M R A I N T E R N A T I O N A L ’ S 9th A N N U A L
N E T W O R K I N G | I N T E R A C T I V E S E M I N A R S | T E C H N O L O G Y S T R A T E G Y
FUTURE READY INTELLIGENT
LEADERSHIP IN THE AGE OF AI
July 15-17 // Ocean Place Resort & spa // Long Branch, NJ
MRA is excited to partner with
NJAEL for internetworking 2026
Join Us for MRA International’s Annual InterNETworking Event -
Where Innovation Meets Opportunity
Wednesday, July 15 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Welcome Reception
Thursday, July 16 8:00 am - 4:00 pm: InterNETworking
Friday. July 17 9:00 am - 11:00 am: Leadership Breakfast
InterNETworking 2026 is more than a conference—it’s where forward-thinking IT leaders come together to explore what’s next, make meaningful connections, and walk away with strategies they can actually implement.
🔹 Gain Real-World Insights
Learn from industry experts and peers who are actively navigating AI, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and digital transformation so you can stay ahead, not catch up.
🔹 Build High-Value Connections
Engage with technology leaders across public sector and commercial markets, share ideas, and form partnerships that extend beyond the event.
🔹 Explore Cutting-Edge Solutions
Get hands-on with the latest technologies from leading vendors and discover tools designed to solve today’s most pressing IT challenges.
🔹 Turn Strategy Into Action
Walk away with practical takeaways, not theory, solutions, frameworks, and ideas you can bring back and implement immediately.
🔹 Stay Future-Ready
With a focus on intelligent leadership in the age of AI, this event equips you with the knowledge and perspective needed to lead with confidence in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Don’t miss this chance to network, learn, and lead the way in tech innovation!
Keynote Speakers
Wednesday Welcome Reception - July 15
Igniting Futures
Lee Neamand
Director of Career and Technical Education
Middlesex County Magnet Schools
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In this keynote, we will explore how visionary leadership, anchored in bold workforce initiatives, can align education with the demands of our local economy. By forging strategic partnerships with industry leaders like MRA, we will unlock a future where students are not just prepared for careers, they are equipped to lead them, ensuring long-term relevance and innovation.
Thursday - July 16
Senator Vin Gopal
New Jersey State Senate
District 11
New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children :
Artificial Intelligence and Public Safety
Lt. Paul Sciortino #6477
DSFC Ergin Orman #7327
DSG Daniel Rafanan #7332
Det. Ryan McGoorty #7661
Det. Mark Skok #7693
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This presentation will explore how rapidly advancing AI image technology is changing the online world and what that can mean for the safety of children and families. We'll discuss how these tools can be misused to create realistic but harmful or deceptive content, how it can spread online, and what warning signs parents should be aware of. Most importantly, the session will focus on practical ways families can stay informed, protect their children, and have open conversations about online safety.
Preparing for the Unknown:
Teaching Beyond Traditional Educational Systems
Dr. Anita D. Champagne Ed. D
Superintendent of Schools
Morris County Vocational School District
Breakout Session Speakers
Friday Leadership Breakfast - July 17
Dr. Gerald Fitzhugh, II, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Orange Public Schools
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Alex De La Rosa
Education Coach
SamsungTechnology changes, but a great teacher is irreplaceable. We are moving beyond the buzzwords to show you how Samsung Interactive’s AI features can streamline workflows and allow staff to focus on the heart of the work: teaching.
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Joshua Smith, PE
Regional Account Manager
AMB IndustriesABM provides robust energy solutions by leveraging local electrical, mechanical, and lighting offices to self-perform installation and maintenance. The result is the capability to drive deeper energy retrofits with enhanced cost efficiency and higher levels of accountability.
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Dr. Timothy Frederiks
Executive Director
NJAELEducation is at an inflection point in the AC-Stage of Education (After COVID-19). Legacy systems of the “Industrial Era” were never designed to prepare students, specifically Generation Alpha and Generation Beta, for the 22nd Century economy. Today’s leaders will need a new context such as frameworks tools, and mindset to effectively lead in this “Intelligence Era.”
This session introduces the 22nd Century Education Model redefining how education leaders diagnose and architect future-ready organizations. Participants will explore the Portrait of a System and 22nd Century Systems Learner Framework — and leave with actionable strategies for immediate application.
