Melody ParrishSpeaker and Booking Agent Information

Throughout her career, Parrish has been interested in education. She taught Mathematics, Algebra, Computer Literacy, Business and Computer Science, and all topics in sixth grade throughout her years as a classroom teacher. She also served as the campus representative on a district-wide technology group and on numerous curriculum-writing committees.

Parrish was in charge of all areas of technology for the Lockhart Independent School District as the director of technology services, including designing and implementing a multi-year technology strategy. She was in charge of the district's PEIMS and business systems, as well as E-Rate and federal funding monitoring and compliance.

Parrish previously worked for the Austin Independent School District as the Director of Management Information Systems, where she oversaw the installation of new information systems. Her projects included two student information systems, a teacher grade book for 6,600 instructors, a parent portal for 82,000 families to see vital student information, and a data warehouse.

She was also a member of the district's strategic planning and technology planning committees. Her private sector expertise includes working as a manager for a well-known education business that was looking to deploy digital learning solutions to improve classroom efficiency and student performance.

She worked closely with school district leaders in this position to ensure the smooth implementation of new student information systems. Tarleton State University awarded Parrish a Bachelor of Science in Education.

She is also a member of the Statewide Business Executive Leadership Committee, the National Council for Personalized Education, and the National Ed-fi Alliance Board, which shares technology as a solution for education with other state education agencies on a voluntary basis. She has served on the Board of Directors of the state's Department of Information Resources in the past.