Sam Catherine Johnston

Chief Postsecondary and Workforce Development Officer, CAST

Dr. Sam Johnston, Ed.D., is the Chief Postsecondary & Workforce Development Officer at CAST. Sam focuses on design-based research, translating universally designed tools and strategies developed through co-design with stakeholders into practical applications in the field to improve education, training and workplace practices. Sam has designed training models and conducted research into professional development in the fields of mental health care, human services, criminal justice and education, emphasizing social learning processes in both online and in-person learning. Sam has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator for multiple National Science Foundation (NSF) grants including to co-design a multigenerational STEM makerspace in affordable housing, and to design a Dual Enrollment Pathway to Careers in Biomanufacturing.

Dr. Dhruva Banerjee

CEO and Founder, ProjectSet

Dr. Dhruva Banerjee is the co-founder of ProjectSet, a London-based edtech firm. Previously, he spent 25 years in Strategy Consulting industry advising Fortune 500 businesses including BASF, Coca-Cola, Credit Suisse, Novartis, Pfizer and Vodafone in Europe, North America and Asia. Dhruva led several initiatives on talent development and was featured in a case study by Harvard Business School. Dhruva holds a PhD in Management and sits on the Board of Milestone Capital, a US$1B investment management firm.

Dr. Luis F. Pérez

Disability & Digital Inclusion Lead, CAST

As the Director of Disability & Accessibility for CAST, Luis promotes the creation, delivery and use of high quality accessible educational materials and technologies to support learning opportunities for all students. Luis’s perspective is informed by his own experiences as a user of assistive technology. Luis was recognized with a 2020 ISTE Making It Happen award. Other recognitions include Apple Distinguished Educator (2009) and Google Certified Innovator (2014). He has published three books on accessibility, mobile learning, and UDL: Mobile Learning for All (Corwin Press), Dive into UDL (ISTE) and Learning on the Go (CAST Publishing). He currently serves as a Transition and Workplace Accessibility strand advisor for the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA).

Safa Irfan

Product Manager, ProjectSet

Safa is a product manager dedicated to transforming education through technology. At ProjectSet, she leads the development of a platform that helps students build and track soft skills, closing opportunity gaps and enhancing career readiness. With a strong academic foundation in finance and data science, Safa combines analytical insight with user-focused design to create tools that empower students to succeed in the future of work.