Jessica Woodard Sepke
jwsepke@gmail.com | Twitter | LinkedIn

EDUCATION

• Klingenstein Center, Teachers College, Columbia University, May 2013
  Master of Arts in Private School Leadership
  Selected Coursework: Private School Leadership, Program Leadership (Teaching and Learning), Law & Education, School Finance, School Marketing, and Group Dynamics
• Wake Forest University, 2000, Cum Laude,
  Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry 
• North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, 1996

EXPERIENCE

Communications and Special Projects Manager
Klingenstein Center, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
July 2015-present

• Manage all communications, including writing, design, and delivery of print, web, and social media messaging.  Recent accomplishments include launching re-branded print collateral and a new website.
• Serve as alumni coordinator, event planner, and development officer.
• Execute transition to Salesforce CRM platform, which serves as a pilot program for all of Teachers College.
• Support academic programs including ensuring Ed.M. students meet all requirements and coordinating off-site field projects for two-summers master’s students.

Director of Operations
Harlem Village Academy High School, New York, NY
June 2013-June 2015

• Oversee all parts of school life outside the classroom: all school budget management; facilities management, school safety, student records, transportation, parent relations, testing and compliance.
• Create the weekly e-newsletter “HVA’s Friday Flash” which provides a proactive vehicle for parent communication about the life of the school.  Manage all other routine and emergency communications with students and parents.
• Serve as Regents testing coordinator, AP Coordinator, IB Coordinator, and registrar, including master scheduling,
• Create policies and procedures for faculty and staff to ensure the orderly function of the school.

Academic Study Intern
Chapin School, New York, NY,  Fall 2012

• Examined current trends and research regarding the efficacy of homework.
• Collected and analyzed data from teachers, students and parents to determine the homework climate at Chapin as it relates to both belief and practice. 
• Recommend steps Chapin could take toward more innovative and effective homework practice.

Director of Technology & Communication
Saint Mary’s School, Raleigh, NC,  July 2010-July 2012
Director of Technology
Saint Mary’s School, Raleigh, NC,  February 2002-July 2012
Academic Technology Specialist
Saint Mary’s School, Raleigh, NC, July 2000 – February 2002

At Saint Mary’s, I served in three positions over 12 years. Responsibilities below are organized by category rather than by job title for greater clarity

Administration

• Served as member of senior administrative team.
• Worked with Board of Trustees including attending all board meetings, coordinating distribution of reports prior to meetings, presenting, and serving on the Marketing and Admissions committees. 
• Participated in annual strategic planning including setting school-wide goals and departmental goals, monitoring progress, and writing annual reports. 
• Participated in annual budget process including generating forecast models and reductions. 
• Wrote policies and plans in areas of expertise, such as technology use and crisis communication. 
• Supported admissions and fundraising efforts, including stewarding donors. 
• Led efforts to better use available data in strategic planning including selecting data platforms, designing reports, and creating data-collection procedures.

Academics and Student Affairs

• Advised approximately 5 students each year in MAP Advisory program, which included daily meetings, academic guidance, coordinating assistance from counselors or learning specialists, frequent parent communications, and personal support for students.
• Taught Honors Chemistry and AP Computer Science. Taught and developed curriculum for Intro to Computers I, Intro to Computer II, Web and Graphic Design I, and Web and Graphic Design II. 
• Assisted in development of the COMPASS life skills program and curriculum. 
• Developed the daily/weekly schedule and created the master course schedule each year. 
• Partnered with Dean of Students on disciplinary cases with an online or technology-use component. 
• Created Technology Prefect program to provide student leadership opportunities in technology. 
• Served as residential faculty member in boarding program, including chaperoning on-and off-campus events, supervising activities, managing emergency situations, and acting in loco parentis.

Communication and Marketing

• Oversaw all school communications and marketing. Managed and evaluated staff of 2.5 FTE’s.
• Created “SMS 101” an internal marketing and orientation program for faculty and staff. 
• Led in-house team in creation of “Experience SMS” a video series featuring 7 students and 35 faculty/staff who were their teachers, mentors, and residential hall faculty. 
• Streamlined communication with parents via new weekly email newsletter format. 
• Launched new website with complete redesign under new vendor. 
• Managed strategic marketing project including RFP, consultant selection, and delivery of results.

Technology

• Oversaw academic and organizational technology including annual budgets, endowment funds, and staff of 3.5 FTE’s workers. Hired and evaluated all technology staff.
• Planned and executed ATLAS one-to-one tablet PC program, including stewarding donors who gave over $1,000,000 to support the program. Traveled, presented and hosted to raise the profile of the school and its technology program. 
• Taught staff workshops on academic technology and classroom management techniques. 
• Selected and managed transition to Veracross database for admission, development, student information, and billing. Assisted impacted departments in streamlining operations, developing new reports, and utilizing shared data to better serve constituents. 
• Served on renovation committee for three 170-year-old campus buildings. Assisted with building design and design technology and oversaw complete information systems infrastructure move.

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Dean Jones Award, Saint Mary’s School, 2012
• Lenovo ThinkTank Award, Lenovo ThinkTank Global Conference, 2008
• Richard Stone Award for Distinguished Service, Saint Mary’s School, 2003

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• “Creating a Culture of Digital Responsibility”
  TABS Annual Conference, Boston, MA, December 2011.
• “Constant Connection – Teaching Digital Responsibility in the Age of Ubiquitous Internet”
  NCGS STEM Symposium, Boston, MA, June 2011.
• “Making 21st Century Connected Collaborators in a World of Digital Distraction”
  NCAIS Teacher Conference, Charlotte, NC, November 2010.
• “My Tablet Changed My Life,”
  Lausanne Laptop Institute, Memphis, TN, July 2007 and July 2008.
• Featured Speaker,
  Leadership and IT Strategy for Educators, Raleigh, NC, September 2006.
  Mid-Atlantic K-12 Education Summit, IBM, Hawthorne, NY, March 2006.
  IBM South Carolina Independent Schools Briefing, Columbia, SC, January 2006.
  IBM Lunch and Learn Briefing, Raleigh, NC, November 2005.
• “Write On! Tablets across the Curriculum,”
  NCETC Conference, Greensboro, NC, November 2005.

PUBLICATIONS

• Featured in Wake Forest Magazine, December 2006.
• Interviewed as one of the “foremost leaders in education technology” in “The Secrets of Their Success” in THE Journal. June 2006, vol. 33, no. 11.
• Interviewed in “Tablet PCs: The Write Approach”  in THE Journal. April 2006, vol. 33, no. 9.