OETC CIO Summit

2024 – Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle, WA

The 2024 Summit brought us back to the serene Cedarbrook Lodge, offering a quiet space for K–12 technology leaders to connect, reflect, and recharge.

Dr. Aditi Nerurkar opened the event with a keynote on stress, resilience, and well-being. Drawing on her background as a Harvard physician, she shared science-backed strategies for managing burnout and sustaining performance in leadership roles.

Our second keynote featured Shelby Reynolds, Manager of Instructional Technology at Northshore School District, joined by her son, Red. Together, they delivered a heartfelt and thought-provoking presentation on building inclusive communities at both school and work. Their stories and research challenged attendees to consider how workplace inclusion directly impacts student success.

Eric Cross, a middle school science teacher and host of the Science Connections podcast, closed the Summit with an energetic talk on culturally responsive STEM instruction. He shared practical strategies for using digital tools to support accessibility, student agency, and real-world engagement in the classroom.

2023 – Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle, WA

This year, we returned to the serene Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle, WA. Alexandra Sunderland, Director of Engineering at Fellow.app and author of “Remote Engineering Management,” kicked off the event as our first keynote speaker. She shared her management knowledge and provided a guide for empathetic and people-first management in a remote world.

Kevin Roose joined us as our second and final keynote speaker. Roose is a NYT tech columnist and podcast host of “Hard Fork” and Rabbit Hole.” His extensive interviews, research, and acclaimed book “Futureproof” offer a guide to thrive in the technological future and his presentation for CIO Summit did the same. Roose covered the potentials and perils associated with the commercialization and burgeoning use of AI.

2022 – Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle, WA

We returned to in-person events at the cozy Cedarbrook Lodge, tucked away in Seattle. The year’s theme was Leading through Change and we had two incredible speakers come to the event.

The first keynote kicked off with Cassandra Worthy, Founder & CEO of Change Enthusiasm who led us through an innovative approach that includes mindset, language, and an instantly effective toolkit on thriving through change.

Mark Horstman, the co-founder of Manager Tools, presented the second keynote. He led a workshop on effective leadership, allowing attendees to collaborate and exchange ideas.

2019 – Skamania Lodge, WA

With a return to Skamania Lodge, 2019’s event was the largest and most involved yet. Taking place over a packed 36 hours, Summit 2019 drew dozens of CIOs and IT Directors to talk leadership, check out new technology, foster connection and exchange ideas.

The event kicked off with PDX Women in Tech founder Megan Bigelow discussing how to actively foster female leadership in technology departments. Keynote speaker Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, delved into into how to create an environment where every employee — regardless of background, demographics or rank — can truly feel integrated and thrive. PSU CIO Kirk Kelly led an interactive workshop on helping employees lean into their autonomy and develop mastery, while Know Your Team CEO Claire Lew talked strategies to integrate every employee into the decision making process.

2018 – Coeur d’Alene, ID

With a theme of security — both physical and digital — our third Summit was the best-attended yet.

Anchored by a keynote from Major General Brett T. Williams, attendees also heard from Dr. Wayne Machuca of Mount Hood Community College on staffing fort the cybersecurity void, while Leslie Golden ran a workshop on developing security priorities.

This year, we went a bit further afield to the beautiful Coeur D’Alene Resort, located right on the lake of the same name. Many attendees stayed the weekend to network further — and golf, kayak, boat, hike, fish …

Special thanks to our partners: Acer, HPE/Aruba, Securly, Freshworks, Pacific Office Automation, JAMF, Epson, Insight (IFS), Illuminate Education, SMART Technologies, GuideK12, and Classlink.

2017 – Skamania Lodge, WA

Our first Summit tackled a challenge central to every CIO: change leadership.

People — and institutions — are inherently averse to change; how can you effectively lead, communicate and empower staff and students to embrace newness?

Keynote speaker Sara El-Amine, who worked as President Obama’s national organizing director, shared 10 tips for change, while Leslie Golden spoke about cybersecurity and Beaverton School District chaired a panel on their large-scale 1:1 Chromebook rollout — and how attendees can do the same.

Everyone gathered at Skamania Lodge, nestled in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge, and many stayed to keep talking … or go on a hike.

Special thanks to our partners: Insight (IFS), GuideK12, Epson, Pacific Office Automation, Classlink, Nimble Storage, Illuminate Education, LocknCharge and Acer.