#NCed and ISP Announce 25 NC Educators to Follow on Twitter

#NCed and Innovative School Partners are excited to announce the selection of 25 North Carolina educators to follow on Twitter. Nominations for candidates were submitted from across the state and span the full spectrum of experience, philosophies on education, and positions in education. Read more about these 25 exceptional educators who are impacting education across the state. 

Steven Anderson is an Educator, Speaker, Blogger, #Edchat Co-Creator, #140Conf Character, Edublogs Twitterer Of The Year, and ASCD Emerging Leader. Steven made the list of the Top 50 Innovators in Education and is a Bammy Award Winner. Steven currently serves as Director of Instructional Technology for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. @web20classroom






Dr. June Atkinson is the first woman elected State Superintendent of the Public Schools of North Carolina and has served in this position since August 2005. She has received numerous awards over the years including recent accolades such as the Champion of Children Award from the North Carolina Association of School Administrators, the State Policy Maker of the Year Award from the National Association for State Educational Technology Directors, and the North Carolina Association of Educators Inclusive Leadership Award. In addition, Dr. Atkinson has held many professional offices and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Council of Chief State School Officers. @drjuneatkinson

Ann Carlock is a K-12 social studies consultant at NCDPI. She loves to learn from fellow expert educators! @anncarlock

Dr. Jeff Carpenter is an Assistant Professor of Education at Elon University where he teaches aspiring high school teachers. He taught high school and middle school English and ESOL for 10 years in Japan, Honduras, Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina before moving into higher education. He tweets on a wide variety of education-related topics and has several on-going research projects on the use of social media in education. @doccarpenter

Melissa Edwards has a passion for combining past experiences as a classroom teacher along with a focus on literacy. She enjoys finding and sharing ways to connect learning, creativity and technology! @mwedwards

Jessica Garner has been a professional development lead for the NC Department of Public Instruction since 2011. She was a classroom teacher for 13 years, and her experience spans 4th grade through 12th grade, as well as teaching online graduate courses. She is a National Board Certified teacher who received her B.A. in Modern Foreign Languages from James Madison University and her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Indiana Wesleyan University. She was named the 2009-2010 NC Teacher of the Year. @jessicacgarner




Cindy Geddes serves as the Director of Accountability and Technology Services for Newton-Conover City Schools in Newton, NC. Previously, she served for a year as the district's Instructional Technology/ Staff Development Coordinator and an elementary teacher for thirteen years. Mrs. Geddes was recently renewed as a National Board Certified Teacher. She is a co-founder/moderator of #NCed chat. Mrs. Geddes recently co-authored an article, Growing Technology Leaders, that was featured in the magazine, Learning and Leading with Technology. @cindygeddes

Lucas Gillispie is an instructional technologist, geek, and gamer working in southeastern North Carolina. His passion is leveraging popular video games like World of Warcraft and Minecraft to increase student engagement and learning. When not leading professional development to build an army of edu-geeks, he's an infrequent blogger on games and education at http://www.edurealms.com. @lucasgillispie

Jennifer LaGarde is an Educator on Loan for the NC Department of Public Instruction, She is a nationally board certified educator with over 17 years experience. In 2011, her work was recognized by the American Library Association, The Carnegie Corporation and The New York Times. She was also named a 2011 "Mover and Shaker" by Library Journal. And in 2013 she was a Bammy Award finalist. Jennifer is also the author of the award winning blog The Adventures of Library Girl. @jenniferlagarde

Jayme Linton is Instructor & Elementary Program Coordinator at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory and proud mom of two. Jayme is a doctoral candidate in the Teacher Education and Development program at UNC-G. She was recognized by the National School Board Association as one of the "20 to Watch" for 2012-13 and was selected for ISTE's Making IT Happen Award by NCTIES in 2013. Jayme is a co-founder of #NCed and also co-founded #edteach, a bi-weekly Twitter chat for pre-service teachers. @jaymelinton

Don Lourcey has been married for 23 years to the love of his life, Michelle, and has a 10 year old, brilliant daughter, Elizabeth, who also has his heart. He has been educator for 21 years, and is currently serving as the Director of Professional Learning for North Carolina Virtual Public School. Don is a National Board Certified teacher, since 2001, in AYA/ELA. He is passionate about Jesus Christ, his family, his small group ministry, teaching and learning, and the Florida Gators. @dlourcey

Stacy Lovdahl is passionate about bringing her love of science to middle school students in Catawba County. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and has worked in manufacturing, environmental management and education for 30 years. Stacy is currently pursuing a master’s degree in educational technology. Her students use BYOD technology in the classroom every day creating, collaborating and leveraging the power of technology to enhance their education. @braveneutrino

Nancy Mangum is a Digital Innovation Coach at the William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State. In her job she works with school and district leaders as they implement digital initiatives in their school and districts. She believes that it's not about the tools, it's how you use them, and she is passionate about helping teachers transform instructional practices! @nmangum

