As you get settled in at FETC® 2020 in Miami, here are six editors to look for and follow on social media. The team will be providing summaries of each day’s events as well as insights into what’s coming up. Think of them as your guides to maximizing your time at the conference.
Eric Weiss is executive editor of District Administration and sister publication University Business. He is a South
Florida native who has been working in the newspaper and television industries since 1994 and recently joined LRP Media Group. He is excited to attend his first FETC®, and he is eager to hear your feedback about the conference, as well as the magazines and websites. You can find him on Twitter at @EricCWeiss.
Melissa Ezarik, senior managing editor of District Administration, has been covering K-12 education for the publication since 2001, as well as higher education since 2005 for University Business. This is
her first FETC® in many years, but she attended the event several times back when its name still referenced Florida educators. A Connecticut resident, Melissa has not spent time in Miami since 1997, and as a fan of architecture, she looks forward to seeing some art deco. Look for Melissa’s coverage of sessions in the Educator, Administrator, and Inclusion & Special Education tracks, as well as the STEM Excellence Awards. She’ll also be tweeting throughout the show—with inspiring ed tech quotes and likely a few design and food pics. Follow @DA_magazine and @MelissaEzarik.
Senior writer Matt Zalaznick, a Miami native who prefers chilly Northeastern winters to year-round
warmth, covers the full spectrum of K-12 education for District Administration and DistrictAdministration.com. A former daily newspaper journalist, he particularly enjoys visiting school districts and telling the stories of educators and their educational initiatives. He also specializes in taking pictures and making videos of educators hard at work preparing students to keep future society on track. At FETC®, look for him attending the field trips to Miami-Dade County schools and covering the keynote sessions. He manages the @DA_magazine Twitter channel and can also be found oversharing DA’s K-12 multimedia coverage (and some less important news about his rock band) at @Zalaznick.
Chris Burt, the program chair for the newly launched Academic Esports Conference & Expo, reports on competitive video gaming in schools for District Administration and University Business. He is a former sports editor, writer and designer for The Palm Beach Post, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Boston Globe. He has spent the past two years working at major conferences in North America and the U.K., but this will be his first FETC® show. A Connecticut native, Chris has lived in South Florida for the past 20 years, living (and mostly dying with) Miami’s frustrating sports teams, including “The U.” He loves all types of music, but still has an affinity for freestyle and the ’80s Miami sound. He will be at FETC®’s esports sessions tweeting throughout the show as @esportsChair.
Steven Blackburn is associate and custom publishing editor for District Administration and University Business. In addition to writing news and features, Steven collaborates on projects with clients who purchase branded content in both magazines. Before writing for the education sector, Steven was associate editor for multiple motorcycle magazines and writer for the defunct (and greatly missed) Hartford Advocate weekly (especially the clown-o-meter crime report). At FETC®, Steven is especially excited to see the many ed tech startup innovations that will be judged during Pitchfest and to get his “hands dirty” in the AR/VR and elementary digital tool sandboxes. Steven will be tweeting as @swymanblackburn.
Ray Bendici is managing editor for District Administration and University Business. In addition to writing and editing news and features for both publications, he regularly contributes to the accompanying websites. This is his first FETC®, and he will be covering multiple areas, including the Information Technology track, the Districts of Distinction presentations and Daniel Pink’s keynote address. He can be found on Twitter at @RayUBDA.
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