Raffaella Borasi, Director of the Center for Learning in the Digital Age (LiDA) and Frederica Warner Professor, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (U.S.A.)

A mathematics educator by training, Borasi has been the dean of the Warner School for 18 years, before founding the LiDA Center.  She was a co-PI in the Kauffmann Campus-wide Entrepreneurship Education Initiative awarded to the University of Rochester in 2004, which supported the research study leading to the case-studies reported in the e-book as well as the creation of the Entrepreneurial Skills for Educators course. This project was a transformational learning experience, as it made her aware of the many potential applications of entrepreneurship to education and influenced her approach to the many innovations she promoted during her tenure as dean.  As the founding director of the LiDA Center, Borasi has been very committed to explore potential applications of technology not only to online teaching, but also to more effectively disseminate research findings and best practices – including new opportunities to create open-access and open-education materials.

Contact information: rborasi@warner.rochester.edu

Dave Miller, Associate Director for the Center for Learning in the Digital Age (LiDA) and Associate Professor, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (U.S.A.)

Miller joined the faculty at the Warner School of Education in 2014 after a successful career as a technical and education entrepreneur. This experience as a practitioner in the field has been a major asset to this project. Miller has also been involved in the NSF-funded iCorps program to support technical entrepreneurs, playing the multiple roles of curriculum developer, instructor, and part of the evaluation team. Since 2010, Miller has been teaching multiple sections of the Entrepreneurial Skills for Educators course, moving the course to a fully online format (with synchronous sessions) since 2013.

Contact information: dmiller@warner.rochester.edu

Joanna Berger, faculty in radiology technology at Monroe Community College

JoAnna is the clinical coordinator and a full-time tenure track faculty member in the radiologic technology program at Monroe Community College (MCC). Her longstanding career as a registered radiologic technologist includes previous experience as a “Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Expert” in a clinical research role, and advanced education in the field of Healthcare Administration.

Patricia Chiverton, former Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Rochester.

Pat was appointed dean of the School of Nursing in 1999, at a time of financial difficulty, and in the nine years of her tenure as dean transformed the school through a series of innovations which included major changes in instructional programs as well as developing “business lines” within the school as a way to develop and test new models of health care.

Ron Dow, former Head of the libraries at the University of Rochester.

Ron was Head of the Libraries at the time of our case study – a position he held from for eight years, while initiating a series of innovations that transformed the campus libraries into inviting and vibrant places for faculty and students to work in.

Kima Enerson, “maker educator” at The Harley School, Rochester, NY.

A former adjunct instructor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, in 2016 Kima joined the The Harley School, a private K-12 school known for its innovative approaches, as their “maker educator”, in charge of supporting students and teachers across the entire school. 

Lynn Gatto, former elementary teacher, Rochester City School District.

Throughout her 30-year teaching career within one of the poorest urban school districts in New York State, Lynn showed remarkable resourcefulness in providing her elementary students with the learning experiences she felt they needed to “level the playing-field” and be successful in both school and life.

Gidget Hopf, former CEO of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes.

Gidget took on the role of the Rochester Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI) in 1986, and remained in this role until her retirement in 2020 – although during the 34 years of her leadership her organization was transformed first into ABVI/Goodwill, and then Goodwill of the Finger Lakes, growing in scope and importance.

Roderick Jones, former CEO of the Community Place of Greater Rochester

Over his career as a social entrepreneur, Rod had led a few different not-for-profit organizations as CEO, as well as started some new ones, guided by the goal of empowering individuals from under-previledged backgrounds to become self-sufficient, with education as a key means to do so. At the time of the case-study, Rod was the CEO of the Community Place of Greater Rochester, created from from the merger of three settlement houses.

Rebecca Mushtare, faculty at SUNY Oswego.

At the time of the study, Rebecca was an associate professor specializing in Web Design and Interactive Media in the Department of Arts and Design in the School of Communication, Media and the Arts at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego, where she started in her faculty position in 2012.

Mary Rapp, former principal and assistant superintendent for instruction at Penfield Central School District.

In the different roles as school leaders she held in her suburban district from 1987 to 2006, Mary was instrumental in initiating several school reform initiatives aimed at improving the quality of instruction. 

Kathy Rideout, faculty and former dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Rochester

Kathy has been a faculty in Clinical Nursing and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Nursing for several years, as well as a dean of the same school for a decade, implementing many innovations.

Bonnie Rubenstein, faculty at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester

Currently a faculty member in counseling, for many years Bonnie was a counselor and then director of counseling for the Rochester City School District.

Ralph Spezio, former elementary school principal, Rochester City School District.

At the time of our study, Ralph had recently retired as the principal of one of the poorest elementary schools in the Rochester City School District. During the 12 years of his principalship, from 1990 to 2002, Ralph initiated many innovations aiming to “levelling the playing field” for his students.   

Carol St.George, faculty at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester.

A former elementary teacher and reading specialist at the Greece Central School District for several years, Carol joined the Warner School in 2008 as the Director of the Reading and Literacies program. Her passion for literacy education has led her to engage in a number of initiatives to support reading at all ages. 

Donna Thompson, former co-owner of Fusion Production, Inc., Rochester, NY

A former history teacher, Donna decided after nine years of teaching to join a small firm providing professional development services, mostly to corporations; a few years later, as the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, she and a colleague decided to buy the company and were able to “turn it around” and expand it.