The only thing that is constant is change, and that has been proven in spades over the past three months for those organizations dedicated to broadening participation in computing, with the ECEP Alliance being no exception. In January, we shared that the amazing Sarah Dunton was transitioning to a rotator position with NSF and leaving the ECEP Alliance. While filling Sarah’s shoes is no easy task, our Alliance has been fortunate to have a strong bench of senior leaders who are helping to continue our important work. As such, the ECEP Alliance Leadership Team is excited to announce that Dr. Jaci McCune has accepted the position of ECEP Alliance Director. Jaci officially joined the ECEP national leadership team in February 2024 as our Alliance Deputy Director and quickly made an impact by leading projects such as ECEP Connect and Co-sponsorships. Prior to serving as Deputy Director, Jaci was an ECEP state leader through her position as the K12 CS Education Programs Professional at the Nevada Department of Education from 2022 - 2024. Jaci earned her Ph.D. in Instructional Technology, Learning, and Psychology from Grand Canyon University in 2022 and has been supporting CS education and educators since 2016. Please join us in welcoming her to this new role!

To support Jaci and the entire Alliance, we have been fortunate to engage Brianna Johnston of Sagefox Consulting Group as our new ECEP Program Manager. Brianna has had her hand in various ECEP activities through SageFox over the last 10 years and has become more directly involved with her support of CMP since 2020.  She brings a wealth of experience helping to organize projects and events related to BPC, STEM, and CS education.  In fact, chances are pretty good that you’ve received a communication from her at some point - asking for a one-pager for a PI meeting, reminding you of tasks due for an event, or just in general support of the great work we all do. She is excited to expand her ties to this community and looks forward to engaging with the Alliance members face-to-face at the Summit! 

The entire ECEP leadership team looks forward to executing on our mission to broaden participation in computing by identifying and addressing the policies, pathways, and practices in state education systems that are barriers to universal student engagement and success.