The document provides examples of how the individual meets various Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) through their experience leading technology initiatives in K-12 education. In three sentences: The individual has over 14 years of experience leading technology innovation efforts in school districts, including being an early adopter of Chromebooks and cloud computing to address budget constraints. They have a track record of strategic planning, change management, and problem-solving skills to help districts meet goals. Examples are provided of how they developed partnerships, managed budgets, and gained political support for initiatives.

1. Executive Core
Qualifications
A little about how I meet the ECQs.

2. Leading Change
My ability to create a vision with a mission and goals aligned with the orginization
and how I bring about strategic change to achieve them.

3. Creativity and Innovation
I was one of the earliest adopters of Chromebooks and
cloud computing in education. It was the best way to
solve the district’s shrinking student to computer ratio
problem with online testing looming.
I am the inventor of the electronic Reading
Improvement and Monitoring Plan (RIMP) software
program created to manage Ohio’s Third Grade
Guarantee.

4. External Awareness
I stay in touch with EdTech leaders all over the world
via social media and national events.
I follow educational and technology policy discussions
and changes via social media and online journals, news
sites, and committees I serve on.
I have worked to digitize all our business operations to
reduce paper usage and recycle technology wisely.

5. Flexibility
I united an entire district on the Chromebook platform
when budget constraints no longer supported
Macintosh purchases.
My team and I successfully made network and end user
computing changes to support mass online testing after
state’s infrastructure test failed one week before
testing began. We did this without interrupting
instruction.

6. Resilience
District report cards, state assessments, shrinking
budgets, at risk students, unions, bandwidth
bottlenecks, ageing network infrastructures…
All part of the job and the reason I get up every
morning excited to go to work. It is such an thrilling
time to be in technology and education! Are there
problems? Sure, but there has never been more
opportunities to make a difference either.

7. Strategic Thinking
I have an affinity for strategic thinking. I really don’t
know how to think other than strategically. It is just
how my brain works every day. I see connections and
alternative paths everywhere and I have become an
expert at reaching goals and implementing
organizational change because of it.

8. Vision
I believe a shared vision grows from a set of shared
values and beliefs. As a leader, you must identify the
values and beliefs of your team that align with the
values and beliefs of your organization. Then you are
ready to form a shared vision. The team’s mission
becomes an obvious action plan and together the team
is able to make good on the mission of the
organization.

9. Leading People
Ways I create an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others to
meet organizational goals.

10. Conflict Management
My management team doesn’t always agree—until we
leave the room. Then everyone is on board with the
decision. This meeting format encourages creative
tension and differences of opinions and when we go
out to deliver a message, it is truly shared because it
has been debated and is agreed to be the best option.
For employee conflict, remind me to tell you the
kitchen story!

11. Leveraging Diversity
I own a PC, a Chromebook, and an iPhone. Technology
can be like people. Each has its own strengths and
weaknesses. Don’t try to build websites with your
iPhone and don’t expect your secretary to understand
routers and a switches.
Everyone on the bus in the right seats. Just remember
to hear everyone. Sometimes people in the back have
important ideas about what is going on at the front of
the bus!

12. Developing Others
Everyone is born a learner. Developing the ability of
others to perform and contribute to the organization
requires ongoing feedback and support.
It is also important to provide learning opportunities,
both formal and informal to support a culture of life
long learning in an organization where risk taking is
accepted as an important aspect of problem solving.

13. Team Building
Team Building isn’t the annual zip lining event, it is
what happens every single day. It is the little things that
make people feel valued and recognized for the hard
work they do.
Everyone has their own needs and it is my job as the
leader to know them and respond. I believe in being
real and transparent with my leadership team and
expect them to do the same. It makes us strong.

14. Results Driven
By applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks, my
team and I meet organizational goals and exceed customer expectations

15. Accountability
Educators are no strangers to accountability systems,
and neither am I. I have always held myself accountable
for high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results and
expect the same from my team.
This means I take time to set objectives, priorities, and
delegate work appropriately. I accept responsibility for
mistakes made by myself and my team.

