December Highlights at a Glance
- Successful First Meet-and-Greet with OptimaEd
- Second Attendance at BA Policy Summit
- Gearing Up for 2026
Successful First Meet-and-Greet with OptimaED
Meeting with over 50 OptimaED faculty membersAt the start of the month, I met with Dr. Kim Abel, Head of Schools, and over fifty faculty members who work at OptimaED . I first met with her and CEO Adam Mangana back in September after my initial conversation with Erika Donalds, and we had agreed the best path forward would be for me to meet the teachers who work at this innovative school that uses virtual reality to make students’ educational experience as lifelike as possible.
During the faculty meeting, Kim and the staff graciously set aside half an hour of their time, and I ran through the “Intro to ABE” presentation I had shared with Sarasota Schools principals back in October. Not only were the OptimaED educators excited by what we had already accomplished here at ABE, but they also asked tons of questions and provided suggestions for our five-module seminar, including the inclusion of additional slides on the topic of “What Is Money?”
The goal is to resume our conversation at the start of 2026 and use the five-module seminar as a professional development course for the interested OptimaED teachers who want to use the lessons in their respective classrooms. With the incorporation of the new slides into the presentation, the ABE team will be passing them off to Dr. Abel for her review and scheduling our first walk-through of the entire seminar.
Second Attendance at BA Policy Summit
BA CEO Summer Mersinger during welcoming commentsArdent CEO Ray Alvarez and I attended the Blockchain Association’s Policy Summit again this year. During our first monthly update a year ago in December of 2024, we showcased our participation at the event, and this year was just as successful. Considering the Blockchain Association is the largest trade association in the United States, the Policy Summit provides the best opportunity to connect with policymakers at the national level.
Beyond chatting with legislators, their aides, and regulators such as members of the SEC, Ray and I had the pleasure of networking with other important luminaries from the blockchain industry. One of the most exciting connections I made was with a young woman who works at DEF, the DeFi Education Fund , a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to educating our legislators and policymakers. She was very interested in what ABE is doing at the state level here in Florida, and we will be continuing our communications with DEF to see how we might be able to collaborate this year.
Gearing Up for 2026
We should have a very exciting year ahead here at the Ardent Blockchain Education initiative. From our first roll-outs of the five-module seminar as professional development in Sarasota Schools and with OptimaED, to completing the rest of our lesson plans and curriculum content for the remaining requirements legislated by SB 1054, the entire ABE team believes we will really hit our stride and continue to generate even more momentum in the new year.
If you are a legislator or school board member who wants to learn more and see how you can get your local school district involved, please reach out to me at [email protected] . We are excited to partner with more districts and offer our services for free in an effort to give Florida students an edge in the technology-driven economy they will all inherit in the next few years.
As always, stay tuned for our next update. We will have more great news to share, including our first professional development training via the five-module seminar!
