AI Palooza

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Karin Cloutier

Karin Cloutier ​​has a background in Computer Science and a career spanning nonprofit, private, and public sectors. Karin brings a creative, student-centered approach to educational technology. Currently an Instructional Technology teacher with Natick Public Schools, She is passionate about helping students use technology to think critically, collaborate meaningfully, and take creative risks. Her work focuses on computational thinking, AI literacy and integration, promoting digital citizenship, and transforming learning through project-based experiences. She believes technology should be utilized to empower all learners.

In her free time, Karin is an abstract artist who also loves to travel and camp with family and friends.

AI Palooza Workshop Sessions:

• Project-Based Learning with AI (Magic School and Canva)
• Canva AI -- Code for Me and More!

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Erin Foley

Erin Foley is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and an experienced professional development instructor who has collaborated with MassCUE and other organizations to help educators integrate technology into teaching and learning. She has led PD sessions for seven years and has instructed students in the areas of digital literacy and computer science for over a decade. Erin believes in the power of technology to transform engagement, assessment, and teacher preparation in the K-12 environment.

AI Palooza Workshop Sessions:

• Google It! A Guide to Simplifying AI with Common Google Tools

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Dr. Rayna Freedman

Dr. Rayna Freedman is a 5th grade teacher in Mansfield, MA, with over 20 years of experience in grades 3–5. She’s a Google Certified Trainer, EdTech consultant, and presenter at national and international conferences. A passionate advocate for student agency and community-driven learning, Rayna holds an Ed.D. from Northeastern University and is active in shaping district-wide educational vision.

AI Palooza Workshop Sessions:

• Ew, Low-Quality Clipart: Let's Make Our Own with AI
• Be Fearless: Using AI in the Classroom

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Rebecca Mazur, PhD

Rebecca Mazur, PhD is an educational researcher and evaluator, and a former high school librarian. She has designed and conducted studies investigating a variety of educational phenomena including system factors that support or constrain student learning outcomes, teacher support networks, instructional interventions for adolescent learners, and organizational collaboration. Her scholarship has been published in a number of respected peer-reviewed journals including Educational Administration Quarterly, Evaluation and Program Planning, and Educational Management Administration and Leadership.

Rebecca is part of a CES team that has completed extensive work to research emerging educational technologies including virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and provides consultation, professional development to K-12 educators, administrators, schools, and districts.

AI Palooza Workshop Sessions:

• AI and Information Literacy: New Skills for a Synthetic Media World

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Vanessa Miller

Vanessa Miller is the district technology integration coach bridging the gap between curriculum and technology and supporting the implementation of a K–12 CS continuum in Narragansett, RI. She chairs the digital equity working group (DEWG) for the district and has taught robotics and Computer Science at the middle and high school levels. She is a facilitator for Code.org Computer Science Discoveries, an adjunct professor at URI (Teaching of Computer Science) and board member for EdTechRI (formerly RISTE) and CSTA-RI. Independently, Vanessa leads workshops on how Artificial Intelligence is impacting Education for districts around Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

AI Palooza Workshop Sessions:

• Intro to Gen AI for Teachers
• From Prompt to Practice: Making AI Work for You
• One District's Journey Toward Organizational Learning and AI Implementation

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Pamela Santerre

Pamela Santerre is an educator and educational technology leader who empowers teachers to use technology with heart, humor, and humanity. A former secondary ELA teacher with over a decade of classroom experience, she now serves as an education consultant with LEARN (CT), and a Lead Trainer for the Building Capacity in Generative AI in K–12 Education project for AESA and CoSN, supporting school and district leaders across the country in adopting edtech and AI tools responsibly and equitably. Since the release of ChatGPT, her journey has evolved from early concerns about plagiarism and data privacy to embracing generative AI as a creative, collaborative partner — a shift that inspired her to co-design her own custom AI assistant, Alvy. Together, they’ve explored everything from designing professional learning to analyzing multimedia texts — including decoding Taylor Swift Easter eggs as a form of modern literary analysis.

AI Palooza Workshop Sessions:

• From Readiness to Reality: Leading Ethical GenAI Integration in K-12 Schools
• AI Abstinence is Failing our Students: Teaching Literacy, Not Fear
• In My AI-Assistant Era: What Happens When an Educator Builds a GPT That Reflects Her Values, Her Voice, and Her Taylor Swift Obsession
  

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Marina Solovyov

Marina Solovyov is the CMO of a creative AI agency that helps brands and startups harness AI for storytelling, engagement, and behavior-driven strategy. Based in Boston, she also works in investor relations, advising teams exploring emerging technologies—including edtech—and bringing a sharp, real-world lens to what’s working, what’s scalable, and what’s next.

A graduate of UMass Amherst with a dual degree in International Marketing and Cultural Studies (focused on Spain and Japan), Marina’s global career has included launching a retreat center in Tokyo, founding a communications agency in Morocco, and consulting on high-impact campaigns in NYC’s tech scene. She’s taught students from kindergarten to college in Spain and Japan, which shaped her learner-first approach and curiosity about attention, motivation, and how students emotionally connect with content..

Marina regularly reports on AI trends, consults with AI-first startups, and designs creative strategies for behavior-driven education and storytelling. She believes AI can help rewire
attention and deepen learning—and she’s on a mission to make that transformation accessible, actionable, and human.

AI Palooza Workshop Sessions:

• From Overwhelm to Ownership: Teaching AI in a Way that Sticks, Excites, and Empowers
  

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Torrey Trust, Ph.D.

Torrey Trust, Ph.D. is a Professor of Learning Technology in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her work focuses on empowering educators and students to explore and critically investigate current and emerging technologies and make informed decisions about their use in teaching and learning. Dr. Trust has received the University of Massachusetts Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award (2023), the College of Education Outstanding Teaching Award (2020), and the ISTE Making IT Happen Award (2018). More recently, Dr. Trust has been a leading voice in exploring GenAI technologies in education and has been featured by several media outlets in articles and podcasts, including Educational Leadership, U.S. News & World Report, WIRED, Tech & Learning, The HILL, and EducationWeek.

AI Palooza Workshop Sessions:

• Creating and Analyzing AI-Generated Images, Audio, and Video to Enhance Teaching and Learning
• Exploring the Latest Changes and Advancements in GenAI Tools