Our History
IN 1996, GENERATION YES WAS FOUNDED AS A 5-YEAR U.S. DEPT. OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CHALLENGE GRANT.
Our nonprofit was created to scale the successful student-led technology support model developed during the initial grant. The GenYES program has been around ever since. Over its twenty-year history, Generation YES has participated in several large-scale grants and customized implementations supporting its core mission. Many comprehensive third-party research projects have been done on the efficacy of the GenYES model, making it one of the most well-researched projects in EdTech. Our research and past projects can be found here.
Generation YES takes on about 100 new schools every year. This enables us to closely work with schools to create a sustainable program which can be carried forward for years. Successfully infusing a school with a program like GenYES takes a lot of time and effort- student recruitment, new assessment methodologies, data collection, changing culture and practices are all barriers to effective implementation. Our long history has enabled us to predict challenges and to provide solutions. To support our mission and help more schools provide unique learning opportunities for students, please visit the Donate page. Your donation will ensure that students are getting much needed confidence and exposure to technology to bridge the digital divide.
“As for the Generation YES project, all I can say is the obvious: it’s great! I think it’s by far the best project funded by the U.S Department of Education.”
“Generation YES... prove[s] that the nearly 50 million students in our schools are ready to become our nation’s most plentiful and critical resources for educational reform and improvement.”
Contact Us
Email: [email protected]
Call Toll Free: (888) 941-4369
Phone: (360) 528-2345
Fax: (360) 528-2350
Snail Mail:
Generation YES
2584 R.W. Johnson Blvd. SW
Olympia, WA 98512
We are open 9AM - 5:00 PM Pacific time on weekdays.
Team
Dr. Dennis Harper, CEO and Founder
Dr. Dennis Harper is widely recognized as one of the world’s eminent leaders in the field of technology in education. He first began his work in instructional technology in 1967 at the secondary level in Los Angeles, Australia, Germany, Spain, and Liberia before completing his Ph.D. in International Education at the University of California in 1983.
Dennis has taught at the University of California Santa Barbara, Singapore’s Institute of Education, Finland's Helsinki University, and the University of the Virgin Islands where he established the Caribbean’s first university degree in educational computing and distance learning network. For the past 21 years, he has refined the Generation YES model of technology infusion.
Key Staff Members
The Generation YES staff is made up of students and teachers who have years of experience with real schools and classrooms. Not only are we dedicated to giving you the very best project-based learning management system and tech literacy certification for students, but we each use our unique skills, talents and perspectives to make our nonprofit grow.
Marc Turnbow
Network Specialist
Victoria Bawn
Customer Support Director
Steve Hicks
Deputy Director
Board
Generation YES is administered by a Board of Directors made up of experienced educators, students, and business executives. They meet bi-annually and plan where the nonprofit is going to go in the future.
Patrick Gill
Chairman of the Board
Patrick Gill spent 41 years as a teacher and administrator in public and private schools in the State of Washington and in the Marshall Islands. He taught in elementary, middle, and high schools, and at Washington State University. Dr. Gill spent the last 29 years of his career as an administrator with the Olympia School District. He retired in 2001 as deputy superintendent.
Nick Lippert
Former CEO of Physicians of SW Washington
Nick Lippert has spent 31 years in health care administration. After graduating with an MHA he served in the USAF developing the foundation for an automated medical system for the Surgeons Generals. He has served in various capacities in hospital, physician and medical insurance groups. He is past president and a member of various health and private organizations.
Robert Miller
Project Director
Robert has a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from The Evergreen State College. He also has an Associates of Applied Science degree in Network Administration from South Puget Sound Community College. He has worked at Generation YES for ten years.
Victoria Bawn
Customer Support Director
Victoria provides customer support for the U.S. and Canada. She is a certified trainer for Generation YES's workshops around the country. Victoria is also Generation YES's Senior Graphic Designer. For six years, she has created logos, brochures, flyers, posters, and other print media for Generation YES. Victoria specializes in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Muse, Illustrator, Keynote, Pages, and Numbers.
Adam Fletcher
Youth Voice and Empowerment Specialist
Adam has over a decade of experience working with educational programs serving youth in schools and communities. In seven years of classroom work, he has been an ELL tutor, experiential learning coordinator, and an independent service learning consultant. Adam is the director of several youth organizations.
Dennis Harper
CEO and Founder of Generation YES
Dennis Harper has spent the past 35 years helping students, teachers, and schools throughout the world infuse technology to improve student learning. As a former high school teacher, university professor, district technology director, ISTE board member, researcher, speaker, and the CEO and founder of Generation YES, Dr. Harper works to empower youth through technology in schools, communities and the world.
Denny Hurtado
Former Skokomish Tribal Nation Chairman
Denny Hurtado is the former Director of Indian Education for the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In this role, he worked with all 29 tribes in the state and led the creation of curriculum geared towards elementary, middle and high school educators. He also presented workshops and trainings in Indian education, culturally responsive curriculum and professional development.
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board contains students and educators from across the United States. These Advisors helped design, develop, and pilot test Generation YES materials from concept to completion. We thank them for their wisdom and knowledge about how to make project-based learning come to life!
Adora Svitak
UC Berkeley Political Review Senior Opinion Editor
Bernice Stafford
Consultant, Northwest Evaluation Association
Bonnie Bracey Sutton
Teacher and Technology Consultant
David Paulson
President and CEO of Friluft Educational Technologies
Dr. David Thornburg
Director of Education at Polar3D
Dr. Gary Stager
Publisher and CMFO at Constructing Modern Knowledge Press
Dr. Helen Soule
Executive Director of Partnership for 21st Century Learning
Dr. Jayne James
Executive Director, INNOVATE
<div style="padding-bottom:123.14813995361328%;" class="image-block-wrapper has-aspect-ratio" data-description="<p>Dr. Karen Billings</p><p><strong>Principal, Billin