TAG Education Collaborative announces CIO from Cbeyond to joinBoard of Directors

Carrie Wheeler brings leadership and strategy skills with a passion for education to Board

ATLANTA (September 7, 2011) –TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed), the charitable organization established by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) that is dedicated to preparing the next-generation workforce through better education and real-life job experiences, announced today the addition of Carrie Wheeler, Chief InformationOfficer at Cbeyond,to the Board of Directors. Wheeler’s extensive experience and leadership in the technology field and her passion for improving education in Georgia will provide insight asTAG-Ed develops programs to link TAG’s 13, 500 members to meaningful educational initiatives that enhance STEM education.

“Carrie Wheeler is a very welcome addition to the TAG-Ed Board,” Dan McDade, President & CEO of Point Clear LLC and Chair of the TAG Education Collaborative Board commented. “Her experience will be very helpful as TAG-Ed works to define and implement programs designed to connect TAG’s membership with education initiatives. Companies like Cbeyond will benefit greatly from education programs designed to improve workforce readiness for technology careers with improved science, technology, engineering and math education across Georgia.”

Carrie joined Cbeyond in 2009 as Vice President of IT Strategy & Planning and now serves as Chief Information Officer at Cbeyond where she is responsible for IT strategy, capital planning and management, enterprise architecture, application development and quality assurance. Her scope of support includes Customer Relationship Management, Operational Support Systems, Billing and Billing Operations, Customer Applications and Online Portals.

Prior to joining Cbeyond, Carrie had held several IT leadership positions at AT&T, BellSouth, MCI Communications and Accenture. In previous roles, she held leadership positions across a variety of organizational functions including IT strategy, merger and acquisition planning and execution, customer operations, development, quality assurance, program management and capital management.

Carrie complements her diverse set of skills by giving back to the community where she lives and works. Carrie currently serves on the board of the Georgia Ballet and is an active supporter of Girls Inc. She is also a member of the Technology Association of Georgia, Women in Technology, Atlanta Telecommunications Professionals and Cbeyond's Women's Network. In 2010, she was nominated for Women in Technology's Women of the Year Award.

Carrie holds a Masters in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing & Finance from Trinity University. Carrie and her husband, John, have a daughter, Elizabeth, and live in Decatur where Elizabeth is a 3rd Grader at Clairemont Elementary in the City of Decatur Schools.

“I am excited and honored to join this exciting and dynamic team. I look forward to working closely with Michael and the board to leverage Atlanta’s strong technology community in furthering the education and competitiveness of Georgia’s next generation” said Wheeler.

For more information on TAG Education collaborative and their programs, visit www.tagedonline.org or contact Michael Robertson, Executive Director of TAG Education Collaborative at mrobertson@tagonline.org .

About TAG Education Collaborative
TAG Education Collaborative initiatives include a student internship program, the WebChallenge competition for high school students, and the Vine Event, a fundraiser launched in 2009 which has raised more than $80,000 to support STEM education. The TAG Education Collaborative provides middle school and high school programs designed to provide these students with hands-on activities that enable them to gain an appreciation for the opportunities available in STEM careers. For additional information, visit TAG Education Collaborative or contact Michael Robertson at (404) 920 – 2038 or mrobertson@tagonline.org

About Cbeyond
Cbeyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBEY) is a leading provider of IT and communications services to more than 58,000 small businesses in the U.S. Serving growing entrepreneurs, Cbeyond offers more than 30 productivity-enhancing applications including local and long-distance voice, broadband Internet, mobile, BlackBerry®, voicemail, email, Web hosting, fax-to-email, data backup, file-sharing, and virtual private networking. In addition, Cbeyond's Cloud Services division offers virtual and dedicated servers and cloud PBX to small businesses worldwide. Recently, the Cloud Services division won Microsoft's Hosting Partner of the Year Award for 2009 and 2010 in connection with Microsoft's Hyper-V Server product. Winning more than 50 awards for product innovation, growth and a quality customer experience, Cbeyond continues to focus on helping small businesses succeed and grow through high-performance technology, superior services and world-class support. For more information on Cbeyond, visit www.cbeyond.net and follow Cbeyond on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Cbeyondinc.

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About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)
The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 13,000 members and hosting over 170 events each year. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 30 industry societies, each of which provides rich content for TAG constituents. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. The association provides members with access to networking and educational programs; recognizes and promotes Georgia’s technology leaders and companies; and advocates for legislative action that enhances the state’s economic climate for technology. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

Technology Association of Georgia
75 Fifth Street NW Suite 730, Atlanta, GA 30308
Becky Biggs
Director, Public Relations & Georgia’s Technology Evangelist
404-920-2008
becky@tagonline.org

This release was published on openPR.