Our Mission
We help education leaders harness technology responsibly to ensure every learner can thrive—pairing deep system experience with pragmatic plans teams can actually implement.
Our approach:
Listen → Co-design → Implement → Sustain
Adam Garry
Founder & President
With two decades of expertise in consulting, Adam guides educational institutions toward digital and student-centered learning transformations. He recently led Dell Technologies' education innovation and strategy for 14 years and has been a speaker at prominent conferences around the world. Over the last 20 years, he has contributed articles, blogs, and podcasts on many aspects of education including personalized learning, assessment, generative AI, and leadership. He is currently supporting school districts and companies across the US and Canada with Generative AI initiatives. Additionally, he has co-written two books: "Teaching the iGeneration" and "Personalized Learning Through Voice and Choice". A former elementary teacher, Adam possesses a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education, a Master's in Teaching and Learning with a focus on Technology, and a Certificate in Administration and Supervision.
919-208-6421
Allison Reid
Consultant
Allison Reid is a nationally recognized K–12 digital learning leader who helps schools turn innovation into everyday practice. She specializes in AI strategy, instructional technology, and policies that ensure privacy and accessibility while building capacity for meaningful, lasting change. A 2025 EdSafe AI Alliance Women in AI Fellow and recipient of CoSN’s NextGen Emerging EdTech Leader Award, Allison partners with superintendents, CIO/CTOs, and instructional teams to align vision, pedagogy, and implementation. She is known for developing AI guardrails, digital and media literacy resources, and large-scale professional learning that drives teacher adoption and student impact. Drawing on two decades of experience in education, she began her career in the classroom before moving into district leadership. Today, she serves as Senior Director for Digital Learning and Libraries at Wake County Public School System—the 15th largest district in the U.S.—in the same district where she was named District Teacher of the Year, leading digital instruction, internet safety, and library programs serving over 160,000 students across 200 schools.
919-274-3534
Marlo Gaddis
Consultant
Marlo helps districts and vendors strengthen cybersecurity posture and operational readiness without overwhelming staff. She leads Cybersecurity strategy sessions, CCRE reviews, and incident-response tabletop exercises that clarify roles, reduce risk, and accelerate remediation. With a background spanning K-12 infrastructure, data governance, and vendor integrations, Marlo translates technical findings into clear action plans for cabinet leaders and boards. Her engagements often include playbooks, drills, and training designed for real-world constraints. At Strategic EDU, she also advises on implementation planning and cross-functional operations to ensure technology decisions remain practical, defensible, and aligned to instructional goals.
336-380-3659
Doug Renfro
Consultant
Doug partners with school districts and education organizations to design and implement digital strategies that drive real classroom impact. He facilitates strategic planning sessions, AI integration workshops, and instructional technology audits that help clarify priorities, build staff capacity, and boost student engagement.
Drawing from his extensive background in instructional design, professional learning, and digital curriculum development, he transforms emerging technology trends into actionable plans for district leaders and school teams. His comprehensive approach includes creating implementation roadmaps and delivering hands-on training tailored to the unique challenges of K-12 environments.
He also advises on policy development, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable technology integration to ensure initiatives are equitable, lasting, and aligned with instructional goals.
615-310-2742
Mark Racine
Consultant
Mark Racine is the founder of RootED Solutions, a Boston-based consulting firm specializing in EdTech strategy and cybersecurity. As the former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Boston Public Schools for over a decade, Mark spearheaded significant modernization initiatives across the district. Notably, he led the successful district-wide one-to-one program rollout during the pandemic, an effort that garnered recognition from Boston Magazine in 2020. His impactful leadership also earned him the prestigious CIO of the Year award from the Council of Great City Schools.
Leveraging his extensive experience in K12 education technology, Mark now advises schools and organizations through RootED Solutions, helping them navigate the complexities of the modern educational landscape. He remains actively engaged in the EdTech community as the co-host of the K-12 Tech Talk Podcast and serves as a member of the Department of Education's Government Coordinating Council for Cybersecurity, contributing his expertise to national discussions on safeguarding educational institutions.
207-522-6387