From Cisco to the CIO's Office: Anne Sena on Leadership and Change Management
In this episode, we talk with Anne Sena, Director of Operations and Technology at St. David’s School. Anne shares her compelling journey from a fast-paced corporate career at Cisco to impactful leadership in an independent school, offering key insights on managing institutional change, building trust with faculty, and navigating an expanding technology role.
- St. David’s School
- Anne’s LinkedIn Profile
- ATLIS / NAIS AI Collaboration Resources
- Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, book by sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski
- Over Work: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life, book by Bridget Schultz
- ATLIS Leadership Institute, education and networking program designed to prepare and support technology leaders in independent schools as they grow into their positions and expand their influence.
- Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included), by Pooja Lakshmin, M.D.
- Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, by Brigid Schulte
- The Secret of My Success, 80’s film with strong female character in corporate environment
Transcript
Peter Frank:
Nick, welcome to Talking technology with Atlas,
Peter Frank:
the show that plugs you into the important topics and trends for
Peter Frank:
technology leaders all through a unique Independent School lens.
Peter Frank:
We'll hear stories from technology directors and other
Peter Frank:
special guests from the Independent School community,
Peter Frank:
and provide you with focused learning and deep dive topics.
Peter Frank:
And now please welcome your host. Kristina llewellen,
Unknown:
Hello, and welcome back to talking technology with
Unknown:
Atlas. I'm Kristina llewellen, the president and CEO of the
Unknown:
Association of technology leaders in independent schools.
Hiram Cuevas:
And I'm Hiram Cuevas, the Director of
Hiram Cuevas:
Information Systems and Academic Technology at St Christopher
Hiram Cuevas:
school in Richmond, Virginia.
Peter Frank:
And I am Peter Frank, the Senior Director of
Peter Frank:
certification and operations for the Association of technology
Peter Frank:
leaders in independent schools.
Unknown:
Peter, thank you for pinch hitting. Bill's not here
Unknown:
today. No, this is interesting because you've helped me out a
Unknown:
few times recording a couple of podcasts without me, and usually
Unknown:
when I'm recording, you're kind of in the background as a
Unknown:
producer. And now we come face to face on the pod, that's
Unknown:
right, I'm excited. You're here,
Hiram Cuevas:
me too. And you know what we've learned? What
Hiram Cuevas:
did we learn? It's always easier without bill,
Unknown:
oh,
Christina Lewellen:
coming in hot on Bill
Peter Frank:
just out of the gate.
Hiram Cuevas:
Oh, Bill, we love you. We love you. Bill, we love
Hiram Cuevas:
bill. We hope you're surfing.
Unknown:
You know what? We should probably do a little edit
Unknown:
right here where we allow bill to, like, pop in and give a
Unknown:
little comment. Since he's not here to defend himself.
Hiram Cuevas:
I don't know, you guys were pretty rich when I
Hiram Cuevas:
wasn't there, so there was no opportunity for Hiram to come
Hiram Cuevas:
back. It was just bam, bam. No mas. This is
Unknown:
what happens when you miss a meeting. I mean, we are
Unknown:
the quintessential don't miss a pod, because you don't know
Unknown:
what's about to go public. If you miss a recording, that's
Unknown:
what happens. That's right. Are you having a good summer so far?
Unknown:
Peter,
Peter Frank:
I am. It's been busy. Things at Atlas are busy
Peter Frank:
behind the scenes. Yeah, we're looking forward to announcing
Peter Frank:
some new things coming down the
Unknown:
pipeline. Yeah, Hiram, we're in the middle of a
Unknown:
technology transition, dude, so we're all a little frazzled.
Unknown:
Yeah, I mean, I can see a couple of extra gray hairs in Peter's
Unknown:
beard, but so far, he's still smiling. So that's good,
Peter Frank:
which is, yeah, remarkable, because my beard has
Peter Frank:
been great since I was 30, I think. Yeah, tech stuff and T
Peter Frank:
list certification things going on. So, yeah, there's been a lot
Peter Frank:
going on. It's been good. I'm
Hiram Cuevas:
looking forward to going to Columbus, that's for
Hiram Cuevas:
sure.
Unknown:
Oh, right, we're about to gear up for our board
Unknown:
retreat, welcoming some new members to the Atlas board and
Unknown:
the Atlas certification Council, so that'll be fun, and it's
Unknown:
always a good opportunity when we get our entire board together
Unknown:
in person. Okay, technology is great. We all know that. But
Unknown:
when we get the board together to do some looking ahead and
Unknown:
some strategy. It's always really powerful. So I definitely
Unknown:
look forward to that. So I'll see you in person in a couple
Unknown:
weeks.
Hiram Cuevas:
I can't wait Absolutely.
Unknown:
Yeah, it's gonna be great, guys, we have a really
Unknown:
special guest with us today. Ann Senna is joining us on the pod,
Unknown:
and thank you so much for being here with us today. How are you?
Unknown:
I'm great, very happy to be here and you are the Director of
Unknown:
Operations and Technology at St David's School, which is a pre K
Unknown:
through 12th grade school, Independent School in Raleigh.
Unknown:
One of our staffers, Kelsea Watson, also lives in Raleigh,
Unknown:
and our founding director, Sarah hannewald, lives in Raleigh. So
Unknown:
lots of cool stuff happening in Raleigh, but thank you for
Unknown:
joining us and tell us a little bit about your school.
Anne Sena:
St David. School is located in the center of
Anne Sena:
Raleigh, and we have 680 students, pre K through 12, and
Anne Sena:
we also have 140 547
Unknown:
faculty and staff, and what's kind of a dynamic of what
Unknown:
students come to St David's, as opposed to some of the other
Unknown:
great options in your area.
Anne Sena:
I think parents want to bring their students to St
Anne Sena:
David's because it's a mix of a really great education,
Anne Sena:
classical education, coupled with a faith based education. So
Anne Sena:
there is biblical integration throughout the classrooms and
Anne Sena:
throughout the different courses of study, and you also have
Anne Sena:
sports and fine art, so that whole experience. But I really
Anne Sena:
do feel like it's the coupling of a faith based educational
Anne Sena:
journey
Unknown:
that's really cool. Now your title is Director of
Unknown:
Operations and Technology. Can you help us pick that apart a
Unknown:
little bit? We've come to learn that all schools have different
Unknown:
titles when it comes to their technology teams, and they mean
Unknown:
different things. So what does it mean to be the Director of
Unknown:
ops and technology?
