Executive Team
THOMAS BACON
Executive Director
Prior to founding Future Genius, Tom had been Program Director for Young Hacks Academy, a technology leadership education program for middle school students around the country. He is co-founder of Support Our Schools, a community advocacy organization for the Colchester School District, and serves on the Burlington Football Club Board of Directors.
RACHEL HOOPER
Director, Team Elektra Program
As a creative media educator, Rachel has partnered with schools and makerspaces to invite girls and young women to the world of technology and design. She has mentored high school educators to use physical computing to solve community problems in their classrooms at Project Invent. At Champlain College, she taught in the Master of Fine Arts in Emergent Media program and the Game Design Studio, working with students to imagine new futures with innovative technologies.
NICK ALIBRIO
Manager, Program Operations
A graduate of the Champlain College Game Production program, Nick has been the Lead Producer of two published video games and a short film. Prior to joining Future Genius, Nick worked as a developer for Mellow Flow Digital Advertising.
Board of Directors
DR. PENNY BISHOP
Secretary
Penny is Associate Dean and Professor of Middle Level Education at the University of Vermont. She has served as Chair of the Association for Middle Level Education’s Research Advisory Board, Chair of the American Educational Research Association’s group on Middle Level Education Research, and policy advisor on fellowship to the New Zealand Ministry of Education.
PETER DRESCHER
President
Peter is the Director of Technology and Innovation at Essex-Westford School District. As Education Technology Coordinator with the Vermont Agency of Education, he provided professional development and leadership for teachers and leaders around technology planning and integration. Peter has served as Chair of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) Board of Directors.
DR. BRENDAN FISHER
Treasurer
Brendan is an Associate Professor and Director of Environmental Program at the University of Vermont. An author of two books and over 50 peer-reviewed articles, Brendan teaches courses on sustainability science, behavioral economics, environmental/ecological economics and ecosystem management.
REBECCA RAMOS
Ad Hoc
Rebecca is Senior Managing Associate for Necrason Group, a public affairs management firm. An expert at navigating the complicated political landscape, Rebecca has worked with some of Vermont’s most influential political leaders, including Howard Dean and Peter Welch.
