Edward Grassia
Chief Information Officer at Tacoma Public Schools
Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself
I live in Washington state, and I am currently the CIO for Tacoma Public Schools. I came on as the CIO in March 2018.
What has your journey to your position been like? What path have you taken?
My journey started in the late 1980s. I was working one day in Miami and was rear-ended by a car that was going rather fast. The accident and resulting injuries landed me on disability and in rehab for about a year. During that time, I started working late-night security jobs to get back to work and get out of the house. I did a lot of reading that involved technology. The home computer wasn’t really a thing back then, but I found computers fascinating. I bought all the computer magazines I could find and bought a lot of books, mostly on DOS. Since I didn’t have a computer, I couldn’t practice anything I read, but that didn’t stop me from continuing to buy the books. Once I recovered enough to get back to normal living, I realized I probably wouldn’t get hired to work on computers just because I had read some books, so it was back to my reality.
That was sheet metal work, manufacturing, and eventually telecommunications. During my time as a phone man, I realized I didn’t want to be climbing poles in the winter or crawling under houses when I got older. Spending much of my time in a phone van, I got to listen to a lot of radio, which, of course, included commercials. Back in the late 90s, there were a lot of radio advertisements for training courses to become an MCSE. Those ads rekindled my interest and after many conversations with my wife, I decided to buy the course.
Turns out the course was terrible, but I then started buying books again and built a home lab for hands-on training. By 2003 I had an A+, Network+, and was two-thirds through getting my MCSE in Windows 2000. In 2003 I was hired into my first official IT job as an entry-level Desktop Technician for the Washoe County School District. Within 7 months, I was promoted to Desktop Technician II, and in another nine months, I achieved my goal of becoming a Network Analyst. I worked as a Network Analyst for about five years. Before the opportunity came up to move into an “Acting CIO” role.
Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?
No, being a CIO was never on my wish list or included in my personal goals. I wanted to be a security/network/server guy, and I was a Network Analyst when I was first offered a chance to be the CIO at my last employer. In many ways, my journey was a “right place at the right time” story. I had a coworker that was asked by our new leadership team “Who has a vision for the future of IT in the district.” She gave them my name and the rest as they say is history.
Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?
I have had many throughout my life and I feel like they’ve all contributed in some way to me being who I am now and me being in this role. But the two that will always stand out are the person who referred me to the COO as the person with a vision, and also the person who initially listened to me and my story and decided to give me a chance to “prove it”. The coworker is Kate Dronen and without her confidence in my skills and plan for the future, I wouldn’t be typing this today. The other person is Jane Woodburn, and she was the COO at the time in the Washoe County School District. She listened and decided to give me a chance to change the department and how the district uses technology. She taught me everything I knew at the time in regard to transitioning from a tech person to a Cabinet-level position. Without her guidance, I wouldn’t have made it. She took a big risk since on paper anyway, I not only wasn’t the best choice for the role of CIO, but in 99.999% of scenarios, I wouldn’t have made it through paper screening.
How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?
I think it will change as much in the next five years as it has changed in the last ten or more years. I’ve gone through a full transition in my current and previous roles from centralized IT-focused IT Departments to IT becoming a collaborative business partner with all departments. Some of this is driven by the necessity and reliance on technology in all areas of the business. But the rest may be a bit of survival mode as users become more technology-dependent and have the ability and knowledge to be self-sufficient. It will become more and more critical to view technology through the eyes of our customers/users rather than through our own.
What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?
I see IT as a whole becoming more of an advisor to the business and maintaining a supporting role rather than leading the charge with new solutions. People are finding their own solutions and we are being asked to integrate those into our existing infrastructure. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t end well. We need to be out there and involved in the conversation from the beginning, not after someone has made a purchase. If we can do that the outcome will be better for the user. Not in the sense that we dictate what should be used, but so we can make sure it will deliver the intended result in the current environment. This will require all IT staff, not just the leaders, to be nimble and adaptive rather than going into conversations with a “We know what’s best” attitude. I think those that can adapt to the new reality will thrive, and those that won’t or don’t want to will find success difficult.
How do you keep current with new skills, technologies and personal development?
Lots of reading and social media. I have found Twitter to be a great source of information over the years. It is generally the first place I see or hear about things which then leads me to do more digging if I find an interesting topic. I also engage in regular conversations with staff as well as peers and partners.
What do you see as the next leap in technology that will impact your business or industry in particular?
I see education as an industry that has nothing but upside when it comes to benefiting from technology. Since I began working in K-12 education I have always heard the phrase “Technology will never replace a teacher”. Over the years, it changed a little, too. “Technology will never replace a good teacher”. And in its current state that is still mostly true.
However, as AI and Machine Learning mature, I think that all changes. The ability to build and deliver an individualized learning plan for all students based on their interests that allows them to move at their own pace will be a game-changer. In our current system teachers have to monitor their pace so no one gets left behind. Allowing students to progress once they demonstrate proficiency rather than the current antiquated system based on seat time in a classroom is something that technology can excel in. But this is not a technology issue it is a systems issue. The system is built on “The way we’ve always done it” and hasn’t changed since before anyone reading this was born. Once those restrictions are removed this will become the new normal. The only question in my mind is which comes first, the system finally adapts and changes, or does technology force the issue and drive the change?
“You aren’t in the technology business, you’re in the people business. Your staff, your customers, and your partners will all require more of your time and attention than technology will.”
If you were mentoring a leader of the future, what advice or guidance would you give to help them on their way?
You aren’t in the technology business, and you’re in the people business. Your staff, your customers, and your partners will all require more of your time and attention than technology will. But this is where your wins and losses come from.
It took me a while to truly get this when I started, and it was tough for me to get out of the troubleshooting mindset I had working in the field.
Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?
I would love to help more students be successful. If there were a role where I could go help wherever and whenever any district needed it that would be ideal.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
That people start pulling together rather than pushing apart.
A big thank you to Edward Grassia from Tacoma Public Schools for sharing his journey to date.