Anne Sena:
Well, actually, this title is really hot off the
Anne Sena:
press. It's as of July 1.
Christina Lewellen:
So I. Oh, nice. So you may not know.
Anne Sena:
Well, I know, but I don't know if you know what I
Anne Sena:
mean. So I know what I'm responsible for, but what that
Anne Sena:
all means will be revealed over time. But I've been at the
Anne Sena:
school for 10 years, so I have a good handle on it. Many of the
Anne Sena:
people who I'm working more closely with I worked with in
Anne Sena:
the past, they just haven't reported into me. So I was
Anne Sena:
director of technology my entire time, past 10 plus years. And
Anne Sena:
then this new role of operations being added is oversight of the
Anne Sena:
facilities management as well as safety and security.
Unknown:
And those things are increasingly connected.
Anne Sena:
Absolutely, in fact, we just drove the implementation
Anne Sena:
of ricotta security cameras, access control, guest management
Anne Sena:
over the past three years, and so certainly, hand in hand,
Anne Sena:
technology enables our Director of Safety and Security the
Anne Sena:
insights that he needs to actually be the presence that we
Anne Sena:
need him to be throughout the school days.
Hiram Cuevas:
Yeah, I'm so glad that you actually have that
Hiram Cuevas:
title now, because so many tech directors are actually moving in
Hiram Cuevas:
this direction where the physical security is now layered
Hiram Cuevas:
into the technical side and the data side. Because often those
Hiram Cuevas:
two things are intertwined, indeed. And to mention the
Hiram Cuevas:
facilities. Our head of school, for example, likes to be able to
Hiram Cuevas:
turn off the sprinkler systems from his phone. And so we're
Hiram Cuevas:
like, Okay, we got to get that on the network and figure out
Hiram Cuevas:
how to get that and put that in the things of the internet,
Hiram Cuevas:
because it's not the most secure of appliances that we're trying
Hiram Cuevas:
to install.
Anne Sena:
Yeah, absolutely, it makes a lot of sense. And you
Anne Sena:
know, certainly there's a lot more to school operations than
Anne Sena:
those two areas, and so I have a sense that my purview will
Anne Sena:
expand over time, but it really, as you mentioned, Kristina,
Anne Sena:
really depends on each individual school, but I do
Anne Sena:
believe that there is more of an inclination to include
Anne Sena:
operations with Technology and have that led as a group
Anne Sena:
function.
Hiram Cuevas:
So Ann, who actually will be reporting to
Hiram Cuevas:
you now,
Anne Sena:
Director of Facilities and Veracross, has
Anne Sena:
reported to me. So all the systems, Si, S and LMS, as well
Anne Sena:
as infrastructure network devices, classroom technology,
Anne Sena:
you name it. So basically CIO type functions. And then,
Anne Sena:
addition to the director of facilities, will be the director
Anne Sena:
of safety and security, so adding two functions to my
Anne Sena:
existing function for the time being. And then I think with a
Anne Sena:
new head of school coming in, who just started in June, I
Anne Sena:
think there'll be that year at least, of rationalization,
Anne Sena:
listening, understanding what he's bringing with him from his
Anne Sena:
experience, and what we have going, and then those
Anne Sena:
opportunities to shuffle things around, because we have dining
Anne Sena:
services that are at St David's, and we have like, you know, you
Anne Sena:
could think about carpool, you could think about field trips.
Anne Sena:
Could also be operations. So I also think it's co designing,
Anne Sena:
what that looks like. And I'm looking forward to that. I
Hiram Cuevas:
love it. I really do love what I'm hearing. This
Hiram Cuevas:
is a new venture for, I think, everybody in the audience to
Hiram Cuevas:
hear what you're going to step into here. Yeah,
Unknown:
yeah. We'll have to keep tabs on this as it unfolds.
Unknown:
So Anne, let's take a step back and talk a little bit about your
Unknown:
path. Part of why we wanted to invite you on the pod. You've
Unknown:
been an active contributor to the Atlas community, and I know
Unknown:
a lot of folks know of you, but what I find really interesting
Unknown:
is that you've made this transition from a corporate
Unknown:
space to the independent school space. So let's start by helping
Unknown:
everybody understand, sort of, your trajectory, your journey,
Unknown:
if you will,
Anne Sena:
sure, absolutely so. When I was a young teenager, I
Anne Sena:
saw the movie secret of my success. Michael J Fox, I don't
Anne Sena:
know if any of you saw it, but I remember seeing that and the
Anne Sena:
woman, the lead character in that movie, she was one of the
Anne Sena:
only female executives in that movie. She was strong, she was
Anne Sena:
powerful, she was smart, and that sparked an interest with
Anne Sena:
me. My parents also owned their own businesses. They were
Anne Sena:
entrepreneurs, so I grew up with business so I knew I was going
Anne Sena:
to be a business major. When I decided what major I wanted to
Anne Sena:
be within business administration, I chose it for
Anne Sena:
the only reason that I knew I was going to get a good job.
Anne Sena:
Other than that, that was all I had thought about. So then once
Anne Sena:
I was in school, I realized, Oh, well, not only is it an exciting
Anne Sena:
space, but I'm really good at system design and analysis
Anne Sena:
coding. Boy, I had to do it, but not my cup of tea. But when it
Anne Sena:
came to design and analysis and project management, that was my
Anne Sena:
sweet spot. I also added production operations management
Anne Sena:
to that. So I double majored. The summer before my senior
Anne Sena:
year, there was a small company called Cisco Systems in the Bay
Anne Sena:
Area, and I went to an info session and asked them if they
Anne Sena:
had internships. They didn't, but I gave them my resume
Anne Sena:
anyway. Long story short, they said, Sure, show. Up at this
Anne Sena:
address in San Jose and do a summer internship. Went there
Anne Sena:
was actually in manufacturing, IT, which was ironic, because
Anne Sena:
how many people start their jobs matching their majors entirely.
Anne Sena:
But I worked throughout my senior year, part time, and then
Anne Sena:
upon graduation, went to Cisco. So I was employee number 10,169
Christina Lewellen:
I still remember that. Wow.
