presenters

=2009 Presenters=

**DOUG RUSHKOFF, KEYNOTE**
Winner of the first Neil Postman award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity, Douglas Rushkoff is an author, teacher, and documentarian who focuses on the ways people, cultures, and institutions create, share, and influence each other’s values. He sees “media” as the landscape where this interaction takes place, and “literacy” as the ability to participate consciously in it.

His ten best-selling books on new media and popular culture have been translated to over thirty languages. They include [|Cyberia], [|Media Virus], [|Playing the Future], [|Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism], and [|Coercion], winner of the Marshall Mcluhan Award for best media book. Rushkoff also wrote the acclaimed novels [|Ecstasy Club] and [|Exit Strategy] and graphic novel, [|Club Zero-G]. He has just finished a book for HarperBusiness, applying renaissance principles to today’s complex economic landscape, [|Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out]. He wrote a series of graphic novels for Vertigo called [|Testament], and is now finishing a book on the corporate spectacle called “Life Incorporated” for RandomHouse, to be released in June 2009.

He has written and hosted two award-winning Frontline documentaries - [|The Merchants of Cool] looked at the influence of corporations on youth culture, and [|The Persuaders], about the cluttered landscape of marketing, and new efforts to overcome consumer resistance. Rushkoff writes a column for the music and culture magazine, [|Arthur.] His commentaries have aired on CBS Sunday Morning and [|NPR’s All Things Considered], and have appeared in publications from //The New York Times// to //Time// magazine. He wrote the first syndicated column on cyberculture for [|The New York Times and Guardian of London], as well as regular columns for //Discover Magazine// and [|The Feature]. Rushkoff is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University’s New Media Program. He teaches regularly for the [|MaybeLogic Academy], NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, and the Esalen Institute. He also lectures about media, art, society, and change at conferences and universities around the world.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the [|Media Ecology Association], The Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, and as a founding member of [|Technorealism], as well as the Advisory Board of [|The National Association for Media Literacy Education], [|MeetUp.com] and [|HyperWords]. He has been awarded Senior Fellowships by the Markle Foundation, the Center for Global Communications, and the International University of Japan. He served as an Advisor to the United Nations Commission on World Culture and regularly appears on TV shows from NBC Nightly News to Larry King and Bill Maher. He developed the Electronic Oracle software series for HarperCollins Interactive.

Rushkoff is on the board of several new media non-profits and companies, and regularly consults on new media arts and ethics to museums, governments, synagogues, churches, and universities, as well as Sony, TCI, advertising agencies, and other Fortune 500 companies.

Rushkoff graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, received an MFA in Directing from California Institute of the Arts, a post-graduate fellowship (MFA) from The American Film Institute, and a Director’s Grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He’s finishing his dissertation on media literacy and gaming for University Utrecht. He has worked as a certified stage fight choreographer, an SAT tutor, and as keyboardist for the industrial band //PsychicTV//.

WORKSHOP PRESENTERS
**Corbett Beder (Robotics)** //Senior Director of Programs// - [|Vision Education & Media]

Corbett is the Senior Director of Programs at [|Vision Education & Media]. His projects have included teaching high school digital video, middle school video game design, and LEGO Robotics. Additionally, he has assisted with numerous FIRST LEGO League teams and conducted professional development seminars on the Mindstorms NXT Kit and Scratch. He is currently the project director for GreenFab, an NSF funded collaboration between Vision Education and Sustainable South Bronx.

//Program Coordinator// – [MOUSE Squad of California http://ca.mousesquad.org]
 * [[image:jc.JPG width="97" height="117" align="left"]]Juanita Croft (Educator Working Groups: Best Practices)**

Juanita Croft is one of two Program Coordinators for MOUSE Squad of California. Among her many duties, she provides program implementation assistance to member sites. Her experience from previous work includes managing and coordinating instructional computer labs at Foothill College, a local community college, for 20 years. As a faculty member since 1988, she also teaches classes in computers and related technologies. Primarily focused on systems administration, she has taught classes that lead to A+ and Network + certification. In her local communities, she volunteers her time with different organizations that incorporate computer training to youth in their programs.

**Katherine Fry, Ph.D.** **(Media Literacy)** //Education Director// - [|The LAMP (Learning About Multimedia Project)]

Katherine is an associate professor of media studies and Deputy Chair for Graduate Studies in the [|Department of Television and Radio at Brooklyn College] of the City University of New York. She earned her Ph.D. in Mass Media and Communication from Temple University in 1994, and brings to The LAMP 15 years of experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in media history, criticism, theory, research methods, law and regulation, and media ethics. She has an extensive background in curriculum development. In addition to her teaching, Dr. Fry’s publications include the following books: [|Constructing the Heartland: Television News and Natural Disaster] (2003, Hampton Press); and [|Identities in Context: Media, Myth, Religion in Space and Time] (2008, Hampton Press). She has also published articles and contributed to books about communication technology and psychological well-being, television news, advertising and popular culture, radio, and German television. Her current research is in the history of news and in the future of news from the audience perspective. Fry is a member of the Board of Directors of the [|New York State Communication Association], and holds memberships with, and regularly presents on panels for, the [|International Communication Association], the [|Media Ecology Association] and the [|Eastern Communication Association].

