Colleen Flannery is the Chief Technology Officer for Chandler Unified School District (CUSD). As Arizona’s second largest public school district, CUSD serves more than 44,000 preschool-12th grade students and 5400 staff members. For nearly three decades, Ms. Flannery has been a visionary leader in CUSD. Colleen’s leadership has helped transform Chandler Unified into a future-focused district committed to ensuring all students reach their full potential.

Ms. Flannery’s career with Chandler Unified began 26 years ago during a time when the internet and email were first beginning. Technology has always been a passion for Colleen, but she saw her path in education leading to a principalship. However, her work on a series of projects, which she was handpicked for, allowed Colleen to demonstrate her skills and strength in tech. Eventually her two passions, teaching and technology, merged catapulting her to become the leader she is today.

Unlike other technology leaders working in K-12 education, Colleen brings a classroom perspective to her high-profile role. She started as a teacher then worked her way up to becoming a dean. Her success as a dean led Colleen to the CUSD district office where she was an assistant director and executive director. Colleen has led system and software implementations and data conversions on both the education and finance sides of the house. Even when the district was experiencing hyper growth and enrolling and onboarding thousands of students and staff members, Colleen was implementing systems that were progressive and innovative. She has trained thousands of CUSD staff members to ensure product execution is seamless and perfect.

During 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, Colleen and her small but mighty team of three outfitted the entire district with technology to ensure a continuity of learning while schools were closed. Now in her current role as CTO, Colleen leads a team of 60 people in three departments. However, she has created a culture where all her departments seemingly operate as one unified system dedicated to the core values of integrity, innovation, and customer service. It is fair to say that Colleen’s work before, during, and after the pandemic has created an environment where every CUSD department views technology as a vehicle for change.

Colleen understands the needs of teachers and students and before her team brings on any new software or system she asks, “how does this improve student outcomes?”. Colleen is always focused on the end goal which is student success. She inspires her team and other leaders across CUSD to imagine what is possible. She does not ask what should we do; instead, she asks what could we do? Colleen is forward-thinking and visionary, and her vision is supported by a growing number of community partners.

Intel, Insight, and Arizona State Digital Prep are just a few of the major players Colleen can call on for support at any time. Through her connections with local, national, and international companies, CUSD students have access to experiences, experts, and technology that will set them up for success immediately after graduation.