BecauseKids.org

In 2013, I attended the most incredible professional development of my life. Every time I talk about MERIT, people might think I’m exaggerating its benefits — but then, after they experience it, they are on the “KCI junkie” bandwagon. MERIT originally was the acronym for Making Education Relevant and Interactive through Technology (and before that, it was called “Earn While You Learn”). The thing is, it really never focused on tech… it definitely offered a bunch of technology tools for students to use, but MERIT does way more. The program helps teachers become more student-centered, focused on learning, and builds a tremendous network of innovative and creative educators that become lifelong friends.

Before MERIT, I was shy and lacked a lot of confidence. You can ask every single person who witnessed my presentations in 2013-14 during the program. They saw me shaking, sweating, and glasses fogging up. Put me in front of students, and I was fine; I couldn’t do it without anxiety and panic when I was in front of adults and colleagues.

The summer intensive was two weeks packed full of instruction and relationship building. The MERIT Director was one of my edu-heroes, and she brought creativity, inspiration, and fun to the program. The Assistant Director and instructional team were also key to bringing in different areas of expertise, and it was so evident that they truly loved being educators. I kept a journal of every day as part of the process, and it’s fun to go back to see how inspired and excited I was at the time. We had four follow-up classes after the two week summer session, and we graduated in April 2014.

I don’t think I learned more about using technology tools, but I definitely learned that I don’t want to be a two-by-four teacher (staying within the two covers of my teacher manual and the four walls of my classroom). I also learned through MERIT that no matter how much I teach skills and regurgitation, my kids will not remember it after the test. When I make learning meaningful, personalized, and REAL, it stays with my students. I still have students who remember their poverty project work, their Digital Diva work, and more. They remembered when they had voice and choice. They remember when it was related to their future careers and interests or real-world scenarios.

During MERIT, I became more involved with East Bay CUE, eventually becoming their President and Past President. I was nominated as their emerging teacher of the year. After MERIT, I earned a CUE Gold Disk in 2016. I became a MERIT instructor and a mini-MERIT director and instructor. I also jumped into public education and obtained my California Administrative Credential. I worked as a district technology integration coach and was promoted to be their Director of Innovation, Design, & Technology. I also became the Director of MERIT in January of 2017. In August, I was hired as KCI’s Innovator in Residence. And this upward career surge is all because of MERIT.

MERIT builds confidence. It validates good teaching, and it creates a PLN of great educators that you cry, laugh, and learn with beyond the program.

Learn more about the MERIT program here.

My name is Lisa, and I am a wife, mother, educator, and trainer. I was born in Japan, and I moved to the United States when I was four years old. I consider myself an English language learner because my mother, who speaks broken English, was the one who primarily raised me. My biological father was in the US Navy, and he was always overseas; he also died when I was eight years old. It took me many years to figure out the differences between Rs and Ls; TH and S; and lots of funny words my mother made into her own version of Engrish (i.e., toweru paypa = paper towel). Don’t get me started on idioms. I remember asking my friends in high school why I had to keep up with the Jones family when I didn’t know them.

I received my first computer when I was eight years old. It was a TRS-80 (Radio Shack), and I learned how to use BASIC to write simple programs. My mother always made sure computers were part of my life, whether they were part of a video game console or a desktop. She also made ballet a part of my life (her dream, not mine). I should be more thankful for my mother’s intentions, but I digress…

Fast forward to the late 1990s: I was new to the Silicon Valley, attending school, and I was homesick. I drove home every weekend to visit my mom in the Sierra Foothills and my friends in the Central Valley. I was constantly on dial-up AOL ($2.50/hour!) and eventually my PacBell.net account, trying to keep in touch with new and old friends. In January of 1997, I went into mIRC (internet relay chat) to access the California chat room, and I asked if anyone else was new to the SF Bay Area. Dozens of messages plastered my screen, but one screen name caught my attention: PsyPhi2. I cleared all the other direct messages, and I focused on PsyPhi2. Little did I know that 20 years later, I’d still be chatting with this guy nightly. We fell in love, got married, and have two (now adult) kids.

When I went back to work, after being very lucky to be a stay-at-home mom, I found myself in the educational environment. While working as an instructional aide at a private school, I went back to college to get an Masters in Education with a concentration in instructional leadership. My first teaching job was in a small Catholic school in Alameda, and I taught there for six years. I taught 3rd grade, 4th grade, middle school language arts, 8th grade religion, and K-8 technology. I became their Director of Technology in my 5th year there. During that time, I had also obtained a graduate certification in Network and Communications Management.

In 2013, I became the Director of Instructional Innovation and STEAM Programs at a private, all-girls high school in Oakland. There, I taught computer science, media and information literacy, and creativity in the makeHERspace. Eighteen months later, I was given the amazing opportunity to join the California public school systems, and I was hired as a District Technology Integration Coach. Six months later, they promoted me as their Director of Innovation, Design, and Technology. In 2017, I became the Innovator in Residence at a community college, where I trained teachers in student-centered pedagogy and ed-tech tools. I also created and led professional learning programs for educators and administrators, and I was an adjunct professor to college students through Learning In New Classrooms (LINC) courses.

Later, in 2019, a public school district in San Jose was hiring for a Director of Information & Instructional Technology. The CTO/Associate Superintendent of Learning & Innovation was a visionary educator and administrator that made me want to take this role, under his mentorship. While I came to the job to learn under his unique vision and leadership, the energy and inspiration faded as soon as he departed for a superintendent position elsewhere. I stuck it out for a few more years, but I ended up leaving in January 2026 for a more positive, supportive, and changeable environment.

I currently work in a California independent school that is solely for neurodivergent students. I love the autonomy I have, but even better, I adore that I am allowed to teach every single day! I teach K-12 Digital Literacy & Citizenship, AI Literacy & Ethics, and Emerging Technologies in Education. I also am privileged to work with the infrastructure and devices for the schools.

2026 is my 21st year in education. I am a Google Certified Innovator, a Microsoft Innovative Educator, a CUE Gold Disk winner, a CUE Lead Learner, a KCI MERIT13 fellow, 2021 Common Sense Education Honored Educator, and a forever learner.

In 2015, when I was the Director of Innovation, Design, and Technology at a small, public school district in the East Bay, I created #BecauseKids. The really amazing Assistant Superintendent and I were trying to come up with an easy-to-remember hashtag that basically summarized why we (and the district) did what we did. We both immediately thought of our students, the ones we all passionately supported each day, minute, second… and #BecauseKids was born.