Keynote Speaker

Dr. Vince Bertram

President and CEO
Project Lead The Way

 

The Need for Students to Dream Differently

Time, Date, and Location: 10:00 - 11:30 a.m., Thursday, March 15, BCH 125

Project Lead The Way’s President and CEO Vince Bertram has traveled across the United States and globally to address audiences on the topics of career readiness, STEM education, workforce, and the economy. His latest New York Times Best Seller, “Dream Differently: Candid Advice for America’s Students,” challenges students – and those who advise them – to think critically about their dreams and make informed decisions. 


Dr. Vince Bertram is president and chief executive officer of Project Lead The Way (PLTW). Since joining the organization in June 2011, PLTW has grown to serve more than 10,500 schools across the U.S., trained thousands of teachers, and received numerous national recognitions and awards. In 2014, he was appointed by the U.S. Department of State to serve as the education expert for its United States Speaker and Specialist Program. He was appointed by Governor Mike Pence and reappointed by Governor Eric Holcomb to serve on the Indiana State Board of Education, and he serves on the Olin College of Engineering President’s Council. He has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives, is a frequent contributor to national publications, and is a New York Times bestselling author with his books Dream Differently: Candid Advice for America’s Students and One Nation Under-Taught: Solving America’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Crisis. 

Prior to joining PLTW, Dr. Bertram spent 20 years in education as a teacher, principal, and superintendent of Indiana’s third-largest urban school district. 

Dr. Bertram holds an Ed.D, MS, Ed.S, and BS degrees from Ball State University, a master’s degree in education policy and management from Harvard University, and MBA degrees from Georgetown University and ESADE Business School. He also earned an executive certificate in strategy and innovation from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and is an alumnus of the Chicago Management Institute at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Dr. Bertram received an honorary doctorate in engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, was named a "Distinguished Hoosier" by Governor Mitch Daniels, received the "Intellectual Contributions and Faculty Tribute" award for his contributions to the intellectual life at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and received the “Distinguished Alumni Award” from Ball State University.