Anne Sena:
So it was very early in the Cisco days, for sure. So
Anne Sena:
essentially, I was all in you name, and I did it. I loved
Anne Sena:
manufacturing. I loved walking down the board build lines and
Anne Sena:
the box build lines and all of the shipping everything. I would
Anne Sena:
travel around the world and implement remote contract
Anne Sena:
manufacturing sites for Cisco. So did all of that. And I had a
Anne Sena:
lot of different jobs in Cisco. So my first 10 years, I was
Anne Sena:
basically leaning in to the nth degree, you name it. I did it.
Anne Sena:
My senior leadership caught the eye of a couple of them, and so
Anne Sena:
they moved me around to be the problem fixer. So that's what I
Anne Sena:
made my name for and my mark for. And then, after the first
Anne Sena:
decade, two big things happened. I married my husband, Bill, and
Anne Sena:
then at that same year, my stepfather died of cancer, and I
Anne Sena:
took care of him, along with my sister and my mom, and seeing
Anne Sena:
him, this man who I likened to John Wayne, deteriorate and pass
Anne Sena:
away, was just really crystallized for me, that life
Anne Sena:
is precious. So on the day of his funeral, my husband and I
Anne Sena:
were getting ready, and I said, You know what, I don't want to
Anne Sena:
wait. I want to start trying to have a family now, and so that
Anne Sena:
decision, and then the path forward, really shifted how I
Anne Sena:
ultimately needed to think about my career, because I still tried
Anne Sena:
all of the leaning in. I had a global job with an infant and a
Anne Sena:
four year old, and I would still work 13 hour days, starting at
Anne Sena:
5am got them to daycare, worked all day, got them home, settled
Anne Sena:
in bed, and then worked until midnight, almost. So I tried to
Anne Sena:
do that for a very, very long time, but ultimately it became
Anne Sena:
very clear to me that I had to make a choice because it was not
Anne Sena:
sustainable for health and mental health reasons. I had my
Anne Sena:
family that was growing, and I could not be what the business
Anne Sena:
at Cisco needed me to be and still be sane and loving and
Anne Sena:
lovable at home. And so finally, at close to my 18th year at
Anne Sena:
Cisco, it became very clear that my spirit and body was unwilling
Anne Sena:
and could not continue. So I resigned my position at Cisco
Anne Sena:
and didn't know where I would land, other than I'd been doing
Anne Sena:
the global technology and operations role all those years,
Anne Sena:
and so working through a platform like this, I've been
Anne Sena:
doing WebEx calls since 2000 so I was very used to everything
Anne Sena:
being virtual. However, what I wanted, what I had a craving
Anne Sena:
for, was seeing the direct impact of my work on people and
Anne Sena:
being in a place physically with people that I was working
Anne Sena:
closely with, and so that was my criteria. I thought I would land
Anne Sena:
at a smaller corporate business, either in Raleigh or for North
Anne Sena:
Carolina. But what ended up happening was up popped this
Anne Sena:
position for Director of Technology at St David school.
Anne Sena:
And I read it, and I thought, oh my gosh, this seems so
Anne Sena:
interesting. It would be in service of education, which one
Anne Sena:
of my core values is to be in service of my community in
Anne Sena:
whatever ways I am called. And so that was so appealing to me.
Anne Sena:
And then it also gave me the opportunity to develop the CIO
Anne Sena:
role because I'd had very targeted, broad but targeted
Anne Sena:
areas of Cisco that I was a steward of the systems and the
Anne Sena:
development for. But I didn't have that whole thing. I also
Anne Sena:
didn't have infrastructure devices. All of that I had the
Anne Sena:
system side completely understood, but all of those
Anne Sena:
reasons encouraged me to apply. And then through all the stars
Anne Sena:
aligned, things lined up beautifully. And I started my
Anne Sena:
position here at St David's in February 2015 when I resigned my
Anne Sena:
position at Cisco, December 2014
Unknown:
pretty impressive journey, and now you've found
Unknown:
yourself in a school just by happenstance. It's in your area,
Unknown:
and you're gonna meet that need that you have to serve a higher
Unknown:
order, right, like do something with impact. You've been there
Unknown:
now 10 years, so I'm sure you have some perspective looking
Unknown:
back on that transition. Is it hard to go from Cisco and
Unknown:
corporate to an independent school? There has to be some
Unknown:
culture shock there?
Anne Sena:
Yes, absolutely. I was so excited to be in a new
Anne Sena:
environment that that really carried me through I was in. I
Anne Sena:
naturally am an observer. That's why I think I am a good analyst.
