Julie Drake currently heads the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Multimedia Services unit, which includes the Regional Educational Technology Advisory Council (RETAC), a discount buying consortium of public school districts and private schools. LACOE’s Multimedia Services is a member of the California County Education Technology Consortium (CCETC), a collaborative of fourteen county offices that comprise the largest buying consortium in the country. Julie serves on CCETC’s sub-committees with the goal of increasing access to quality media resources for California schools.

During her tenure at LACOE, Julie has been a professional developer in the areas of technology integration, instructional media, and digital multimedia production in the classroom. She has worked as a curriculum writer, workshop developer, and seminar leader. Partnerships with business and a variety of institutions such as the American Film Institute’s Screen Education have enhanced opportunities for the educators with whom she serves. She worked with a team that developed and implemented the professional development component for teachers involved in the My So Called Digital Life project, which resulted in a book of student photos and writing (available on Amazon.com) as well as a documentary.

A classroom teacher for thirteen years, Julie was an early user of technology as a tool in the classroom. Her students won many awards for their video productions and writing. Ms. Drake has been a contributing editor of reviews on video technology, has served on education advisory panels for Nickelodeon, Cable in the Classroom, Digital Curriculum, Discovery Education’s united streaming, and has led seminars focusing on teaching with
technology around the country.

Her volunteer activities have including mentoring several young women through the Fulfillment Fund and serving for many years as a finals judge for the California Student Media Festival. Other efforts honoring youth include coordination of the Video in the Classroom Awards and the Digital Voice Awards.