Derek Brian began his career with SEAS Education 18 years ago in the Customer Support department. Over the years, Derek has super served SEAS customers in a variety of roles, including Technical Writer, Account Manager, and Product Specialist. Derek has worked extensively with the CLASS program as the principal trainer and Product Specialist for the last ten years.
2025 KEYNOTE PRESENTER
WELCOMING DR. CHRISTOPHER CULVER
Dr. Christopher Culver is a proud product of Oklahoma public education. Raised in a divorced family, he split his time between Tulsa during the week, a 300-acre farm in Wyandotte, OK, and, twice a year, Fayetteville, NC. Chris attended 1st through 12th grade in Tulsa Public Schools and is a proud graduate of Tulsa Memorial High School.
For more than a decade, Dr. Culver has served educational communities as a classroom teacher, secondary principal, and, most recently, as a cabinet-level administrator. He is the former President of the Oklahoma Association for Bilingual Education and the current Vice President of the Oklahoma Citizens for Education non-profit. Today, he serves as a speaker and consultant with expertise in kindness, culture, and understanding Gen Z/Gen A, and as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City University, where he teaches future teachers and leaders.
Earning an EdD through research on culture and the collective impact on motivation, Dr. Culver is dedicated to spreading kindness, improving mindsets, cultivating culture, and educating about Gen Z/A. He believes that if you cannot find the light, be the light!
From Surviving to Thriving: Creating a Kind and Positive Space for All
Educators face more challenges than ever before. Between shifting generational dynamics and increasing demands, how do we move from simply surviving to truly thriving while fostering belonging for all in a kind and positive space?
The answer is found in kindness, connection, and intentional action. Dr. Christopher Culver brings a powerful, research-backed message on how leading with kindness isn’t just a feel-good idea—it’s a transformative force that strengthens school culture, fosters resilience, and inspires every member of the community to reach their full potential. It takes real courage and strength to be kind to someone else.
Dr. Culver will explore how understanding today’s generation, cultivating belonging and prioritizing compassion can re-energize our schools and create an environment where students, staff, and community members thrive together. When we embrace kindness and strength, schools flourish, and every individual succeeds.
Let’s work together to create a thriving community that fosters belonging for all!
2025 SPEAKERS
Keep an eye out for future annoucements!
DEREK BRIAN
Account Manager & Product Specialist | SEAS Education
Meet Derek
Derek's Sessions
SEAS Attain: Intermediate Training
Have you been using SEAS Attain for a while and are ready to explore its advanced features? If so, this session is for you! Join [Trainer’s Name] for an engaging training where you’ll learn how to manage your goal bank, share documents seamlessly through SEAS, and implement best practices for obtaining electronic signatures. Plus, discover helpful tips and tricks for creating effective narratives within your forms. Come ready to learn something new and take your SEAS Attain skills to the next level! We’re excited to help you become an even more confident and efficient user.
This Session will be held on Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Maximizing the impact of IEPs with CLASS
Are you using CLASS to establish goals and objectives but feel you need additional guidance? The first step in creating an effective IEP is developing the right assessment template to meet each student’s unique needs. Join Derek Brian for this informative session, where he will demonstrate how CLASS can provide a detailed skill-gap analysis to ensure comprehensive IEPs that drive student growth and improve outcomes. Gain practical insights to streamline your process and maximize the impact of your IEPs! This session is ideal for current SEAS CLASS users and those interested in implementing it in their district.
This Session will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025
ERBEY GOMEZ
Customer Support Specialist & Account Manager | SEAS Education
Meet Erbey
Erbey Gomez is a long-time team member with SEAS Education and has many years’ experience in Education Technology. Having served many positions within the company, Erbey utilizes his DDI (Development Dimensions International) Certified skills in leadership and communication to advocate on behalf of Arkansas school districts and SEAS Education. Erbey excels at listening and earning the trust of his colleagues and customers. His years in restaurant management, hospital education, marketing, and customer service have allowed Erbey to hyper-focus on the current needs of customers and anticipate future needs before they arise. Erbey is equipped to train the entire product suite SEAS Education has to offer, including CLASS Assessment and Medicaid Services/DSCtop.
Erbey's Sessions
SEAS Attain: Administrative Training
As an administrator of the SEAS Attain app, you carry a lot of responsibility in managing the system effectively for your district. This session is designed to help you optimize SEAS Attain to support the creation of strong IEPs and 504 Plans tailored to your district’s needs. Together, we will explore how to create pre-loaded and user-selected narratives, troubleshoot common issues—like why your LRE isn’t calculating correctly—and address those “past-due” dates that aren’t really overdue. Join Erbey Gomez for an informative and practical session on making SEAS Attain work for you and your district. We look forward to helping you enhance your administrative skills and system management!
This Session will be held on Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Meet The SEAS Team
Have you personally met your SEAS Account Manager? Do you have a burning question you would like to ask one-on-one with a SEAS expert? Join the SEAS Arkansas Account Management team for an informal meet & greet! Get your questions answered by our experts in the field and interact with your SEAS Account Manager!
Presenters: Erbey Gomez, Tara Bush, Mercedes Monarch, Lisa Pelotte, & Jennifer Robinson
This Session will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025
SEAS Interactive 504 Session
Do you need extra support with writing 504 Plans in SEAS Attain? Join Erbey Gomez and Tara Bush for this interactive session, where they will guide you through the step-by-step process of creating a 504 Plan. You’ll also learn how to organize all your supporting documentation in one central location, making plan management more efficient. In the ever-evolving world of education, mastering SEAS Attain can help streamline your workflow—so writing 504 Plans becomes one less thing to worry about! This session is ideal for current SEAS Attain 504 users and those interested in implementing it in their district.
