Discovery Education—the Charlotte, North Carolina based global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms—today announced the appointment of Scott Kinney as its new Chief Executive Officer and Kelli Campbell as the company’s new President. Kinney succeeds Paul Ilse, who will become Executive Chairman of Discovery Education’s Board of Directors.
Kinney’s distinguished 25-year career in education began in Pennsylvania’s public school system at the Sharpsville Area School District, where he served as the district’s Instructional Technology Coordinator. Following stints as Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Director of Educational Technologies at Pennsylvania’s Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21, Kinney joined Discovery Education in 2005.
During his tenure at Discovery Education, Kinney has played a key role in a number of the organization’s innovative initiatives, including the creation of Discovery Education’s professional learning business, the establishment of Discovery Education’s master’s degree in instructional media, and the growth of the company’s award-winning professional learning community, the Discovery Educator Network.
Most recently, as Discovery Education’s President of K-12 Education, Kinney led the organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 5th, Discovery Education made Discovery Education Experience available, at no cost, to any school system not currently using the company’s resources for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. From March 2020 to July 2020, over 15,000 new schools actively utilized Discovery Education Experience as part of instruction. During that same time, Discovery Education hosted more than 150 online, no cost events designed to provide educators strategies they can use to continue student learning during the pandemic. These events reached over 20,000 educators in all 50 states and 17 countries.
“Scott’s deep background in education, coupled with his high level of business intelligence and proven record of success, make him the natural choice for his new role as Discovery Education’s CEO,” said Paul Ilse, Executive Chairman of Discovery Education’s Board of Directors. “The entire organization welcomes Scott to his new position and looks forward to supporting him as he continues Discovery Education’s growth trajectory.”
Kinney regularly consults with high-level education leaders and policymakers and has testified before Congress on the future of learning. An accomplished public speaker and author, Kinney has keynoted countless education conferences and has contributed articles and opinion pieces to various education publications. In addition, Kinney has taught undergraduate and graduate classes at the university level and has served on numerous education-focused advisory boards.
“I am incredibly honored to be selected as the next CEO of this great company,” said Kinney. “For the last 15 years, I’ve worked closely with a talented team of professionals to create and distribute the highest-quality digital resources and professional learning experiences to educators worldwide. We are well positioned not only to broaden our impact on teaching and learning worldwide, but to also sustain the pattern of growth we’ve enjoyed these last few years.”
In her new role as President, Campbell will expand her portfolio and oversee all aspects of Discovery Education’s customer lifecycle management operations, as well as manage the recently acquired Mystery Science business. Most recently, Campbell served as the company’s President of International and University. In that role she led the development of innovative partnerships with Ministries of Education in Egypt, Chile, and with channel partners worldwide, and oversaw the development of the Discovery Education’s Impact Network, whose members offer educators online access to Discovery Education’s high-quality graduate-level professional learning content.
Previously, Campbell led the creation and launch of the Discovery Education’s Techbook line of business. In 2015, Campbell served on the committee that developed President Barack Obama’s “Digital Textbook Playbook.” Prior to joining Discovery Education in 2006, she served as Vice President of Marketing & Product Development at Clearvue & SVE. An early pioneer in using cloud-based digital content for instruction, Campbell directed the creation, launch, and distribution of the award-winning PowerMediaPlus.com media-on-demand system.
“Throughout my career at Discovery Education, I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand the tremendous impact our digital resources and professional learning can have on teaching and learning,” said Campbell. “I’m excited to work alongside Scott, our Board of Directors, and the rest of the Discovery Education team on our shared mission to prepare all learners for tomorrow by creating innovative classrooms connected to today’s world.”
For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. Through its award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia resources, and the largest professional learning network of its kind, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning, creating immersive STEM experiences, and improving academic achievement around the globe. Discovery Education currently serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 140 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to empower teachers with customized solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com
