WCET’s 30th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Meeting
 
Wednesday Speakers
Mike Abbiatti
Executive Director and WICHE Vice President for Technology Enhanced Education
WCET
Mike Abbiatti is the executive director of WCET and WICHE vice President for technology Eenhanced Education. Abbiatti assumed the WCET leadership position in January 2015. Previously he was the director of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Educational Technology Cooperative. Abbiatti was formerly associate commissioner for information and learning technology for the Louisiana Board of Regents. He is the founding director of the successful Louisiana Board of Regents Electronic Campus, and former director of Distance Education for Louisiana State University. Abbiatti has been recognized by the Computerworld-Smithsonian Awards Program as a Laureate signifying leadership in the design, deployment, and utilization of Information Technology for the benefit of Louisiana's citizens, and is a past member of the EDNET Education Executive Advisory Board. Other national recognitions include the United States Distance Learning Association's Most Outstanding Achievement by an Individual in K-12 Award, Electronic Learning Magazine's Distinguished Achievement Award through the Educator of the Year Program.
 
Elizabeth Aguilar-Barnett
Student Experience Solutions Specialist
Western Governors University
Liz has worked in higher education for 10+ years in a number of roles. She started her career in Student Life and online education and is currently a pilot specialist within the Student Experience Practice at Western Governors University. Liz has also been a faculty member, faculty manager, and faculty trainer. She holds two master's degrees in education.
 
Phillip Anaya
Digital and OER Coordinator
Alamo Colleges
Phillip Anaya is the digital and OER coordinator for Alamo Colleges in San Antonio, TX. Anaya has been in education for over a decade, ranging from elementary to higher education as a classroom instructor, to institutional advancement and now administration. He is truly a life-long learner. As part of the Alamo Colleges, he has lead the implementation of their inclusive access and OER (open educational resources) programs. He has branded AlamoOPEN and IM Direct and has saved students an estimated $6 million dollars in instructional material costs since 2015.
 
Maria Andersen
CEO and Co-founder
Coursetune
Maria Andersen has been working in Higher Education for the last 20 years. She is a math professor, a software designer, a writer, a speaker, and the CEO of Coursetune. Over her career she launched the Canvas Network MOOC platform, built adaptive learning platforms for McGraw-Hill, and worked as the director of learning design for WGU. She holds degrees in Math, Chemistry, Biology, Business Administration, and Higher Education Leadership.
 
Michael Atkinson
Senior Learning Engineer
Learning Objects, a Cengage Company
Michael Atkinson is a senior learning engineer at Learning Objects, a Cengage company that collaboratively designs and builds learning experiences that better track and showcase learner knowledge, skills, and competencies. Atkinson supports curriculum design and development projects with LO’s partner institutions. Prior to joining Learning Objects in 2015, he held curriculum design and learning science positions at TDAmeritrade's education division for 10 years. Atkinson is in his third year as a PhD candidate in Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University.
 
Dan Bartell
President
CBEESC - Sagence Learning
Dan Bartel serves as President of CBEESC - Sagence Learning. Dan has worked in higher education for over two decades,  helping educators select the most effective educational technologies and content to help learners improve their performance and success rates; technology can be an incredibly powerful assist when properly implemented in education. Dan has worked in large companies,  like Pearson,  building and leading new enterprise solution sales and marketing teams and serving as liaison to campus executives, boards, legislative bodies, and task forces examining the critical initiatives and challenges in higher education.  Dan has also worked in the start-up environment, selling products and services the moment they were developed and contributing to building a new successful technology company.
 
Jon Bellum
President
Beyond Campus Innovations
Jon Bellum has been involved in online and technology-enhanced education for over twenty years at institutions that include the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Vermont, and Colorado State University-Global Campus. Bellum is currently employed as the President of Beyond Campus Innovations, a wholly owned, for-profit entity of the Colorado State University System Foundation that helps organizations scale digital learning through curriculum development, technology outsourcing, enrollment support, and consulting. Previously, Bellum was the first Provost and Executive Vice President at CSU-Global Campus and provided leadership in the development of that fully online, public university through his work with course and program development, academic assessment, information technology, and strategic planning. Bellum continues to provide leadership in digital learning by helping higher education institutions, corporations, and non-profit/government entities develop high quality online programs and training.
 
Kelvin Bentley
Assistant Vice President for Digital Learning Innovation
University of West Florida
Kevin Bentley has more than 16 years of digital learning leadership experience. He has lead online learning initiatives for 2- and 4-year institutions as well as been a digital learning thought leader and consultant. Prior to joining UWF, he served as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Tarrant County College District in Fort Worth, Texas. As the chief academic officer for TCC Connect, he was responsible for strategic academic planning for all online courses and programs and the accelerated Weekend College.
 
0Michael Berman
Chief Innovation Officer and Deputy CIO, Chancellor's Office
California State University
Michael Berman is the chief innovation officer and Deputy CIO for the California State University system. In recent years he was VP and CIO at Cal State Channel Islands, and has been the senior technology administrator at three other universities. Berman was a member of the Board of Trustees of NMC and participated in the advisory committee for the NMC Horizon Reports on Higher Education. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Rutgers University, and he has been a faculty member, software developer, systems administrator and textbook author.
 
Vanessa Birney
Dean of Online Education
Eastern Gateway Community College
Vanessa Birney works with faculty and administration to drive affordability for students by reducing curriculum and textbook costs. After working as an intervention specialist for six years, Birney joined Eastern Gateway Community College as the director of student support services to help support students at the collegiate level. For the past year, she has worked closely with Barnes & Noble Education and faculty to create new course curriculum for students. Vanessa holds a BA in Education and a Masters in Instructional Design from Western Governor’s University.
 
Rhonda Blackburn
Chief Academic Officer
BNED LoudCloud
Rhonda Blackburn has worked within academia for the pasts 30 years as a teacher, administrator, trainer, and consultant. From her role as an associate provost, she brings expertise to BNED LoudCloud and applies it to make clients successful in their eLearning goals and initiatives. As chief academic officer, she works on both the development and courseware side to enable faculty to provide high quality, affordable alternatives for students. Blackburn earned her PhD in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University and continues to teach at the university level.
 
Amelia Boan
Director, Center for Teaching and Learning Operations
University of Phoenix
Amelia Boan has worked in higher education for over 15 years in many capacities, including research, admissions, and academic affairs. She currently serves as the director of operations in the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. She holds an M.A. in English from Arizona State University and has been an adjunct faculty member in community college and four-year university institutions for the past 12 years. Her professional interests include textbook and educational technology adoptions, student academic resources, and the student experience.
 
