Elizabeth Podany, along with 9 fellow educators, founded Village Tech Schools.  Village Tech is an open-enrollment charter school in South Dallas serving 1240 students.  She serves as the District Director of Design and Innovation for Village Tech where she helps teachers design authentic challenges through maker education in the FORGE. She specializes in Design Thinking and authors original works for the District. Her passion for design thinking was sparked during training at the d.school at Stanford University and through multiple courses with IDEOU. Immediately, she knew this was the way forward in education because it is what good teachers naturally do - they create and design engaging moments naturally integrated in the curriculum with an opportunity to serve the community. Elizabeth designs professional development for the District as well as facilitates courses in Design and making.  She also facilitates a community-based program for students interested in theater encouraging students to learn to lead in a theatrical production from directing, choreography, and theater tech. She believes this platform helps students discover who they are and find their voice as well as provides an outlet for entertainment.  Elizabeth graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Tarleton State University and a Masters of Education in Educational Administration from Lamar University.