Mr. James Gerry | Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

Mr. James Gerry

Ambassador, Awarded in 2016
IMSA Tenure: 2001-2013

IMSA Innovation and Entrepreneurship Director

CNS Chief Information Officer

Mr. Gerry began his work at IMSA in 2001 as CNS Chief Information Officer, a position he held for seven years.

In response to the 2007 strategic plan innovation needs, he transitioned to Innovation and Entrepreneurship Director, a position that he held from 2008 until his retirement in 2013. In this role he was responsible for creating and building the innovation hub which included co-building the CoolHub site and network, envisioning the physical innovation hub space which has since become IN2, and providing administrative leadership and support for TALENT (Totally Applied Learning for Entrepreneurs). He currently assists the TALENT program and is responsible for accompanying IMSA student Interns to Chicago’s 1871 on Wednesdays, as well as assisting with running Monday Night Live sessions, Summer Camps, Power Pitch and developing curriculum and student/alumni business development. Mr. Gerry also assists with the Aviation Club, Maker Space, support of IN2 and other related programs.

Mr. Gerry has been a frequent presenter at local and national conferences on various topics in educational technology and entrepreneurship. He is a founding board member of the Illinois Chief Technology Officers (now IETL) organization created to permit collaboration and professional development for educational technology leaders across Illinois. He co-created IMSA’s CoolHub, a web-based platform for collaborative innovation in STEM, and provided administrative leadership for several IMSA programs, including TALENT and FIRST Robotics.

His publications include co-authoring a ground-breaking chapter, “Technology Education for High-Ability Students” in The Handbook of Secondary Gifted Education (2015).