• Our Mission
• Our Management Team
• Our Advisory Board
• Our Location/Mailing Address

Our Mission

Our Management Team

Erin Hoag- Co-Founder Erin Hoag holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business from the University of Notre Dame and a MBA in Human Resources and Marketing from Vanderbilt University. She has over 25 years of higher education administrative experience with private universities, public universities, community colleges and athletic programs. Currently, Erin serves as the Assistant Provost for Student Affairs and Institutional Reporting for the Colorado Community College System. Prior to this, she has served as the Dean of Student Services, college-wide Director of Financial Aid Servicing, Director of Advising and Assessment and manager of a medical facility. Erin@ieinfo.org  (CFO, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable)

Valerie Kisiel- Co-Founder Valerie Kisiel has over 10 years experience as a teacher, advisor, recruiter and web administrator at the high school and the community college levels. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a Master’s degree in Information and Learning Technologies from the University of Colorado, Denver. As an owner of Innovative Educators, Val works full-time on behalf of the company and teaches/advises part-time at Front Range Community College.  Prior to this, she served as the Coordinator of Student Success for Online Learning at Front Range Community College.  Her responsibilities included instructional design, course development, faculty training and online instruction.   Val@ieinfo.org   (Technology, Webinars, Registration and Speakers)

Pam Ranallo-Co-Founder Pam Ranallo has taught college level Spanish for over 18 years at both 2 and 4-year institutions.  She currently serves as the Foreign Language Coordinator at Front Range Community College, Westminster Campus.  Pam has also served as a department chair and the college-wide Study Abroad Coordinator.  She has traveled to ten Spanish-speaking countries and has directed several study abroad programs.  Pam was named Master Teacher of the Year at FRCC in 2002.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Linguistics (summa cum laude) and her Master’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo.  Pam@ieinfo.org  (Travel, Logistics, Sponsors and Speakers)

Our Advisory Board

  Dr. Michele Haney - Administrative Leadership

Dr. Michele Haney assumed duties as President of Red Rocks Community College in January 2008.  Prior to becoming president of RRCC, Dr. Haney served as President of Morgan Community College and Vice President for Instruction and Chief Academic Officer at Front Range Community College prior to assuming the CEO position for the Boulder campuses in 2000.  She came to FRCC from Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where she spent more than 20 years in a variety of faculty and administrative positions.

Dr. Haney holds a Ph.D. in counseling from the University Wyoming, a master’s from Chapman College, and a bachelor of arts from the University of New Mexico

She is co-author of the Stress Owners Manual which has been published in English, German, Japanese, Finnish, and Chinese.

George Hoey-Academic Affairs and Athletic Administration 

George Hoey holds a BA in Education and an MA in Guidance & Counseling from the University of Michigan.  George has enjoyed a unique and varied professional career in athletics and in academic administration.  After earning his degree from Michigan, he spent six years in the Army National Guard and then another six years in the NFL as a cornerback and a return specialist, still holding a number of records at the University of Michigan and the St. Louis Cardinals. 

After a distinguished career in football, George returned to his alma mater and spent the next 25 years working in athletic counseling and compliance, serving on a number of NCAA Compliance Teams.  Transferring to the University of Colorado, George now serves as a Career Counselor and a Student Affairs Specialist, working to effect change by actively leading on the Men Confronting Violence Committee, the CU Recreational Services Board, and the Judicial Affairs Board.

 Andre Morris
Andre Morris is a 15 year veteran in the field of information technology with experience in IT management, computer hardware and software support, technology consultation, website development and programming. He is currently the Webmaster, Technology Specialist and IT Team Lead for The League for Innovation in the Community College, an international Non-Profit organization dedicated to catalyzing the Community College movement. Andre is also part owner of a Phoenix area technology firm and serves as a technology consultant for a national language translation firm.

Andre has served as an integral part of the League for Innovation technology team for over ten national educational conferences including Innovations 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, Learning College Summit 2008 and 2009, the Executive Leadership Institute 2008, and the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 Conferences on Information Technology. In addition to technology support and website development, he has had extensive experience with streaming digital media, PODCasts, and video editing through iStream, a Community College portal designed to enhance collaboration and the sharing of educational resources. 

Dr. Frank Burtnett – Counseling and Student Services

Dr. Frank Burtnett is the President and Principal Consultant with Education Now, an independent consulting firm located in Springfield, Virginia and Rockport, Maine. He is the former Executive Director of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and Associate Executive Director of the American Counseling Association. Frank’s career work has been focused on the development, implementation and evaluation of programs and services designed to facilitate the human growth and development process and assist individuals across the lifespan in achieving their full career and educational potential.

He earned the Doctor of Education and Master of Arts degree in counseling from the George Washington University (DC) and a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Shippensburg University (PA).

Frank is the author of the Bound-For-College Guidebook and the Bound-For-Career Guidebook (in press), as well as a number of student, parent, counselor and educators tools and resources. He holds the National Certified Counselor and National Certified Career Counselor credentials and is a Registered Counselor (RC2478) in the state of Maine.

For more than 15 years, Mary Russell has been designing and implementing marketing and public relations plans for colleges, universities, and government organizations. She currently serves as Supervisor for Business and Employment Services at Tri-County Workforce Center where her responsibilities include oversight for marketing, web development, business services, career transition services.

She is a Certified Career Development Facilitator.  She also holds a Master of Science degree in Adult, Occupational and Continuing Education from Kansas State University and an undergraduate degree in communications from Kansas Wesleyan University. She is a member of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, Colorado Career Development Association and the National Career Development Association.

Mr. Schiess earned his Bachelor of Science degree in history and his Masters degree in Educational Administration, both at Xavier University.  He has received the Noel/Levitz Center for Student Retention Excellence award in 1992 and the “Outstanding National Freshman Advocate Award” from the Freshman Year Experience Center of the University of South Carolina in 1998. 

He is a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and a Retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel.  

Our Location/Mailing Address