SheTech Interns Interview Emma Moss
Emma Moss sat down with SheTech-TechBuzz Media Interns Lily Neish and Hannah Haney, to discuss how she is helping Utah schools navigate artificial intelligence with curiosity, caution, and creativity.
People & Culture
Teaching, Tech, and Ten Thousand Questions: Inside Emma Moss’s Work with AI
Who, what, when, where — and why?
Growing up, Emma Moss, AI for K-12 Program Director for the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Digital Teaching & Learning Specialist at Canyons School District, asked questions. A lot of questions. So many that her mom eventually enforced a question limit. It didn’t temper her curiosity.
Her second-grade teacher, Mrs. Lewis, didn’t just endure the endless “why?” and “how?” — she encouraged them. Moss was often seated next to new students, where her steady stream of questions helped others open up.
“That’s where I learned not just to love learning,” Moss says, “but to love learning with other people.”
That mindset would shape her career.
In the teaching trenches
Moss attended Brigham Young University, where she earned a B.S. in Social Science Teaching with a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language. She later completed a Master of Education in Learning and Technology and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Applied Artificial Intelligence at the Utah Valley University.
She began her career as a middle school social studies and CTE teacher in Canyons School District. Over roughly seven years in the classroom, she taught CTE, AVID, and history, building a reputation for tech-rich, hands-on instruction that incorporated VR, robotics, and digital media.
Her work earned recognition as Utah CTE New Teacher of the Year, ACTE National Leadership Fellow, 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year runner-up, and she was a 2025 Women Tech Award finalist.
Bringing AI into the classroom
As AI tools began entering mainstream conversation, Moss encountered a question many educators were quietly asking: What are we going to do about AI?
For some, the answer was to block it. Moss approached it differently.
“How can we use AI to improve education?” she remembers asking.
She began experimenting in her own classroom.
In one class, an eighth-period group composed entirely of boys, she used an early AI model to adapt a lesson plan around topics the students were already interested in.
“I taught the lesson, and they loved it,” Moss says. “That was the moment I realized: this can make learning feel relevant and empowering for students who weren’t connecting before.”
For Moss, AI wasn’t about shortcuts. It was about personalization and access.
The AI playbook
In 2022, Moss transitioned into a district role as a Digital Teaching & Learning Specialist and later became AI Project Lead for Canyons School District. There, she helped design the district’s VIEW framework for AI and supports teachers integrating AI into instruction.
VIEW stands for Value understanding, Implement safely, Educational learning, and World preparation. The framework emphasizes responsible use, instructional alignment, and preparing students for a workforce where AI literacy is increasingly essential.
Because Canyons was among the early districts developing formal AI guidance for K–12, its framework has drawn attention from other education leaders across Utah and beyond.
During this time in the district office, she worked with a teacher to build a chatbot to support a multilingual learner, allowing the student to ask questions one-on-one in both English and their home language. The tool helped reinforce understanding while maintaining academic rigor.
Moss now serves as AI for K–12 Program Director for the Utah State Board of Education, where she helps lead the state’s AI-for-schools initiative while continuing her district work.
Building the AI community
Beyond district and state roles, Moss founded the Utah AI Collaborative, a group that brings together educators, policymakers, and technology leaders to coordinate conversations around responsible AI adoption in schools.
“We’re all having this conversation,” Moss says. “We need to have it together — and we need to advocate for it in a safe way.”
The collaborative has helped support statewide coordination efforts, including contributing to discussions around funding and strategic planning for AI initiatives in schools.
“In basketball, everyone tracks who makes the shot,” Moss says. “But the people who make the assists are the ones who make it possible. We need women and men working together. All of us together is what propels the work forward.”
A message to curious students everywhere
When asked what advice she has for the next generation, Moss keeps it simple.
“First, ask a lot of questions. Curiosity is powerful. It’s how you seek understanding and start collaborating with others.
“Second, don’t be afraid to use your voice. Most of the opportunities I’ve had came because I said, ‘I’m interested in that,’ or ‘I’d like to be involved in that.’
“Third, don’t be afraid to bring who you are to the conversation. The things that make you uniquely you are what make a strong community.”
From question limits to limitless possibilities
Emma Moss has built a career around asking questions — and refusing to settle for easy answers.
Instead of shutting AI out of classrooms, she leaned in. Instead of waiting for someone else to define the rules, she helped write them. Her work is shaping how educators across Utah think about artificial intelligence — not as a threat to learning, but as a tool that, used wisely, can expand it.
And it all started with one simple habit:
Asking.
Learn more about Emma Moss and her work at Canyons School District.
Lily Neish is a senior at Lone Peak High School and a SheTech – TechBuzz media intern. She serves as co-president of the SheTech Club at her school, where she helps create and lead STEM and technology initiatives. Lily discovered her passion for writing and sharing knowledge through Speech and Debate and the Technology Student Association, earning first place in varsity regions and fifth in varsity state with a speech on quantum computers, and placing third in Engineering and Technological Debate at the state level. She is driven to support innovative ideas and inspire others to make a positive impact in Utah and beyond.
Hannah Haney is a senior at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Canyons School District. She is passionate about technology and plans to pursue a career in computer science, with a particular interest in artificial intelligence. As a SheTech & TechBuzz Media Intern, Hannah is eager to explore STEM career paths, gain hands-on experience, and develop the skills that will support her transition from high school to college and a future in AI and technology innovation.
Lily and Hannah will be joining thousands of young women at SheTech Explorer Day 2026 on February 24, a hands-on STEM conference for Utah high school girls, offering workshops, mentors, role models, career pathways, and collaborative tech challenges in an engaging, supportive environment.
SheTech - TechBuzz media interns will be interviewing professionals, founders, educators, and leaders who are making an impact on the Utah tech and entrepreneurship communities. If you are interested in being interviewed by one of our talented interns, please contact hannah@womentechcouncil.com.
If you are interested in serving as a mentor at Explorer Day, please fill out this form. Additional mentors are still welcomed and needed.