As school districts continue to be targeted and severely impacted by cyberattacks, it is incumbent upon school leaders to know how to prevent such attacks on their networks and how to respond to cyberattacks should they occur. Superintendents, working in collaboration with their technology leaders, must know how to create and lead the processes required to protect their districts’ networks from cyberattacks. They must also be able to communicate the importance of school district cybersecurity both internally, within all areas of their school systems, and externally with parents, vendors, and the broader school community.

In this edLeader Panel, two school district superintendents and the chief technology officer of a county office of education share the strategies they use to analyze a network’s cybersecurity status as well as how to build and sustain school networks that are created to maximize security. They will also explain the processes they have established to respond to a network attack if such an event occurs.

This edLeader Panel is of particular value to superintendents, K-12 school and district leaders, and aspiring school leaders. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions to the panelists during the live broadcast.

About the Presenters

Dr. Doug Brubaker joined Texarkana Independent School District as Superintendent in January 2021. Over a career spanning 26 years, he has served in a variety of leadership roles in school districts ranging in size from 7,000 to 60,000 students. Over the past year, Dr. Brubaker and his team have launched the TISD’s Imagine 2026 strategic planning initiative, working extensively with stakeholders to identify and prioritize the district’s greatest needs. He also served as Superintendent of Fort Smith (AR) Public Schools from 2017-2020. In May 2018, in part due to broad-based support for goals identified through the strategic planning process, FSPS passed its first millage referendum in over 30 years. Establishment of a dedicated funding stream for technology upgrades was a key accomplishment. Dr. Brubaker has CoSN CETL certification and a Ph.D. in educational computing from the University of North Texas.

Lorrie Owens has served as the chief technology officer for the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) in Redwood City, CA since 2004. She is the first female and still the only African American to lead the technology division of a county office of education in California. Prior to starting at the SMCOE, Lorrie served as the director of technology for two school districts in the East Bay Area. Lorrie worked for IBM for 14 years before making a career switch to technology support in K-12 education. She was first elected to the CoSN Board in 2020. She received her undergraduate degree from California State University, Hayward, and attended graduate school at the University of San Francisco. She is also a Certified Chief Technology Officer and is a popular speaker nationally, primarily on the topics of transformational leadership and digital equity. Lorrie lives in Oakland, CA.

Glenn Robbins is the Superintendent of Brigantine Public Schools in New Jersey. His passion is harnessing a school culture that thrives on design thinking skills, innovative digital spaces, high-caliber professional development, exponential thinking, BYOD/1to1, social-emotional learning, Zen Dens, and maker spaces. Glenn encourages all students to have voices, not only in building a school culture, but also in designing student-led courses. Glenn has been recognized by numerous organizations for his innovative technology implementation methods and has been a featured speaker at numerous events across the globe. Glenn is an AASA National Certified Superintendent, proud mentor for the AASA Aspiring Superintendent Academy, AASA Governing Board Member, CoSN EmpowerED Superintendent Panelist, NASSP National Digital Principal of the Year, and Co-chair for New Jersey’s NJASA Technology Committee. By empowering students and staff to have a growth mindset through design thinking, while implementing digital tools, we better prepare them for the profound shifts that they will encounter in life.

About the Host

Ann McMullan is Project Director for CoSN’s EmpowerED Superintendents Initiative. Ann served as Executive Director for Educational Technology in Klein ISD near Houston, Texas until September 2013, when she and her family moved to Los Angeles, California. For 16 years Ann led the district team that provided professional development on technology and 21st-century instructional strategies to 4,000 educators serving 50,000 students. She was co-chair of the Texas Education Technology Advisory Committee which developed the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology.

Today, Ann works as a public speaker, writer, and consultant focused on leadership to meet the needs of today’s students. Ann serves on the edWeb.net Advisory Board, ClassLink’s Senior Advisors Group, and is a founding member of ERDI’s EdLeader Alliance. She also volunteers as a leadership consultant with the Executive Service Corps of Southern California, serving non-profit associations. Ann is co-author of Life Lessons in Leadership, available on Amazon.com.

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Time: 5:00 pm — 6:00 pm EDT

Free!

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