GKE's Innovation Cafe - About the GKE USA-based Team

GKE Innovation Café is designed through a unique GKE USA-based team collaboration.

The GKE Innovation Café is designed by Florence McGinn,
former United States Commissioner, Web-based Education Commission
1998 United States National Technology and Learning Teacher of the Year
GKE Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Research
and
a GKE-selected group of Exemplary United States university students

Florence McGinn, a former United States Commissioner on the Web-based Education Commission, is the 1998 United States National Technology and Learning Teacher of the Year. Florence McGinn holds the Princeton University Distinguished Secondary School Educator award, several Best Educational Practices awards, a New Jersey Association of School Curriculum award, and has been recognized in a State of New Jersey Legislative Proclamation. She has presented educational keynotes throughout the United States as well as internationally in China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. She is a published poet as well as a widely published writer of educational technology topics. She is on the boards of the Mediatech Foundation and the GKE Foundation. She is on the advisory boards of Cisco Learning Institute, PBS OnLine, Schooltone Alliance, and Technology and Learning magazine. Florence McGinn is GKE's Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Research.

Florence McGinn is joined by outstanding American university students, who have demonstrated excellence through participation in extraordinary, technology-assisted learning accomplishments.

The GKE-selected, Exemplary American University Students and GKE Interns

Douglas Gorton -
Douglas Gorton has presented on technology-assisted learning in United States local and national venues as well as internationally in Singapore and at the International ACM Conference. Douglas is a former student Editor-in-Chief of Electric Soup. He attends Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States, where he is Production Manager of his university's literary magazine and majoring in computer science. Douglas holds the distinctive rank of Scholar Emeritus in the American Technology Honor Society. Douglas is a GKE Intern.

Emily Judson -
Emily Judson has presented on technology-assisted learning in Singapore as well as in United States regional and national venues for the United States Department of Education and the New Jersey Department of Education. Emily is a former student Editor-in-Chief of Electric Soup, an online literary magazine, and a Directing Editor of Vibrations, a multimedia magazine. She has worked in Johnson & Johnson's communications department and as a GKE Intern. Emily attends the University of Delaware in the United States where she majors in Business Administration and minors in International Business.

Neela Mookerjee -
Neela Mookerjee has won School City's United States National Essay Writing award and been a Directing Editor of Electric Soup's National Edition as well as Directing Editor of Electric Soup's Poetry Feature. Neela has presented on technology-assisted learning in testimony before a Congressional Commission, in presentation at the National Education Association's Museum in Washington, DC, where her portfolio is archived as an exhibit, and in a campaign video for the Presidential campaign of Vice President Al Gore. Neela Mookerjee attends Stanford University in California, USA, and majors in Economics and Communications. Neela is a GKE Intern.

Tim Gorton -
Tim Gorton, a former Editor-in-chief of Electric Soup, and served as a founding student-developer on key, grant-supported pilot projects including the Multimedia Electronic Portfolio and CyberLit. Tim was selected by Mrs. Florence McGinn to join her to meet in person with the President of China, Jiang Zemin, at AT&T's NJ Corporate Headquarters on Jiang's 1997 visit to the United States. Tim was a NJ Governor's School in the Sciences Scholar and has received the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award as well as New Jersey's 2nd place award in its National Engineering Design Challenge. Tim Gorton has earned his Bachelor in Sciences degree in Computer Science and Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was an active participant in the Media Labs educational research programs. He has traveled to national conferences as well as to Costa Rica to disseminate the Media Lab programs. Tim is a graduate student at MIT in the United States.

Sujay Pandit -
Sujay Pandit is a former editor of several of Electric Soup's on-line features: Tsunami, Potpourri, and CyberLit. Sujay has served as a summer intern for Sun Microsystems. Sujay has presented on technology-assisted learning before the Congressional Commission on Web-based Education, for the United States Department of Education, and for the Mediatech Foundation. Sujay has published lesson plans for educators at the Dirksen Congressional Center's web site. He was recognized by the Trenton Times for his outstanding writing. Sujay founded his high school's BookWorms Club for weekly discussion of literature, has written material reviewing the published poetry collection Blood Trail, and assisted in the planning of professional poetry readings. Sujay attends Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

Dheera Venkatraman -
Dheera Venkatraman is a New Jersey Governor's School Scholar in Engineering and Technology, and he was a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search. He was a former editor of several of Electric Soup's on-line features: Tsunami, Potpourri, and CyberLit and has presented with GKE Intern Douglas Gorton in California at the International ACM Conference on technology-assisted learning. He was a former Chemistry editor of the Science on-line magazine. He competed with the Science Olympiad Team, the Math League Team, and the Quiz Bowl Team. Dheera is a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.