Anne Sena:
Is I like to observe situations, people, environments, see what's
Anne Sena:
spoken, what's not spoken. I read people, I think, pretty
Anne Sena:
well. So that enthusiasm for being in such a new space was
Anne Sena:
really wonderful. And I knew from the very beginning that I
Anne Sena:
was in another situation where I was not the subject matter
Anne Sena:
expert. In fact, most times at Cisco, I was not so I was thrown
Anne Sena:
into a situation where I had to learn from experts. I had to
Anne Sena:
listen a lot, I had to earn their trust and their respect,
Anne Sena:
and so I used that skill set to really be open to learning and
Anne Sena:
diffuse any very likely and very real concerns that people had
Anne Sena:
around, uh oh, she came from corporate. Is she going to be
Anne Sena:
hard and difficult to work with, and what is she going to be
Anne Sena:
about? So I would say, certainly over these past 10 years, my
Anne Sena:
approach has softened, because there isn't that drive for the
Anne Sena:
bottom line that makes things hard for a corporate
Anne Sena:
perspective. At the same time, though, with an independent
Anne Sena:
school, all of those business norms and realities are really
Anne Sena:
important. They might not be talked about as much as I think
Anne Sena:
they probably should be at the leadership team level around
Anne Sena:
return investment, expense management, people development,
Anne Sena:
all of those things that make the school function as a very
Anne Sena:
well functioning organization and a business really. However,
Anne Sena:
I also know that that is a quick way to repel educators is to
Anne Sena:
start talking about business stuff, because to me, what I
Anne Sena:
have learned is that education is an art that you do have to
Anne Sena:
understand so it can be repeated, can be improved, but
Anne Sena:
there's just such an art form to being a great teacher in a
Anne Sena:
classroom that I think needs to be retained. But my ability to
Anne Sena:
bring all of my systems and IT expertise has really helped
Anne Sena:
completely transform the technology and the systems here
Anne Sena:
at St David's. So for that, I feel like that's been a big gift
Anne Sena:
that I have given the school because we had disparate systems
Anne Sena:
that duplicate data. We did not have enterprise class
Anne Sena:
infrastructure, you name it, and I overhauled all of it. And I
Anne Sena:
did a lot of it myself, because all tech teams, generally
Anne Sena:
speaking, run lean, and so I had the ability to manage those
Anne Sena:
projects myself. I did not have to hire consultants, because I
Anne Sena:
knew how to do that work and work really well with partners
Anne Sena:
like
Peter Frank:
Veracross. I'd like to dig in a little bit with the
Peter Frank:
rapport with teachers, especially many times in the
Peter Frank:
podcast, we have people who were teachers first and then came
Peter Frank:
into this role. So it's great to have someone who was in
Peter Frank:
technology first. You mentioned developing skills, like the
Peter Frank:
skills you learned in your former career to earn others
Peter Frank:
trust when you're not the expert. I'm wondering what you
Peter Frank:
could share, any specific examples, or anything you could
Peter Frank:
cite to help if someone has come into the tech leader role in an
Peter Frank:
independent school from the IT side, as opposed to the teacher
Peter Frank:
side. I'm just curious some positive experiences you've had,
Peter Frank:
or any advice you have, or things you've learned along that
Peter Frank:
that has helped you when it comes to working with teachers
Peter Frank:
and the ed tech side,
Anne Sena:
I guess I would say that my approach is one of
Anne Sena:
wanting to learn from people like I mentioned. I acknowledge
Anne Sena:
when I'm not a subject matter expert. And I would, I guess,
Anne Sena:
the word that came up to me, Peter was I like to think of
Anne Sena:
myself as pretty humble. In fact, probably humble to a
Anne Sena:
fault, because I do like to be in the background, which makes
Anne Sena:
it perfect for me, and operations perfect for me. But
Anne Sena:
one example that helps articulate this or my approach,
Anne Sena:
is that when we were looking at determining what system provider
Anne Sena:
we were going to partner with, back in 2016 I created sub teams
Anne Sena:
looking at the core sis function. We had a sub team also
Anne Sena:
looking at what I would say, External Affairs, so marketing
Anne Sena:
communications and admissions and advancement. And then I had
Anne Sena:
a different sub team for faculty. There were two faculty
Anne Sena:
from every division, and I let them go. I said, go look at all
Anne Sena:
of the LMSs that you can look at, including the three that we
Anne Sena:
were evaluating as a part of the Sais evaluation too. But I said,
Anne Sena:
make your own rubrics. Have your conversations. I wasn't involved
Anne Sena:
in those conversations. I trusted them in their
Anne Sena:
evaluations, and they. Came back with the recommendation of
Anne Sena:
Veracross, and so that ultimately helped inform greatly
Anne Sena:
our decision to go with Veracruz for the SIS site too. But I
Anne Sena:
think by my inclination to listen first, I usually have a
Anne Sena:
sense of where I want to go, I hope as a director, but I also,
Anne Sena:
overall am not holding that fast. Now, there's some times
Anne Sena:
where there's like, when it comes to security of student
Anne Sena:
data or our constituents data, I don't really negotiate that at
Anne Sena:
all. I'm pretty fired up about it and pretty adamant about it,
Anne Sena:
but, you know, other things, I'm happy to collaborate and figure
Anne Sena:
out and CO design. I use that phrase a lot. CO design, what
Anne Sena:
that outcome needs to look like with people. That's my
Anne Sena:
inclination always.
Hiram Cuevas:
And I love the fact that you're also
Hiram Cuevas:
illustrating and modeling to the other senior members of the
Hiram Cuevas:
team, what it's like to be an exceptional leader in trusting
Hiram Cuevas:
your people. Because oftentimes, for a leader to kind of let go,
Hiram Cuevas:
which is what you have to do, you have to let go and trust the
Hiram Cuevas:
judgment of those that are working for you to develop,
Hiram Cuevas:
essentially, the roadmap that is needed for whatever project that
Hiram Cuevas:
you're trying to deploy. You have to trust them and not
Hiram Cuevas:
micromanage. And it's really tempting to get in there and
Hiram Cuevas:
jump in with a solution when there are other things that you
Hiram Cuevas:
need to be strategic about, and you need to let your folks have
Hiram Cuevas:
that agency, but also give them the opportunity to grow
Hiram Cuevas:
themselves
Anne Sena:
exactly. Yeah, I really like that articulation.
Unknown:
So Anne, my understanding is that you have
Unknown:
seen some leadership changes in your time at St David's. You've
Unknown:
had some heads of school come and go, quite a few in the last
Unknown:
10 years. You're on your fifth head. That must take a certain
Unknown:
amount of change management in your realm, and that's a lot of
Unknown:
leadership shifting. Do you have any advice for people who might
Unknown:
be welcoming a new head into the school year this year? Yeah,
Anne Sena:
I would say that because I worked closely for and
Anne Sena:
with executives at Cisco. I understand what executive
Anne Sena:
leaders are looking for. So for each new interim or head of
Anne Sena:
school that I've had over the past 10 years, I have asked
Anne Sena:
myself and answered through meetings, but also just sending
Anne Sena:
some PowerPoint slides over to them, what is important for them
Anne Sena:
to know that they could tuck away that could be foundational
Anne Sena:
information about why we made, decisions we made, or where we
Anne Sena:
are today, what has been teed up as potentials for the future. So
Anne Sena:
for each of our new head of schools, I do that in the first
Anne Sena:
month that they are there. I also know that hopefully
Anne Sena:
technology is running so smoothly that that should not be
Anne Sena:
in their top five things that they need to understand, assess
Anne Sena:
and fix if it needs to be fixed. So knowing that I give space and
Anne Sena:
really allow them to come to me, I make them aware of here, I
Anne Sena:
have this diagram that shows all of the technology stack all the
Anne Sena:
way down from the baseline of our infrastructure network, all
Anne Sena:
the way up to various systems and technology devices. I have a
Anne Sena:
one page slide that articulates that so they know what it is
Anne Sena:
that I have understanding of, or knowledge of or ownership of,
Anne Sena:
and when something comes up in conversation, I'm only a stop by
Anne Sena:
a way or a email or a phone call or a text, and I would just say,
Anne Sena:
knowing that I feel like life has given me the experience and
Anne Sena:
expertise around change management and change
Anne Sena:
leadership, I know that humans go through change in an
Anne Sena:
organization's day too, as well. I mentioned earlier that I'm an
Anne Sena:
observer, so you can kind of see how people feel around the
Anne Sena:
change curve, where they are in that change curve. And I make it
Anne Sena:
a point to be a safe harbor for people to come and work through
Anne Sena:
their thoughts concerns about changes. Because whether it's a
Anne Sena:
new head of school or not. There's always some, I hope,
Anne Sena:
strategic set of priorities for each school each academic year.
