Partner

David is a co-founder of the education consultancy Thru. Previously David served as the Executive Director of District Administration and global K-12 Education practice leader for Gartner Inc..

For more than 15 years David has helped school district leaders, state education agencies and education technology providers develop and implement mission critical strategies.

David currently serves as an elected school board member in Madison, NJ serving on the Education Committee as well as a board member of the non-profit math curriculum company, FiCycle.

Partner

Jim is an experienced sales, marketing and communications specialist responsible for client success in all areas of education.

A recognized authority through his research, leadership roles, keynotes and podcasts, Jim has convened with clients in a variety of formats throughout his career. With his focus on building the capacity of organizations to better support educators and students, Jim’s analysis, strategic consulting, and embedded engagements have helped shape strategy for hundreds of organizations across the education space.

Jim seeks clients and partners who value analytical thinking, relationship building, sales acumen, marketing savvy, and steady leadership.

Partner

Paula Reed has over 20 years of K12 and higher education experience in sales, leadership, executive coaching, and marketing. She began in the K12 industry working with district leaders to create recycling and science programs for schools. Afterwards, she joined a company to design comprehensive alternative education programs for at-risk students which increased graduation rates. Later, she spent many years at Discovery Education, beginning as a regional director and promoted to focusing on national sales partnerships with the top largest 30 urban and suburban school districts in the country, managed sales teams, developed events and conference strategies, and oversaw outreach and thought leadership programming. She is best known for building and maintaining relationships with C-level district administrators and education leaders across the country from large urban, suburban, and rural districts.

Four years ago, she founded BizEducation Consulting, Inc. to share her expertise with companies and non-profs, large and small. In addition, she’s been a Foundation Board Director for Montgomery and Baltimore County Public Schools and is a Board Advisor for Institute for Education Innovation and participates in multiple education networking groups.

K12 business partners seek her to provide marketing, sales, recruiting, and DEI strategies as well as advice for navigating this unique industry. Her passion is working with organizations whose genuine mission is to offer services that significantly improve and equalize the education playing field for all students and their communities.

Paula received a B.A from University of Maryland, College Park. She has a graduate certificate in Executive Leadership and a certification for Diversity and Inclusion Training from University of Maryland, University College. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.

Advisor

Through his work with school district leaders and edtech entrepreneurs for nearly 20 years, Doug saw a need to bridge the gap between these two groups of brilliant people and find ways to help them foster mutual partnerships. He founded Institute for Education Innovation in 2018 and has impacted the lives of district leaders and the teachers, students, and communities they serve while also enabling organizations that serve education to constantly push for better solutions that will ultimately support students everywhere.

The “IEI Family” is a dedicated membership of mission-driven thought leaders who are committed to improving student outcomes. When faced with challenges, these entrepreneurial-minded school district leaders pivot-on-a-dime to respond with innovation, agility, and resourcefulness. These are many of the same qualities that make edtech companies successful, and when they come together to solve age-old problems in new ways, the results can be profound.

Advisor

Matt is the former Superintendent of Livonia Central School District, a rural Pre-K-12 public school in the Finger Lakes REgion of New York. Under Matt’s leadership, the district renewed its collective effort to drive continuous improvement and ensure that every one - educators, students, and the community - made meaningful progress every day.

Matt also serves public education beyond the school district in many capacities within the regions and across New York State to increase collaborative innovation to overcome the challenges facing public education.

As a professional learning facilitator, leadership coach, and educational consultant, he continues to provide process-minded, results-oriented strategic leadership and professional learning experiences to educational leaders and institutions.

Matt serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Education Innovation, an organization that bridges the gaps between the individuals and organizations committed to seeing students succeed in school and life by creating a safe space for constructive problem-solving and innovative thinking among superintendents and solution-providers.