Participants will walk away with a clear understanding of the 22nd Century Education Model and its implications for gaining foundational elements to lament an innovative learning organization rooted in an AI-culture and AI-mindset. Also, participants will be introduced to the new NJAEL 22nd Century Innovation, Transformation & AI Integration Micro-Credential Program. A 16-week, four-badge stackable pathway launching September 2026.
This session is designed for education leaders ready to move beyond incremental improvement processes and lead transformational change with a 22nd-Century vision.
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Jessica Cangelosi-Hade
Superintendent
Hunterdon Central Regional High SchoolJason Rothman
Science Supervisor
Hunterdon Central Regional High SchoolSharon Gavzy
Science Educator
Hunterdon Central Regional High SchoolThis presentation outlines the successful implementation and core strategies of the Emerging Leaders Program at Hunterdon Central Regional High School (HCRHS), a model designed to intentionally nurture leadership from within. This program aligns with conference strands of innovation, strategic leadership, and talent/workforce/human capital. Recognizing the untapped potential of educators, HCRHS created this program to provide a structured, non-evaluative pathway for seasoned staff to transition from classroom expertise to impactful school leadership.
Attendees will learn the innovative techniques used to utilize this internal leadership pipeline, with the dual aim of generating excitement for adoption and showcasing how empowering educators directly leads to positive, sustainable institutional change. Each Emerging Leader selects and implements a passion-driven initiative that directly addresses a documented need in the school or community. Examples range from shifting in-school suspension to a restorative model, to developing resources for second-career teachers, and more. These projects ensure leadership growth is tangible, relevant, and immediately impacts school culture. Achieving this demonstrates a commitment to compassion, connection, and systemic improvement.
Join us to learn more about the program and how to leverage internal talent to build a self-sustaining culture of excellence that empowers all staff to become agents of positive change.
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Himanshu Goil
CEO
TechForGovAmanda Coe
Head of Growth & Strategy
TechForGovWhile many organizations are exploring AI, few have successfully operationalized it. This session breaks down what it really takes to move from experimentation to production, highlighting real-world deployments, lessons learned, and the frameworks that enable scalable, trustworthy AI. Attendees will leave with a clearer path to turning AI ambition into tangible outcomes.
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Fil Santiago
NJETA (NJ Education and Technology Association) President
The modern K-12 environment is defined by an ever-expanding digital ecosystem. As districts lean more heavily into cloud-based services and third-party integrations, the traditional "do-it-all-internally" model is reaching a breaking point. Leadership must now navigate a complex landscape of rising service costs, limited personnel, and sophisticated security threats.This workshop focuses on the forward-looking evolution of district operations, exploring ways to transition from fragmented management to a streamlined, service-oriented framework that optimizes budget, leverages professional and shared managed services, and builds a culture of rigorous data privacy.
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Dr. Alrick Douglas
CEO
iEmpower
This session directly addresses the Talent, Workforce & Human Capital strand by positioning emotional intelligence as a strategic leadership asset, not merely a soft skill. The presentation connects The Emotional Advantage Model™ to four workforce imperatives:• Talent Acquisition & Retention: Leaders who regulate emotional responses during hiring and onboarding build trust-rich cultures that attract and retain top talent.
• Workforce Development: The five-phase framework provides a shared language for coaching, feedback, and professional growth conversations.
• Human Capital Strategy: Emotionally intelligent decision-making at the leadership level cascades into organizational resilience, reducing costly turnover and disengagement.
• AI-Era Leadership Readiness: As routine cognitive tasks shift to AI, the leaders who differentiate themselves, and their organizations, are those who master the emotional dimensions of influence, collaboration, and change management.
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Richard Tomko, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.J.
Superintendent of Schools
Garfield School District
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Lee Neamand
Director of Career and Technical Education
Middlesex County Magnet SchoolsIn this keynote, we will explore how visionary leadership, anchored in bold workforce initiatives, can align education with the demands of our local economy. By forging strategic partnerships with industry leaders like MRA, we will unlock a future where students are not just prepared for careers, they are equipped to lead them, ensuring long-term relevance and innovation.
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We’ve brought together a panel of professionals from Higher Education, K‑12, and Email security partners to learn about what strategies are being used to address cybersecurity.