16. Customer Service
Good isn’t good enough. I aspire to be great and to lead
a great team. I anticipate and meet the needs of both
internal and external customers to deliver high-quality
professional development and technology services to
our district.
My entire team is committed to continuous
improvement and we target new areas for
improvement by regularly reviewing data regarding our
work.

17. Decisiveness
As others like to say, this is what we make the “big
bucks” for. The truth is, often there is no perfect
decision, but a decision needs to be made all the same.
I strive to make well-informed, effective, and timely
decisions. I make sure I understand the impact and
implications of the decisions I make.
When to bring a network service down to solve a
spiraling problem is a good example of when such
decisions must be made.

18. Entrepreneurship
I was the lead on a professional development project called
Standards for Teachers through Educational Projects (STEPs where
we created PD for Wichita teachers that was sold to the DoD. We
won the Blackboard Greenhouse Award in 2006 for that project.
I am currently wrapping up custom software development for
Ohio’s Third Grade Guarantee which maps student assessments,
the reading pillars, and intervention strategies to better manage
intervention groups, evaluate strategies, and provide required
state reporting for Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plans
(RIMPs). It is my hope that this software can then be sold to other
school districts.

19. Problem Solving
Problem solving is what I do every day. Both technology
and education are full of problems that require
thoughtful and innovative solutions. I often see
problems developing before others and am able to
gather data and analyze them, weighing relevance and
available information to generate possible solutions
and make recommendations for courses of action, or
move forward to simply solve the issue before it
develops into a real problem

20. Technical Credibility
I am a life long learner and quick study. I know how
important it is that I understand and appropriately
apply principles, procedures, requirements,
regulations, and policies related to technology in
education to maintain credibility with my
predominantly male peers. I make sure I know what I’m
talking about and therefore have earned respect in my
field.

21. Business Acumen
I successfully manage human, financial, and information resources strategically to
benefit my organization and meet our goals and mission.

22. Financial Management
I understand my organization's financial processes. I
have prepared, justified, and administered programs
budgets up to 2.6 million dollars.
I monitor expenditures and use cost-benefit thinking to
set priorities. A great example of this is how I put into
place a four year staff computer refresh process,
increased student to computer ratio by 50%, and
upgraded the wireless all without a budget increase.

23. Human Capital Management
I build and manage my team based on organizational
goals, budget considerations, and staffing needs. I
ensures that employees are appropriately recruited,
selected, appraised, and rewarded. I take action to
address performance problems.
I Manage a multi-sector workforce, administrative,
instructional, and technical staffs, in a variety of work
situations.

24. Technology Management
I keep up-to-date on technological developments and
make exceptional use of technology to achieve results.
It is my job to ensures access to and security of our
technology systems so that others can be effective at
their jobs.
I have put many professional development plans in
place over the years to ensure various workforces can
use technology effectively to do their jobs better.

25. Building Coalitions
I have 14 years of experience building coalitions with state, local, and national
agencies and originations to better achieve common goals.

26. Partnering
I have fostered relationships and partnered with the following agencies in the last
14 years to leverage resources and reach common goals.
• Kansas State Department of
Education (KSDE)
• City of Wichita
• Simon Youth Foundation
• Workforce Alliance of South
Central Kansas
• Wichita Area Technical College
• Wichita State University
• Department of Defense (DoDEA)
• City of Middletown
• Ohio Department of Education
• Southwest Ohio Computer
Association
• Butler County Education Center
• Butler County Technical College
• Cincinnati State University

27. Political Savvy
After working at the district level of two different
school districts, one with 50,000 students and one with
6600 students, I can easily perceive organizational and
political reality and act accordingly.
Attending Board meetings and presenting to Boards of
Education have given me additional experience in
politics and how to successfully navigate them to
achieve the organizational goals.

28. Influencing/Negotiating
Persuading others and building consensus through give
and take is a necessity in school districts with limited
resources and budgets. I have extensive experience
gaining cooperation from others to obtain information
and accomplish the organization’s mission.
This often involves gaining the support of outside
agencies in the educational landscape.