TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION COLORADO, INC. (TIE) is a Colorado-based, non-profit organization founded in 1986 by a group of teachers with the vision of hosting a conference focusing on the increasing role technology plays in education. Now in its 27th year, TIE hosts an annual pre-conference Leadership Academy for educational leaders in addition to organizing the premier statewide conference helping teachers integrate technological tools with 21st Century Skills to satisfy all content areas, including the National Education Technology Standards (NETS).

The TIE Board of Directors is composed of a group of nine volunteers, each assuming various corporate roles and conference chair positions. Please feel free to email the appropriate board member with your questions or feedback and they will get back to you as soon as possible.

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2012-13 TIE BOARD of DIRECTORS

MeManuel Gonzales,  Douglas County School District.
Leadership Academy Chairperson

Manuel moved to Colorado in January of 2011. He grew up in a town located in the panhandle of West Texas called Levelland. Manuel is a first generation college graduate thanks to “Upward Bound,” a college prep program he completed in high school.

Manuel has known his wife since the 2nd grade, although they didn’t date until both obtained their undergraduate degrees; her from Texas A&M, Manuel from Texas Tech. Needless to say, their house rule is that they do not watch football together when those two college teams play. Manuel is a certified Tennis Pro through USPTA and he coaches tennis as well.

Manuel’s areas of educational expertise include: Interactive Whiteboards (he’s a certified trainer in SMART, Promethean, and Mimio), Mobile Technologies, Learning Management Systems (Schoology, Edmodo, and Moodle), Technology Planning, and Professional Development. Prior to moving to Colorado, Manuel worked at the Oklahoma State Department of Education where he provided professional development training to 3,000 teachers and administrators annually. Manuel also approved over 500 district technology plans each year for E-rate funding eligibility.

Manuel joined the TIE Board in November 2012 and last year was his first Conference experience. He presented 1:1 programs during the Leadership Academy and presented a learning management system called Schoology. This summer, Manuel is heading the TIE Leadership Academy at Copper Mountain.

You can e-mail Manuel by clicking here.

Kim-300x2491Kim McMonagle, Douglas County School District.
Board Secretary – TIE Conference Chairperson – TIE Conversations

Since arriving in Colorado in 1998, Kim and her family have enjoyed skiing, hiking, and camping in the course of exploring surrounding areas. As an avid reader, she balances professional favorites: Yong Zhao’s Catching Up or Leading the Way and World Class Learning with her book club reading. She loves to travel and experience the people, cultures, and foods of the locality.

As the Director of Educational Technology for Douglas County School District, Kim brings her passion for melding curriculum and instruction, pedagogy and technology. As a district leader, she works closely with the center for professional development to ensure that technology supports highly effective, digital age teaching and learning.

Kim attended conferences and was a frequent presenter long before joining the TIE Board of Directors. She applied what she learned and began networking with colleagues across the state and beyond. Kim joined the Board in 2009 and was immediately swept up in planning TIE’s partnership with ISTE’s 2010 Conference. She then served as presentation chairperson and the Leadership Academy chairperson. TIE is the affiliate organization for International Society for Technology in Educational (ISTE), and through this relationship we have a more global perspective for the work we do.

You can e-mail Kim by clicking here.   Follow me… Twitter: kimmcmonagle

Brad Flickinger,  Poudre School District.
Presentation Chairperson

After graduating high school, Brad left for Australia on a “walkabout” and after a couple of years must have figured things out because he came back, married his high school sweetheart, and began his career in the newspaper industry. Over the course of seven years as the publisher/owner of three weekly newspapers, Brad saw the writing on the wall with regard to the Internet. He sold his newspapers and retired to Costa Rica with his young family. Brad soon became bored with surfing though, so he taught 3rd grade at a private English school for a while. But Brad felt he needed to get back to the U.S. and return to the publishing business, which by this time had started to collapse. So he went over to the dark side by managing a web design firm in Seattle.

Realizing before long that a cubicle tech farm was not for him, Brad wanted back in the classroom. So he quit the tech business before the bubble burst in 2000 and returned to teaching as a high school business education instructor. By this time, his wife Monique had started her career as a principal, becoming one of “them.” And after a few years, Brad also joined them as the director of technology for his district but found he couldn’t stay away from the classroom. So he returned to teaching, which he calls his “dream job,” once again.

Brad now teaches technology at Bethke Elementary School in northern Colorado. His pupils produce the longest running and most popular student podcast on iTunes. Their student-made movies have had over 230,000 online views, and Brad has just received the 2012 Leadership Award from Edtech Digest for his blog SchoolTechnolgy.org, which gets over 70,000 visitors a month.

Brad is addicted to teaching kids and uses presentations and workshops to feed his desire. His presentations are known for their high-energy and shocking examples of the amazing tech projects his kids can do. He started attending TIE Conferences a few years ago after a fellow edtech junkie told him it was the best thing since the iPod. He has been a TIE supporter ever since. Brad joined the TIE Board in the fall of 2012 as the Chairperson in charge of Presentation for the 2013 conference.

You can e-mail Brad by clicking here.


TC Travis, Wray School District.
Vice President – Hospitality Chairperson

TC was born in Germany, raised in Northern California and Eastern Colorado. She has been married to Tracy Travis for 27 years and they have two grown children—Garrett and Ryan. TC enjoys camping, being outdoors, and knitting.

