Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of Science Leadership Academy, a progressive science and technology high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Considered a national ed-tech thought leader, Chris was named Outstanding Leader of the Year by the International Society of Technology in Education in 2013 and in 2014 was awarded the prestigious “Rising Star” McGraw Prize in Education.

Science Leadership Academy (SLA) is an inquiry-driven, project-based, one-to-one laptop school that is considered to be one of the pioneers of the School 2.0 movement nationally and internationally. A partnership with Philadelphia's Franklin Institute science museum, the school was recognized by Ladies Home Journal as one of the Ten Most Amazing Schools in the United States and has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School. SLA has been highlighted on the PBS NewsHour as well as a broad range of publications such as Edutopia, Education Week, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In 2013, Chris spearheaded the drive to expand the SLA model to a second Philadelphia high school, SLA @ Beeber, and has signed on to start an additional Philadelphia middle school. He continues to work with schools and districts all over the world as a consultant. In 2013, he cofounded the non-profit Inquiry Schools with Diana Laufenberg, where he serves as superintendent and chair of the board. The non-profit's mission is to expand SLA's inquiry-driven approach to more schools.

Among his many honors, Chris has been named by the White House as a Champion of Change for his work in education reform, heralded as one of Dell's #Inspire100 (one of the one hundred people changing the world using social media), named as one of the “30 Most Influential People in EdTech” by Technology & Learning magazine and received the Lindback Award for Excellence in Principal Leadership.

A popular speaker, Chris has spoken at conferences all over the world, including TEDxPhilly, TEDxNYED, the National Association of Secondary Schools Conference, SXSW, SXSWedu, the Building Learning Communities conference, the International Society of Technology in Education, and the International Conference on Technology and Education, and at the Central and Eastern European Schools Association Conference. Chris has written for such education publications as Principal Leadership, Learning and Leading with Technology, and the School Library Journal. He is coeditor of What School Leaders Need to Know about Digital Technologies and Social Media and the author of the education blog Practical Theory.

Chris received his B. A. in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania and his M. A. in English education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Chris returned to his native Philadelphia to start SLA after nine years as an English teacher, technology coordinator, girls' basketball coach and Ultimate Frisbee coach at the Beacon School in New York City, one of the leading urban public schools for technology integration. He is perhaps most proud to be father to Jakob and Theo. You can find Chris on Twitter at @chrislehmann.

Zac Chase loves learning and teaching. For eight years, Zac taught 8–12 grade students English—first in Sarasota, Florida, and then in Philadelphia at Science Leadership Academy (SLA). He is a National Fellow for the Institute for Democratic Education in America. An original Freedom Writer Teacher, he's worked with teachers nationally through the Freedom Writers Foundation. Additionally, Zac works with teachers, schools, and school districts across the country as a consultant focused on reflective practice and the thoughtful combination of pedagogy and technology for teaching and learning. He has also worked internationally with schools and systems in Canada, Kenya, Malaysia, South Africa, and Pakistan to consider the intersection of learning, inquiry, reflective pedagogy, technology, and project-based learning. He is driven to investigate the role and importance of creativity, improvisation, and care in teaching and learning.

When not engaged directly in the work of helping schools and teachers improve their practice, Zac has his head down in a book, a blog, or the latest piece of education research.

Zac earned his M. E. in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, his master of teaching and learning in curriculum and instruction at NOVA Southeastern University, and his B. A. in English education from Illinois State University. A founding cochair of SLA's EduCon, Zac has presented at conferences around the country, including FETC, NCTE, IntegratED PDX and SF, and ISTE.

Zac has written for the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and the Education Week blog, and cowrote and edited the New York Times bestseller Teaching Hope. He blogs regularly at autodizactic.com and has taught and performed improvisational comedy since 1999. He works as an instructional technology coordinator in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Colorado, where he works with other district leaders as well as within schools to help leverage technology in support of learning and teaching. Through 2014–2015, Zac is on detail to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology as a ConnectED Fellow. He is committed to creating deep, authentic, and engaging learning for all through the innovative use of resources. You can find him on Twitter at @MrChase.