Presenters: Erbey Gomez & Tara Bush
This Session will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025
TARA BUSH
Customer Support Specialist & Account Manager | SEAS Education
Meet Tara
Tara Bush has an extensive background working with special needs children with behavior issues and maintaining documents for due process procedures, initial evaluations, and re-evaluations. Tara has been instrumental in organizing information and increasing accountability while she collaborates with teachers, administrators, parents, and students to create an effective work environment. She is the newest member of the SEAS Education family and dedicated to improving our systems and processes in innovative ways. Tara is a true advocate for school districts, employees and students and has most recently focused on training and support of our SEAS Education Plan Management platforms (SEAS Classic, Achieve 2.0 and Attain 3.0).
Tara's Sessions
SEAS Attain: Beginner Training
Are you new to SEAS Attain or looking for a refresher on the basics? If so, this training session is just what you need! In this session, you’ll gain a solid foundation in SEAS Attain, including how to start packets, write custom goals and objectives, select appropriate accommodations, and choose the correct services for an IEP. Join Tara Bush for an engaging and informative session designed to help you navigate SEAS Attain with confidence. We’re excited to have you join us—let’s get started.
This Session will be held on Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Meet The SEAS Team
Have you personally met your SEAS Account Manager? Do you have a burning question you would like to ask one-on-one with a SEAS expert? Join the SEAS Arkansas Account Management team for an informal meet & greet! Get your questions answered by our experts in the field and interact with your SEAS Account Manager!
Presenters: Erbey Gomez, Tara Bush, Mercedes Monarch, Lisa Pelotte, & Jennifer Robinson
This Session will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025
SEAS Interactive 504 Session
Do you need extra support with writing 504 Plans in SEAS Attain? Join Erbey Gomez and Tara Bush for this interactive session, where they will guide you through the step-by-step process of creating a 504 Plan. You’ll also learn how to organize all your supporting documentation in one central location, making plan management more efficient. In the ever-evolving world of education, mastering SEAS Attain can help streamline your workflow—so writing 504 Plans becomes one less thing to worry about! This session is ideal for current SEAS Attain 504 users and those interested in implementing it in their district.
Presenters: Erbey Gomez & Tara Bush
This Session will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025
JENNIFER ROBINSON
VP of Client Success | SEAS Education
Meet Jennifer
Jennifer Robinson has 30 years of experience providing consulting services to school districts in numerous states regarding school finance, Special Education and Medicaid. She has designed, managed and implemented numerous software systems in hundreds of school districts. Jennifer also has experience working in the financial services department for the largest school district in Arizona; Mesa Unified School District. She has successfully advocated at state and federal levels for changes to state reporting and Medicaid rules for various states, including Arizona. She is currently the VP of Client Success for SEAS Education and her primary focus is the successful implementation of new customers, continuing support of existing customers and retention of customers.
Jennifer's Sessions
Meet The SEAS Team
Have you personally met your SEAS Account Manager? Do you have a burning question you would like to ask one-on-one with a SEAS expert? Join the SEAS Arkansas Account Management team for an informal meet & greet! Get your questions answered by our experts in the field and interact with your SEAS Account Manager!
Presenters: Erbey Gomez, Tara Bush, Mercedes Monarch, Lisa Pelotte, & Jennifer Robinson
This Session will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025
LISA PELOTTE
VP of Medicaid | SEAS Education
Meet Lisa
Lisa Pelotte is the VP of Medicaid Services for SEAS Education. Lisa has been located in the SEAS Medicaid National Claims Administration Center in Franconia, NH since 2002. As the Director of Medicaid, Lisa is responsible for the school-based Medicaid billing operations for all states. Her main goal is to assist school districts in understanding their state Medicaid program and to provide the tools, best practices and methods to ensure district compliance while maximizing reimbursements. Lisa works closely with districts to improve all operations that relate to the school-based Medicaid program. In her position, she supervises and coordinates these tasks on a national level: database administration, Medicaid eligibility determination, claims entry, internal audits, denial/rejection research, remittance reconciliation, state processing relationships, district audit preparations and all employee training programs.
Lisa's Sessions
Meet The SEAS Team
Have you personally met your SEAS Account Manager? Do you have a burning question you would like to ask one-on-one with a SEAS expert? Join the SEAS Arkansas Account Management team for an informal meet & greet! Get your questions answered by our experts in the field and interact with your SEAS Account Manager!
Presenters: Erbey Gomez, Tara Bush, Mercedes Monarch, Lisa Pelotte, & Jennifer Robinson
This Session will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025
MERCEDES MONARCH
Customer Support & Implementation Specialist | SEAS Education
Meet Mercedes
Mercedes Monarch is a newer member of the SEAS family, celebrating her two-year anniversary this year! She has a very strong background in customer service and her positive attitude is contagious! Mercedes recently moved into the implementation services role where she has already collaborated with her peers to improve internal processes. Mercedes previously provided specialized one-on-one assistance to Special Education students as a paraprofessional for the largest school district in Arizona, Mesa Public Schools. Mercedes’ experience as a paraprofessional has been instrumental in her ability to provide superior customer service to our SEAS Education customers.
Mercedes' Sessions
Meet The SEAS Team
Have you personally met your SEAS Account Manager? Do you have a burning question you would like to ask one-on-one with a SEAS expert? Join the SEAS Arkansas Account Management team for an informal meet & greet! Get your questions answered by our experts in the field and interact with your SEAS Account Manager!
Presenters: Erbey Gomez, Tara Bush, Mercedes Monarch, Lisa Pelotte, & Jennifer Robinson
This Session will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025