TC taught grades 3-5, specializing in differentiated math instruction, before taking the position of Director of Technology. Her areas of expertise include software training, PowerSchool, SIS, and Excel. Her passion as an educator lies in believing in students, identifying individual talents, and then watching those youth grow into young adulthood.

TC has attended TIE conferences as a teacher since 2000. She presented and volunteered for three years before joining the TIE Board in October 2010. Currently, TC is Vice Chairman, as well as TIE Corporate and Hospitality Chair.

You can e-mail TC by clicking here.


OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERANathan Humphrey, Garfield County School District 16.
Website – Social Media – Conference Streaming Chairperson

Nathan was born in Fort Morgan and is a fifth generation Colorado native, although when he was in the fifth grade his family moved to Junction City, Kansas. Nathan attended Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma where he met his wife and received his degree in Secondary Science Education. Upon graduation, he moved to Missouri and spent the next ten years teaching science while pursuing his Masters degree in Educational Technology from the University of Missouri. After receiving his Masters, Nathan worked as an Educational Technology Specialist, then as Director of Technology. In 2008, he and his family moved back to Colorado where he became the Director of Technology for Garfield County School District 16 in Parachute.

An avid fly fisherman, skier, and biker, Nathan loves everything about living on Colorado’s Western Slope. He and his family also love camping and four-wheel driving in the Rocky Mountains.

Nathan joined the TIE Board in September 2011 after attending several conferences. He is the current chair for the TIE Colorado website and social media outlets, and was responsible for the first-ever virtual sessions offered at last year’s TIE Conference. Nathan is looking forward to expanding those very successful sessions for the 2013 conference.

You can e-mail Nathan by clicking here.

Erin HeadshotErin Magley, Denver School District.
Board President – TIE Sponsorship Chairperson

As a returning Peace Corps volunteer in 1997, Erin became a bilingual elementary teacher for Denver Public Schools. She taught ECE, Kindergarten, 3rd, and 5th grades before becoming the technology teacher in her school. She has since joined the Educational Technology Team in DPS and loves helping teachers better understand how to engage their digital learners on a daily basis.  Since joining the Educational Technology Team at DPS has been recognized in her district for providing outstanding customer service.  A Colorado native, Erin enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and keeping bees in her backyard.

Erin started as an attendee at TIE, then presented sessions for multiple years before being recruited to the TIE Board of Directors in 2008. She finds great fulfillment in collaborating with the other board members to organize the premier educational technology event for Colorado, every year.

You can e-mail Erin by clicking here.

Melissa Smead, Colorado Springs School District 11.
Presentations Co-Chairperson – Registration Chairperson 

Although Melissa’s home state is New Mexico, she has lived in Colorado for the last 15 years—and loved every one of them. She now lives in Colorado Springs with a mini-schnauzer named Jackson and loves engaging in non-technological activities outside of work time. Luckily, Colorado lends itself well to such pursuits, no matter the season. Melissa feels most at home when hosting friends and family, loving to cook and bake in particular. A few years ago, she taught herself to can apple butter. Her current hobby is learning to crochet.

Her daily job in Colorado Springs permits Melissa the privilege of supervising the library/technology programs for 52 schools where she works with just under 100 talented people. She has always enjoyed working with adult learners, even as early as completing her bachelors in elementary education; to this day, she regards it as the best part of her job, believing that working with teachers as they become better at their craft is absolutely the best profession. Being an educator at heart, Melissa also enjoys watching her nephew grow up. She loves him as an Aunt, of course, but as an educator she is fascinated with watching him learn.

One of the newest members of the TIE Board, Melissa started in October of 2012. The TIE conference has been a highlight of her June the last seven summers. She has both presented and co-presented on a number of occasions and appreciates the relaxing Copper Mountain venue and the TIE Conference for inspiring so many teachers for so many years. This summer she looks forward to serving on the Board and is thrilled with the opportunity to experience personal and professional growth.

You can e-mail Melissa by clicking here.

GregGreg Miller, Cheyenne Mountain School District.
Board Treasurer – Registration Co-Chairperson

Greg lives in Colorado Springs with his wife and two-year old daughter. He currently serves as a Technology Coordinator for Gold Camp Elementary in the Cheyenne Mountain School District. His position helps promote the use of technology to further standards-based curriculum and 21st century skills in the classroom.

Greg provides professional development to school staff by including video-based as well as traditional face-to-face training, modeled classroom integration, and grade-level planning sessions. He works closely with teachers to integrate technology into their daily classroom curriculum. Greg is a Certified Apple Associate and a Google EDU Certified Teacher. In addition to his technical understanding of Macs, he manages various database programs both at the school and the district level for student testing and achievement. Greg is also familiar with various web development tools including Final Cut, Microsoft Office, and the Apple iLife Suite.

The journey has just begun, and Greg is always looking to connect with like-minded people. His passion is to continue to bring together innovative practices and learning models to promote the advancement of 21st century skills.

You can e-mail Greg by clicking here.

swatson2013Shery Watson, Poudre School District.
Equipment Chairperson

Shery has lived all over the world including such beautiful locales as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Louisiana, and Colorado. She is currently an Affiliate Faculty member at Regis University and an eNet Colorado online instructor.

Shery has been involved with TIE since 2005 when she was a presenter. She volunteered in tech support during the 2008 and 2009 TIE Conferences, as well as for the ISTE’s 2010 Conference and Exposition. Shery has been a member of the TIE Board since 2011.

You can e-mail Shery by clicking here.