Industry News

Brian Lewis Steps Down as CEO of ISTE

• By Richard Chang
• 09/16/16

Brian Lewis is no longer CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, the ed tech organization announced this week. No reason was given for his departure.

The ISTE Board of Directors issued a statement to THE Journal Friday: “Brian Lewis concluded his employment as ISTE CEO on September 10, 2016. The ISTE Board has engaged Cheryl Scott Williams as interim CEO and is embarking upon a search to fill the CEO position. The ISTE Board wishes Brian well in all of his future endeavors.”

Lewis joined ISTE as CEO in June 2012, after 25 years in both public and private sectors. The announcement of his hiring was made just prior to the ISTE conference in 2012 in San Diego. He had previously been the chief strategy officer and interim CEO for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

ISTE is a prominent trade organization, representing some 100,000 education professionals involved in education technology. Its activities include professional development, political advocacy, information dissemination and standards development. The organization publishes digital literacy standards for teachers, students and administrators. It also works to advocate policies to expand the use of technology in schools.

ISTE may be best known for its large annual conference it stages every summer, which draws thousands of educators, administrators, companies and press. ISTE organizes hundreds of workshops, panels, lectures, presentations and exhibits for the conference, which was held in Denver at the end of June. ISTE 2017 will be held June 25-28 in San Antonio, TX.

Lewis could not be reached for comment. In its statement, the ISTE Board of Directors said, “The ISTE Board continues to be dedicated to its members and to providing resources and a network to support them as they leverage the power of technology to transform learning. Moving forward, the Board is focused on finding a CEO who is aligned to our missions and commitment to our members.”

ISTE plans to formally announce Williams as the new interim CEO Monday in a statement. She is a past board president of ISTE, and also served as executive director of the Learning First Alliance, a partnership of education organizations, from 2010 to 2015.