Stephan Turnipseed is the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Pitsco Education. Pitsco Education is a world leader in 21st Century hands on, project based, personalized learning. Turnipseed is an education thought leader, strategist and entrepreneur who is passionate about inspiring children through education. He is an advocate for hands-on learning which he sees as instrumental for 21st Century success.
He is the former President of LEGO® Education North America and also served in a global role as the Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships for LEGO® Education for 2 years. For more than 16 years he led the team responsible for transforming LEGO Education in North America from a product sales company to an educational resource leader, working with educators, industry experts and academia to help inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.
Most recently as EVP and CSO, he led the team at Destination Imagination, an experiential learning company focused on creativity and hosting the world’s largest celebration of creativity, in defining and implementing a new strategic direction aimed at preparing children for the future of work and civil society.
He is the past Chairman for The Partnership for 21st Century Learning, a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. He is a former member the Clinton Global Initiative and past Co-Chair of the Business for Early Childhood Development Task Force organized by the Global Business Coalition for Education and Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. He is the recipient of the prestigious National Instruments Engineering Impact Award for STEM Innovation which recognizes lifetime achievement in STEM education. He serves on the boards of Education Reimagined, which offers a new vision of the future of education and the Learning Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank aimed at supplying objective research to underpin policy decisions. He also serves on the SXSWedu, Asia Society and the National Afterschool Association advisory boards.
Turnipseed is the past president of the Tourette Syndrome Association, non-profit supporting research, advocacy and policy for those, like himself, affected by Tourette Syndrome, a neurologic movement disorder.
Among his other roles, he has owned his own leadership consultancy practice, focused on strategic and tactical planning and leadership skills development. He also previously managed business units for Schlumberger Limited, an oilfield service company.
Turnipseed is a veteran of the United States Air Force and is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in electrical engineering. He is the author of two books and numerous published articles. He holds three patents for the design of the TETRIX robotic system.
