Kirsten Baesler is the state school superintendent and administrator of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. The Superintendent and her team have led significant improvements in the graduation rates and academic success of the state’s Native American students, improved access to quality early childhood programs, and greater access to computer science and cybersecurity instruction in grades K-12.

Before taking office in January 2013, Superintendent Baesler had a 24-year career in the Bismarck Public School system– the state’s largest school district - as a vice principal, library media specialist, classroom teacher, and instructional assistant. Superintendent Baesler also spent nine years as an elected member of the Mandan School Board. She was board president for seven of those nine years.

Superintendent Baesler is a past president of the Council of Chief State School Officers, representing state education organizations nationwide. Superintendent Baesler serves on more than a dozen North Dakota state boards, was one of 25 leaders chosen from across the country for the Governing Institute’s Women in Government Leadership Program, and is a Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow.

Ed is an award-winning leader skilled at leveraging technology and relationships to develop innovative approaches for strategic outcomes. He has decades of experience in higher education practices and has overseen digital transformation initiatives at multiple universities. These efforts included online learning initiatives, developing academic research environments, increasing student recruitment, and improving student retention.

Ed is currently the CIO for the California State University (CSU), the largest university system in the United States, comprising 23 campuses, over 50,000 staff, and more than 470,000 students. Ed’s role is to serve as a strategic partner for the Chancellor’s Executive Team and collaborate with university campus presidents and their chief information officers to catalyze strategic and innovative administrative and academic technology initiatives to advance the mission of the CSU.

In 2019, Ed was selected as Minnesota’s non-profit CIO of the year. He was appointed by Governor Walz to serve on the State of Minnesota’s Blue Ribbon/Technology Advisory Council, and has also served on numerous committees, boards, and interest groups to advance the cause of higher education while promoting better outcomes for all students.

Brian Cohen has been making waves in the world of digital education and government for over 30 years. Brian leverages decades of experience working in the public sector to provide organizational leadership, strategic direction and quality assurance for the Centers for Digital Education and Government. He has held various C-level positions, including: Vice-Chancellor and University CIO at the City University of New York (CUNY) and Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Brian graduated from St. John’s University and the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center at Touro University.

Dr. Monica Goldson is the retired Chief Executive Officer for Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) after 32 years of service. She began her career as a high school mathematics teacher with plans to become an actuary. Within her first few weeks on the job, she realized that education was her true calling. She steadily moved up the administrative ranks, serving in such roles as principal, associate superintendent, deputy superintendent and chief operating officer, just to name a few, prior to her appointment as CEO. Dr. Goldson holds three degrees from HBCUs – a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Florida A&M University, a master’s degree in Elementary and Secondary School Administration from Bowie State University, and a doctorate in Educational Administration and Policy from Howard University. Beyond the schoolhouse, Dr. Goldson is the recipient of numerous awards and honors.

Gaby Rowe is the CEO and Managing Principal of Grow Associates. Gaby was born into a family of educators on the Upper West Side of New York City. While her circuitous career has taken her from investment banker to school principal to technology innovator to public policy and implementation consultant, Gaby’s focus has always been on high impact projects that serve to transform the lives of young people and enable economic empowerment, digital equity and opportunity.

Under her leadership, Grow Associates has also led technology enabled strategic projects for the State of Texas, the City of Houston, Dell, Intel, Arundo Analytics, Aramco and Marathon Oil. Throughout her career, Gaby has been on numerous task forces to promote diversity and inclusion for underserved populations and has been recognized for this work by the NY Times, the Houston Business Journal, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. House of Representatives.

President, e.Republic

Dustin drives exponential growth, implements new ideas and promotes a corporate culture that rewards creativity.

He thrives on innovation (and strong coffee!).

Dustin is the leader of Team Innovation – our in-house group of data geeks, market specialists and creatives who challenge the status quo.

As the former CIO of Manor, Texas, Dustin pioneered the use of commercial technologies to deliver better government services – including QR barcodes, crowdsourcing and gamification.

During his time in public service, Dustin was named one of the nation’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers by Government Technology. More recently, he was selected as an Eisenhower Fellow in 2019 and a Business Transformation 150 Leader by Constellation Research in 2021.

Dustin graduated Magna Cum Laude from LeTourneau University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and has worked with universities around the globe on incubating next-generation technologies in government including the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University and the University of Trento, Italy.

Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs, Esq., was named NSBA Executive Director and CEO in July 2023. She oversees the association’s operations and initiatives, working closely with state associations of school boards, as well as local school board members, school law attorneys, education professionals, and policymakers to shape education policy, drive innovation, and promote effective governance at the local level.

