IMS Staff

Dr. Rob Abel is the Chief Executive Officer of 1EdTech, a nonprofit collaboration of the world's leading universities, school districts, government organizations, content providers, and technology suppliers, cooperating to accelerate learning technology interoperability, adoption, and impact. Rob has been the CEO of 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global Learning Consortium, since February of 2006.

Rob is a recognized expert on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for learning with over 40 years high tech and education market development experience. During Rob’s tenure, 1EdTech has experienced dramatic growth in terms of members, revenues, and achieved significant adoption of 1EdTech work by leading regional education communities worldwide. 1EdTech has grown over 17x since Rob became CEO and has risen to become one of the world's best resourced and dynamic standards-setting consortia.

Prior to 1EdTech, Rob was Senior Vice President at Collegis (now Ellucian Managed Services), the leading provider of ICT services to U.S. higher education, where he was responsible for online and academic services provided to over 60 U.S. institutions. Rob is also a seasoned high technology software development, business development, market development and venture investment veteran. As Senior Director at Oracle Education he was a leader and innovator in the development of online learning architectures and related standards. Rob also held executive positions at National Semiconductor, TRW and Hughes Aircraft.

Rob holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Change from Fielding Graduate University, a Masters degree in Management from Stanford, a Masters degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a Baccalaureate degree in Computational Physics from Carnegie Mellon University. Rob was honored with the TRW Chairman's Award for Innovation in the early 1990's for leading advancements in real-time networking and distributed software.

Jeff Bohrer’s career has focused on supporting the mission of educational institutions through IT administration, support, and training. 

As technical program manager for digital credentials at IMS, Jeff supports a variety of projects and programs related to digital badges and comprehensive learner records, as well as guides the Innovation Leadership Groups for digital credentials and LTI learning tools. 

Prior to joining IMS, Jeff was an academic technology manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison responsible for leading teams that support campus-wide systems for learning management, media delivery, collaboration, content development, assessment, and analytics. Jeff also served on numerous campus and statewide committees and collaborative work groups. Jeff previously held academic technology positions at Dartmouth College and Mahtomedi (MN) Public Schools. 

Jeff holds a master's degree in technology for learning and development and a bachelor's degree in secondary education, both from the University of South Dakota.

Cary (officially Carroll, but please call him Cary) Brown has spent more than 20 years in the EdTech industry, most recently as Senior Director of Campus Solutions Product Development at Oracle, where he was responsible for the Peoplesoft Campus Solutions student information suite. He began his tech career designing applications on top of off the shelf relational databases for small associations before transitioning to edtech as a functional analyst with Peoplesoft Campus Solution in 1999. Since then he has worked as a development manager and strategist for Oracle’s Higher Education solutions, including Campus Solutions Academic Enterprise Solutions and Oracle Student Cloud, often with a focus on integration and extending the availability and usability of administrative academic data and enabling the entire academic ecosystem in a sustainable, standards-based way. When he’s not focused on Higher Education, Cary is a working writer and filmmaker.

Mark Christensen has worked in K–12 and higher education in various roles throughout his career from teacher to administrator to marketing communications for both established and startup edtech companies. With over 20 years of experience, Mark helps institutions and software companies navigate today’s dynamic and changing educational landscape. He holds his MBA from Rivier University and his Ed.D. from Plymouth State University/Argosy.

As the Vice President of K12 Programs at 1EdTech, Dr. Tim Clark assists schools and districts in the adoption of 1EdTech standards and practices to enable interoperable and secure digital learning ecosystems. He also provides strategic leadership for K12 in 1EdTech in collaboration with K-12 institutional and state department of education members of the consortium.

Formerly, Tim served as the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Digital Learning for Chicago Public Schools where he provided leadership and guidance for teaching and learning through the design and implementation of an equitable districtwide digital curriculum. Tim also served as the Coordinator of Instructional Technology for Forsyth County Schools in Georgia. He has been an educator for 25 years and has taught all grade levels, ESL, and gifted learners. He is the author of the BYOTNetwork blog and has been featured regarding Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) in NBC News, EdTech Magazine, eSchool News, Scholastic Administrator, THE Journal and many other news outlets.

