Renee Patton is the leader of US Public Sector Education at Cisco. She and her team help schools, colleges, and universities envision the future of learning and start planning and executing on their vision today. With over 20 years of business, management, sales, and marketing experiences in both small start-ups and large corporations, Renee has managed through adversity and diversity to help customers realize technology solutions that drive business outcomes.

Including a Master’s Degree in Education from Stanford, Renee has spent 18 years in education, giving her a clear perspective to address business issues and changing landscapes. Always a curious learner herself, it was after earning her undergraduate degree that she became a high school English and French teacher. She coached cross-country and moderated the student yearbook and newspaper, becoming deeply ingrained in the school culture. She then spent four years on the district side managing policy and a $20M budget for Los Gatos-Saratoga JUHS Board of Trustees, learning firsthand how a district runs and understanding regional challenges.Prior to joining Cisco full time, she ran her own marketing consulting firm for seven years, working with agility to develop strategy and customize marketing programs and projects to meet client needs.

After seven years at Siemens serving as the key global marketing interface with Munich and managing national sales programs, Renee joined Cisco to lead US Education Field Marketing and manage their national E-rate Program. She then served as Global Industry Vertical Team Manager and Marketing Education Lead within Cisco’s Corporate Marketing Organization where she was responsible for content marketing, positioning, and strategy. In her current role, she helps deliver $2B of education sales per year to Cisco.

Renee is excited about the future of education and the trends driving massive shifts in how always-connected students are learning today. Working with customers, Renee and her team are deploying technology that addresses new educational approaches and supports ways to better engage learners and prepare teachers.

Renee is a Lions’ Club Member and involved in her local community. She holds a B.A. degree in English from Santa Clara University and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University.

Over dinner at her home in Los Gatos, CA, you can catch Renee talking about a Ted talk that inspired her, new ways students are learning, Italian cooking, travel, and her family.