About

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO

 

Since 2000, over 29,000 refugees and other populations of humanitarian concern have settled in Colorado from all over the world. Colorado is also home to more than 540,000 immigrants. Today, one in ten Coloradans is an immigrant. While over 30% of Colorado immigrants have an advanced degree, 29% of immigrants have less than a high school diploma.  Many refugees have spent decades in refugee camps where access to education and training were sparse or unreachable. The refugee journey is not only dangerous, but also long and frustrating; it interrupts careers, educations and dreams indefinitely. So a big focus of our support is on providing refugees access to educational resources while they’re in camps and once they’ve been resettled into their Colorado community. Teach by Tech believes in the power of education and opportunity to change lives for the better. 

Recognizing the need for innovative approaches to meet the needs of these underserved populations, Teach by Tech was founded in 2016, in Colorado.  Our goal is to increase accessibility of basic education, workforce training and financial literacy to newcomers and set individuals and families on a path to self sufficiency.  As of January 2023 we have served 500+ students in Colorado. Our services continue to expand beyond Colorado, to other states in the U.S., and most recently to Kenya. 

 

Our Team

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Staff

 

Linnie Pawlek: Founder and CEO of Teach by Tech. Linnie has an extensive background in education. She worked in Osaka, Japan as an ESL teacher and spent 4 years teaching ESL, English and Social Studies to junior high students in Colorado. She is currently in her 13th year teaching history at a local community college in Lakewood, CO. Ms. Pawlek holds a MA in History from the University of Colorado and a MA in International Development from the University of Kent in Brussels, Belgium.  She is a Certified Financial Education Instructor  through the National Financial Educators Council. It is through her passion for learning and recognition of inequalities that led Linnie to create Teach by Tech.

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Andrew Pawlek: CTO and Platform Engineer of Teach by Tech. Andrew graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He has worked as web designer, software engineer,   Q & A specialist and game designer. Andrew understands the need for innovative use of current technology to make effective and sustainable change. 

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Board of Directors

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Kathleen Lockhart is technical by trade, a math and geography major in undergrad, and compounded on her technical capabilities early in her career as a fiber engineer at Zayo Group. She pivoted into product management with the assistance of an MBA through CU Boulder while working fulltime. She spent several years climbing the ladder in Product to become the Senior Product Director for Zayo’s West region. Kathleen currently is the VP of Deal Management leading a 50+ person organization and has responsibility for all pricing, commercial contract negotiations, and RFPs for the company outside of Europe. Deal Management sits as the linchpin between the technical and sales portions of the business. Kathleen has been able to excel in this role as she has a P&L mindset coupled with an aptitude for sales. She understands the key determinants of sales success and is able to align customer interests with technical demand as a bridge connecting the different sides of the business. Outside of work, she is the President and co-founder of the University of Denver Alumni Women in STEM organization, a board member and Outreach chair for the Leeds School MBA Alumni Board, and an Advisor in Residence for Greenhouse Scholars.

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Board Chair

Laurie Bedford is an innovative higher education professional focused on engaging learning experiences in diverse modalities. Expertise in active, experiential, and constructivist classroom strategies and instructional design for elearning incorporating data-driven practices and principles of adult learning. She possess in-depth business acumen relating to storyboarding, behavioral-based learning objective models, mapping of learning trajectories, gamification, microlearning, and learning assessment outcomes.

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Lindsey brings 15+ years of experience in consulting, program leadership and organizational development. She is driven by her commitments to creating equitable, innovative learning opportunities and helping organizations amplify their impact. Currently she serves as Director of Organizational Learning & Development at TNTP, a national organization that partners with public K - 12 school systems. Prior to this role, she served as a consulting director for TNTP and as Senior Director of Operations for the NYC Teaching Fellows, an alternative teacher certification program. In addition to her support of Teach by Tech, Lindsey serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at Denver Language School and as a partner for SVP Denver. Lindsey holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois and a MPA in Public Administration and Public Policy from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. She is a mom, a runner, and an avid traveler.

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