Tim holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership for Learning with a concentration in Instructional Technology, and his research and dissertation focused on designing online learning communities for elementary students. Throughout his career, he has been a vocal advocate for the implementation of instructional technology, digital content, and curriculum in order to increase achievement and motivation, to encourage collaboration, to facilitate critical thinking, and to construct engaging learning environments. 

Karen Daughtery serves as the Director of K-12 Member Activities at 1EdTech Consortium, where she facilitates program meetings and activities for all K-12 institutional members. Karen works closely with individual members to accelerate the uptake of 1EdTech open standards and practices to enable next-generation digital learning.

Karen began her career in the K-12 setting. While in her position as an Instructional Technology Specialist in Forsyth County (GA), she held various leadership positions at the school and district levels before transitioning into a corporate educational technology role.

Nynke is the liaison between the IMS Global organization and the European IMS members and users of the IMS standards in Europe. Before working for IMS Global, Nynke worked as a project manager for innovation within education at SURF, the national collaborative organization for ICT in Dutch higher education and research. Before working for SURF, Nynke worked in the field of computer-based testing for 20 years for both commercial businesses (Pearson VUE) as the Dutch government (College voor Toetsen en Examens).

Tienhoven, Netherlands

Sandra has 25+ years of experience developing, implementing and managing marketing and community development programs in the corporate and higher education markets. As Vice President of Community Programs for 1EdTech, Sandra is responsible for marketing and PR, developing and executing higher eduction member engagement activities, and coordinating all aspects if 1EdTech events, including the annual Learning Impact Conference and Digital Credentials Summit. Prior to joining 1EdTech in 2012, Sandra served as General Manager of Association and Client programs at Ellucian (formerly SunGard Higher Education) where she had overall responsibility for providing strategic direction and management for the company’s participation at industry and user events with a focus on developing productive relationships with the leading higher education associations. Sandra graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1985 with a B.S. degree in Marketing and Management.

Tracy graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, MA in 1994 with a BSBA in Accounting. While attending Northeastern University at night, Tracy worked full-time as an Accounts Receivable Manager at a Newton, MA Thermometry Manufacturing Company. In 1995, Tracy became the Accounting Manager at a Newton, MA Insurance Agent as well as a part-time Accountant for a local car dealership and two gas stations. In 1998, Tracy started consulting for several local and international companies which include: a Boston based Real Estate Company, two Israeli Internet companies, a Concord, MA Antique Dealer, a Boston based Marketing Agency and a Toronto, Canada based Manufacturing company with employees in the US, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico and the UK. In 1999, Tracy started consulting at IMS doing all the Accounting functions. Tracy left 1EdTech for eight months and returned Full-time in January 2001 as the Finance & Administrative Manager. Some of Tracy's functions at IMS include: Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Revenue Recognition, Produce monthly & quarterly Financial Statements, Maintain all Payroll and HR functions, Work with CPA's for the Annual Financial Audit and Tax returns, Reconcile bank and investment accounts, and Maintain all Member records and website access.

Maria Girard works as a QA Engineer and her prior experience includes e-learning product management. Before joining 1EdTech, she also worked as a web and mobile application QA test engineer for a startup educational streaming platform.

Maria is originally from New Hampshire and lives currently in Denver, Colorado.

Kathryn Green is the Technical Program Manager for digital curriculum at IMS Global. This includes CASE, Common Cartridge, LTI Resource Search, and other projects.

Prior to joining IMS, Kathryn was most recently with Strategic Education Inc, the parent company of Capella and Strayer Universities as a senior online product manager, owning the LMS and courseware products, consulted on digital acquisitions, and was a co-chair for an annual employee giving campaign. Prior to Capella, Kathryn worked in administration for various non-profits and other higher ed institutions. 

Kathryn holds a master’s degree in Human Development from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in Professional Writing from Baylor University. She resides in Minneapolis with her family.

