Lisa Nielsen

Lisa Nielsen is The Innovative Educator. She found school boring and irrelevant. That ticked her off so she became a public school educator who works to help change that for others. She does this by finding and sharing innovative ways to prepare students for relevant and real-world success. Among other things, this means ensuring educators and students have a voice in conversations, issues, and policies that affect them.

She began her career in the 90s as a librarian which was a perfect fit enabling her to create a vibrant oasis in Harlem where students could find their passions with support from the community. Since then she has served in various capacities including as a literacy coach, education tech professional development manager and technology innovation manager. Today she serves as the director of digital engagement and professional learning.

Nielsen has been recognized for her work receiving awards such as Teacher of the Year by her district and most recently as a recipient of the International Society of Technology Educator’s Making IT Happen award. She has been named a top influencer on the topic of "Bring Your Own Device" BYOD. She has also been named one of the nation's top 100 influential voices in education by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences. The United States Department of Education named Nielsen an exemplary connected educator. In addition to personal recognition, she has been awarded numerous recognitions for having a top education blog.

Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about the future of education but she is best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Her writing and work are also featured in places such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, T.H.E. Journal, Tech & Learning, Smartblogs, ISTE Connects, Huffington Post, MindShift, Leading & Learning, Answers.com and she is the author the book "Teaching Generation Text."