Jesse Boeding
Director, Student Success
Student Services by Blackboard
Jesse Boeding has been engaged in higher education for the last 20 years. From recruiting and enrollment to building an innovative undergraduate program to motivating students to graduate to, now, becoming a partner for internal higher education leadership, Jesse is a passionate, out of the box education leader focusing on student engagement and success. Higher Education is at an inflection point and we need to think more creatively on how to engage with a over-stimulated learner and institutions that need more agility to meet both the learner and business.
 
Brenda Boyd
Senior Academic Director, Program Services
Quality Matters, Inc
Brenda Boyd currently serves as senior academic director, program services, for Quality Matters. She leads the professional development team, oversees the quality assurance department, and is responsible for the regular updating of QM Higher Education Rubrics. She holds an M.S. in Education from Capella University and is a WCET Steering Committee Member.
 
Kelley Brandt
Director, eCampus Program Planning
Boise State University
For over ten years Kelley Brandt has had the pleasure of leading a wonderful team of Boise State University professionals dedicated to the completion of administrative functions related to academic, instructional, and student support services for all online classes (2,538 sections in 2017-18). The university’s eCampus Expansion Initiative has kept the team busy as they collaborate with academic departments to develop new, high-quality online delivered academic degrees and certificates (39 as of fall 2018). Brandt has worked on program feasibility research, financial modeling, multi-institutional consortiums, state authorizations, and accreditation. Outside of work, you will find him playing fetch with his wife’s two Borgie dogs (Border Collie and Corgi) who replaced their two sons who grew up and left the nest.
 
Matthew Braslow
Director of Assessment and Research
Purdue University Global
Matthew Braslow received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from The Ohio State University and currently serves as the director of assessment and research at Purdue University Global. He leads the PG Research Pipeline, which engages in experimental research to improve student learning and persistence, and he helps shape high-level strategies related to assessment of student learning and satisfaction.
 
Niki Bray
Instructor and Instructional Designer
University of Memphis
Former WCET Adaptive Learning Fellow, Niki Bray teaches in the School of Health Studies at the University of Memphis where she also serves as the school's instructional designer. Niki earned her doctorate from the University of Memphis in 2017 in Instructional Design & Technology. Passionate about student success, Niki's research interests include adaptive learning, edtech, faculty support, and student success.
 
Chris Brown
Senior Lecturer
Georgia State University
Brown is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science and VP at WAC-Atlanta. His duties include serving as the creator/catalyst of the RCII (a unique data literacy and research tool), which has been woven into a wide variety of classes at GSU. He is currently part of an APLU adaptive learning grant and is co-authoring a study of the impact of adaptive learning courseware (RealizeIt).
 
Tonya Buchan
Instructional Designer
The Institute for Learning and Teaching, Colorado State University
Tonya Buchan is an instructional designer for The Institute for Learning and Teaching and Program Manager for the APLU Adaptive Courseware grant at Colorado State University. She received her MS. Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from Purdue University before working in employee and organizational development. Tonya started in Higher Education in 1999 as an online instructor at the College of Southern Nevada and later worked for Nevada State College as a course design and instructional technology consultant. Her interests include faculty development, online course design, blended classrooms, and active learning.
 
Melody Buckner
Director of Digital Learning and Online Education
University of Arizona
She is Director of Digital Learning and Online Education at the University of Arizona. In this role she oversees instructional design, graphic design, video production and quality assurance for UA. She came to UA nine years ago as an Instructional Designer to help faculty create online courses that reach out and engage students in an online UA experience. Her educational background includes, a Bachelor of Science from the College of Architecture and a Masters in Educational Technology. She is earned her Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies.
 
0Amanda Cadran
Director of Implementation and Customer Success for
Lea(R)n
Amanda Cadran is the director of implementation and customer usccess for Lea(R)n. She uses her ten years of classroom teaching, curriculum development, and technology facilitator experience to help clients define and achieve success. Her most important goal is to meet customers where they are, and bring a personalized focus to their interactions. Cadran earned her BA and MA from Lehigh University, and her PhD from NC State with a focus on instructional technology. She has worked as a research fellow and consultant with the International Association of K-12 Online Learning, and has experience deploying school-wide technology initiatives and professional development programs.
 
Rosa Calabrese
Manager, Digital and Project Support Services
WCET
Rosa Calabrese, has been with WCET since 2014. She works to maintain the web and graphic design on the WCET website in addition to providing organizational support to both WCET and SAN. Before joining the team at WCET, she worked as a program assistant in Copenhagen at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad where she gave administrative support to over 40 courses within the European Humanities department. She received her bachelor's degree in 2013 from the University of Denver where she double majored in Electronic Media Arts Design and Sociology, with a minor in Gender and Women's Studies. Outside of work, she can be found exploring Boulder by bicycle or volunteering with cats and dogs at the local animal shelter.
 
Thomas Casey
Success Counselor
Oregon State University
Thomas Casey is a student success counselor at Ecampus Oregon State University. Casey began in 2016 as a student success counselor after a 20+ year college football coaching career. He supports Ecampus students within the College of Liberal Arts from the time of admission through graduation. In this role he assists students overcome obstacles to online learning and assists student’s in developing successful learning strategies that allows them to persist and ultimately graduate.
 
Thomas Cavanagh
Associate Vice President of Distributed Learning
University of Central Florida
Thomas Cavanagh, Ph.D. is Associate Vice President of Distributed Learning at the University of Central Florida. In this role he oversees the distance learning strategy, policies, and practices of the nation’s 2nd largest university. In his career, Tom has administered e-learning development for both academic (public and private) and industrial (Fortune 500, government/military) audiences. He is also an award-winning author of several mystery novels.
 
Gary Chinn
Assistant Dean for Digital Learning
Pennsylvania State University
Gary Chinn is assistant dean and director of the Office of Digital Learning with the college of arts and architecture at the Pennsylvania State University. The Office of Digital Learning collaborates with faculty in the design, development, and delivery of fully online course, curricular design of programs, and technology integration in support of resident instruction.
 
Mark Christensen
Senior Director of Marketing
Ed Map
Mark Christensen has worked in K–12 and higher education in various roles throughout his career from teacher to administrator to ed-tech marketing communications. He currently works with Ed Map, helping institutions navigate today’s dynamic and changing content landscape. He holds his MBA in Marketing from Rivier University and his Ed.D. in Curriculum & Technology from Plymouth State University/Argosy.
 
Cody Connor
Manager of Course Design and Development
Purdue University
Cody Connor is the manager of course design and development at Purdue University, leading a team of twelve instructional designers. He serves as a member of the Teaching and Learning Technologies leadership team, collaborating with IT and academic leadership across campus to envision, develop and grow University-wide faculty resources and programs to support exemplary face-to-face and online course design and development. Connor also serves in a leadership role in Purdue's IMPACT program to redesign large foundational courses for student-centered learning and furthering Purdue's strategic goals toward student success and affordability.
 