With 20 years of experience in standards and software development, Markus' primary engagement areas in 1EdTech are accessibility, digital content and data model development. He is also engaged in 1EdTech's operations in Europe.

Prior to his work with 1EdTech, Markus worked as CTO of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) and as CTO of the DAISY Consortium, as well as head of the unit for process and architecture at the Swedish National Agency for Education.

Markus lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.

For the past 17 years Dereck has worked in a variety of fields as a developer, team leader and data architect. Comfortable in a variety of programming languages and frameworks, his favorite non-work activity is picking up yet another programming language or database system and working through the tutorials. Dereck holds a Bachelors of Science in Theoretical Chemistry from Wake Forest University.

Kelly Hoyland serves as the director for higher education at 1EdTech where she works with members to meet the challenges they face in the rapidly growing and evolving digital teaching and learning landscape. This includes working across K-12, higher education, and corporate education to make life achievements more accessible, personalized, and equitable from the start for every learner.

Kelly began her career in K-12 education where she served in roles as teacher, virtual school coordinator, and technology director. She then transitioned to higher education as the Director of Learning & Client Technology Services at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where her department was responsible for supporting academic technology and end user support. Her focus has been to find ways to use technology to support teaching and learning.

Cara Jenkins serves as the marketing communications director for 1EdTech, leveraging more than 20 years of experience in higher education technology marketing. In her role, Cara works closely with 1EdTech staff and members to effectively communicate 1EdTech activities and progress to increase member engagement, recognize member contributions and leadership, and increase awareness of the 1EdTech value proposition to increase market adoption of an open, innovative, and trusted digital education ecosystem.

Before joining 1EdTech, Cara led various marketing programs and initiatives at Ellucian, focusing on defining and tracking program success metrics. As a go-to-market director, she had responsibility for solution messaging, new product launches, awareness, and lead generation campaigns for 15 solutions that spanned three product lines and included several SaaS models and cloud applications. Before her role as go-to-market director, she was the director of events and association programs, tasked with driving the strategic direction of an event portfolio, which at its peak contained over 30 national conferences and had the potential to reach over 25,000 customers and prospects. In addition, she directed all aspects of content development, programming, speaker engagement, and audience acquisition for an 8,000-person global customer conference.

Cara is actively involved as a member of the planning committee for The Women in Tech Summit (Philadelphia), whose mission is to support the community of women currently working in technology and to help pave the way for women and young women who want to enter the industry.

Cara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from The Catholic University of America.

Adam graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2016 with a B.A. in Sociology. Prior to joining 1EdTech, Adam worked in social services. Adam enjoys streamlining processes, creating accessible information structure, and learning new ways to assist with 1EdTech's success.

When Adam is not working, he enjoys DIY projects, crocheting, and taking advantage of Maine weather.

Alan is a Java developer with more than 6 years of experience developing REST-based web applications. He has a penchant for rapid prototyping and iteration, making him an asset to projects that might change and grow unexpectedly.

Before 1EdTech, Alan spent many years working in Healthcare Information Technology. He utilized his skill set to help deliver products and services designed to assist patients in better understanding and navigating the often confusing industry.

Alan resides with his wife Erynn in Durham, North Carolina. He is a lover of cats, motorcycles, music, and enjoys making regular visits to thrift stores on the weekends searching for old and long-forgotten video games.

Mark Leuba is a technology leader in education with particular expertise in online and competency-based education. Mark's role in 1EdTech is to guide its product management strategy and team, building on the substantial success of the 1EdTech founding team. Prior to 1EdTech Mark provided advisory and strategy services for leading institutions, foundations and proprietary education organizations. Before his consultancy Mark served as Chief Technology Officer for Moodlerooms, a leading provider of open source learning management solutions and as Chief Information Officer for American Public University System where from 2005-2009 Mark led a five year technology plan supporting the online university's unparalleled growth. Before entering education, Mark held IT leadership roles in publishing, financial services and transportation industries. Mark received his B.A. in Business Administration/Finance from the University of Baltimore.