McCotter-Jacobs has more than 30 years of experience in education, law, and public safety. For more than a decade, she served as Chair of the Board of Education for Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland — one of the nation’s largest school districts. During her time as a school board member, she served as president of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education and Chair of NSBA’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE), demonstrating an unwavering commitment to promoting excellence and equity in education and working tirelessly to enhance educational outcomes for all students. During her time on the school board, McCotter-Jacobs worked for more than 20 years for the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, retiring as the Division Chief of the Office of Professional Responsibility and Legal Affairs at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Dr. Anne Milkovich is the Chief Information Officer for the Nevada System of Higher Education. Anne has over 16 years of experience in higher education including CIO and related roles at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Montana State University. Prior to that, Anne spent 20 years in private sector IT fields and business consulting. Her education includes an MBA and a doctorate in Higher Education Administration, with research in the practice of academic program prioritization. Her IT experience is primarily in the business management aspects of IT: leadership and management; financial planning and investment management; contracts and acquisitions; and portfolio, program, and project management.

Joseph Morris is the Deputy Chief Innovation Officer of Government Technology's parent company e.Republic and a national keynote speaker on issues, trends and drivers impacting state and local government and education. He has authored publications and reports on funding streams, technology investment areas and public-sector priorities, and has led roundtables, projects and initiatives focused on issues within the public sector. Joe has conducted state and local government research with e.Republic since 2007 and knows the ins and outs of government on all levels. He received his Bachelor of Arts in government and international relations from the California State University, Sacramento.

Dr. Mary Catherine Reljac serves as the Superintendent of Schools in the Fox Chapel Area School District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Prior to this role, Dr. Reljac served as an assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, and educator in multiple districts in western Pennsylvania. Dr. Reljac is a facilitator for the Pennsylvania Department of Education in the Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership program, facilitating learning for administrators across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Reljac earned degrees or certifications from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (B.S. in music education), Carlow College (M.S. in educational leadership), California University of Pennsylvania (superintendent letter of eligibility), and the University of Pittsburgh (D.Ed. in administrative and policy studies). She serves on advisory boards and often presents at workshops and programs.

CEO, e.Republic

Cathilea is the driving force behind our mission: making government better.

In 2021, she developed our mission, vision and values and codified them into a strategic roadmap for exponential growth.

Since Cathilea became CEO, our company reached its highest growth ever in both 2021 and 2022. Previously, she served as our company’s president.

From founding the Centers for Digital Government and Education to spearheading the Women in Government program, Cathilea is mission-driven, innovative and a champion for the public sector.

Cathilea has won numerous awards including: NASCIO’s National Technology Champion Award for her outstanding contributions to advance public sector information technology innovation and the Gertrude Crain Award which honors and acknowledges professional women within the B2B media and information industry.

Cathilea is a prominent speaker and has been quoted in publications including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Forbes and others.

Dr. Andrew Smith is the Assistant State Superintendent for Innovation at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. In his role, he supports the development of innovative practices across North Carolina while overseeing the departments of research and evaluation, promising practices, charter schools, learning recovery and acceleration, and NC virtual public schools. Previously, Andrew served as the Chief Administrative and Strategic Planning Officer in Rowan-Salisbury Schools. In his role, he was responsible for rethinking education and developing transformative practices within the organization through the strategic planning process. Andrew also managed the process for bringing the district’s unique Renewal Legislation to fruition. Previously, Andrew served as the Assistant Superintendent of Transformation and Chief Strategy Officer. As Assistant Superintendent and CSO, Andrew assisted the superintendent in developing, communicating, executing, and sustaining district strategic initiatives, as well as, fostering collaborative efforts with internal and external stakeholders. Andrew has also served as the Director of Innovation in the district. Outside of K-12 education, Andrew is an adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University where he teaches courses on power, politics, and policy. Andrew has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Wake Forest University, he taught instructional design, assessment, and technology.

Standish Stewart is the Vice President of Information Technology Services and the Chief Information Officer at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). Throughout her career, she has worked for large consulting companies, mid-size nonprofit organizations, start-up technology firms, hospitals, and academic institutions.

An avid problem solver, Standish enjoys transforming processes to improve the student, faculty, and staff experience. She relishes hands-on technical work as much as crafting strategy and engaging with institutional leaders to innovate and embrace new technologies.

Standish earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Michigan, and an MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Management from Cleveland State University.