Anne Sena:
And people really need time to wrestle with it, figure out how
Anne Sena:
it resonates with them, how they can be a part of it, or what
Anne Sena:
scares them about it. So I like to help support new Heads of
Anne Sena:
schools when I can just in the background, talking with people,
Anne Sena:
allowing people to be honest, and then I also help encourage
Anne Sena:
them through that change curve so they get to an acceptance
Anne Sena:
place. Do
Unknown:
you feel like the technology philosophy changes
Unknown:
with new leadership, or does that stay pretty stable? Like.
Unknown:
Terms of just the general approach for how tech supports
Unknown:
the education you're trying to deliver.
Anne Sena:
Certainly, there's been some heads of school that
Anne Sena:
have taken some steps back from technology integration in the
Anne Sena:
classroom. It made me sad, but then we were able to shift back
Anne Sena:
to where we needed to be after that head of school left.
Anne Sena:
There's also right now, safety and security, the technology
Anne Sena:
integration into buildings and into facial recognition and all
Anne Sena:
of that that is a key theme, because parents are looking for
Anne Sena:
that, and they want to know that their children are as safe as
Anne Sena:
they can be, given the unfortunate reality that our
Anne Sena:
society is in right now. But certainly they either have a hot
Anne Sena:
button or not, and if they don't, because I've worked hard
Anne Sena:
at the technology being enterprise class, it does fall
Anne Sena:
to the foundational into the background. It's just always
Anne Sena:
working, and it's always there. And so in that way, if they
Anne Sena:
aren't big tech folks, then they don't even need to worry about
Anne Sena:
it. They just know it works.
Unknown:
So do you have people on your team that focus on the
Unknown:
Ed Tech side of things? Is that in your purview and your
Unknown:
responsibility? What does that look like at your school?
Anne Sena:
Well, it's interesting that you say that,
Anne Sena:
because whenever I talk with Atlas, I know that we're unique,
Anne Sena:
or one of the unique schools, I think because we have
Anne Sena:
specifically not been chartered with that, I think that's a
Anne Sena:
missed opportunity. I think that it's so natural, which is why
Anne Sena:
there's so many Atlas member schools and schools who attend
Anne Sena:
your conferences that have ed tech a part of the technology
Anne Sena:
department. It just makes sense. It's not something that we have
Anne Sena:
been staffed to or chartered to do. We dabble a bit when it
Anne Sena:
comes to hey, we have clear touch interactive panels. So my
Anne Sena:
team knows how they fundamentally work, but that's
Anne Sena:
just, to me, foundational. It's not the how to apply it. Here's
Anne Sena:
interesting way of taking your lesson plans and elevating it.
Anne Sena:
That's not a space in which we operate. But in my conversations
Anne Sena:
with the past couple head of schools, I have said, you know,
Anne Sena:
it's certainly a space that is an opportunity. It just really
Anne Sena:
depends on what the priorities are for the school. In absence
Anne Sena:
of that, the responsibility falls on some faculty who are
Anne Sena:
naturally good at technology, or are really just rock stars and
Anne Sena:
comfortable with it, which is fine, but I think when you're
Anne Sena:
looking at making consistency and scalability, having a team
Anne Sena:
chartered with that makes a lot of sense.
Hiram Cuevas:
So I'd like to tease that out just a little
Hiram Cuevas:
bit, because I know one of the challenges schools will often
Hiram Cuevas:
encounter is when you have that lead teacher who is outstanding
Hiram Cuevas:
at ed tech, you have a different student experience, potentially,
Hiram Cuevas:
yes, between teacher a and teacher B. Are you all engaged
Hiram Cuevas:
in those conversations to avoid a disparate student experience?
Anne Sena:
We are not invited into those conversations. So No,
Anne Sena:
but I as a parent of a student here, and just being an employee
Anne Sena:
here, I would hope those conversations are happening,
Anne Sena:
because I think consistency is important. Like I said,
Anne Sena:
Education is an art. However, there is a need for a consistent
Anne Sena:
experience, especially when you're talking about the use of
Anne Sena:
an investment like a clear touch panel in lower school
Anne Sena:
classrooms, all of our lower school classrooms have one, and
Anne Sena:
then our middle school science classrooms have them. So how
Anne Sena:
teachers are using them consistently would make a big
Anne Sena:
impact on the student experience, for sure. So I am
Anne Sena:
not privy to those conversations, but I hope
Anne Sena:
they're happening.
Peter Frank:
I'm curious. Yeah, if you suddenly found yourself
Peter Frank:
in a position where the Head of School listen to you talk about
Peter Frank:
this concern about Ed Tech and how the school manages ed tech,
Peter Frank:
if the Head of School was suddenly completely responsive
Peter Frank:
and said, Anne, knock yourself out. Do whatever you want to do,
Peter Frank:
where do you think you would start or where are the areas
Peter Frank:
that you would immediately begin to focus in on
Anne Sena:
my first inclination would be try to measure where we
Anne Sena:
are from a consistency standpoint of using the
Anne Sena:
technology that we have today, whether that be systems or
Anne Sena:
devices. My second stop would be within the Atlas community and
Anne Sena:
all of my colleagues I've gathered over the 10 plus years
Anne Sena:
and say, help me. You've been leading ed tech for a long time.