**Moira Hardek (Geek Squad: Agents of Engagement)** //Founder, Geek Squad Summer Academy//, [|Geek Squad]

Moira is the creator and leader of Geek Squad Summer Academy. She has been with Best Buy since 2003 and Geek Squad since its national rollout in 2004. Moira has held the rank of Double Agent and Mission Specialist. Last year, Geek Squad piloted their first ever Summer Academy in Chicago, IL at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. She helped run a Summer Academy for 150 high school students as well as a Summer Academy for 150 grade school students. In October of 2007, Summer Academy became an official project of Best Buy and Geek Squad and Moira assumed the role of its manager. This year, there are 15 Summer Academies in 12 U.S. cities. Summer Academy is designed to break the myths and stereotypes surrounding technology and to make it more accessible and easier to understand for kids, with a specific target on young women. Summer Academy has been completely designed by Geek Squad Agents nationwide and will feature more than 200 Geek Squad Agent Instructors this year.

//Senior Manager// – [|The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]
 * [[image:RobertLazoBioPic.jpg width="141" height="105" align="left"]]Robert Lazo (Programming for the ‘Sort-of’ Interested ) **

Robert has taught desktop software programs to people employed by banks, technology manufacturers and consumer products companies in both New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. He has worked in software design, development and quality assurance for the Corcoran Group, Zagat Survey and New York University. Robert is currently senior manager of Information Technology Services at the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, where he assists with developing systems to make the entry-gathering and judging process more efficient. He has a BA in English from the University of California at Berkeley, and is completing his MA in Educational Communications and Technology at Steinhardt NYU. His personal interests are theater, film, and volleyball. //Northeast Associate Director,// [|DonorsChoose.org]
 * Yaritza Olmeda-Cedeño (Grantwriting for Educators)**

Yaritza has been a member of the DonorsChoose.org team since 2007, previously serving as program coordinator for the Northeast region. Prior to joining DonorsChoose.org, she worked in the South Bronx as an English Tutor/Teacher's Assistant with the Middle Grades Initiative. She now supports the Northeast Team's efforts through grants management, teacher engagement, fundraising, and donor development in the region. Yaritza, who is married to a NYC public school teacher, graduated Marist College with a dual B.A. in International Communication and Spanish and holds an M.A. in International Education from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at NYU.

**Shawna Rosenzweig** (**Playing 4 Keeps: Civic Engagement through Game Design)** //Online Leadership Program Associate// - [|Global Kids]

Shawna is an Educator/Trainer and Online Leadership Program Associate at Global Kids, where she is responsible for developing curriculum and facilitating GK's Virtual Video Project, Human Rights Activist Project, and Media Masters programs. While at Global Kids, Shawna developed and implemented global education projects including I Dig Tanzania in collaboration with the Field Museum and Youth Media Exchange in collaboration with TakingITGlobal and Asia Society. She holds a BA with Honors in Sociology and a minor in Education and Applied Psychology from University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). Additionally, she spent a semester in Washington DC interning and researching the effects of education policy on student health and achievement. Prior to joining Global Kids, she worked for various organizations, including work in the Middle East, addressing non-violent civic engagement and conflict resolution with teenagers living in conflict regions around the world.

MOUSE STAFF
**J. Bussey (MOUSE Squad Information Session)** //Program Manager//, [MOUSE http://mouse.org]

JB has been a part of the MOUSE family since 2004. In that time he has lent his talents to serving the MOUSE Squad and MOUSECORPS program, including leading student and teacher training, Internships and Shadowships and school outreach.

**Lynn Schnarr** **(Fund-raising Fundamentals: Grantwriting for Educators)** //Director of Development//, [MOUSE http://mouse.org]

Lynn Schnarr joined the MOUSE team as Director of Development in January 2008. Prior to joining MOUSE, Lynn served as the Director of Organizational Development at The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education. In that role, she developed and directed a wide range of organizational systems including fundraising, board relations, and new partnership development. As a member of the organization’s Executive Council, Lynn served on several board committees, including Strategic Planning, Development and Marketing, Trustees, and Finance. During her five years at The Cloud Institute, Lynn was instrumental in building the social and financial capital necessary to grow The Cloud Institute from a "start up" to a national leader in Education for Sustainability (EfS). Her work helped to launch a national learning community of innovators committed to education for a sustainable future.