Travis Coufal
Senior Director of Student Engagement
Colorado State University- Global Campus
Travis Coufal, Psy.D., is the senior director of student engagement for CSU-Global. In his role at the university, Coufal oversees the activities of student enrollment and affiliate relationships, and has led the most recent evolution of CSU-Global’s Enrollment Department. A leader with over a decade of experience in student engagement and learning from a data-driven perspective, he has a strong working knowledge of the importance that effective student engagement has towards student academic success. He is also well-versed in the variety of engagement models found in the public and for-profit sectors, including the use of outsource partners towards meeting department and organizational goals. Travis has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication with a Psychology Minor, a Master’s degree in Communication Studies, and a Doctor of Psychology in Sport and Performance Psychology.
 
Shanna Daniel
Partner Success & Integration Manager
VitalSource
Shanna Daniel's work on the customer success team at VitalSource is informed by her five years of experience as a high school educator and technology enthusiast. She currently serves as a Partner Success and Integration Manager, working with several of VitalSource's strategic partners, and has managed VitalSource's relationships with multiple large institutions, including the University of Phoenix. She holds an M.S.Ed. in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in English from Wake Forest University. She is passionate about the intersection of technology, learning, and thoughtfully used data.
 
David Dannenberg
Director, Academic Innovations & eLearning
University of Alaska Anchorage
David Dannenberg is the director of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Academic Innovations & eLearning (AI&e). Reporting to a senior vice provost, he leads UAA’s efforts to innovate teaching through the use of instructional technology. In this role, he oversees the instructional design, eLearning/distance education, professional development, online student and ePortfolio Services.
 
0Sara Davis
Instructional Designer
Penn State University
 
Van Davis
Principal
Foghlam Consulting, LLC
Van Davis is Principal at Foghlam Consulting, LLC where he helps colleges, universities, non-profits, and policymakers understand where higher education is heading and how to navigate that future. Davis has spent over 20 years in higher education as a faculty member, academic administrator, policymaker, and consultant. Most recently he served as associate vice president for Higher Education Policy and Research at Blackboard Inc. Prior to his time at Blackboard, he served as director of innovation at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board where he was responsible for the development of competency-based education programs, distance education policy, the development of the state's adult degree completion project, course redesign, and online faculty development. Prior to the Coordinating Board, Davis spent a decade as a professor of history and an academic administrator.
 
Mary Ellen Dello Stritto
Assistant Director of Research
Oregon State University
Mary Ellen Dello Stritto is the assistant director of the Ecampus Research Unit at Oregon State University and is involved with the design and implementation of research studies on online/distance education. She manages and oversees statistical analyses for the research unit. Dello Stritto also directs the Faculty Fellows Program and a professional development program for faculty. She has a background in psychology with a specialization in quantitative methodologies, survey design, and statistical analysis.
 
Nathaan Demers
Director of Clinical Programs
Grit Digital Health
Nathaan Demes, Psy.D. is a clinical psychologist with experience in therapeutic boarding schools, medical ICU's, integrated care, and college counseling. Prior to joining his current role, Nathaan served as a Behavioral Health Research and Technical Assistance Associate at the WICHE-Mental Health Program. With these experiences, he has unique expertise in advancing student success, health promotion and suicide prevention on campus. Nathaan is currently the Director of Clinical Programs with YOU at College developed by Grit Digital Health and is a board member of the Colorado Psychological Association.
 
Donna Diller
Dean School of Business and Information Technology
Central New Mexico Community College
Donna Diller has worked in higher education for the past 14 years and is currently the dean of the School of Business & Information Technology and director of the Montoya Campus, at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. CNM is the largest post-secondary institution in New Mexico. Diller leads innovative initiatives at the college including the development of competency based education models, accelerated degrees and expanding work and entrepreneurship opportunities for students. CNM has been a member of the Competency Based Education Network (C-BEN) since 2015, and is currently a participant in the League of Innovations and Walmart Brighter Futures Grant 3.0. The grant focuses on career mobility for incumbent retail workers, specifically by providing the core skills and knowledge to move into management and leadership roles in the retail industry.
 
Brooks Doherty
Assistant Vice President – Academic Innovation
Rasmussen College
Brooks Doherty is the assistant vice president for Academic Innovation at Rasmussen College working in the areas of developmental education, general education, and competency-based education. He is completing a doctorate in Education at St. Mary’s University, earned an MA in literature from University College London, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in Political Science and English. Before becoming a dean at Rasmussen College in 2008, Doherty taught writing courses to students of varying disciplines. He has spoken to groups around the country on the topics of developmental and higher education, workforce preparedness, and Irish literature.
 
Tom Dolan
Associate Director
Texas Tech University eLearning and Academic Partnerships
Tom Dolan supports compliance and institutional effectiveness for Texas Tech University eLearning and Academic Partnerships. He focuses on assessment and improvement of university, TTU K-12, and continuing education distance learning support, and authorization for out-of-state activities. Recently, Tom was instrumental in standing up the Texas State Authorization Network (TxSAN) and the Texas Institutional and Course Effectiveness (TxICE) community of practices for the Texas Distance Learning Association. Tom enjoys taking the grandkids camping and kayaking.
 
Amy Donley
Program Assistant
Oregon State University
Amy Donley is the administrative program specialist for the Ecampus Research Unit at Oregon State University where she provides administrative and project support for the unit. 
 
Cheryl Dowd
Director, SAN
WCET
Cheryl Dowd is the Director of the State Authorization Network (SAN)for WCET and Cyber Fellow for WICHE. Dowd directs the activities and research for institutions and other related organizations to understand and manage regulatory compliance requirements for the out of state activities of the institutions. As Cyber Fellow, Cheryl is developing relationships with national education and security agencies to develop institutional data protection and privacy resources and training opportunities to share with the WICHE community.
 
Luke Dowden
Chief Online Learning Officer & Associate Vice Chancellor
Alamo Colleges District
Recently, Luke Dowden joined the Alamo Colleges District as its Chief Online Learning Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. Prior to joining Alamo Colleges Online, Dr. Dowden founded the Office of Distance Learning at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2010 and served as its Director for eight years. He is a past Steering Committee Chair and Executive Council Chair for the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET).
 
Deb Everhart
VP, Design and Innovation
Learning Objects
Deborah Everhart is vice president, design and innovation, at Learning Objects, developing competency-based, interoperable learning environments and credentials. She has served as a strategic advisor for the American Council on Education, leading research and the publications "Communicating the Value of Competencies" and "Quality Dimensions for Connected Credentials." Everhart is a leader in the IMS Global working groups defining standards for CBE, extended transcripts, open badges, and digital credentials. She teaches as an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University.
 