Kevin is a Marine Corps combat veteran who has served proudly in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom. Kevin made his decision to join the Marine Corps after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Towers. Kevin served for 8 years  and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant. After the military, Kevin worked in all areas of security and access control systems.

Kevin started his career in education as an IT customer service representative where he was responsible for the break fix process at two high schools. He also held “Tech Tuesday” training where he was able to coordinate with principals and faculty to train them on all district resources. Kevin then moved on to work as an Education Technology Specialist and headed the district’s student data privacy, Internet safety and security initiative. In the two years of heading this initiative, Kevin was able to raise awareness about student data privacy and influence education technology products to improve upon their privacy practices. 

Miles has nearly 20 years of software development experience working with many languages and frameworks and in varied industries including healthcare, chip fabrication, music and photography, but has spent the last 6 working in the education sector.  It's an industry he hopes to be a part of for a long time.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry / Biophysics and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

He lives in Cohoes, NY and enjoys hiking and biking when the weather is favorable and skiing and snowboarding to pass the time during NY winters.

Having served in various executive roles at 1EdTech, Lisa is currently the Vice President of Technical Operations. Lisa has over thirty years experience in managing, developing, and implementing successful online services, leading cross functional projects and teams, and spearheading business and technical operations for both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Lisa graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in History and a Masters of Library and Information Science. Lisa also has a Masters in Media and Communications Psychology from Touro University Worldwide.

Leslie has extensive experience developing, enhancing, integrating and supporting database applications.  Most of that experience has been in the educational arena, in both the Higher Education and K-12 environments. 

Leslie holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bryn Mawr College and Master of Science in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
 

Joshua McGhee serves as Senior Technical Program Manager for 1EdTech Consortium, leveraging more than 15 years of experience in technology-related fields. Joshua serves as the TPM for OneRoster, LTI, Edu-API, Caliper, and OpenVideo. In that role, he oversees the development, promotion, and support of various integral EdTech interoperability standards.

Prior to joining IMS Josh was a senior business analyst with mdsl, a market leader in the telecom expense management field. In that role, Josh was responsible for designing and managing integrations between the mdsl platform's procurement tool and various vendor systems as well as end-user experience through the procurement process.

Originally from the Florida panhandle, Josh currently resides in New Jersey with his wife, his son, and their dog enjoying the turning of the 4 seasons.

Mark is responsible for managing the assessment related activities and workgroups (QTI/APIP) across IMS as well as assisting with the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) and accessibility (AccessForAll) project groups. Mark oversees and supports the Assessment Product Steering Committee that sets the strategy and vision of digital assessment initiatives. Mark holds Masters and Bachelors degrees from the University of Oregon and Brigham Young University, respectively.

After a brief stint as a structural engineer Andy Miller moved into the software industry as a software developer. Prior to joining IMS, Andy worked for Learning.com as a product manager responsible for K-12 platforms and assessments. Before Learning.com, Andy ran his own company developing software products for e-commerce platforms and volunteering at his local schools. It was during this time he saw the potential for technology to improve education.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Science and Engineering in Civil Engineering from Princeton University and a Master of Science in Structural Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

He lives and works in Portland, Oregon in the great Pacific Northwest.

Bracken Mosbacker is the Technical Standards Architect for Caliper and Common Cartridge. Bracken has worked most of his career in education and loves participating in the Open Education and technical standards communities. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and developer groups promoting technical integrations and open education.

Previously, Bracken worked at Lumen Learning and Instructure, where he worked on a broad range of products and led efforts in platforms and integration strategies.

Phil Nicholls has over twenty years of experience in the software industry having worked as a software developer, product manager and consultant. Prior to joining 1EdTech, Phil worked for Oracle Higher Education as a technical product manager responsible for Student Information System integrations for the Student Cloud. Before Oracle, Phil owned his own consulting practice which specialised in e-learning interoperability standards, and his clients included government agencies, standards bodies and vendors.