Anne Sena:
So give me your wisdom. I'm a big one for leveraging my
Anne Sena:
network. And the third thing would be, if I was asked to do
Anne Sena:
this, I would absolutely ask to open up at least one recs, to
Anne Sena:
hire someone and a set of folks. In who are experts, because
Anne Sena:
that's a unique expertise. To be able to have that teaching
Anne Sena:
background and the technology background, earn that trust with
Anne Sena:
teachers. So you have to have enough credibility that you've
Anne Sena:
done what they're doing. Because no one likes to have someone
Anne Sena:
come in and say, well, as a consultant, I'm the expert in
Anne Sena:
what you should be doing. I think it's way easier when you
Anne Sena:
have someone say, I've been in your shoes. I know as a lower
Anne Sena:
school teacher, here are the things that you need to
Anne Sena:
consider. Let's partner through that. So I think I would hire
Anne Sena:
folks as well with that as expertise and background, and
Anne Sena:
then co design. And there's my phrase, again, co design the
Anne Sena:
future with the principals and with the faculty and the
Anne Sena:
divisions like after we assess and measure, how can we help
Anne Sena:
enable them to educate our kids easier? What are the barriers
Anne Sena:
and roadblocks? Because I don't want technology to be a barrier
Anne Sena:
or a roadblock at all. In fact, I see those circle it and figure
Anne Sena:
out how I can get rid of that. So it would be those kind of
Anne Sena:
conversations.
Hiram Cuevas:
And what is the appetite for technology use by
Hiram Cuevas:
the parents out of curiosity, given the nature of this
Hiram Cuevas:
conversation, you know, there's a lot of negative publicity out
Hiram Cuevas:
there in terms of trying to keep students off of screens, and to
Hiram Cuevas:
embark on something like this would be counter intuitive to
Hiram Cuevas:
where the direction of tech use is in schools.
Anne Sena:
I mean, I would say, when I look at my budget and the
Anne Sena:
number of devices we have, we have a lot of school owned
Anne Sena:
devices, iPads and laptops in the Lower School. We have iPads
Anne Sena:
and laptops for student use in the middle school. So we have a
Anne Sena:
lot of devices. How often they're used to support
Anne Sena:
learning? I think it varies. But from a parent perspective, I
Anne Sena:
mean, I'm one. I have a 13 year old in screen time, and he has
Anne Sena:
ADHD, so oh my gosh, that iPad and the constant streams of
Anne Sena:
watching something on TV and then researching something on
Anne Sena:
YouTube. And I tell him, how on earth can you do that? He's
Anne Sena:
like, I just do it, mom. It's just how my brain works. I'm
Anne Sena:
like, Oh, okay. Anyway, so from a parent perspective, it kind of
Anne Sena:
depends. Some parents are like, Hey, let's lean in. Let's lead
Anne Sena:
with technology. You aren't integrating it enough. And then
Anne Sena:
there's other parents who do not want their students to be having
Anne Sena:
like we have as part of our enrollment, seventh grade
Anne Sena:
through 12th, family owned devices, either a MacBook or a
Anne Sena:
Windows laptop. There are some parents who are a little
Anne Sena:
resistant to that, but overall, I think our parent community
Anne Sena:
understands that technology and having technology skills is a
Anne Sena:
very important way to prepare their children for college in
Anne Sena:
life. So it
Unknown:
sounds like you have quite a year on your hands in
Unknown:
terms of adjusting to your new title and some new
Unknown:
responsibilities at your school. Are there any big summer
Unknown:
projects or things that you anticipate tackling in this
Unknown:
first year with this expanded
Anne Sena:
role this year, steady state. So on the
Anne Sena:
technology space, I have done all of the big projects that I
Anne Sena:
believe could be done up into this point. So we've moved all
Anne Sena:
of our infrastructure to the cloud. We've implemented ricotta
Anne Sena:
like all of the cameras and access control and guest
Anne Sena:
management, we implemented Veracross Eight years ago. So
Anne Sena:
this summer is some device refreshes, but not huge amount.
Anne Sena:
So I would say I also am entering into this academic year
Anne Sena:
waiting to hear what the priorities are that the board
Anne Sena:
has given our new head of school, and how I can help
Anne Sena:
enable those and get us there faster. I don't know if any of
Anne Sena:
those priorities are technology. Again, my sense is that with
Anne Sena:
technology being stable and scalable, it's probably not high
Anne Sena:
on the list, because I think it's fulfilling the needs of the
Anne Sena:
school needs it to do. But who knows? Really? So open to
Anne Sena:
learning more about what it is I can do to enable it, because
Anne Sena:
that's what I think technology is as the head of school gets
Anne Sena:
his feet underneath him, and the other piece too is the data side
Anne Sena:
of the systems that I'm steward of can help enable and inform a
Anne Sena:
lot of those priorities. So I'm adamant that we have one sis,
Anne Sena:
one LMS, and they all share the same data. So there's a lot of
Anne Sena:
data that can be looked at, can be leveraged to identify
Anne Sena:
opportunities that maybe the board hasn't given the head of
Anne Sena:
school or the head of schools identified, it could also help
Anne Sena:
support that with actual hard and fast data, as opposed to
Anne Sena:
kind of senses which you know the sense of an issue comes with
Anne Sena:
experience, so I don't discount that, but anytime you can really
Anne Sena:
look and say, Okay, but what does the data show us? And. Then
Anne Sena:
overlay AI into that, where AI can be that tool that helps us
Anne Sena:
humans to see things that maybe, after looking at a spreadsheet
Anne Sena:
for three hours, we've glossed over and we've missed something
Anne Sena:
really obvious. So that's also exciting to me.
Hiram Cuevas:
You mentioned ever so briefly, AI. Has there been
Hiram Cuevas:
any additional conversations with your team and leadership
Hiram Cuevas:
about the use of AI. Is that a potential project for your
Hiram Cuevas:
school with this new head?