Karen Ferguson
Provost
Colorado State University- Global Campus
Karen Ferguson serves as Provost at CSU-Global Campus. Prior to her current position, Ferguson held several faculty and administrative positions in non-traditional higher education. She earned her PhD in Education Leadership and Organization Development from the University of Louisville after serving 12 years in the military. She has worked on federal and state grants and served as an Army Research Institute Doctoral Fellow. Her research interests and passions include student success, retention, and workplace performance. Combining her military and academic leadership skills, Ferguson is a collaborative academic leader and learning professional focused on achieving strategic results, improving individual and institutional performance, and increasing organizational effectiveness. A non-traditional student herself, she is dedicated to ensuring access to a quality education for students of all backgrounds and academic ability.
 
0Vivian Forssman
Consultant
Canadian Digital Learning Research Association
 
Myk Garn
Assistant Vice Chancellor for New Learning Models
University System of Georgia
Myk Garn is an academic innovator and strategist with over 30 years of experience developing, deploying and leading college and state system instructional, operational, organizational, policy and strategic models. He is a committed academic change agent, focusing on the development and deployment of new instructional and educational operations with an emphasis on competency-based, student-driven, advancement-by-mastery models. He emphasizes the roles of faculty and needs of students throughout his work. His experience includes strategic planning, affordability, emerging trends, disruptive innovation, quality standards, governance, accessibility and accreditation.
 
Chris Gilliard
Professor of English
Macomb Community College
Chris Gilliard’s work concentrates on privacy, institutional tech policy, digital redlining, and the re-inventions of discriminatory practices through data mining and algorithmic decision-making, especially as these apply to college students. He is currently developing a project that looks at how popular misunderstandings of mathematical concepts create illusions of fairness and objectivity in student analytics, predictive policing, and hiring practices.
 
Kari Goin Kono
UX Designer
Portland State University
Kari is a UX designer with the Office of Academic Innovation at Portland State University and specializes in accessible UX online program & course design with additional product integration such as adaptive software. Her research interests incorporate usability and universal design for learning on a large project scale for a University student population of around 30,000 students. A designer by nature, she spends her free time photographing, crafting, hiking, exploring Portland, and baking gluten-free desserts.
 
Jeff Grann
Credential Solutions Lead
Credential Engine
Jeff Grann is credential solutions lead at Credential Engine. In that role, Grann guides strategy and product development while also consulting with education providers, employers, associations, states, and quality assurance agencies on their credentialing practices. He has chaired for multiple data specifications and has led the development of student assessment systems and analytic dashboards. Grann holds a doctoral degree in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota and regularly presents across an eclectic mix of professional organizations.
 
Daniel Green
Director, Product Analytics
VitalSource
Daniel Green is the director of product analytics at VitalSource. In this role, his primary focus is to develop research-based tools that seek to enhance the learning process by providing educators with insights into student engagement. Green serves on the IMS Caliper Analytics product steering committee and was actively involved in the development of the Caliper 1.1.
 
Josh Greenberg
Business Analysis Manager
AccelerEd
Josh has been a business analyst in information technology consulting, manufacturing, and higher education for over 17 years. He specializes in making facilitation sessions fun, engaging, and productive. He has practiced and perfected techniques identify essential information and keep the focus on the student’s needs. He conducts group activities that allow problems of every size to be accomplished.
 
0Jeannie Grussendorf
Senior Lecturer
Georgia State University
Jeannie Grussendorf is principal senior lecturer at Georgia State University and serves as undergraduate director in the Department of Political Science. Her teaching focuses on international relations, U.S. foreign policy and peace research and in her classes she concentrates on increasing critical thinking skills. She is currently also part of an APLU adaptive learning grant studying the impact of adaptive learning courseware (RealizeIt) on student learning.
 
Stacey Güney
Director, Digital Learning Solutions Network
WCET
Stacey Güney is an educational evangelist leveraging technology and innovation to increase access, equity, and student success. Stemming from her work consulting with a variety of institutions, she saw the need for more integrated solutions involving student metacognition and learning. This led to the launch of the Austin Community College ACCelerator, the largest technology-enhanced learning environment in the world.
 
0Madisen Gunkel
Instructional Designer
Ivy Tech Community College
I am an instructional designer at Ivy Tech Community College. My diverse background in instructional technology systems spans learning management systems, such as Canvas, to coaching and assisting in the development of virtual curriculum & content, to developing alternative learning options for students. I earned both my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Indiana University and have obtained a Quality Matters Peer Reviewer Certification as well as a CAST Intro to UDL Certification.
 
Phil Hill
Co-Publisher of the e-Literate blog, Co-Producer of e-Literate TV, and Partner at MindWires Consulting
e-Literate
Phil Hill (@PhilOnEdTech) is co-publisher of the e-Literate blog, co-producer of e-Literate TV, and partner at MindWires Consulting. As a market analyst, Hill has analyzed the growth of technology-enabled change for educational institutions, uncovering and describing the major trends and implications for the broader market. His unique graphics and visual presentations have been widely used in the industry. As an independent consultant, he helps educational institutions, technology and content vendors, and policy makers as they consider and implement new initiatives. Hill’s clients have included Western Governors University, California Community College System, Iowa State University, Bournemouth University, Pearson Education, Coursera, and others.
 
0Wanju Huang
Instructional Designer Supervisor
Purdue University
Dr. Wanju Huang is an Instructional Design Supervisor on the Course Design and Development team at Purdue University. For six years prior to joining Purdue in Fall 2016, she was a lecturer and an instructional designer at Eastern Kentucky University. She has published and presented research papers related to online learning and instructional design at national and international conferences and her research interests include: computer-mediated communication, human-computer interaction, gaming, online learning, augmented reality, and virtual reality.
 
Alyson Indrunas
Executive Director
Lumen Learning
Alyson Indrunas is an executive director for Lumen Learning. She holds an M.A. in English Studies and an M.Ed. in Continuing and College Education from Western Washington University. Her scholarly interests are in educational technology, professional development, Open Education, and instructional design. When she’s not advocating for the mission of Lumen Learning, she is working on recruiting more women and girls to ride bikes. She lives in Bellingham with her husband and their rambunctious Boston Terrier.
 
Kathleen Ives
CEO and Executive Director
Online Learning Consortium
Kathleen Ives joined OLC in 2006 and has served as its executive director and CEO since 2013. She brings a wealth of corporate experience to the organization having served in senior positions at CBS, AT&T, and Verizon. This experience included a focus on leadership and organizational development in transformational times which has proven critical given the changing higher education landscape. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Davis, M.A. from the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication, and D.M. from the University of Phoenix.
 
