MLTI's team of distinguished educators, "MLTI Ambassadors", support all things professional learning! Ambassadors provide instructional coaching and deliver professional learning experiences to MLTI-participating schools.
Have questions? Reach out to the Digital Learning Specialists: jonathan.m.graham@maine.gov and emma-marie.banks@maine.gov
What MLTI Ambassadors Do
- Support state-level goals in schools
- Develop goals with educators
- Work in schools — shoulder-to-shoulder
- Provide coaching to support goals
- Develop and deliver PL for educators
- Organize and coordinate events
- Feed into state-level PL opportunities
- Stay embedded in their communities
- Build regional cohorts
- Facilitate regional opportunities for learning and sharing
Meet the MLTI Ambassador Program Facilitator
Jonathan R. Werner comes to the MLTI Team from Cape Elizabeth Middle School, where he served as the technology integrator. He has fifteen years of experience in education and worked as a technology integrator and a Library and Instructional Technology Specialist at Cape Elizabeth Middle and High School. Prior to that he taught English and Social Studies at Gorham High School and at Conestoga High School in Berwyn, PA.
Jonathan holds a Masters in Social Studies and English Language Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to working in schools, Jonathan received a J.D. from Columbia Law School and practiced for five years, focusing on education law. He has also served as the ISTE Librarians Network President-Elect and President from 2016 to 2018. Jonathan has presented at large-scale events like ISTE, MassCue, NEISTE, and EdTechTeacher events as well as events around Maine. He is passionate and has extensive experience in areas such as rethinking professional learning, reimagining libraries and learning commons, digital footprints, screen addiction, MakerSpaces and MakerEd. He lives in Portland with his wife, Rebecca, and three children.
Meet the 2022–2024 MLTI Ambassadors
Nicole Karod comes to the MLTI Team from Mt. Ararat Middle School, where she served as a science teacher and last year was the 6–8 remote science teacher. She has eighteen years of experience as a classroom teacher at the elementary and middle levels, including several years teaching in North Carolina. A graduate of Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Nicole spent her formative years working in numerous roles at the school and worked her way up to directing summer camps for MSSM.
Nicole's passion for leadership has led into curriculum development, spearheading student leadership opportunities, and she currently serves as her district's teacher association president. Nicole holds a Masters in Elementary Education from Gardner Webb University and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Literacy from the University of New England. She lives in Damariscotta.
Joshua Schmidt comes to the MLTI Team from China Middle School, where he served as a mathematics teacher. He has twelve years of experience at the middle level — half in Maine and half in his home state of South Dakota. While working in South Dakota, Joshua worked closely with TIE (Technology and Innovation in Education), where he developed his passion for educational technology.
His experiences with customized learning and data-informed practices led him to China Middle School, where he led work around the mathematics department's redesign — resulting in shared math choice boards and assessments for grades 5–8 while allowing students to progress through content at their own level and speed. Joshua was also part of the Introduction to Experiential Teaching through Technology cohort in 2019. He is currently working on a Master of Education in Instructional Technology with a Certificate in Computational Thinking at the University of Maine. He lives in Farmingdale with his wife, Krista, and their daughter, Corrin.
Yuhong Sun comes to the MLTI Team from Noble High School, where she served as a technology integrator, computer science, and Chinese language teacher. She has twenty years of experience teaching computer and technology-specific classes at the middle and high school levels, including programming languages, website design, web animation, game design, and Cisco networking. She has led after-school organizations including robotics clubs at both middle and high school levels, a web design club, and the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest — with her teams earning the Maine state winner designation in both 2018 and 2019.
Yuhong has been the director of the Noble Exchange Program for over ten years, bringing students to Noble High School from countries such as China and Italy. She received her M.Ed. in Instructional Technology from the University of Maine and holds a Master's Degree in English Literature and a Law Degree from Southwest University in Chongqing, China. She is a National Board Certified Technology Educator and lives in South Berwick.
Martha Thibodeau comes to the MLTI Team from the Mt. Blue Regional School District, where she served as a technology training coordinator. She has forty years of experience teaching from early elementary to adult education, working primarily in school districts in Central and Western Maine with seventeen years teaching at Lawrence Junior High School. In recent years at Mt. Blue, she has focused on technology integration and planning professional development throughout the school year as well as the district's summer institute.
Martha holds Curriculum Coordinator certification in addition to multiple teacher certifications, as well as certificates from Google, Apple, and eMINTS. She holds a Master's Degree from Thomas College in Computer Technology in Education and an Education Specialist Degree in Educational Technology from Walden University. She lives in Madison.
Tracy Williamson comes to the MLTI Team from Gorham Middle School, where she served as a music teacher. She has twenty years of experience at the middle level and has taught general music classes, chorus, and steel band throughout her career. Tracy was nominated as a semi-finalist for the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award. She is an Apple Certified Teacher and has been a regular presenter at ACTEM, MMEA, and the MLTI Student Conferences.
Tracy has worked with her students on Project S.U.S.T.A.I.N. to compose original music for a worldwide collaborative album supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and has created an innovative digital badging program to help students learn to read music. She received a Master of Music degree from The Boston Conservatory in 2000 focusing on Music Education and Flute Performance. She lives in Bridgton with her husband, Ben, who is a middle school ELA and Social Studies teacher in Windham.