparkNC sets learning targets and empowers expert educators to advise and support students on personalized paths to success.
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We are grateful to work with an extraordinary network of partners who collaborate with our team to design and deliver learning experiences, support SparkNC’s operations and strategy development, and host special events to help students ignite their futures in tech!
Our Partners
What We Do.
SparkNC is supporting NC districts to pilot new interdistrict approaches to teaching and learning that will accelerate student progress on pathways to careers in high-tech fields like artificial intelligence and machine learning, software development, computer systems engineering, and cybersecurity.
Why We Do It?
Too few learners know about high-tech jobs that will dominate the future job market in North Carolina. Even fewer see pathways for themselves into these jobs.
Tech industry panel speaking to Spark Scholars at the Tech Creatives Summit in July 2023.
A New Way to Do School | Follow Us
Our Board of Directors
Jennifer Bell
SAS
Dr. Randy Bridges
Chair
Dr. Bill Harrison
Educational Consultant
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Allen Mask
CoLab
Dr. Jim Merrill
Educational Consultant
Dr. Derwin Warren
Cisco
Our Work
Discover how our SparkNC Team, Board of Directors, Business Advisory Council, and Partners work together to shape our mission! Below are a few collaborative events that make SparkNC truly special.