Meet the presenters
Randall Eden is a pioneering educator, instructional designerandoperations analyst. He is currently the President & Co-Founder of UpSlope Solutions and co-author of the Risk Management in Education (RME) Series. Prior to co-founding UpSlope, Randall service as the Director of Learning Management Systems (LMS) Development at PLATO Learning (NASDAQ: TUTR) and as the Director of Operations at TeachMaster Technologies.
Randall has 15 years of experience in the public education and business sectors and has led the standards and accountability movement in K-12 education from theory into practice on multiple fronts. Since his transition from the classroom to the private sector in 2000, Eden has overseen the design, development and implementation of the Polaris® standards-referenced curriculum management system for K-12 school districts, the Publisher's Edition of the Orion® AIS Editor, customized LAN-based standards-referenced instructional management systems for dozens of school districts in the U.S. and abroad.
Educated at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, Randall graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology in 1985 and was certified as a secondary science educator in 1994. During his tenure as a teacher of sixth to twelfth grade students in multiple content areas within the Cherry Creek School district in suburban Denver and the Glendale Union High School District of urban Phoenix, Eden designed and piloted several accountability-driven assessment and evaluation tools, including an early state proficiencies-based portfolio system in 1994 and served on two site-based management teams.
Randall served as a founding Council Member of the Open Source Portfolio Initiative (OSPI) from 2003 to 2004, a university-based project that provided alternative assessment products and services to K-12 and university students in the U.S. and abroad. Eden was also elected to a three year term as President of the Eagle Cove Homeowner's Association in 2006 and remains active in community affairs.
Currently, Randall is encouraging public school districts and charter organizations to expand their use of data-driven decision making into traditionally "high risk" operational areas that are often overlooked. Eden's decision support and risk systems modeling tools for this purpose have received wide acclaim among school leaders across the country seeking to reduce the potential for disciplinary bias and subjectivity over time and between schools.
David Braswell is an award-winning educator, researcher and accomplished businessman. He is currently the CEO & co-founder of UpSlope Solutions and co-author of the Risk Management in Education (RME) series. Prior to co-founding UpSlope, David served as the Vice President for Education at PLATO Learning (NASDAQ: TUTR) and as the founder and President of TeachMaster Technologies.
Braswell has more than 30 years of experience in instructional practice and research and was the principal author & designer of numerous instructional, curriculum and standards assessment management software systems including Standards Toolkit, Standards Record Keeping & Reporting, Standards Reference Master, Standards Design Master, Standards Vocabulary Master, Standards Assessment Resource Library, and Standards Teaching Activities and Plans. David's standards reform research and technology-driven software solutions have been marketed and sold worldwide through PLATO Learning, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
Educated at Western Carolina University and the University of North Carolina, Braswell received a Bachelor of Science in Education (BSED) in 1979, followed by a Master of Education in Administration (MAED) in 1986. David has held positions as an elementary school reading specialist, a middle school English teacher, an elementary, middle and high school principal and as chief school district administrator in public and Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools (BIA) in Georgia, North Carolina, South Dakota, and New Mexico. During his tenure with the BIA, Braswell served as one of six administrative negotiators representing management in contract negotiations with the National Federation of Education Employees (NFEE). David served as an elected Governing Board member in the Washington Elementary School District from 1999 to 2002 and was later appointed to the Board again for a one year term in 2008. Braswell was also elected to the Glendale Union High School District Governing Board from 2003 to 2006 and served as Board President during his term. In 2003, David was appointed by the Governor of Arizona to serve as a member of the Joint Legislative Committee for the implementation of All Day Kindergarten state-wide and is one of three principle authors of the All Day Kindergarten legislation. Braswell is also an appointed member of the State of Arizona Leadership Initiative serving the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Currently, David is challenging educators to become employee management experts. Braswell's expertise is highly sought after and he speaks to education groups throughout the nation discussing a variety of legal and risk management issues faced in schools on a daily basis that negatively impact student achievement.