Dr. Kim Mattox is the Assistant Superintendent in Alleghany County Schools. She holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from UNC-Charlotte, a master's degree in Educational Leadership and a second master's in Athletic Administration - both from Appalachian State University. She holds a bachelor of arts from Lenoir-Rhyne University. Dr. Mattox was a Principal Fellow at ASU. She is passionate about equity and access for all students. @kimimattox






Derek McCoy is the principal of Spring Lake Middle in Cumberland County Schools. He is committed to improving learning and teaching and uses his PLN, social media and innovative practices to make it happen. He co-moderates several Twitter chats and leads efforts to help #edleaders connect and grow. He thanks God for his wife, two great kids and famly and friends who inspire and support him. @mccoyderek





Heather Mullins is a NC Teaching Fellow who spent 12 years as a high school English Teacher. She is NBCT in AYA ELA (2002) and holds M.Ed. in AIG from UNC-Charlotte. She has served as a Curriculum Specialist, an adjunct professor, and a Professional Development Consultant for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She currently serves as the Chief Academic Officer in Newton-Conover City Schools and is pursuing an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership through WCU. She is one of the co-founders of #NCed Chat and is passionate about innovative practices, student ownership of learning, and supporting teachers. She is the proud mother of one son, Jackson. @carolinablondie

Jennifer Northrup currently serves as the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Region 8 Digital Teaching and Learning Consultant. She has previous experience as a classroom teacher and school library media coordinator. On Twitter her tweets tend to focus on the integration of technology, school libraries, and innovative practices. Jennifer is also an active member of the North Carolina School Library Media Association. She resides in Hendersonville, NC with her husband, three dogs, and a cat. @candidlibrarian

Dr. Jason Parker is Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Gardner-Webb University. Jason completed his doctoral work at GWU in 2012 and currently teaches education courses, supervises student teachers, and advises undergraduate and graduate students. @drparkerjl

Dayson Pasion is currently in his fourth year teaching. He has taught middle grades science at Graham Middle School in Graham, NC and is now their STEM teacher/coordinator.  He loves using Twitter and has found many innovative ideas from his PLN like flipped learning and gamification. Dayson is the cofounder and co-moderator of #levelupED, a chat on Twitter about gamification in education. You can follow their adventures here: http://leveluped.wordpress.com/ or on his personal blog http://mrdpasion.wordpress.com/. @mrdpasion

John Robinson taught high school English and middle school language arts for 16 years. He has served as an administrator 7 years with 1 year as an instructional technologist. He enjoys blogging, tinkering with tech, and reading. @21stprincipal

Craig Smith is the Assistant Principal of Ashbrook High School, located in Gaston County, North Carolina. He earned his M.A. from Gardner-Webb University in School Administration and his B.A. from Western Michigan University. Before entering administration, Craig was a high school math teacher, teaching various math classes over his career. Craig is deeply involved in education, school leadership, prep athletics and physical fitness. He is the Co-CEO of #NCADMIN and is a successful former Head Men's Tennis Coach. Craig is happily married to a high school English teacher and they have a daughter, born in June of 2012. @csmithgoblue

Dr. David Stegall is the proud father of two. He currently serves as Superintendent of Newton-Conover Schools. He has co-authored publications on Teacher Empowerment and on Common Core State Standards' 8 Mathematical Practices and the TPACK model. Dr. Stegall was selected as the North Carolina ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award in 2012. He is a Co-Founder/Moderator of #NCed chat and is excited about connecting with educators to improve education across our state. @davidstegall

Andrew Thomasson teaches high school ELA and web publishing at Forestview High School in Gastonia, NC. He is a national Flipped Classroom leader, and co-moderates the #flipclass Twitter chat on Monday nights at 8 EST with his collaborative partner, Cheryl Morris, an English teacher in the Bay Area of California. The two collaboratively plan all six different preps they collectively teach and co-edit the Flipped Learning Journal (www.flippedlearningjournal.org). We believe in student-centered pedagogy and the fact we are all #bettertogether. @thomasson_engl

Jill Thompson is an Instructional Technology Specialist. Jill graduated from Salem State College in Salem, Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Bachelor of Arts in English. She went on to obtain an AIG licensure at UNCC and at Winthrop University obtained her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. Thompson is a weekly blogger who looks at the changes taking place in education that redefine classroom learning. Her blog is: Inside The Classroom, Outside the Box. @edu_thompson

Steven Weber is a former classroom teacher, assistant principal, curriculum director, and state Department of Education consultant in Arkansas and North Carolina. He is the principal of Hillsborough Elementary School (NC). Recently, he was selected to participate in the 2013-2014 PDK Emerging Leaders Program. Connect with Weber on the ASCD EDge® social network or on Twitter. @curriculumblog