The Management Council and INFOhio proudly presented two awards at this year’s annual Membership meeting on May 3, 2019: the first ever Difference Maker Award and the annual INFOhio Spence White Service Award.
The Management Council Difference Maker Award recognizes a public official who has demonstrated foresight and tenacity in advancing education in Ohio, with emphasis on 
recognizing the opportunities, and importance, afforded by the implementation of information technology for academic, career, and administrative pursuits.
The Management Council is pleased to announce Tom Ash as the inaugural Difference Maker Award recipient. For 35 years, Tom has made a difference in the lives of Ohio’s educational leaders, teachers, and students with 21 of these years served as a superintendent in two school districts. Tom continues to make an impact in the education community as the Director of Government Affairs for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA), a position that he has served since August 1, 2005. In this capacity, he represents school district leaders from throughout Ohio before the Ohio General Assembly and various other state agencies and 
organizations.
Tom has shown impressive dedication to the education of Ohio’s learners and worked tirelessly to help students, teachers, and the community on its way to better education and career fulfillment. We are delighted to award the 2019 Difference Maker Award to Tom Ash. Recently named as the 2016-2017 Hicks Executive in Residence at the Patton College of Education at Ohio University, Tom is continually recognized for his efforts to make a difference in Ohio’s education community.
The INFOhio Spence White Service Award recognizes exemplary service provided to the INFOhio community by ITC personnel. The recipient demonstrates a dedication to the vision of INFOhio and outstanding support for the delivery of the INFOhio project.
This year’s INFOhio Spence White Service Award recipient is Kathy Aurigemma, an Instructional Technology Integration Specialist/INFOhio Liaison at the 
SouthWest Ohio Computer Association (SWOCA). She is also the co-founder of the SouthWest Technology Integration Leaders of Ohio (SWTILO), which isa local professional learning community that meets monthly to provide local district leaders and other educators opportunities for networking, collaboration, and problem solving.
In her current role at SWOCA, Kathy provides support and training for Media Specialists and library staff using INFOhio’s automated library circulation system. Each year Kathy conducts INFOhio digital resources trainings in districts and provides other in-service opportunities for both classroom teachers and building media staff. A passionate advocate for students and teachers, Kathy enjoys spreading the word about INFOhio’s valuable free digital resources to parents, teachers, and students across the southwest region of Ohio.
Thank you, Tom and Kathy, for the great contributions you have made to powerfully impact the lives of Ohio’s leaders, teachers, and learners.
Chad Carson, a 1994 graduate of Ohio University Athens in computer science, has spent the last twenty-nine years serving the Ohio Education Computer Network. Chad began his career at the LACA ITC in 1994, immediately after college. Originally hired to support Student Services, Chad advanced to systems manager, then served as LACA’s director of technology from 2001-2017. Chad was the executive director of LACA for four years prior to joining the MCOECN in the fall of 2021 as the manager of the MCOECN Data Center Operations team. In his current role, Chad is primarily responsible for the overall operation of the MCOECN server, network, and storage infrastructure, and continuously focuses his technical skills on enhancing, optimizing, and improving delivery of hosted services to MCOECN’s customers.
Joe spent 29 years in public education as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent. He started his career in Grove City, Pennsylvania as a teacher and coach and finished in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania in the superintendent role. During his time as an administrator, Joe was focused on innovative ways to deliver instruction, both in the classroom and through technology. He led Ellwood City in their 1:1 laptop adoption for students and changing instruction to both direct instruction and using Google Classroom as a learning management system. He also was integral in bringing a 3-12 STEM program to the district.
Geoff has served as CEO of the Management Council since 2015, leading the mission and strategic plan for the Council and growing the organization that connects, optimizes, secures and empowers academic and administrative systems that support every learner, teacher and leader in Ohio. He is responsible for the array of work done by the Management Council on behalf of the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio’s 18 Information Technology Centers.
Jessica began her career in higher education working for the Art Institute of Ohio – Cincinnati, Kaplan College, and the Everest Institute before discovering that the public sector was her passion. She left the realm of higher education to pursue a non-profit career with the Griffith Foundation before securing a position with the Ohio Educational Service Center Association as Program Manager for Membership & Special projects.
Melissa began her career as a district technology coordinator and computer application/business teacher and during that time was fortunate to develop a wonderful relationship with her district’s Information Technology Center (ITC). While at the district, she led the implementation of OhioSchoolNet and Raising the Bar technology initiatives. In the mid 2010s, she transitioned from the district to an ITC, which introduced her to the Management Council and many of the programs that they support state-wide.
Erica came to INFOhio in the early 2010s with more than 10 years’ experience, including as an early childhood teacher and elementary music teacher. Prior to her role as an INFOhio ILibrarian, now known as Instructional Specialist, she worked for two collegiate universities, one as the Humanities Librarian and the other as Library Director. In her role with INFOhio, Erica evaluated and selected digital tools and resources aligned with Ohio Learning Standards, and supported integration of those tools and resources into classroom instruction. She also collected, analyzed, and shared INFOhio usage data to inform instructional design, and wrote for INFOhio’s social media, blog, and news. She earned a BA in English and Music and a Master of Humanities from Wright State University, and a Master of Library Science from Indiana University.
Matt Calmes serves as the Director of State Software Development. Matt has been with the State Software Development Team since the early 2000s. In his current role, he leads and manages the teams that develop and support the various products in the SSDT’s portfolio. He has a passion for technology and solving hard problems that provide benefit to Ohio’s educational community and the students they serve. 
Greg Buddelmeyer serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Management Council. He joined the Management Council staff in the mid 2010s. Greg began his career with the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office as an Assistant Auditor, working on audits of Ohio government entities. In the early 1990s, he accepted his first school district treasurer position with Liberty-Benton Local School District. He also spent time as the school treasurer for Defiance City School District and Shawnee Local School District. He eventually moved to The University of Findlay as the Financial Director for Projects and Grants, overseeing the financial operations of The All Hazards Training Center and university grant programs.
As Director of Customer Services and Support, Bill Young is the chief evangelist for excellent customer experiences across the Ohio Education Computer Network (OECN). Bill manages customer support teams that are dedicated to delivering timely and knowledgeable support for major K-12 programs and applications used by teachers and leaders across Ohio. Teams deliver support via a live-chat, a statewide call center, email, and responsive self-help web sites.
Scott Gaughan serves as the Director of Network Services. He currently focuses on network related initiatives, information security, video conferencing, and collaborative purchasing agreements. He joined the Management Council in the early 2010s after spending 30 years in state government, including Ohio DAS/OIT, Ohio SchoolNet and eTech Ohio. 
Ryan has committed his career to serving the K12 education community in Ohio. Starting out in serving INFOhio at a regional Information Technology Center in the 1990s, he quickly adapted to the changing needs of the ITC and became their lead systems administrator. When given the opportunity in the mid 2000s, he came to the Management Council to initiate the first disaster recovery services. Since then and through leading many diverse initiatives, Ryan has developed into a talented technologist who focuses on aligning technology needs and educational outcomes.