FY25 December Program

Andréa (A.J.) Coté, M.Ed., CETL has over 20 years of educational experience in the areas of digital learning, adult learning & professional development, assistive technology, and special education. The first 15 years of A.J.’s career were dedicated to serving in Massachusetts public school districts supporting students and educators as an Instructional Technology Specialist and nationally Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL). A.J. has been with the DESE for over a decade, having served as the Coordinator of Digital Learning and Accessibility in the Office of Digital Learning, as the Statewide Professional Development Programs Manager in the Office of Special Education Planning and Policy Development, and in her current role as the Assistant Director of Educational Technology. She has extensive experience teaching students as well as providing interactive and engaging adult professional development at the school, district, state, and national levels.

Jackie Gantzer is the Director of Educational Technology and School Support at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In this dual capacity she leads the Department’s efforts to promote equitable and effective use of edtech and supports the Chief of School’s strategy towards Deeper Learning for all students. She previously served as the Director of Remote Learning, where she played a leading role coordinating and implementing the state’s pandemic response for K-12 schools. Jackie brings a variety of perspectives and experiences to her role at the Department, including previous service as a classroom educator, school system leadership, city government, and nonprofit.

Lindsey Albernaz is a Certified Public Accountant, former auditor in the Governmental and Nonprofit public accounting sector and is currently the Business Manager for READS Collaborative located in Middleboro, MA. While starting her career out in public accounting in 2005, Lindsey transitioned into the public education beginning as the joint Director of Business and Finance for the Somerset Public Schools and Somerset Berkley Regional School District in 2014. She joined READS Collaborative in 2019. Lindsey holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and master’s degree in Taxation. She currently lives with her husband and two daughters in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.

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Michael MacMillan is currently the Business Manager for the Monomoy Regional School District. He previously held the same position in the Cohasset Public Schools and Wareham Public Schools. Prior to entering school finance, Michael worked in school technology, national government finance and policy, and management consulting.

Rob O’Donnell is the Director of School Finance at DESE. The unit that he oversees is responsible for the Chapter 70 program, charter tuition and reimbursement calculations, school choice, the End of Year Report data collection, and the development of related data reports.

Meghan Ryan is the State Aid Programs Manager for the Office of District and School Finance at DESE.

Kathy Cross is the Assistant Director for Federal Grant Programs for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) Office of Planning and Research, Resource Allocation Strategy and Planning. Most recently, Kathy has worked as part of a core team to develop and implement the new cloud-based grants management system, Grants for Education Management System (GEM$) both internally and in the field, in addition to responsibilities associated with managing federal entitlement grant programs.

Matthew Deninger is the Chief Strategy and Research Officer at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In this role, Matt works to support school districts in their efforts to enhance equity, use research to inform decision-making, and use resources to improve academic achievement across the board, especially in areas that serve historically underserved students. He oversees the administration and implementation of a wide range of funding mechanisms, including several major federal grant programs (ESSER, ESSA, IDEA, and Perkins).

Jay Sullivan is the Associate Commissioner for District & School Finance in the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. In this capacity, he directs the Offices of School Finance, School Business and Regional Governance. He also oversees a variety of financial programs, including Special Education Circuit Breaker, School accounting, End of Year Financial Reporting and Auditing, Transportation, as well as federal compliance issues relative to maintenance of effort requirements and the calculation of district’s indirect cost rates. Jay has worked for the Department for over 43 years as an auditor, administrator and business manager.