Moderator: Brett Taylor, Assistant Professor, University of the Pacific, Gladys L. Benerd School of Education

Biography: My focus is on creating learning environments that cultivate the habits of entrepreneurs by engaging students in the work of the real world. At Benerd, I serve as the program lead for our new Educational Entrepreneurship program which I helped design. I was the Founding Principal of the Patiño School of Entrepreneurship, a public high school in Fresno, California. The school was developed around the idea of rethinking what it school by building an interdisciplinary curriculum around studentled companies and connecting with the entrepreneurial and technology sectors of Fresno. Before that, I was also the Principal of Duncan Polytechnical High School where I led the redesign of career-oriented programs into a focused small learning community academy system. Before I became a school administrator, I enjoyed teaching English and Social Studies at the middle school level. I also am the CEO of an educational innovation consulting firm, NewSchool Innovation Consulting.

Philosophy: As a professor, I believe the journey is more important than the destination and I encourage my students to continually evaluate the learning process and their growth. I also believe the skills that are gained are more important than the letters you put after your name. For this reason, I strive to make learning applicable through projects that allow students to consult with organizations and build their own solutions.