VSTE

Virginia Society for Technology in Education

Elections

VSTE Welcomes New and Returning Board Members

a blue apple with a green leaf and brown stemFive candidates have been elected to the VSTE Board of Directors for the 2022-2025 term. Three are new members while two are returning for a second term. You can learn more about each Board member below.

 

Photo of Heather Askea

Heather Askea

Instructional Technology Coordinator

The University of Virginia's College at Wise

View Candidate's Statements
Photo of Dani Hall

Dani Hall

Coordinator of Instructional Technology

Prince William County Public School

View Candidate's Statements
headshot of Patrick Hausammann

Patrick Hausammann

Supervisor of Instructional Technology/ITRT

Clarke County Public Schools

View Candidate's Statements
photo of Wanda Parker

Wanda Parker

Manager, Service Desk, Desktop Support and Telecommunications

Richmond City Public Schools

View Candidate's Statements
Photo of Lucy Spenser

Lucy Spencer

Learning Technology Integrator

Albemarle County Public Schools, Baker-Butler Elementary and Broadus Wood Elementary Schools

View Candidate's Statements

 

Nominations for VSTE Board of Directors Open Now

VSTE members may nominate themselves or a colleague to be considered for election to the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) Board of Directors for a three-year term.  This is an opportunity to become involved in the key decision-making group for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education.

Nominations for the 2019-2021 Board term are open now through March 11, 2019. Nominees and those who nominate them must be members of VSTE.

The nomination form will be available in the Members' Only area of the website. When you are ready to nominate either yourself or someone else, you can start here.

Learn More About the VSTE Board of Directors

You can preview the nomination form but must submit the final form online.

Remember, you must be a VSTE member to nominate, to be nominated, and to participate in the online election.  Details for a complimentary membership can always be found at VSTE’s website.  Please let us know, via email to [email protected], if you have any questions or need further information about the election process.

In order to vote in the elections, you must be a member for at least ten days prior to the opening of the Board elections in April.

Member Login Information

It will be necessary for you to login to the system to participate in the nomination and election process. You can find the login page here. Unless you have changed it, you should use your email address at which you receive VSTE mailings for your login.  If you do not remember your password, you may click the link on the login screen for those forgetting their password. Your password will be emailed to you.  Once you login, you can update your membership information, change your login and/or password (as necessary) and submit a nomination.  Please write to [email protected] if you have problems accessing the member only section of our website.

Thank you for your interest,

VSTE Election Committee, 2019

Josh Long, Chair

Meg Swecker

Smiling woman with glasses

Meg Swecker
Coordinator of Technology Integration/ITRT
Roanoke County Public Schools

Educational Leadership

As the Coordinator of Technology Integration for Roanoke County Public schools, I support district wide initiatives, provide professional development, and collaborate with teachers and district leaders to use technology to empower learners. I have presented at local, regional, state, and International conferences.
I was elected to serve on the VSTE Board of Directors in 2015. During my term, I chaired the both the Elections Committee and the VEPLN Ad Hoc Committee and served on the Education Committee, the Outreach Committee, the Awards Committee, and the TSIP Ad Hoc Committee.

Vision for VSTE

My vision for VSTE includes advocacy, education, and outreach, three things that VSTE is already actively involved in.
VSTE’s advocacy, at both the state and national level, provides an active and passionate voice for Virginia’s students and educators. It is important that this voice continue to be heard.
VSTE supports Virginia educators by providing outstanding professional development in regional, state, and virtual events. The development of digital PD opportunities will create a positive impact on Virginia educators who may not be able to attend face to face events.

Biographical Sketch

I am passionate about the innovation and creativity that technology can bring to teaching and learning, and it is an honor to be able to share this passion with other educators. This is my 30th year as an educator and I feel like I’m just getting started!
When I’m not teaching, I spend my time gardening, keeping bees, and scuba diving.

Tim Stahmer

Smiling man with glasses

Tim Stahmer
Freelance Educator
Fairfax County Public Schools (Retired)

Educational Leadership

I have been a VSTE member for more than 25 years and have served the organization through my work on various teams, presenting at the conference almost every year, and supporting other smaller events. For the past three years, I have been honored to serve on the Board of Directors and working as part of the Outreach and Advocacy Committees. I was part of the team that renovated the VSTE website to make it more accessible and useful for the membership, and continues to maintain it. In addition, I have been part of the Conference committee for six years, originating and leading the Maker/Playground areas that bring more interaction to the annual event. I have also planned and present events for local, state and national organizations, including ISTE, ASCD, and NSDC.

Vision for VSTE

Over the past three years, the Board has worked to increase VSTE’s role as a vocal advocate for Virginia teachers, ITRTs, school administrators and other education professionals at the state and national level. We must continue and expand this effort to strongly articulate the views of our members on instructional issues related to the use of technology for learning. One way of doing this is by expanding our support of regional and local organizations and their events that help ITRT and teachers become more effective at using technology to improve student learning. We must also continue our efforts to learn and use the art of lobbying, especially in Richmond, so that the Governor, legislators, and other officials clearly understand our message.

Biographical Sketch

For more than 25 years, I was a teacher and Technology Specialist in Fairfax County. During the latter part of my time there, I was privileged to work with the 200 amazing instructional technology trainers (called ITRTs in most parts of Virginia) in our schools, primarily supporting their efforts with middle and high school teachers and students. Prior to that I was one of those trainers, back when one of us served multiple schools at multiple levels. In a life before that, I taught students in middle and high school the beauty and application of mathematics and computer science. On the side, I have been actively blogging for almost 15 years (ancient history in the web timeline) and regularly inflict my thoughts on the web through Twitter, flickr and other channels.

Ed Ozols

Ed Ozols
Technology Director
Bath County Public Schools

Educational Leadership Experience

I was an ITRT from August 2012 until July 2016 when I became the Technology Supervisor for Bath County Public Schools. During that time, I have overseen the BCPS becoming a 1:1 laptop division for grades 5-12 and have led the way for Office365 to be the main educational workspace for teachers and students. Additionally, I have increased network bandwidth significantly. Having been a teacher before I was an ITRT, I understand the classroom and the demands that are placed on teachers. I worked to give teachers solutions that would empower them while saving time.

Vision for VSTE

I want VSTE to continue to be the voice for technology in schools. Division budgets are challenging, but we need to continue to develop 21st century skills in our students. Many of the jobs that they will occupy have not yet been created, but we can give them the skills that they need to be successful in those new jobs. I would like to see increasing involvement at the university level with students who will be entering the teaching field so that they are better able to successfully integrate technology into their classroom starting at day one.

Biographical Sketch

I wrote my first code in 1969 during my freshman year in high school. I have a BA in Psychology from Southern Illinois University and a MS in Special Education from Radford University. Prior to becoming a teacher, I worked in technology. When I started teaching, I used an overhead projector. After a few years they gave me an interactive whiteboard and then a table computer. I quickly moved from Special Education to teaching programming and Technical Drawing while at the same time acting as a part time ITRT. When the Technology Supervisor position became open, I applied, and now have that job.