Dr. Ian Jukes is the founder of the InfoSavvy Group, an international educational leadership consulting firm based in Canada and New Zealand. Professionally, Ian has been a classroom teacher; teaching every grade from kindergarten to Grade 12; a school, district, and Ministry and DOE leader; a university professor; a keynote speaker; and an international consultant. He has worked with clients in more than 80 countries and made more than 12,000 presentations. He has written or co-written 27 books and 8 educational series. His most recent books include Literacy is Still Not Enough, LeaderShift 2020, A Brief History of the Future of Education, and the award-winning Reinventing Learning for the Always-On Generation. First and foremost though, Ian is a passionate educational evangelist. His focus continues to be on the compelling need to restructure our educational institutions so that they become relevant to the current and future needs of the digital generations - and to prepare learners for their future and not just society's past. 

About the Founder Nai Wang

Nai Wang immigrated to Phoenix, Arizona with his parents and grandparents when he was 2 years old. He grew up in a family-owned Chinese restaurant and spent the majority of his early life working there. Nai spent many nights and weekends serving customers while trying to do his homework in a booth. His family even grew hard-to-find Chinese vegetables in their suburban backyard! It was here where Nai learned the value of hard work and persistence

Nai didn’t receive any allowance for his work but did get $2 a day for lunch - so during his sophomore year of high school, he figured out a way to keep his $2 and still eat. With his food service background, he volunteered to work in the school cafeteria washing dishes, serving fellow students, and stocking items. In return, he got to eat anything that was being served - food like pizza, hamburgers, and fried burritos kept his belly filled…but getting food wasn’t his only challenge in school.

As a child, Nai struggled academically, even failing a math class because he was unable to focus. Growing up with very little, Nai and his family couldn’t afford medical treatment for his ADHD. That’s why he fell in love with video games that stimulated his brain and engaged him at the pace he needed.

Nai’s parental expectations were that he could only become one of the Big 5 - a Doctor, Lawyer, Architect, Engineer or Disappointment. A self-taught programmer, he started college as a Computer Science major, but quickly became bored. Much to his parent’s chagrin, he changed his major from Computer Science to Psychology to pursue his fascination with the complexities of the human mind. His courses helped him finally understand why he couldn’t retain information like his peers and helped him discover the power of combining the logic of programming with the chaotic nature of the brain. This is when he combined his passion for learning with his engagement with video games.

Aggie emigrated from Poland when she was 16 years old. Not speaking any English, she preceded her dream to become a music teacher in order to share her love of music with her students. She has spent fourteen years teaching elementary music. A few years into her education career, she discovered the power of technology integration in the classroom. Here her path has crossed with Nai, who inspired her to use KP compass and build her own gamified interactive, student-paced curriculum. While using KP and through authentic technology integration, she has witnessed all students succeed, including those who struggled the most in "playing the game of school." Aggie's passion for computer science, educating the whole child, and innovation, let her develop “Empowered Learning” practices and instructions. She defines "Empowered Learning" as today's best practice encompassing what students need to prepare for the jobs and fields yet to be invented! When we promote innovation and risk-taking, we give students life skills to figure out what they can do for themselves.

After 14 years of teaching elementary music and supporting teachers as a Technology Coach, Aggie wanted to influence as many students as possible. She knew the only way to do this was to work and provide training for educators. Aside from sharing her knowledge at conferences, she also supported technology integration in 35 Wisconsin school districts. As an Instructional Coach and Professional Development Specialist, Aggie believes we need to invest in our most valuable asset, our staff. She believes in supporting teachers because when we support teachers, we best support students. Aggie promotes a culture of coaching and Teacher Driven Blended Model, Professional Learning and Coaching.

Jim Warford is an author, Keynote Speaker, Leadership and Instructional Coach. He is recognized as a courageous leader who did not follow a traditional career path. His unique combination of educational, business, and creative experience allows him to translate his vision and passion for school improvement into well executed, systemic changes resulting in dramatic increases in student performance.

Jim currently serves as Program Director for the Peter R. Marsh Foundation helping America’s schools improve Social Emotional Learning through empathetic Service Learning. In addition, he is a Lead Consultant for the National Dropout Prevention Center and Successful Practices Network.

Previously, he served as Senior Advisor and Keynote Speaker for the International Center for Leadership in Education, working with states, districts, and schools nationwide. Prior to that he was Executive Director of the Florida Association of School Administrators for five years, representing over 10,000 school leaders.

In early 2003, Jim was appointed as Florida’s first-ever Chancellor for public schools, where he was responsible for the $16 billion public school budget and for focusing every bureau within the Department of Education on the goal of raising student achievement. He created and implemented Florida’s Continuous Improvement Model used by the Assistance Plus program, the largest state intervention in low-performing schools in the nation, which resulted in over 80% of these schools moving off the list of failing schools.

As Superintendent of the Marion County Public Schools, Jim implemented the Continuous Improvement Model districtwide. As a result, school grades went from three “F,” eight “D,” and only one “A” school in 1999 to 20 “A,” 16 “B,” and no “F” schools in 2003. Under his leadership the high school dropout rate was cut almost in half, and Marion County had the lowest elementary class size in Florida.

Jim taught applied technology courses at the high school level for 17 years and created a Computer Graphics/Television Production program that won national and state awards. He was named Vanguard High School Teacher of the Year three times.