Lisa Johnson
Assistant Professor
Ashford University
Lisa Johnson serves as an Assistant Professor of Instructional Design and Technology at Ashford University and has over a decade of other experience as an online instructor and faculty training administrator and consultant with public colleges, universities and in the private sector. Dr. Johnson has been recognized for her role as faculty and continues to be active beyond the classroom in consulting roles, conference presentations, and publishing in both formal and informal contexts.
 
Tanya Joosten
Director, eLearning Research and Development
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Tanya Joosten, Ph.D., is a senior scientist, the director of digital learning research and development, and co-pi and co-director of the National Research Center for Distance Education and Technological Advancements (DETA) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is nationally recognized in her work in blended and online learning as an Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Fellow and works to guide strategic digital learning efforts, including her current involvement on the University of Wisconsin System Learning Technology Executive Council, the CourseWare in Context (CWIC) Executive Committee, the McGraw Hill Learning Sciences Research Board, the SXSWedu Advisory Board, the OLC Research Board, Distance Teaching and Learning (DTL) Advisory Board, and others. Her expertise has led to invitations to planning the future of digital education events at the White House, Harvard, Stanford, Arizona State, and others.
 
Sergey Karayev
Co-founder and Director of AI
Gradescope
Sergey Karayev is co-founder and director of AI at Gradescope where he leads development of AI-assisted grading technology. He received a PhD in Computer Science from UC Berkeley, where he did research in the field of computer vision and participated in the development of one of the most popular deep learning software packages. His goal is to develop and deploy AI systems to improve human life.
 
Athena Kennedy
Manager of CPE Instructional Design
Arizona State University
Athena currently serves as the Manager of Instructional Design for Continuing and Professional Education and Online Facilitation, and is a Faculty Associate, at Arizona State University EdPlus, where she leads an instructional design team and is an instructional design liaison for the international PLuS Alliance. Additionally, she is the Academic Integrity Officer for EdPLus and she assists in improving quality in online courses.
 
Whitney Kilgore
Chief Academic Officer
iDesign
Whitney Kilgore is the chief academic officer at iDesign, which partners with universities to build, grow and support online and blended courses and program offerings. She also teaches courses in the Learning Technologies program at the University of North Texas. Previously she served as VP of Academic Services at Academic Partnerships and before that as the director of academic technology services at the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas.
 
Sherry Kolmann
Associate Vice President
New England College
Sherry Kollmann is an associate vice president, School of Graduate and Professional Studies at New England College. Previously, she served as a senior associate dean of Business Programs at Southern New Hampshire University, College of Online and Continued Education. Kollmann earned her Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma in Instructional Psychology and Technology. Her background designing and developing, educating and researching in face-to-face, hybrid, and online environments, in addition to her background in instructional psychology foster her drive to reimagine, redesign, and execute learning environments and programs that create an equal opportunity for every student to succeed.
 
Julie Lang
Open Educational Resource Coordinator
Penn State University
Julie Lang serves as the program coordinator for PSU's Open Educational Resource and Affordable Content initiative. Julie partners with faculty, librarians, and students to adopt, adapt, and author OER content to replace high cost materials and textbooks. She previously worked as an instructional designer with Campus Collaborative Programs and PSU World Campus.
 
Adel Lelo
Senior Principal Product Manage
Western Governors University
Adel Leo has been with Western Governors University for over eight years and has initiated, worked on, and executed some of the university's larger projects. These include the architecting, engineering, and rolling out of WGU's online proctoring process with multiple vendors while strengthening and improving our on-site test delivery process.
 
Sharon Leu
Senior Policy Advisor, Higher Education Innovation
Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology
Sharon Leu leads the Office of Educational Technology’s higher education innovation initiatives, including next generation assessments, individualized learning pathways, use of open resources and platforms, and strategic partnerships with stakeholders. Leu also works in offices across the Department to design programs that improve quality of education and increase success of students and adult learners. Prior to joining OET, she oversaw the design and implementation of the Department of Labor’s $2 billion Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program, the largest federal investment in postsecondary innovation and systematic infrastructure change. Leu can often be found leaping from boulder to boulder with a heavy backpack and dreams of becoming a park ranger when she grows up.
 
Katie Linder
Research Director
Oregon State University
Katie Linder is the research director for Oregon State University Ecampus. Linder is the author of The Blended Course Design Workbook: A Practical Guide (Stylus, 2016), and the editor of the New Directions volume on Hybrid Teaching and Learning (Wiley, 2017). Some of her more recent journal publications can be found in Innovative Higher Education and the Journal of Open, Distance, and e-Learning.
 
Ryan Luke
Program Director for Adaptive Learning
University of Louisville
Ryan Luke is the adaptive learning program director at the University of Louisville. Prior to this role, he taught college level mathematics for almost ten years. In addition to Mathematics, he holds a degree in Computer Science and began investigating digital courseware because of his interest in Mathematical Computing. His passion for teaching and love for students fueled his dedication to student growth and success initiatives. He now leads a team in the Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning to aid faculty in implementing adaptive and personalized learning through digital solutions.
 
Susan Lupo
Senior Policy Associate
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Susan Lupo, Senior Policy Analyst at Corporation for a Skilled Workforce has been instrumental in the development and implementation of Lumina Foundation’s Connecting Credentials Initiative by supporting the National Dialogue and Work Group efforts and playing a lead role in shaping and deploying the Connecting Credentials Framework. Along with CSW’s core team, she helped author the recently launched State of Credentialing Report. Her work with competency-based education and competency-based hiring includes working with the American Association of Community College’s Right Signals project, Hope Street Group, and ACT.
 
Jan Manning
Enrollment Pilot Manager
Western Governors University
Jan Manning is an enrollment pilot manager for Western Governors University. She has spent nearly the last 18 years pioneering the new competency-based model and reinventing higher education. Through the years, she has obsessed over our "student experience" and making a difference in improving students’ lives by earning their degree. She started out as the first enrollment counselor at WGU and currently manages the enrollment pilot team where she promotes fun, big-thinking - game-changing innovation and solutions. Manning lives in Lehi, UT with her husband and three boys.
 
Dena Mapes
Director, US Growth
Smart Sparrow
Dena Mapes heads up the U.S. growth team at Smart Sparrow bringing her ten plus years of educational technology expertise, and her passion for learning to working with educators. Before joining Smart Sparrow, Mapes was a channel manager for Pearson’s Knowledge Technologies Group working with partners to utilize niche automated assessment technology. She’s had many different life experiences, from living in Beijing, China, and Florence, Italy to working as a senior international trade analyst for the U.S. Department of Commerce. She has been integral in developing the U.S. market at Smart Sparrow, and helping educators create better learning experiences who seek to innovate the education market. She holds a B.A. from the University of San Francisco, and a M.A. from American University in Washington, D.C.
 
