Leadership Team

Executive Team

Steve Benfield

CTO and SVP Product Strategy

Steve brings more than 20 years experience as a proven technology visionary, evangelist, architect, and educator. Steve joined Spectrum K12 School Solutions in June 2007 and is responsible for product management, technology innovation, and cultivating strategic partnerships. Most recently, Steve served as CTO of Agentis Software which developed advanced artificial intelligence-based process management systems. Before Agentis, Steve helped establish ClearNova as an early player in the Web 2.0 application development space which led to a successful acquisition by Infor. Steve was also Chief Technology Officer of SilverStream a publicly traded pioneer of Java Application Servers. Steve established SilverStream as a visionary in Web Services and SOA Business Processing resulting in a successful acquisition by Novell. Prior to Silverstream, Steve served in executive management positions for several start-up ventures & IT consultancies.

Ed Garnett

Senior Vice President, Field Operations

Ed has over 14 years of Professional Services and Project Management experience in the technology sector. Ed joined Spectrum K12 in September 2005 and leads the services organization with a focus on customer satisfaction and streamlined implementations of the ENCORE product line. Prior to joining Spectrum, Ed served as a Division Manager at SAIC, a leading systems, solutions and technical services company, where he focused on both State and Federal government contracts. In addition, Ed has led services teams at Advance PCS, CommerceRoute and CMSI. He is PMP certified and holds a B.S. in Commerce & Engineering from Drexel University and an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School.

Carmi Paris

Senior Vice President of Corporate Development

Carmi Paris is a former educator and entrepreneur with over 25 years experience in publishing, marketing and business development in both public and private educational sectors. Her experience in digital curriculum and learning management systems, as well as instructional data management systems led her to join Spectrum K12 School Solutions in 2007. As Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, she oversees national and international partnerships, alliances and channel strategies. As elected Co-Chair of the Education Division for the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), she oversee and helps to set the strategic objectives and initiatives for all committees including: Innovations, Mobility, Personalization and Global Education. As a member of the SIIA Government Policy steering committee, she proactively helps to lobby policy makers on the most current and pressing issues pertaining to educational technology and funding. She also serves on the board of the Marblehead Charter School in Massachusetts.

 

 

Senior Management Team

Gerry Stefhon

Vice President of Solutions

Gerry has been part of the Spectrum K12 team for three years and is currently leading the Educational Solutions Group. Prior to joining the realm of Educational Technology, he worked in the public school setting over 10 years championing for children with special needs as a Teacher of the Deaf and Elementary School Principal. Gerry has worked as a Bilingual Inclusion Teacher, certified interpreter for the Deaf, a Facilitated IEP trainer, and has given numerous presentations, educationally related talks, and conducted many workshops across the nation. Gerry has worked in Educational Technology for the last 5 years and most recently served as the Director of Professional Services for TetraData Corporation. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Texas Tech University and holds a MEd (Mid-Management) from the University of North Texas.