Donnie Piercey is the 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year and teaches fourth grade at Ashland Elementary School in Lexington, Kentucky. After graduating from Asbury College and earning his master’s from Auburn Montgomery, he has been teaching full time at a public school since 2007. Donnie specializes in using technology to promote student inquiry, learning, and engagement.

Over the past nineteen years of teaching, Donnie has had the unique opportunity to represent Kentucky and his students on a global stage. In 2021, he was invited to the White House to meet with the President. In 2018, he received a National Geographic Fellowship to Antarctica and represented Kentucky on the inaugural National Geographic Teacher Advisory Council. From 2014 through 2020, he served as the North American lead for the Google Earth Education Experts Network. He was also the first teacher in Kentucky to earn both Google Certified Innovator and Google Certified Trainer distinctions. Donnie currently works closely with the Adobe for Education team to develop resources, materials, and videos for educators and students. He also co-hosts The Partial Credit Podcast (https://partial.credit) and Teachers Passing Notes, which was produced by the Peabody Award-winning GZM Shows.

Donnie's recent work in artificial intelligence has not gone unnoticed, earning him multiple appearances on Good Morning America, the Associated Press, and PBS. His 2023 book, "50 Strategies for Using AI in the Classroom," published by Teacher Created Materials, offers practical strategies to help teachers integrate AI and support student learning. In 2017, he co-authored The Google Cardboard Book: Explore, Engage, and Educate with Virtual Reality, inspired by virtual experiences he created for his students.

Donnie has been invited to keynote and present at conferences and schools in thirty-three states and on five continents. The Bluegrass always calls him home, however, as he regularly leads professional development at school districts around the state.