Jennifer Mathes
Chief Strategy Officer
Online Learning Consortium
Jennifer Mathes provides leadership in researching and planning strategic initiatives, special projects and partnerships that align with OLC's mission, vision and goals. Mathes has nearly 20 years of experience in both public and private for-profit higher education where she has supported online learning initiatives since she taught her first online course in 1997. She has been instrumental in working with start-up online initiatives as well as leading growth in institutions with an existing online program. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she wrote her dissertation on “Predictors for Student Success in Online Education.” She also has earned a Master of Science degree in Business Education and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications from Illinois State University.
 
Leah Matthews
Executive Director
Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC)
Leah Matthews is the executive director of the DEAC, a non-profit educational association located in Washington, D.C. The DEAC’s Accrediting Commission is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Matthew’s experience in higher education and accreditation includes three years as vice president for Recognition Services at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and eleven years at the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, where she served as the director of Institutional Compliance overseeing accreditation processes for approximately 750 post-secondary career and technical institutions. Prior to joining ACCSC, she worked for five years at the U.S. Army Japan Headquarters in Zama, Japan. She also taught for several years in the Baltimore City Schools system. Matthews holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Education from Westminster College, a MPA from the University of Oklahoma and a Ph.D. from George Mason University.
 
Darragh McNally
Director of Evaluation
University of Maryland University College
Darragh McNally is the director of evaluation and research design for the Center for Innovation in Learning and Student Success at University of Maryland, University College. At CILSS, he is tasked with research design, questionnaire development, data analysis, and program evaluation. Darragh McNally holds a PhD in political science from the University of Maryland, College Park, as well as a BA and MA in philosophy from University College Cork, Ireland. As a social scientist, he has a broad range of interests, including experimental design, survey design, behavioral research, and governance. His work appears in Politics and Policy and The Online Learning Journal.
 
Shannon Meadows
Strategic Adviser
Bibliotech
Shannon Meadows has deep expertise in the areas of go-to-market approaches, team development, sales operations, and sales effectiveness. Her domain knowledge encompasses technology start-up organizations as well as the ed-tech and publishing sectors, analytics, mobile, social and cloud-based solutions. Meadows has a strong background in higher education sales and leadership. She served as vice president of sales and sales operations for Blackboard as well as senior vice president of business development for CourseSmart (now Vital Source) – a leading digital content and educational services platform. She earned her bachelor’s degree in the honors program at the University of Texas at Austin where she majored in creative writing with minors in computer science and dance.
 
Julie Meyer
Instructional Designer
Penn State University
Julie Meyer is an instructional designer with Teaching and Learning with Technology at Penn State University. She is located at the Schuylkill Campus to work with faculty and campus community. Currently, she is working with faculty at Schuylkill and other campuses on adapting, adopting, and authoring Open Education Resources. She is designing an OER regional program to bring training and resources to campuses in the North East Region of the Penn State System in Pennsylvania.
 
Deb Miller
Senior Director
University of North Florida
Deb Miller directs the Center for Instruction & Research Technology(CIRT) at the University of North Florida and is a part-time instructor in the College of Education. CIRT offers expertise, resources, and training to assist faculty in ways that enable them to develop greater capacities for using technology for teaching and research. Deb also works with other campus stakeholders to investigate new instructional technologies and facilitate the adoption of appropriate tools.Her dissertation research focused on the influence of institutional and individual factors in faculty decisions to teach online.
 
Cali MK Morrison
Associate Dean, Alternative Learning
American Public University System
Cali M.K. Morrison, Ed.D. is associate dean, alternative learning at American Public University System. Previously Cali was the assistant director, communications and analysis at the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET). Current research interests include competency-based education and the future of credentials. Cali lives near Bozeman, MT with her custom homebuilder hubby, two daughters, and dogs where she is active in the community, especially with Bozeman Area Community Foundation, Thrive, and Girls for a Change.
 
Kara Monroe
Provost/Senior Vice President
Ivy Tech Community College
Kara Monroe holds a PhD from Capella University, an MBA from Jones International University, Masters Coursework in Mathematics from Converse College and Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics Education from Ball State University. She is currently the Provost/Senior Vice President of Ivy Tech Community College.
 
0Michael Moore
Vice President for Academic Affairs
University of Arkansas System
 
Beth Mulherrin
Assistant Dean, Student Success
University of Maryland University College
Beth Mulherrin implements and evaluates strategic initiatives for innovative academic and student support models by collaborating with colleagues to improve student success, including leveraging data analytics to improve outcomes for at-risk students and onboarding for new students. She has presented nationally on online learning, curriculum design and assessment, academic integrity, and competency-based learning.
 
0Ashley O'Conner
Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships
Realizeit
Senior Director Of Strategic Partnerships at Realizeit with a demonstrated history of working in the e-learning industry. Skilled in Sales, Educational Technology, Instructional Design, Leadership, and Strategic Planning. Strong professional with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) focused in Secondary Education, History from DePaul University.
 
0Patricia O'Sullivan
Adaptive Learning Program Manager
University of Mississippi
Patricia O’Sullivan is the manager of the University of Mississippi's Personalized Learning & Adaptive Teaching Opportunities (PLATO) Program. She holds advanced degrees in Theology and History, and has been an educator for over 20 years. With a background in instructional design and online learning, O'Sullivan transformed her large, lecture Health Ethics course into a flipped hybrid using adaptive courseware and employing collaborative problem-based learning.
 
Tina Parscal
Executive Director
CCCOnline
Tina Parscal is the executive director of Colorado Community Colleges Online (CCCOnline), the online consortium of thirteen community colleges that comprise the Colorado Community College System. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and administrative direction for CCCOnline’s operational, academic, educational, and technical activities. She also chairs the Learning Technology Council for the Colorado Community College System. Parscal has more than 25 years of experience providing academic and administrative leadership in higher education and has served in such roles as provost/chief academic officer, dean, program director, and faculty.
 
Cherie Phipps
Education Director
Western Association of Food Chains
Cherie Phipps is the education director for the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC) and will be joining our panel. The mission of the WAFC is to help the industry attract, retain and advance high potential food industry associates through exposure to educational programs and leadership opportunities. http://www.wafc.com/about/Mission.html CNM has been working with Cherie and the WAFC for more than four years. The WAFC was a key partner in the development and launch of the CBE Retail Certificate at CNM.
 
