A4L names 2026–2027 community leadership groups

By AI, Created 9:36 PM UTC, May 28, 2026, /AGP/ – The Access 4 Learning Community has announced its 2026 leadership groups for North American interoperability, privacy and international technical and privacy work. The picks shape oversight of the SIF Specification and the Student Data Privacy Consortium for the next two years.

Why it matters: - The leadership groups help steer the Access 4 Learning Community’s work on education data interoperability, privacy and security. - The groups oversee the SIF Specification and the Student Data Privacy Consortium. - The appointments also shape strategy for the community’s global work.

What happened: - The Access 4 Learning Community announced its 2026 Community Leadership Groups on May 28, 2026. - Steve Smith, executive director of the A4L Community, said the organization saw strong interest in leadership roles for the 2026–2027 term. - Smith said the new leaders bring experience in education data management, privacy and security. - Smith said he expects the group to help advance the community’s vision of “Connecting and Securing Effective Learning Ecosystems.”

The details: - The 2026 North American Interoperability Leadership Group includes six members elected to two-year terms: Patrick Devanney of Classlink, Alexander Jackl of Bardic Systems, Jim McGlynn of Athrú Advisors LLC, Roger Petersen of the Iowa Department of Education, Mike Reynolds of Level Data Inc. and Jennifer Sauro of Infinite Campus. - The North American Interoperability Leadership Group also includes four members offered one-year terms: Mike Lencioni of Common Goal Systems, John Paul of the Wyoming Department of Education, Steve Setzer of Loop Data and TQ White II, listed as Emeritus. - Four members are returning for the second year of their two-year terms on the North American Interoperability Leadership Group: Christopher Campbell of the Idaho State Board of Education, June Gerred of the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Eric Levy of Cambridge Public Schools and Kathy Warren of the Maine Department of Education. - The 2026 North American Privacy Leadership Group includes eight members elected to two-year terms: Connie Coy of MOREnet, James Chasse of the Maine Department of Education, Patrick Devanney of Classlink, Ramah Hawley of The Education Cooperative (TEC), Amparo Macias of the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Heather Mahoney of NYS Regional Education Service Provider (RICOne / NYS BOCES), Libbi Nelson of Learn21 and Duane Shaffer of the Learning Technology Center of Illinois (LTC). - The North American Privacy Leadership Group also includes seven members offered one-year terms: Candice Coppock of Richland County School District One, SC, Desarie Green of Cengage Learning, Inc., Isabella Lai of ClassDojo, Laurel Nava of California IT in Education (CITE), Diana Olin of Khan Academy, Fil Santiago of NJ Education and Technology Association (NJETA) and Jim Siegl of Privacy Is Hard. - Two members are returning for the second year of their two-year terms on the North American Privacy Leadership Group: Jill Pierce of the Tennessee Educational Technology Association (TETA) and Dawn Schiavone of the Northern Buckeye Education Council (NBEC). - The 2026 International Technical & Privacy Leadership Group includes three members elected to two-year terms: Joerg Huber of Systemic Pty Ltd, Alexander Jackl of Bardic Systems and Roger Petersen of the Iowa Department of Education.

Between the lines: - The roster includes leaders from school districts, state education agencies, edtech vendors, privacy groups and nonprofit organizations. - Several people appear on more than one leadership group, including Patrick Devanney, Alexander Jackl and Roger Petersen. - The mix of elected, one-year and returning members suggests A4L is balancing continuity with fresh participation.

What’s next: - The named leaders will serve during the 2026–2027 term. - The groups will continue guiding A4L’s interoperability, privacy and international technical work over the next two years. - A4L members can follow the organization on LinkedIn, Facebook and X.

The bottom line: - A4L has set its 2026 leadership bench, putting experienced education and privacy leaders in charge of the community’s core standards and data-protection work.