Jigar Patel (He/Him)
Jigar is the Director of Innovation & Special Projects at Tuscarora Intermediate Unit 11 (TIU11), a regional education service agency supporting nine rural school districts in central Pennsylvania. He leads STEM initiatives, manages the Rover Fab Lab for K–12 innovation, and supports districts across the region with computer science programs.
A first-generation immigrant who learned programming as an English Language Learner in rural Pennsylvania, Jigar brings a deeply personal lens to equity and access in CS education. In 2021, he was named the Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and Technology (PAECT) Outstanding Leader of the Year for his work to remove barriers in distance education and provide equitable learning opportunities to all. He is also a 2022–23 CSTA Equity Fellow, a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator, Vice-President of the CSTA Susquehanna Valley Chapter, and a member of the CSTA Standards Revision Writing Team.