After more than 14 years with EdTechTeacher and over 25 years of service to the education community, our Director Gail Ross-McBride is retiring. While I am thrilled for her (she has more than earned whatever adventures come next), it’s hard to imagine EdTechTeacher without her.
I recently heard of a colleague who just referred to Gail as a “legend.” Despite her desire to stay out of the spotlight, I couldn’t think of a better way to describe her.
What makes Gail legendary isn’t a title or a résumé line. It’s the way she shows up for people. My first interactions with Gail were when I was first cutting my teeth leading professional development workshops. I had teaching experience, but was as green as can be leading PD and had no real idea what I was doing. Instead of being frustrated or dismissive, she was incredibly supportive and had my back in those early days, days when that support made all the difference.
Many of us can share stories where we had a challenge, or frankly were in a bind, and the conversation with Gail is what helped get us through. From my early days violating the “speaker dress code” to times when my workshop participants wandered into restricted areas of campus, to more serious challenges I needed to talk through, Gail has been there for me. I’m sure many of you reading this can say the same. She has been there for you.
Over the years, I also learned just how far Gail’s impact reaches. At every event we ran, Gail seemed to know almost everyone in the room through a past project, a program she’d coordinated, a school colleague, you name it. Over two decades of showing up for people leaves a long trail of relationships, and Gail has tended every one of them. Her compassion for others isn’t something she does. It’s a core part of who she is.
That quality is what everything else flows from. Throughout her career, Gail has been a force for expanding access to professional development and educational technology. At EdTechTeacher, she was the engine behind our workshops, industry partnerships, and district-wide programs. And of course, she was the heart and soul of our live events. Gail truly enjoyed and excelled at planning these, and she was definitely in her element at them. Everyone loves seeing Gail.
Before ETT, she built and administered licensure programs, science institutes, high school internship pathways, and teacher training initiatives that shaped how districts approached professional learning. During this time, she secured significant grant funding to support teachers, technology programs, and students with special needs. Her leadership in the Massachusetts education community earned her MassCUE’s Pathfinders Award and a long tenure on their Board, including serving as Vice President. Gail also taught in Weymouth and Cambridge and trained teachers across the country as a software specialist at Scholastic, Inc.
In all those settings, she made the people around her better. But if you asked Gail about any of this, she’d redirect the conversation to the teachers she worked with or the students those programs served.
Gail, on behalf of myself and the countless educators whose careers you’ve shaped: thank you. Thank you for your friendship, your leadership, and unwavering belief in others. You’ve left your mark on this field.
If Gail has made a difference in your career or your life, please consider sharing your story in the comments below. If you’d prefer to share privately, you can also leave a message for Gail here: https://forms.gle/nqTD5awH5q91Kxir8
Tom Driscoll