On Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11, 180 educators, administrators, and partners convened at the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University for the 2025 GEAR UP Academic Innovation Conference, organized by Rachel Nave-Lewis and the AIC conference committee. The committee, made up of stakeholders from GEAR UP school districts and partners, included Dr. Kristin Edwards, Ike Smith, Taylor Dodge, Tonya Denny, Josiah Johnston, Julie Little, and Debra Rodriguez.
This year's conference focused on the theme of global citizenship, and sought to answer the question, “How do we equip students with the tools to navigate and thrive in an ever-changing world?”
The conference opened on Tuesday with a heartfelt session that welcomed new teachers and explained how GEAR UP is a tool that can be used to support them, setting the tone for two days of intentional support and innovation. Tuesday also saw attendees browsing the partner showcase, as well as attending the key event from Tuesday's schedule, the Innovator of the Year Luncheon.
CTE educator Jeremy Dotts from Mountain Heritage High School in Yancey County won Innovator of the Year, a title that comes with over $16,000 worth of awards, including grants as well as acceptance to the NC Go Global Cohort, which includes a 2-week educational visit to Africa to experience global education firsthand. Educator Tim Gallagher from Heritage Middle School in Valdese was the runner-up and was awarded $2,500 worth of grants to continue innovating in his classroom.
Tuesday’s events concluded with a scavenger hunt that took participants to different landmark locations in downtown Boone, sponsored by Participate Learning. The hunt concluded at the Lost Province Taproom, where attendees enjoyed a great meal and time spent networking and socializing with one another.
On Wednesday, the conference opened with a breakfast provided by Stickboy Kitchen and sponsored by Texas Instruments. Plenary speakers included the NCCAT 2023 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year, Natalia Mejia, and No-La Pina fromThe Museum of the Cherokee People. Both shared messages on the importance of global learning and honoring one's heritage. Mejia delivered a message that spoke on the importance of global education and how it changed her life as a first-generation American and teacher. Pina led a symbolic basket weaving demonstration wherein attendees were given a strip of paper to write down their hopes for the coming year which were then all woven together to create a basket.
Following breakfast, over 70 breakout sessions were offered to attendees, all focusing on the themes of economic, cultural, global, social/empathic, civic, environmental, and digital citizenships.
The Ex=PO Pitch Competition was also held for the second year in a row. This event is a “Shark Tank” style pitch competition, where teams compete for mini-grants provided jointly by GEAR UP and the Appalachian State Public School Partnership.
Over $50,000 worth of mini-grants were awarded to the following educators to allow them to continue innovating in their classrooms, schools, and communities with their winning projects. Winners included:
Tonya Denny & Kathy Evans of Ashe County, for "Connecting Languages, Families, and Futures Lending Library."
Donna Duncan & Christy Arrowood of Burke County for "Next Gen Educators Powered by Mentorship."
Brittany Perry & Autumn Chamberlain of Ashe County for "Leaders in Bloom: Cultivating Change By Nourishing the Roots."
Nikki Eason, Travis Eason, and Daisy Finley of Ashe County for "The Outdoor Exchange Classroom."
Jessica Esposito of Catawba County for "Code the High Seas: Sphero Pirates Set Sail."
Wednesday’s luncheon, sponsored by CoolSpeak and provided by Taqueria La Monarca, featured the Where in the World Escape Room Challenge, led by GEAR UP’s Rachel Nave-Lewis and Doug Thompson. This event challenged participants to “work together to solve the clues and gain the pieces to shape global education.”
The luncheon also featured a presentation by GEAR UP’s L.E.A.D. students. Students collaborated with Chris Collins of CoolSpeak to deliver a presentation on the idea of "Finding Your Voice" as a student leader. CoolSpeak’s Joaquin Zihuatanejo also spoke delivering live performances of several of his award-winning poems, including “Poem for John,” that focuses on the student-facing importance of innovative education.
“Joaquin's poetry was moving and had me in tears within seconds of his first poem,” one AIC attendee said. “What a gift. I have taught for over 35 years and had some brand new reflections.”
Wednesday’s events concluded with a dinner sponsored by MasteryPrep and provided by Makoto’s Japanese Steak House. During dinner, Sara Gomez of the student L.E.A.D program spoke again, delivering a message on her desire to be more involved in her community thanks to programs like L.E.A.D. Sara said that leaders like her GEAR UP Coordinator, Gail Branton and Yolanda Adams, who directs and mentors the L.E.A.D students, have helped her find her voice and encouraged her to use it. So far, Sara has used her voice to organize the biggest student-led blood drive in her school’s history, as well as to change the Yancey County School district’s policy on cords at graduation. Because of Sara’s advocacy, students can now wear up to five cords at graduation.
District Innovator of the Year was also named. This year’s recipient is Ashe County Schools.
Attendees were invited to close out the conference at the McKinney Alumni Center for the AIC After Party.
Next year’s Academic Innovation Conference will be held June 9-10, 2026, at A-B Tech Community College in Asheville. GEAR UP will begin accepting proposals for next year's sessions in October. If you have innovative ideas, research, or experiences to share, GEAR UP invites you to consider submitting a proposal at that time. If you would like to participate in next year's ExP=O Pitch, look for marketing information to begin in January, with an application window in March/April.
Academic Innovation Conference 2025
Academic Innovation Conference 2025