Anne Sena:
I think so. I think we're just at the formulation
Anne Sena:
stage. Our new head of school asked me my opinion about it,
Anne Sena:
and I said, it's a new frontier that I'm interested in learning
Anne Sena:
more about. I've had conversations with our Academic
Anne Sena:
Dean just to start partnering on what it is, what it isn't, what
Anne Sena:
it could be. We are a Microsoft school, so copilot is a part of
Anne Sena:
our operating system, and I just bought the additional add on
Anne Sena:
licensing for more integration across the Microsoft
Anne Sena:
applications. So I would say we're very early stages of
Anne Sena:
identifying the opportunity. But to me, when I think about AI and
Anne Sena:
I think about what skills students ultimately, if I
Anne Sena:
distill it down, what AI can be leveraged to teach them is
Anne Sena:
critical thinking and logic, because writing a powerful AI
Anne Sena:
prompt and knowing the art of that and the science behind it
Anne Sena:
helps you get powerful information out of AI, similar
Anne Sena:
as I tell people that teaching Students coding is really
Anne Sena:
important because it teaches them critical thinking and
Anne Sena:
logic, because as fancy and wonderful as computer systems
Anne Sena:
are and computer devices are, they're essentially dumb now AI
Anne Sena:
is not, but they are essentially do what they're coded to do. So
Anne Sena:
I think that as a school, we'll have to get over the education,
Anne Sena:
the wrestling with our faculty about what is it? Do they need
Anne Sena:
be concerned about it. It's way bigger than faculty helping to
Anne Sena:
write report card comments, which I hope they're all using
Anne Sena:
it to write report card comments and beyond academic integrity
Anne Sena:
questions, it can be bigger than that. So it'll be a delicate
Anne Sena:
balance, and the beginning of a conversation. I would not say
Anne Sena:
that St David's has faculty that, really, across the board,
Anne Sena:
lean into technology, and how can we incorporate the latest
Anne Sena:
and greatest right away. They're more deliberate than other
Anne Sena:
schools in this area, so it'll be a nuanced conversation at
Anne Sena:
first, and I also want to be intentional about identifying
Anne Sena:
what's a good first step and think about the next steps after
Anne Sena:
that. So we have a bit of a roadmap with lots of
Anne Sena:
flexibility, but we don't get too invested without making sure
Anne Sena:
we bring people along.
Unknown:
How about your team or the admin using it at all for
Unknown:
your needs? Are you playing with it?
Anne Sena:
I am. I just started playing with it more heavily,
Anne Sena:
certainly now that I just bought the additional licensing for
Anne Sena:
integration in Excel. So that's been great. I love Excel.
Anne Sena:
Between Excel and Visio, is how my brain works. So trying to
Anne Sena:
dabble in that, you know, in my side time, I'll try to read up
Anne Sena:
on things. I was just on the NAIS website and ATLAS website.
Anne Sena:
I came across the collaboration that you all did. So I have that
Anne Sena:
on my list of reading to do. So I too am trying to come up to
Anne Sena:
speed on all of it. But I am the type that loves to give things a
Anne Sena:
try, and so my team and I absolutely are looking at using
Anne Sena:
it every day, really, as much as we can
Unknown:
love that. So if we were to talk to somebody who is
Unknown:
coming into the Independent School community, regardless of
Unknown:
whether it's from corporate or from some other type of
Unknown:
background, maybe even including higher ed or other public
Unknown:
settings. Is there any advice that you would offer somebody
Unknown:
for coming into it and hitting the ground running in an
Unknown:
independent school setting?
Anne Sena:
So if they're coming from higher ed, they already
Anne Sena:
understand the structure of an academic institution. Because if
Anne Sena:
you don't have that idea. Meet with the CFO, meet with each of
Anne Sena:
the principals, meet with admissions, advancement, all
Anne Sena:
these different functions, if you're coming at it from a
Anne Sena:
business perspective, they all are rooted in business processes
Anne Sena:
as well. They're just named different and have different
Anne Sena:
workflows. But ultimately, you know, advancement development is
Anne Sena:
about income generation and revenue.
Unknown:
Yeah, those relationships are really
Unknown:
important.
Anne Sena:
Yeah. So I would say going through and figuring out
Anne Sena:
with a stakeholder map, if you want to be super intentional
Anne Sena:
around who are the people that I'm going to talk with and just
Anne Sena:
listen and learn. And then I would recommend. And if the
Anne Sena:
faculty are supportive, sitting in classes and seeing in lower
Anne Sena:
school, middle school and Upper School, observing a class and
Anne Sena:
really understanding what's happening in that space, because
Anne Sena:
technology is there, even for you know, a humanities class
Anne Sena:
where they're talking about US history, you may not, at first
Anne Sena:
glance, see technology, but it's there in observing the class,
Anne Sena:
you can likely see it, and then afterwards, talking with the
Anne Sena:
faculty around how they use it, how they manage what their jobs
Anne Sena:
and what they need to do through it. So would be that, I think,
Anne Sena:
going back to listening a lot, you know what your experience
Anne Sena:
and your expertise has to offer the school, but I wouldn't lead
Anne Sena:
with that. My style is to listen and observe, and once I've heard
Anne Sena:
enough offer some opportunities for me to support them. I think
Anne Sena:
servant leadership and being a enabler function, which is
Anne Sena:
technology and operations, can really help with that and really
Anne Sena:
offer that opportunity for people to feel more supported
Anne Sena:
and hopefully less frustrated. I'm
Peter Frank:
curious saying because just along those lines,
Peter Frank:
like you talk a lot about, well, this is me, and this is, you
Peter Frank:
know, how I will do this. Well, was it always like that? I think
Peter Frank:
there are attributes that fit the role really well, but you
Peter Frank:
found what really works for you. Like, was there a time before
Peter Frank:
that? Or how did you get to know yourself, and then a
Peter Frank:
professional setting with the interpersonal relationships, and
Peter Frank:
figure out, Oh, I'm an observer, and you didn't know that before,
Peter Frank:
though, and so, and then, once you realized that it helped. Can
Peter Frank:
you talk about that journey a little bit, maybe, and how you
Peter Frank:
went on that?
Anne Sena:
Yeah, absolutely. The first thing that made me smile
Anne Sena:
was I was thinking, well, therapy, of course. But beyond
Anne Sena:
that, I would say, one of my hobbies, which cracks me up, I'm
Anne Sena:
sure crack you all up too, is I really enjoy reading non fiction
Anne Sena:
books around life well lived like I've just started reading
Anne Sena:
real self care. I read books like the burnout book written by
Anne Sena:
the nagoski sisters. Overwork is another one from Bridget
Anne Sena:
Schultz. I read a lot of those type of books to provide
Anne Sena:
perspective on working environments and dynamics, but
Anne Sena:
also allows me the chance to reflect on who I am. But I would
Anne Sena:
say, generally speaking, I'm a pretty reflective person. The
Anne Sena:
older I get, the more I realize my strengths and my challenge
Anne Sena:
areas. Doing podcasts like this allowed me to reflect. I've gone
Anne Sena:
back to my alma mater several times and spoke at women in
Anne Sena:
business conferences so they understand what it's like. It's
Anne Sena:
not usually as simple as Sheryl Sandberg saying just lean in all
Anne Sena:
the time, because I did that my first 10 years, and then I had a
Anne Sena:
family, and I tried to lean in, and then I crashed and burned
Anne Sena:
because I lost balance, right? That's what's coming up for me.
