Chris O'Neal began his career in Louisiana as an elementary and middle school teacher, special education and technology coordinator, K12 district educational technology coordinator, and eventually director of educational technology at the State Department of Education. His leadership there earned him a state leader of the year award, and status as an “Honorary State Senator.” Chris has provided years of consulting to ISTE, many state departments of education, and numerous national and international educational organizations and conferences. In 2001 he began working at the University of Virginia, where he led statewide leadership initiatives for many years and taught classes in traditional and online formats across numerous educational topics. He also authored a book on improving educational culture through effective use of data. He began working at Blackboard in 2017 as a solutions engineer and now works as a manager of educational and accessibility consulting.