Phil graduated with an MSc (with distinction) in Software Systems Technology from the University of Sheffield in 1996. In his spare time he's an avid tabletop gamer.

Matt has more than twenty years experience leveraging technology in both for-profit and non-profit organizations.  He's held roles in both the book industry and in higher education.

Prior to joining IMS he worked for EDUCAUSE, Ingram and host of other organizations.  He's a software engineer with a penchant for product management.  Over his career, he's been certified as both Scrum Product Owner, ScrumMaster, and achieved several Pragmatic Marketing certifications.  

Gentry Riggen has over 6 years of experience in crafting web and mobile applications. Prior to joining IMS, Gentry worked in a myriad of industries ranging from Department of Defense to a small startup building fitness related software.

Gentry was born and raised in beautiful Colorado and still lives there today. When not writing software, he is spending time with his wife and son or in the gym working out.

Dr. Colin Smythe BSc MIEEE MACM FIET FBCS C.ITP C.Eng

Colin has a degree in Applied Physics (1979) and was awarded a PhD for his work on spread spectrum local area networks (1985); both degrees were from the University of Durham, UK. During the past 40 years he has worked in both the academic and the industrial world. He was a lecturer at the Universities of Durham and Surrey, worked for several years at Logica Ltd., was the founder and managing director of the systems consultancy Hyperion Systems Ltd and is currently a Director and Principal Consultant at Dunelm Services Limited. From 1992-1999 he was a member of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Sheffield, UK where he was Head of Department and Chair of Computer Science. Since October 1999 Colin has been consulting for 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global Learning Consortium). He is currently the 1EdTech Chief Architect and as such he is responsible for the managing the development and maintenance of the full suite of 1EdTech specifications. During the last twenty years he has worked on a number of public and private sector e-learning projects. In 1999 he was made a Fellow of the British Computer Society and became a Chartered Engineer.

Bruce Umpstead joins IMS Global to drive partnerships and engagement with State Education Agencies (SEAs), an area of expertise "at-scale" he brings from strategy consulting and seven years serving as Michigan's State Educational Technology Director. Bruce built his entire career in corporate eLearning, higher education, and K12 public education, cutting his teeth in "EdTech" by spinning up operations for an eLearning company before transitioning to directing a major Math/Science Partnership at Michigan State University, his alma mater.

His aim in joining the IMS team is straightforward: let's make interoperability simple, secure, and ubiquitous. Engaging SEAs in the work is a critical next step and Bruce is eager to lead that effort. He lives in Mid-Michigan with his wife and two daughters and roots for the Michigan State Spartans. He holds a bachelor degree and MBA from MSU.

Monica serves as a Senior Director of Learning Innovation, providing a voice for K-12 institutions and bringing together technology providers to achieve digital equity and interoperability at scale. Before starting at 1EdTech, Monica had several education roles, including teaching Spanish in High School in Florida and conducting Information Literacy courses as an Academic Librarian in the Engineering and Textiles Library at NCSU. After earning her Masters in Library and Information Science, Monica went to work for the North Carolina State University Library in their Fellows Program. Monica then went to work as VP of Sales for an EdTech supplier. Monica is passionate about helping school districts integrate technology successfully. She graduated from Florida State University and received a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida.

Monica currently calls Coastal North Carolina home. She faces the constant, character-building struggle of being a diehard Florida State University sports fan living behind enemy lines. When not advocating for interoperability in K-12, enjoys all the coastal Carolina ethos offers with boating, fishing, and diving.

Ian Weddell handles the product and project management for the 1EdTech initiative. He has over twenty years experience in the software industry as a product manager, solutions architect, consultant, and software developer.

Prior to joining IMS, Ian worked in a variety of product management and consultancy roles for e-learning companies in both Europe and the US, focusing primarily on content and user data management, vendor integrations, and internationalization.

Ian is originally from Stratford-upon-Avon, in the heart of rural England, and has also lived in Virginia and Germany. He currently resides with his wife and two cats in St. Petersburg, Florida. When not working, he enjoys hiking, theatre, classic cars, and participating in triathlons.