Anne Sena:
But I do spend a lot of time reflecting, even if I have a
Anne Sena:
tough conversation with someone here at work, because things
Anne Sena:
aren't always kumbaya with your acoustic guitar. Sometimes
Anne Sena:
things are. You're coming at it from different angles, or
Anne Sena:
someone's having a bad day, or whatever it may be. But I do
Anne Sena:
naturally reflect and say, Okay, how did that go? Am I okay with
Anne Sena:
how I handled myself? How do I repair if it was a conflict
Anne Sena:
situation, how do I repair? Because harmony is important to
Anne Sena:
me. We spend so much time at work, and I want to do good
Anne Sena:
work, but I want to do it in a way that brings harmony to me
Anne Sena:
and to the environment I'm working in. So that also
Anne Sena:
motivates me to make sure that I'm doing the best that I can
Peter Frank:
right. I think that's so common that taking
Peter Frank:
that extra step of reflecting, it's so easy to skip, taking any
Peter Frank:
time to sit back and say, Now what happened, as opposed to
Peter Frank:
just go on to the next thing. I don't know. I've done this
Peter Frank:
podcast a long time, but I don't feel like it's helped me with
Peter Frank:
therapy that much.
Unknown:
No, does it require therapy from being a part of it?
Peter Frank:
Definitely not. He rolls with it.
Hiram Cuevas:
I was going to give bill an out here, and you
Hiram Cuevas:
need bill here to kind of provide the levity,
Unknown:
nice. I think we do all right. He is always very good
Unknown:
for that. I'll tell you what, yeah. So Ann, as we start to
Unknown:
wrap all of this up, I know that you've been involved in the
Unknown:
Atlas community, and in particular the former ECAD now
Unknown:
Ali Atlas Leadership Institute program. You've been a great
Unknown:
mentor and supporter of that program, and here we are
Unknown:
starting up yet another cohort this summer. We're so excited.
Unknown:
We'll be welcoming them very soon. Can you tell everybody a
Unknown:
little bit about your perspective on that particular
Unknown:
program?
Anne Sena:
I think it's great. I think it is so needed. I can't
Anne Sena:
imagine Atlas without it. But because we need more, not less,
Anne Sena:
technology leaders at independent schools, however,
Anne Sena:
goodness, it's a big job, and if they don't have a background
Anne Sena:
like me, or they don't have someone at their school that has
Anne Sena:
been in the position for a while and is acting as a mentor, and
Anne Sena:
they magically step into that role. It can be daunting and
Anne Sena:
scary. So this program, and the iterations of the program that
Anne Sena:
Atlas has hosted, empowers people who are interested in
Anne Sena:
understanding what what's involved. And more often than
Anne Sena:
not, they graduate, and eventually, I love seeing on
Anne Sena:
LinkedIn that they land, you know, Director of Technology
Anne Sena:
role, but sometimes they decide, hey, you know what? Maybe that's
Anne Sena:
not for me yet, or I can take this in a different way. And so
Anne Sena:
that's also really wonderful. I think that it's been a great
Anne Sena:
evolution, and it changes too and shifts what we talked about
Anne Sena:
in ECAD. There's overlap, but new and relevant things are
Anne Sena:
coming up as well, because the faculty change all the time, and
Anne Sena:
so with each faculty member that comes in, they bring their own
Anne Sena:
expertise and experience. So it's just a great offering that
Anne Sena:
Atlas has for the independent school community. So really
Anne Sena:
happy that it's there.
Unknown:
Yeah, me too. I mean, I think that the community of it,
Unknown:
the network of it, because so many of you are doing your jobs
Unknown:
in isolation, that having a cohort of peers that you can
Unknown:
call on just regularly to get a gut check on something or to
Unknown:
deal with something you've never dealt with before, that's the
Unknown:
most rewarding part of it, I think, for us on the staff side,
Unknown:
is that it creates this network so that maybe you guys don't
Unknown:
feel quite as alone in the monumental job that you're
Unknown:
tackling. So yeah,
Anne Sena:
absolutely, it's important. It is, and I've
Anne Sena:
always been inclined to do webinars or be a part of those
Anne Sena:
cohorts as a faculty member or a guest speaker, because I
Anne Sena:
acknowledge that my background is unique and I have something
Anne Sena:
to share to help bring other people along who might have a
Anne Sena:
different background. So if I can help them, start figuring
Anne Sena:
out, well, my gosh, how do I implement a new sis and LMS? How
Anne Sena:
do I manage that type of project? What do I need to think
Anne Sena:
about, or how do I handle change management, all of those things
Anne Sena:
I'm happy, happy to share with people, because it's going back
Anne Sena:
to my, one of my core values, giving back. And I feel like I'm
Anne Sena:
in the unique opportunity to do that. So thank you for allowing
Anne Sena:
me this new opportunity to give back in a different way.
Unknown:
Yeah, I feel like your LinkedIn requests are going to
Unknown:
go through the roof once this podcast drops. You heard it
Unknown:
here, folks, Ann is ready to coach you through it and to help
Unknown:
you out. That's right. Happy to Well, thank you, Ann, so much
Unknown:
for spending time with us today and for walking us down the path
Unknown:
of your journey. It's been really interesting to learn
Unknown:
about this transition that you've managed so well. I wish
Unknown:
you the best of luck in the upcoming school year and stay in
Unknown:
very close touch. Let us know if there's anything that we can do
Unknown:
for you, because certainly we owe you 10 times over at Atlas.
Anne Sena:
Well, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.
Peter Frank:
This has been talking technology with Atlas
Peter Frank:
produced by the Association of technology leaders in
Peter Frank:
independent schools. For more information about Atlas and
Peter Frank:
Atlas membership, please visit theatlas.org if you enjoyed this
Peter Frank:
discussion, please subscribe, leave a review and share this
Peter Frank:
podcast with your colleagues in the independent school
Peter Frank:
community. Thank you for listening. You