Speakers:
- Patricia Kahn, Ph.D.
o CIO and Assist. VP for Information Technology Services The College of Staten Island, CUNY- Dr. Timothy Frederiks
o Executive Director, NJAEL- John Sonn
o Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer (VP & CIO) Monmouth University- Chris Peluso
o Head of Libraesva, Americas
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Join this panel presentation featuring faculty from the College of Staten Island who will be sharing their experiences using AI in their pedagogy
Patricia Kahn; CIO; moderator
Panel:
Sarah Zelikovitz; Computer Science FacilityChristina Boyle; Emerging Technologies Librarian
Dimitrios Pavlidis; Mechanical Engineering Faculty
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Kathy Naasz
Executive Director/ Research Professor
New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJITIn the "Age of AI," the landscape of leadership is being redefined by the speed of innovation. For educational leaders, the challenge is no longer just teaching students how to manage existing systems, but how to build new ones. This session explores the powerful synergy between Artificial Intelligence and the entrepreneurial spirit, demonstrating how AI serves as the ultimate "force multiplier" for student startups.
We will examine how AI tools are democratizing entrepreneurship—lowering the technical barriers to prototyping, market analysis, and global scaling. By integrating AI into the startup lifecycle, students move from "learners" to "builders" at an unprecedented pace. However, intelligent leadership requires more than just technical adoption; it requires fostering an "entrepreneurial mindset" that prioritizes ethics, curiosity, and human-centric problem-solving. Applicable examples from student startups will be shared.
Attendees will discover how NJIT is leveraging AI to cultivate a "shared learning" ecosystem where students use technology to solve real-world societal challenges. This session provides educational leaders with a roadmap for inspiring progress, ensuring the next generation is not just ready for the future of work—they are actively creating it. Through AI-driven entrepreneurship, we empower students to lead with agility in a rapidly shifting global economy.
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Joseph S. Pizzo
Integrated Lang. Arts,
Black River Middle School, Chester, NJ
To be a productive member of society, one must be able to think clearly, write logically, and use a variety of tools to produce writing based on sound reasoning and effective sound. Laurence Perrine drew this conclusion over 60 years ago when he called for purposeful writing to incorporate sound as well as sense. All systems of learning must be complementary rather than exclusionary. Participants will create a brief piece of level-specific writing and compare the writing to AI-generated writing. A brief resource of AI-related videos and articles will be shared.
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Daniel Litvin
President/Co-Founder
PureTek Group
In today’s schools, some of the most powerful and expensive learning environments including auditoriums, TV/broadcasting studios, Esports arenas, and multipurpose media spaces are often underutilized due to their complexity. These spaces frequently require specialized knowledge to operate, creating barriers for educators, limiting student access, and reducing their potential impact.This session explores how AI-enabled technologies are redefining these environments by making them more accessible, intuitive, and impactful, enabling educators and administrators to unlock their full potential as centers for learning, creativity, and community engagement.
Attendees will learn how incorporating artificial intelligence into the controls of these spaces can:
• Lower barriers to entry by shifting toward natural language control interfaces that are intuitive to learn and use, reducing the need for extensive training
• Support all experience levels of users by providing multiple layers of control from simple, user-friendly interfaces for everyday use to advanced control options for technical users
• Reduce strain on staff by automating system setup, configuration, and troubleshooting, allowing educators and support teams to focus on instruction and student engagement
• Enable immersive, hands-on learning by allowing students to actively use these technologies without fear of causing damage, supported by AI-driven safeguards and guided interaction
• Expand community engagement opportunities by making spaces easier to operate for events, performances, and rentals, increasing utilization and strengthening school-community connections
• Increase equity and accessibility by supporting personalized, AI-driven learning experiences that adapt to different learning styles, skill levels, and paces for both students and staff
The session will include real-world use cases and practical implementation strategies drawn from K-12 environments, demonstrating how AI-driven systems can transform auditoriums and other technology-driven spaces from single-purpose venues into dynamic, high-impact learning hubs.
Interactive / Engagement Components
• Video and live demonstrations showcasing AI-driven control functionality and real-world use cases
• Dynamic discussion with Q&A and audience engagement, allowing participants to explore applications within their own schools and share challenges and ideas
Breakout Session Descriptions
Location
Ocean Place Resort & Spa
1 Ocean Boulevard
Long Branch, NJ 07740
A special thank you to our sponsors!
