---

---

In her current role as an Education Specialist at the Utah State Board of Education, Syd Young leads Digital Teaching and Learning (DTL) and Personalized Competency Based Learning (PCBL) initiatives within the agency and across the state of Utah. Her fervor for strategizing ideal local conditions, where individuals see themselves as change agents, dates back to her days in conservation biology and previous roles as a science teacher and school administrator. Syd is keenly motivated to help educators and administrators envision ways to more effectively translate aspirations into reality for K-12 public school systems. Her support for PCBL implementation empowers local innovation, shifting the focus from teaching to learning and moving instruction beyond information dissemination to a focus on transferable skills necessary for success in the modern world.  She enjoys a well-pinned insect, the life cycle of deciduous tree leaves, pollen morphology, and considering COVID as a disruptive catalyst for local innovation.