Nominations for the Cisco Networking Academy High Impact Awards for Public Sector were submitted by the Networking Academy Area Academy Managers (AAMs) using the following criteria:

  • Exemplify outstanding teamwork and collaboration between the Cisco Sales organization and Cisco Networking Academy
  • Demonstrate passion for the importance of technology education to develop the IT workforce pipeline
  • Utilize creative approaches and innovative thinking to impact Networking Academy student success
  • Promote Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

FY09High Impact AwardWinners from the Public Sector Team(Top 10):

Jerry Bishop (OR, WA, ID) - Included Cisco Networking Academy in an MOU with the Oregon Governor’s Office as a component of the Accelerate Oregon initiative, a public-private partnership dedicated to providing Oregon schools with the tools necessary to advance teaching and learning with Technology.

Andy Campbell (SC) - Worked diligently with our Political Consultant to implement a 10th Anniversary celebration with the state Superintendent and other key education stakeholders, which helped to rejuvenate the academy program across the state, resulting in an additional 11 new high schools offering the program.

John Crow (IL) - Over the past few years, has dedicated time and resources to organize Job Shadow Day events, which invite Chicago academy students and instructors to Cisco offices to learn about careers in IT, leveraging various Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and infusing creative approaches to making these events a memorable experience.

Allan Davis (AL, MS) - Instrumental in integrating Networking Academy into key presentations and grant proposals with customers, helping to position the program as a strategy for building the workforce pipeline in his respective states(i.e.Mississippi Delta Education and Outreach Program).

Dave Kinksy (NJ) - Collaborated with the Networking Academy field team to develop the first US pilot for the “NetRiders Skills Competition,” a virtual skills competition for academy students to compete with their peers across the state, and was instrumental as host of the finale event the Cisco NJ office, organizing tours, securing top prizes for participants, and escorting the keynote speaker, the NJ Commissioner of Education.

Phil Longo (NYC) - Over the past ten years, has collaborated with Networking Academy to ensure a successful implementation in NYC by brokering introductions to key stakeholders within the DOE and providing support to key NetAcad initiatives including: Ground Hog Job Shadow Day, Girls in IT, and Skills Competitions.

Jill Maiorano & Dan Wasson (MI, IN) - Jill has been involved on several boards bringing visibility to the Networking Academy and has been an active participant at strategic events such as the Networking Academy 10th Anniversary. Dan has been instrumental in driving high-level executive customer engagements leveraging Telepresence. Both Dan and Jill were key players in the successful launch of the State of Michigan Workforce Retraining Initiative.

Chris Meersman (S. CA) - Secured an appointment at LA Unified School District with Director of Education Technology, which led to a renewed commitment from the school district and training of 12 new CCNA instructors.

Cornell Nelson (VA & NYC) - Serves as technical lead for the Technology Transfer Project, a leading diversity council comprised of Fortune 500 companies, and has helped educate faculty at Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs) on the future direction of Cisco technology.

Cliff Pahl& Jeff Rocco (IL) - Volunteer their time to mentor students from Chicago Public Schools and engage academies (students and instructors) in Channel Partner events; Has hosted CATCs and Regional academies for visits to the Cisco Office.