Founder
Retired U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema
During her six years in the United States Senate, Kyrsten developed a proven track record of working with everyone to get things done. She delivered meaningful and measurable results for Arizona and America – such as writing and negotiating the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Law, the CHIPS and Science Law, the Electoral Count Reform Law, and more. Through her leadership as Arizona’s Independent Senior Senator, Kyrsten was able to help secure the American West’s water future, promote American leadership in innovative technologies and position America’s economy to remain competitive into the future.
Born and raised in Arizona, Kyrsten has always understood the challenges regular Americans face because she’s faced them too. Growing up, her family struggled to make ends meet, but they got by thanks to family, church and hard work. Kyrsten’s childhood experience showed her the power of determination, hard work and the importance of helping others.
Over her 20-year career in public service, Kyrsten served Arizona in the State House and Senate, as a Member of the United States House of Representatives, and most recently in the United States Senate. Kyrsten earned a Masters of Social Work, a PhD, a J.D., and an MBA from Arizona State University.
Kyrsten currently serves as the President and CEO of the Arizona Business Roundtable and is a Distinguished Professor of Practice in the Arizona State University School of Social Work.
Executive Director
Michelle Davidson
Michelle Davidson has worked in politics and public policy in Arizona for over twenty years. Her experience includes managing successful statewide political campaigns, implementing communications strategies for advocacy groups and nonprofit organizations and managing diverse teams to accomplish short and long-term goals.
Michelle is currently Executive Director of the Center for Innovation in Learning at Arizona State University. She served as the Deputy Chief of Staff and State Director for Arizona’s Senator Kyrsten Sinema after working as a Senior Advisor on the Senator’s 2018 campaign, helping to craft the winning communications and voter contact strategy. She managed a team of staff in a hybrid work environment who helped constituents resolve issues with federal agencies as well as engage the local community through outreach activities and events. She also managed the Senator’s successful re-election campaigns for the House in 2014 and 2016 and served as her District Director from 2013-2018 for Arizona’s 9th Congressional District.
She is a proud Sun Devil with two degrees from ASU – a bachelor’s in journalism and a Master’s in Public Administration. She lives in Central Phoenix with her husband Brian, their two children, two dogs and two cats.
Interim Director, Global Affairs
Kelvin Sealey, BA, Ed.M, Ed.D
For over 40 years, Dr. Kelvin Sealey has been an author, educator and social entrepreneur in Canada and the United States, with broad international experience managing technology and education teams serving PK12 and post-secondary students. At once a teacher, administrator, artist and technologist, Kelvin’s diverse academic specialties in education embrace the public spectacular, change and crisis leadership, the architectonics of learning organizations, and the teaching requirements and learning trajectories of the neurodiverse.
Kelvin joins Kyrsten and Michelle within the Spark Center senior team as Interim Director of Global Affairs, tasked with building out and running a global network of academic research centers, affiliated technology accelerators, design & engineering hubs, and associated specialists dedicated to advancing intelligent technology for teaching the neurodiverse. From its ASU base in Tempe, AZ, and in support of the annual SCIL-OpenAI Prize for Tech Innovation, Kelvin’s remit spans the globe, seeking out and supporting researchers, educators, technologists and their EdTech creations that extend the boundaries of teaching and learning for all.
Kelvin’s work as founding chair and principal of CaST School in Toronto, his former principalship of Toronto’s Dragon Academy, together with decades of work in private K12 boarding and day schools, informs his work marrying theory to practice, and guides his pursuit of teaching excellence for the neurodiverse within classroom and workplace settings. As an EdTech consultant, Kelvin has worked in the US, Canada, China, Thailand and the Caribbean. As a diplomat for the Grenada Mission to the U.N., Kelvin sought to advance education policy on the Climate Crisis on behalf of the Association of Small Island States (UN-AOSIS).
Realizing his love for both the cinematic and performing arts, and working in partnership with choreographers, set designers and other creatives, Kelvin redefines work in the academic spectacular by co-producing contemporary dance forms in classical and modern dialects, and by composing institutional and city-wide projection art while filming the same, always maintaining the impulse to educate.
