Kathie O’Brien has had a rewarding career as a CTE instructor and faculty advisor at various community colleges throughout the northwest where she coordinated technology programs and learning centers in addition to teaching online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses. She is passionate about the benefit of CTE for all students and has been involved in efforts to promote CTE as a pathway to careers and college for many years.  Kathie is an educational consultant, professional learning specialist, project manager, and grant project specialist.  She led efforts to redesign college courses with goals of increasing enrollments, enhancing student success, increasing retention, and effectively reaching students with diverse knowledge and abilities.  In recognition of this effort, the program was awarded the Idaho Postsecondary Exemplary Program Award.  Kathie has received numerous honors including induction into the Business Professionals of America Hall of Fame, Distinguished Service Awards, and various Faculty Achievement Awards.  Kathie has had the privilege of presenting at several conferences throughout the country. Kathie received her Bachelor of Science in Business Education from Oregon State University, her Master’s in Business Education from Portland State University, and her Ed. Specialist degree in Adult Learning and Organizational Leadership from the University of Idaho.

Bob is a Regional Manager at Certiport, a company that is dedicated to helping people succeed through Certification. Certiport is the leading provider of industry recognized certifications including Microsoft Office, Adobe, QuickBooks, Autodesk and many more. He has been with the company for over 12 years and oversees several individual territory managers as well as the Nevada, Oregon, and Washington Certiport customers.

Bob is passionate about learning and education and providing the tools for students and teachers to succeed. He loves what he does and is always looking for the next certification success story. Could it be your school?

Christina’s love for the tourism and hospitality industry started when she was a small girl, and she is proud to have been a part of the industry for almost 20 years! For 15 of those years, Christina has grown with Hyatt Hotels in Food; Beverage, Events, and Human Resources. The majority of her career with Hyatt has been recruiting and training the next generation of Hyatt colleagues. During her Hyatt experience in Kansas, Texas, Oregon, and Washington, she has been actively involved with local schools and organizations to introduce students and young adults to the amazing world of hospitality! She has also spent many years as a Corporate Recruiter for Hyatt’s University Programs, engaging with Hospitality and Business students ready to take the next step in their careers. There’s nothing Christina is more passionate about, than making sure students and young adults know that there is a place for them, and a rewarding career, in the hospitality industry.

David Elliott is deeply interested in revolutionizing how students learn and the growing bond between education and technology. He received his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and holds a master’s degree in History. He has worked in test preparation, college admissions, and general education for 20+ years and continues to be passionate about helping students realize their educational goals. Elliott has helped students gain admission to schools ranging from Harvard to Berkeley and plenty of institutions in between. He enjoys coaching and counseling for all subjects of the SAT and other standardized tests. Elliott is currently the West Coast Regional Director at zSpace, Inc., a leading evidence-based augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) platform providing innovative hands-on, experiential learning to improve achievement in science, math, and career and technical education credentialing.