Meet the Team

Becca Esplin is currently 6th grade math and science teacher in southern Utah. She has 15 years of classroom experience with five as an educational technology coach. She is a proud third generation educator, in a family full of educators. She has always been interested in edtech integration, and wants her students to have authentic experiences with AI to deepen their understanding of this "new" technology tool as they move toward a future that is being shaped by current AI practices.

Stacey grew up in Logan, Utah and attended Utah State University, graduating with her bachelors degree in Family & Consumer Sciences and Math Education. Nine years later, she earned her Masters of Education in Learning and Technology. She loves using technology to solve problems and help students. Mrs. King loves to learn and has taken classes to earn additional teaching credentials in Financial Literacy, Educational Technology, and Computer Science. In her free time, she loves to read, sew, and spend time with her family.

Kelly Jeppson is a junior high ELA teacher and instructional coach in Herriman, Utah. During her time in junior high, she has seen how technology has revolutionized the way students learn and teachers prepare students for the future. She considers herself an "education cheerleader" in many ways, helping students get excited about reading, writing, producing, and sharing their learning in meaningful ways. The introduction of AI as a thought partner and creative agent is exciting, as she uses it to expand thinking while preserving authenticity of experience for her students and colleagues.

Alan Rhees works as a Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist in northern Utah. His career includes time teaching 3rd, 4th and 6th grades, all in the elementary school he attended as a child. Alan is a third generation educator following his grandfather and father into the field (literally, the family farm included hay, grain, and peaches!) His experiences with artificial intelligence include seeking creative ways to make AI a force multiplier and teaching assistant by helping teachers meet their own needs and the needs of their students in an increasingly complex and demanding instructional landscape.

Sarah LaBarge is the Course Content Specialist for Davis Connect 7-12 Online School that serves Davis School District and students statewide throughout the SOEP/SEATS Program. She manages over 400 Blueprint Courses for all curricular areas in making sure the online curriculum is up-to-date and fixing issues in the background. Using AI for curriculum development has cut writing time in half and has been a strong thought partner to make Personalized, Competency-Based Courses for herself and her trained content writers. When not at the computer, Sarah enjoys crafts, gardening, sushi, and playing with her two children.

Aaron Crawford is an instructional coach, folklorist, and historian from northern Utah. With over twenty years in education spanning history, the humanities, and computer science, he brings a perspective shaped as much by narrative and human meaning-making as by technical fluency. He works directly in schools, which keeps his approach to AI grounded. He is especially interested in AI research – not just how it works in theory, but what it looks like in practice.