About

Career Summary

For three decades Martin Yarborough has been involved in public education as a teacher, Director of Technology, Dean of Technology, Chief Technology Officer, and lastly, as the Chief Information Officer of the Fort Worth Independent School District, the fourth largest school district in Texas. This life-long Texan and seasoned educational professional received his Masters’ degrees in Educational Administration and Curriculum and Instruction from Tarleton State University in Stephenville Texas and Bachelors’ degrees in Chemistry and Biology from the same institution with doctoral work in Instructional Technology from the University of North Texas and Northern Illinois University.

Recognizing the potential of technology as a teaching and learning tool, Mr. Yarborough brought the Glen Rose public schools into educational technology prominence in 1982 by implementing the very first district-wide fiber-optic LAN in Texas, thus beginning a life-long love affair with educational technology that exists to this day. An innovator in implementing cutting edge, efficient technology into schools, Martin was among the first to implement voice over IP into classrooms, provide teachers with corporate-style email, develop a project-management practice to oversee large-scale, district-wide technology implementations, and incorporate extensive use of distance learning and professional development into public school classrooms.

His experience extends into application software development as well as management of large implementations of PeopleSoft, Computer Associates, and Microsoft deployments to include ERP products, network monitoring tools, email systems, K-12 ERATE, and portal environments. Martin was instrumental in the establishment of a comprehensive data warehouse and longitudinal data system for the Fort Worth public schools incorporating all benchmark and other testing data with student demographics in a SharePoint environment for access by faculty and staff through portal technologies.

In 2018, Martin Yarborough and Associates was awarded the state contract in California to develop the K-12 Cybersecurity Framework that all California K-12 school districts are required to use.  He is a certified ethical hacker and experienced in conducting Security Risk Assessments and Penetration testing.

Mr. Yarborough is a sought-after speaker on topics ranging from better efficiencies through assessments and educational practices as well as cybersecurity and disaster recovery.

Areas of Expertise

  • End User Computing and client deployment strategies to include workstation management, output devices, and messaging practices (e-mail, instant messaging, voicemail, and fax).
  • Data Center Analysis and Design to include server and server platforms including virtualization, storage (SAN, NAS and DAS), facilities management, backup/restore practices, and disaster recovery.
  • Application Enablement to include business ERP, enterprise application software, software development lifecycles.
  • Security and Vulnerability to include intrusion detection, account management, vulnerability risk assessments and penetration testing.
  • Services Management to include service desk operation, change management practices, release management practices, problem management, and incident management. Specialist in Business Impact Studies, Risk Analysis and Disaster/Recovery Planning.

Professional Qualifications

Education

  • B.S. Biology, Tarleton State University, 1979
  • B.S. Chemistry, Tarleton State University, 1979
  • M.Ed.  Education Administration, Tarleton State University, 1990.

Certifications

  • Lifetime Teaching Certificate, Texas, 1979
  • Mid-Management Administrative Certificate, Texas, 1990
  • Superintendent Certificate, Texas, 1990
  • PMP, 2007 (active)
  • ITIL v.3, 2008 (active)
  • TOGAF v.9, 2011 (active)
  • Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), 2014. (active)

Presentations and Publications

  • Texas School Business – Author…”Cybersecurity in your district”, 2019.
  • T.H.E. Journal Publication – Author…“A Journey Across the Fiber”, 1984.
  • Educause Presentation – Speaker …“Assessment for Efficiency”, 2008.
  • ISTE Presentation – Keynote… “Designing a Better Educational Data Center”, 1996.
  • TechSig Presentation – Keynote… “Outsourcing Data Center Practices”, 1992.
  • SETL Presentation – Keynote… “Why Assessments Work”, 2010.
  • ATLE Presentation – Keynote…“How to Increase Efficiency in your Data Center”, 2011.
  • ASCD Presentation – Speaker…“Integrating classroom computers in to the curriculum”, 1996.
  • MISA Presentation – Keynote…“Creating a climate of Efficiency in the Data Center”, 2013.
  • SETL Presentation – Facilitator … “Cloud Computing and BYOD”, 2013