Derek E. Baird is the director of consumer product development at the Walt Disney Company in Palo Alto, California. In February 2012 Baird was awarded the Disney Inventor Award for a patent related to teen use of social media, online safety, COPPA compliance, entertainment technologies, and mobile technologies. He also works as a social media strategist and entertainment consultant for private music and entertainment industry clients in the Los Angeles area. Baird received an MA in educational technology from Pepperdine University in 2003. BA: American studies, 1994