Speaker Biographies

Keynote Speakers

STEM without Limits:  Empowering Educators to Shape Future Innovators

Moderator:  Dr. Fred Uy, Director, Educator & Leadership Programs and Systemwide Director, Mathematics and Science Teacher Initiative, CSU Office of the Chancellor

Ted Alejandre is the 34th Superintendent of Schools for San Bernardino County. He was first elected to the county’s lead educational seat in June 2014 and was reelected in both 2018 and 2022. He began his third consecutive four-year term in January 2023.

With more than three decades of experience in public education, Mr. Alejandre has been a teacher, vice principal, principal, and director of fiscal services at the district level. He joined the office of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools in 2008 as the assistant superintendent of Business Services and later was appointed deputy superintendent, overseeing all operations of the organization.

As county superintendent, Mr. Alejandre works collaboratively with educators, families, other agencies, and community partners to provide advocacy, leadership, and services for nearly 400,000 K-12 students attending public schools in San Bernardino County. His office oversees a $370 million annual operating budget and employs over 2,400 employees.

Among the highlights of Mr. Alejandre’s service as county superintendent are nurturing the Cradle to Career Roadmap, targeting early literacy, establishing the first ever countywide Student Advisory Panel, being President of the California County Superintendents coalition, and revamping the Alliance for Education to strengthen the alignment and connection of business and community organizations to education and workforce development.

For being a fierce advocate for education, Mr. Alejandre was selected as the California Superintendent of the Year for 2022 by the Association of California School Administrators.  Mr. Alejandre is also a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel serving since 1984. He resides in Yucaipa with his wife, Barbara, and they have three children.

Dani Hreha, Director of Engineering, Internal Applications, Snap Inc.  Dani is a product builder, passionate people leader, and proven turnaround and growth agent. Known for empowering teams to innovate at scale, she places human-centered design at the core of every solution she develops. Her leadership style is rooted in creating thriving environments where diverse perspectives fuel creativity and drive transformative business outcomes.

Dani’s professional journey began in finance, navigating the fast-paced world of investment banking in New York. She then brought her strategic skillset to Best Buy during a critical shift from brick-and-mortar to omni-channel retail, contributing to initiatives that drove the company’s evolution. At Amazon, she managed retail categories exceeding $600 million, later scaling a global program to accelerate startup success on Amazon.com. Along the way, she discovered a passion for enhancing employee experiences, leveraging her expertise in product, program, and engineering leadership to build tools and systems that enabled teams to grow and thrive.

Today, Dani leads an engineering organization at Snap, where she oversees web properties, internal products and systems, CRM technology, and developer tools. Her multifaceted experience—from finance and retail to tech—underscores her ability to drive innovation and foster talent across diverse industries. Based in Seattle, Washington, Dani continues to champion high-performing teams that harness the power of technology for sustained growth. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish and Political Science from Ohio University.

Plenary Panel

The Art of Student Engagement for Learning Math with Coding & Robotics

Moderator:  Dr. Harry Cheng, Professor and Director of UC Davis C-STEM

Mr. Mauricio Arellano was appointed as the Superintendent of San Bernardino City Unified School District in 2023 after an extensive national search. Prior to his arrival to the SBCUSD, Mr. Arellano served as the Superintendent of Redlands USD and Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources for the Palm Springs Unified School District for fourteen years, respectively. Previous to his assignment in Palm Springs, he served for twelve years as the Certificated Director of Personnel, Elementary Principal, Elementary Vice-Principal and Elementary Teacher for the San Bernardino City Unified School District. Mr. Arellano is a long-time member of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), the California Association of Bilingual Educators (CABE), the School Superintendents Association (AASA), the Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) and the American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA). He was recently invited to become a member of the National Center for Education Research and Technology (NCERT), a very prestigious national level Superintendents Association. Recognitions include being named ACSA’s Region XIX Personnel/Human Resources Administrator of the Year in 2008, ACSA’s Ray Curry Award winner for excellence in school personnel in 2012, the recipient of the 2015 Riverside County Office of Education Models of Excellence Award for his work with the Skillful Leader Program and the 2016 Riverside County Administrator of the year. Since his arrival in San Bernardino USD, working in tandem with the Board of Education and all the remarkable employees at San Bernardino USD, the District has been focused on implementing a 21st Century learning experience for all students.

Mr. Arellano earned his Bachelor’s Degrees in Sociology and Spanish in 1990 from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and his Master of Arts Degree in Educational Administration in 1996 from California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB).

Dr. Alfonso Jiménez has served as the Superintendent of the Hacienda La Puente USD since July 1, 2020. The District serves 15,642 TK-12 students, 536 preschool children, and 13,000 adult education learners. Dr. Jiménez is in his 29th year in education and in his 22nd year in administration, having served as assistant principal, principal, director, assistant superintendent, deputy superintendent, and superintendent.

Dr. Jiménez is a recognized innovative educational thought leader. Through his leadership, various new programs were launched in the district such as speech and debate for middle and high school students, Mt. San Antonio Workman Early College Academy Network (WeCAN), and the Youth Cinema Project film pathway from elementary to high school. An equity driven leader, Dr. Jiménez, was instrumental in the implementation of ethnic studies district-wide at all levels. He also led the expansion of New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) by establishing it as the District’s learning framework. C-STEM, visual and performing arts, Conga Kids, robotics, and dual immersion programs also continue to thrive under his leadership. All these programs provide innovative and engaging learning experiences for students.  Under his leadership, the district continues to earn various honors of excellence, including the 2023 District Honor Roll Award from the Educational Results Partnership organization for increasing student achievement consistently, a California Department of Education (CDE) Pivotal Practice Award in 2022, and California School Board’s Association (CSBA) Golden Bell Award for Project LEAD (Life Experiences about Democracy) in 2023.  Additionally, four schools recently earned the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award for student achievement, the most of any district in one year in the state and nation!

Dr. Jiménez is the 2022 UC Davis C-STEM Center Superintendent of the Year and a 2022 National School Public Relations Association Superintendent to Watch. He was recently named the 2023 CALSA Region 5 Superintendent of the Year.   Dr. Jiménez holds a B.S in Physiology from California State University, Long Beach, M.S. in Administration from Pepperdine, and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California. Updates from Dr. Jiménez are found on X using @SuptDrJimenez.