Alexandra M. Pickett
Director, Online Teaching
Open SUNY
Alexandra M. Pickett (@alexpickett) is the director of the award-winning Open SUNY Online Teaching unit. Working with the 64 SUNY institutions, she has directly supported the development of more than 5,000 faculty and their online courses. In addition, she is an adjunct in the University at Albany, Department of Education Theory and Practice, teaching Introduction to Online Teaching in the online CDIT master’s program. http://commons.suny.edu/cotehub/meet-the-team/alex/
 
Patrick Pluscht
Associate Vice Provost for Learning Enhancement and Executive Director of the Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment, and Redesign
University of North Texas
Patrick Pluscht serves as the associate vice provost for learning enhancement and executive director of the Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment, and Redesign (CLEAR) at the University of North Texas (UNT). He currently serves on the Learning Technologies Advisory Committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) Advisory Board. Pluscht has served as the Chairman of the Board of the Texas Distance Learning Association (TXDLA) and received the Don Foshee Award for Outstanding TxDLA Leadership.
 
Russ Poulin
Director, Policy and Analysis
WCET
Russ Poulin organizes WCET's national policy and research activities, edits WCET's Frontiers blog, coordinates WCET's research efforts, and works on elearning consortia issues. He represented the distance education community in the U.S. Department of Education's 2014 Negotiated Rulemaking process. Previously, he coordinated distance education activities for the North Dakota University System. He holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Denver and a Master's from the University of Northern Colorado. Poulin enjoys going to the films with his wife, Laurie.
 
Cheryl Pruitt
Director of the Accessible Technology Initiative
California State University (CSU) System
Cheryl Pruitt is the director of the accessible technology initiative (ATI) for the California State University (CSU) System. She oversees the ATI implementation across the CSU 23 campus system. Pruitt has been involved with the ATI since the beginning in 2007, first at the campus level, then at the systemwide level. Under her leadership the system has made significant progress towards implementing ATI process improvement in the areas of web accessibility, accessible procurement, and accessible instructional materials. She is currently managing several projects that are moving the initiative forward they include implementation of an ATI reporting process to measure the systemwide progress towards the ATI goals; creation of synergy projects resulting in systemwide shared services that are delivering cost savings; and a high level of cross-campus collaboration through the ATI Communities of Practice.
 
Pam Quinn
Provost/LeCroy Center (Retired)
Dallas County Community College District
Pam Quinn is an educational consultant with a long career in distance and online learning. As a founding and current member of the NC-SARA Board, she is champions quality options for students navigating online educational opportunities. Prior to her retirement in 2018, she was the chief officer of the Dallas County Community College District’s LeCroy Center for 33 years working strategically with faculty and students in a variety of learning technologies and applications. During her tenure of leading the distance ed team, DCCCD reached 189,000 online enrollments which was nearly 40% of the district’s total enrollments. She remains an advocate for students studying online having earned her own doctorate totally at a distance.
 
Sheane Robinson
Senior Business Analyst
AccelerEd
Sheane Robinson is a Business Analyst with over 12 years of experience spanning various industries, including higher education. She has a passion for using focused facilitation to support her business stakeholders in the areas of process engineering, problem identification, and strategic planning. She combines traditional analysis with creative facilitation to empower business leaders to plan effectively, improve processes, and drive collaboration across their organization.
 
Jeff Rosen
Vice President for Accreditation Relations and Director of the Open Pathway
Higher Learning Commission
Jeff Rosen serves as vice president for accreditation relations and director of the open pathway for the Higher Learning Commission. At the Commission, he helped to build the approval protocol for the Commission’s oversight of competency-based education programs, both credit-based and direct assessment, and worked with the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) to articulate best practices in the field. With a background in continuing higher education and workforce development, he has spoken at annual conferences sponsored by UPCEA, WICHE, and C-BEN, and written on the completion agenda and the public good. At the Commission, he directs the Visiting Scholars and Interns program, and through the Open Pathway’s Quality Initiative process, promotes the Commission’s commitment to Civic Engagement. Given the widespread growth of online learning, he is particularly interested in how to extend that commitment to the online environment and to competency based programs. Before joining the Higher Learning Commission, Rosen served as a research university dean, professor of art history, and elected Trustee of a public community college.
 
Jason Ruckert
Vice Chancellor and Chief Digital Learning Officer
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
Jason Ruckert serves as the vice chancellor and chief digital learning officer and is responsible for the overall strategy as well as the development, delivery, and quality control of online education at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s three distinct campuses. He provides direct leadership and oversight of the following departmental units; academic technology, academic advisement, center for teaching and learning excellence (CTLE), faculty quality control and instructional design and development (currently 96 staff members). Ruckert also serves as second in command for the Worldwide Campus and assists the Chancellor by providing leadership and assistance to the Academic Colleges and Administrative units within the campus for all learning modalities.
 
Ken Salomon
Partner
Thompson Coburn LLP
Ken Salomon has spent his entire legal career in the public and private sectors in Washington, DC. He has helped clients in a variety of sectors—including e-commerce, higher education, technology, telecommunications, health care, and intellectual property—develop and implement winning lobbying strategies by crafting and implementing innovative approaches to affect the formation of public policy in the U.S. Congress and the administration. Salomon has handled other major government relations projects, including securing the change to federal law to enable e-learning students to receive federal financial aid. He was a professorial lecturer on International Telecommunications at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies for several years. In 2015, Salomon was elected a member of the Ethics Committee of the United States Olympic Committee.
 
Ashley Salter
Instructional Designer
University of Central Florida
Ashley Salter is an Instructional Designer for the Center for Distributed Learning at UCF.
 
Adam Saven
CEO and Co-Founder
PeopleGrove
Adam Saven is the co-founder of PeopleGrove and has served as its CEO since inception. He previously worked at Google as a Business Analyst from 2013 to 2014, performing data analysis as well as informing strategic decisions for the Online Partnerships Group (OPG). Prior to Google, he served as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Global Technology Group of Credit Suisse. He holds a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
 
Christopher Schedler
Executive Director, Multimodal Learning
Central Washington University
Christopher Schedler is Professor of English and executive director of Multimodal Learning, overseeing online learning, distance education, and the Multimodal Education Center at Central Washington University.
 
Anna Seferian
Vice Dean
University of Maryland University College
Anna Seferian is the vice dean for the Business and Management Department within the Graduate School at University of Maryland University College (UMUC). In her current role, she oversees all the graduate business and management programs and teaches management and marketing courses. Prior to working in academia, Seferian held various positions in the marketing and market research fields. She continues to maintain a connection with industry through occasional consulting projects and various programs that focus on experience and knowledge exchange between industry and academia. Seferian earned a PhD in advertising from the University of Texas at Austin, an MBA from the American University of Armenia, and a BS in International Economics from Yerevan State University in Armenia.
 
Amy Shackelford
Director, Marketing Services
Student Services by Blackboard
Amy Shackelford is director of marketing services for Blackboard Student Services where she helps institutions craft solutions for their marketing and enrollment goals. Shackelford is passionate about expanding access to higher education to more students and through new modalities and has many years’ experience in the student services space working both at an institution and for an OPM provider. Prior to joining Blackboard she was at The University of Texas System’s Institute for Transformational Learning.
 
0Wayne Skipper
Wayne Skipper's background spans the technology gamut, from hardware engineering to software architecture. He's passionate about education and emerging technologies. Skipper’s team leads the development of several open technology standards at W3C, IEEE, and IMS Global - working to create an open standards ecosystem focused on catalyzing advancements in Education. In his spare time, he designs and builds interactive lighting installations which visualize the beauty of complex data systems. His lighting design work has been featured prominently around the world, including displays at The Smithsonian and The National Academy of Sciences.
 
Burck Smith
CEO
StraighterLine
StraighterLine helps students lower the cost and risk of attending college and helps colleges attract and retain students by offering affordable, competency based, online, general education courses with guaranteed transfer pathways. In 1999, Burck Smith co-founded SMARTHINKING, a provider of online tutoring provider for colleges. Smith has written chapters for three books on education policy for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Prior to SMARTHINKING, he was consultant and journalist. Smith holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from Williams College.
 
0Jason Smith
Blackboard, Inc.
 
Peter Smith
Orkand Chair, Professor of Innovative Higher Education Practices
University of Maryland University College
Peter Smith is the Orkand Chair and professor of innovative practices in higher education at the University of Maryland University College. The founding president of the Community College of Vermont, California State University, Monterey Bay, and the Open College at Kaplan University, and a member of the board of the Open Education Consortium, he brings a deep reservoir of knowledge and experience to this conversation.
 
Polly Smith
Associate Provost for Online Learning
Utica College
Polly Smith is the associate provost for online learning at Utica College in Utica, New York. Smith is a sociologist specializing in urban issues and complex organizations. She has more than 12 years of online teaching experience and continues to have an active research agenda that includes online practice and pedagogy. She has worked on a variety of regional and national projects using geographic information systems to study racial segregation and population trends.
 
David Stone
Director of Collaborative Programs
Pennsylvania State University
David Edwin Stone is the director of collaborative programs for Penn State University. Stone is responsible for university course sharing and program initiative. He has conducted research, published and presented on large scale higher education change in the area of online learning, provided consulting in the area of workforce development, and has conducted international research on the use of virtual learning environments for foreign language instruction.
 
Becky Takeda-Tinker
President and CEO
Colorado State University- Global Campus
Becky Takeda-Tinker, PhD, is the president of Colorado State University-Global Campus. Named one of Five Higher Ed Leaders to Watch in 2018, and author of the book, “Impacting the Future of Higher Education”, Becky champions data-driven, technology-based solutions to facilitate workplace success for adult learners. CSU-Global is the nation’s only 100% online, fully accredited public university in the United States, has grown rapidly to serve over 34,000.
 
Sonja Taylor
Interim Senior Inquiry coordinator in University Studies
Portland State University
Sonja Taylor is currently the interim senior inquiry coordinator in University Studies and teaches Senior Inquiry at Madison High School. She has also taught the sophomore inquiry course Families and Society both in person and online for a number of years at Portland State. She was part of the campus ePortfolio solution PebblePad pilot process and has been working on different ways of incorporating PebblePad into her curriculum for the last three years around the topic of community, social justice, and universal design for learning.
 
Jess Thompson
Program Administrator, Accessible Technology Initiatives
Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
Jess Thompson is a Program Administrator in Accessible Technology Initiatives at the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges. Her work focuses on accessibility in online learning and supporting the 34 community and technical colleges in developing policies and practices that support accessibility both in instruction and campus-wide. Jess has been active in exploring and implementing systemwide accessibility solutions, one of which includes a systemwide captioning hub.
 
Jessica Tojo
Instructional Designer
University of Central Florida
Jessica Tojo is an Instructional Designer at the University of Central Florida’s Center for Distributed Learning (CDL). Jessica earned a B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Central Florida in 2007 and taught elementary school for eight years. Her interest to enhance learning through the integration of technology led her to pursue an M.A. in Educational Technology which she received from UCF in 2011. Her research interests include personalized adaptive learning, the use of OER materials, and accessibility.
 
Stephanie Tsales
Senior Director of Professional Services
Wiley Education Services
Stephanie Tsales is the senior director of Professional Services at Wiley Education Services. In this role she develops un-bundled (fee for service) solutions that meet the unique needs of institutions. Prior to working in Professional Services, Tsales worked on Wiley’s Enrollment Services team. While with Enrollment Services she created the proprietary Student Engagement Model the team uses to guide recruitment dialogues. She has been with the organization for 14 years.
 
Kara Van Dam
Vice Provost
University of Maryland University College
Kara Van Dam serves as vice provost and dean of the Undergraduate School at University of Maryland University College. In this role, she ensures that the school, its faculty, staff, and students—both stateside and overseas—are supported in rich learning environments and that the school's more than 30 bachelor's degrees and undergraduate certificates help students develop as competent and confident people and professionals. Previously, she served as the vice provost for the Learner and Faculty Experience. She holds both a master's degree and a doctorate in linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
 
Ellen Wagner
Senior Consultant
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IC Industry Consortium on Learning Engineering
Ellen Wagner currently supports the IEEE IC Industry Consortium on Learning Engineering (ICICLE). She has held leadership positions at Hobsons (VP Research); Sage Road Solutions LLC (Partner); PAR Framework; Co-Founder/Chief Strategy Officer); WICHE, (VP Technology; Executive Director, WCET); Adobe Systems (Sr. Director, WW eLearning Solutions); and Macromedia (Sr. Director Global Education Solutions). In another life, she was a tenured professor and chair of Ed Tech at the University of Northern Colorado.
 
Jonathan Woods
Associate Director, DoD Voluntary Education
Department of Defense
Jonathan Woods is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He holds academic degrees in general studies from Reedley College, adult learning from Southern Illinois University, business administration from Jacksonville University, and educational administration from the University of Florida. Woods has served as university faculty, curriculum developer, and as branch head, regional director, and policy chief for Navy education and training programs. Since 2014, Woods has served on the staff of deputy assistant secretary of defense, force education and training, where he is associate director for voluntary education and coordinates the compliance, research, and reporting portfolios. His decorations include the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal (two awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and several unit and campaign awards. At home in Northern Virginia, he and his family are having a go at modern homesteading.
 
Jenny Yu
Instructional Designer
CBEESC – Sagence Learning
Jenny Yu is an instructional designer at CBEESC - Sagence Learning. She works alongside instructors and designers at institutions of higher education to design and develop competency-based programs, professional development programs, and other online flexible learning experiences. Jenny has had the opportunity to design and deliver educational experiences for disciplines that span education, healthcare, business, and the sciences, as well as K-12 mathematics and writing. Jenny strives to craft learning experiences that focus on the process of learning, including authentic assessments and activities that encourage exploration, critical thinking, and reflection.