About — Derek Rouch

I’m a polymath-ish California transplant who is committed to helping students become all they were born to be. The -ch in my last name is silent.

2025–Current
Director of AI Sonoma County Office of Education
I lead the AI efforts for Sonoma County’s 40 districts.
2023–2024
Adjunct Faculty, Instructional Design Purdue University
Taught in Purdue’s online Master’s in Learning Design and Technology program.
2022–Current
Co-Founder Evergreen Education
Grew an AI-in-K-12 company from a single conference into a national presence, building its content along the way: SequoiaCon’s programming, a yearlong district academy, an AI literacy framework downloaded tens of thousands of times, Everwise’s video curriculum, and a statewide AI professional development contract with Wyoming.
2021–2025
Chief Technology Officer Nuview Union School District
Led the Technology department and leaned into AI to build stuff that would make LAUSD jelly.
2018–2021
Instructional Coach Hemet Unified School District
Supported teachers in secondary math and technology.
2015–2018
Sr. Content Strategist Gloo
Pre-IPO. I led the content strategy for white-labeled apps, web experiences, and progress monitoring applications, managing a team of instructional designers and software developers in creating and deploying app-based solutions.
2013–2015
Governing Board Trustee Romoland School District
Elected to the district’s governing board.
2011–2012
Copywriter LivingSocial
Wrote hundreds of daily deals to pay my student loans, and won the company’s “Best Copy” award.
Samples: · · · ·

Salon
With the impending robot uprising, it will be critical to look your best — what our captors lack in sentience, they make up in style sense. Set your hairdo to “stun” with today’s deal from Anthony Vincent Salon: drop $99 and get keratin treatment (a $399 value). Or, pay just $49 for $100 to spend on salon services — plus receive a $50 gift bag good toward future visits. For over 30 years, Anthony Vincent Salon has been East Windsor’s source code for optimal customer service with innovative cut and color techniques using the Redken chemistry system. And for skin and nails as smooth and shiny as powder-coated metal — steel a mani, pedi, or waxing while you’re at it. Grab today’s up to 75%-off savings today and you’ll be programming a new look that’s sure impress your cybernated overlords — and the hunk down the hall.

Half Marathon
The phrase “run for your life” may conjure deep-rooted fears of a zombie apocalypse, but it’s actually brainy advice. Nobody knows this better than the cardio-conscious folks at Trenton Half Marathon, who relay today’s half-off registration deal: $45 gets you into this inaugural half marathon (regularly $90), or pay just $27 to claim your place in the 10K (regularly $55). Your jaunt on Saturday, November 10 will take you through the Capital district, waterfront area, two bridges, and absolutely zero graveyards. Plus, your weary legs will find renewed strength as they shuffle you inside Mercer County Waterfront Park (home of the Trenton Thunder), where you’ll see your name in lights as you finish rather epically. Strengthen your heart and lungs with this aerobic tour, or risk becoming an easy meal for an animated corpse with a hankerin’ for gray matter.

Fitness Gym
If the greatest wealth is health, then make an investment that actually shrinks your assets with today’s deal from Fort Collins Club: Pay $19 and get a one-month gym membership and personal fitness session (regularly $70). Couples can also pay $24 for a one-month membership and personal fitness session for two (regularly $108) — or finance the whole fam for $29 (regularly $134). Northern Colorado’s leading full-service fitness center caters to each member’s unique fitness style, and FCC’s massive gym off East Prospect Road has something for everyone: weights, pools, spin room, indoor rock climbing wall, and even a sand volleyball court for Colorado beach bums. The return on this investment is a more healthy you, so put your smart money on “the club with a personality.”

Wine Festival
Red versus white may not be Hatfield versus McCoy, but chances are you’re loyal to your taste buds. End the feud with today’s deal from Front Range Wine Festival: $30 for two wine festival tickets — including admission, wine tastings, food samples, a commemorative wine glass, and a wine tote (a $60 value). On Saturday, August 25, ford the Poudre and venture to Windsor’s Main Park where you’ll be one of the first to experience this first-annual event sure to become canonized in Northern Colorado folklore. The Wild West’s best wineries will be pouring their Colorado-vinted favorites; sip vino fresh from the local barrels of Talon, Ten Bears, and Hunters Moon Meadery. Revenge is a drink best served in stemware, so declare war on dull, tasteless wine and pour a glass for your comrades.

Weight Loss Clinic
School’s back in session, but your “freshman fifteen” never took a break. If your midsection is feeling heavier than this semester’s textbooks, shed the excess by enrolling in today’s straight-A deal from Fort Collins Medical Weight Loss: $89 gets you into a physician-supervised weight loss program, including four LipoLean injections, four dietitian meetings, and one week’s worth of delicious, healthy meals (49 meal replacements total) — a $305 value. Located off West Drake, this academy of higher-burning has all the right answers, whether you’d like to lose 15 pounds or 100. Knowledge is power, and this completely-customized program includes blood work, a health screening, and, most importantly – the path to achieving your personal goals. Your degree in Modern Puppetry might not take you places, but a newfound confidence is sure to get you noticed.
2009–2015
Teacher Riverside County
Taught middle school math for underserved populations.

Recognition

2022
Golden Bell Award California School Boards Association
Innovation in a Time of Crisis.

Education

2021
Ed.D., Leadership and Learning in Organizations
Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
Read my capstone, co-authored with Liz Barnes
2012
M.A.Ed., Digital Teaching and Learning
Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA
2009
B.A., Human Development with a Concentration in English
Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA
2003–2005
Petroleum Engineering and Mathematics
Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO