The LearningMate Podcast

Mark Anderson, Education Business Leader & Strategist

Mark Anderson is an education business leader and strategist with more than three decades of experience spanning publishing, higher education, assessment, and education technology. He spent 22 years with Pearson, serving in a range of senior leadership roles, including Managing Director of Pearson UK, where his responsibilities included Edexcel, BTEC, Pearson College, and the company’s university partnerships. He also held leadership roles focused on Pearson’s international strategy and education businesses.

Following Pearson, Mark developed a portfolio career across higher education and EdTech. He served as Chair of the Board of Governors at London Metropolitan University from 2016 to 2022 and has worked as a chair, non-executive director, and adviser to a range of education and technology organizations. His roles have included Chair of BibliU and current leadership with Macat and Edify, giving him a broad perspective on the evolution of digital learning, education technology, and the changing higher education landscape.

Mark is also the author of The Leadership Book and has held an affiliation with Hughes Hall, Cambridge. His career brings together perspectives from traditional publishing, universities, assessment, technology, and emerging models of learning—making him a particularly insightful voice on how education has evolved and where it may be heading next.

Geri Gillespy, Educator, EdTech Leader & Researcher

Geri Gillespy is an educator, education technology leader, and researcher with extensive experience helping schools and educators use technology to create more engaging and meaningful learning experiences. A longtime advocate for innovative teaching and learning, she has worked across K–12 education as a teacher, school leader, and Microsoft education expert.

Her work focuses on student engagement, emerging technologies, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in education. Geri is passionate about helping educators thoughtfully integrate tools such as AI while ensuring that learning remains human-centered, relevant, and connected to the skills students need for college, careers, and lifelong learning.

Stuart Vanorny, VP Learning Design Group, Straive LearningMate

As the VP of Learning Design at Straive LearningMate, Stuart oversees all learning design for the largest learning design services and digital enablement company in the world. Over his 28 years of ideating and building learning design solutions, he has seen and done it all. He has built thousands of online courses and learning solutions, and has been witness to incredible change in the industry over the years, with AI being the latest plot twist. Stu is at the forefront of AI. Where others might be talking about integrating AI into course developments and workflows, Stu and his team of 100+ learning designers are actually doing it. Despite all of this change, he always puts the learner at the center of the learning design solution, and, when it comes to the world of work, he is a passionate advocate for creating a culture of care and continuous improvement.

Dan Klosterman, Ed. M, Sr. Director of Learning Design, Straive LearningMate

Dan Klosterman is the Senior Director of Learning Design at LearningMate where he leads strategic design solutions clients in Higher Education and Workforce Development. Over a 20 year career Dan has worked with organizations across higher education, healthcare, financial services, and professional associations. His focus has been on developing the systems that enable effective learning experiences to drive better learning outcomes. He is currently focused on the intersection of AI and learning, advocating for AI as a powerful “co-pilot” that empowers learning professionals to build once impossible solutions. He is an enthusiastic champion of new learning technologies but tempers that enthusiasm with a pragmatic, evidence-first approach to adoption, rather than hype.

David Ferreira, Ed.D, Provost, Charter Oak State College

Dr. David Ferreira is Provost of Charter Oak State College, where he drives academic innovation and workforce development through industry-aligned curriculum and stackable credentials. In 2025, he launched the Connecticut Online AI Academy, a statewide initiative advancing AI literacy and practitioner training for Connecticut residents. He also chaired Charter Oak’s AI Advisory Group, shaping academic policy around emerging technologies. Widely recognized for his leadership in higher education and workforce transformation, Dr. Ferreira brings expertise in integrating cutting-edge technology into learning environments and creating scalable pathways that align with the needs of the evolving economy.

Andrew Lippert, Independent Technology Executive and Consultant

Andrew Lippert is an independent technology executive and consultant with deep experience leading digital transformation in education and enterprise SaaS. Most recently, he served as Chief Technology Officer at Edmentum, where he led technology strategy, platform modernization, software delivery, and global operations in support of digital learning at scale. Previously, he served as Chief Technology Officer at McGraw Hill and held senior leadership roles at Redbird Advanced Learning, Ednovate, Apex Learning, and ZooKazoo. Across a career spanning product strategy, systems architecture, and executive leadership, Andrew has helped education and technology organizations modernize platforms, improve operating leverage, and translate innovation into meaningful learner impact.

Dr. Andrew Shean, Chief Academic Officer | Los Angeles Pacific University

Dr. Andrew Shean is a higher education leader and innovator, currently serving as Chief Academic OfficerLos Angeles Pacific University. With a career spanning K–12 and online higher education, he has led large-scale academic transformation initiatives focused on improving student outcomes, expanding access, and advancing innovative delivery models. A former District Teacher of the Year, Dr. Shean brings a practitioner’s perspective to his work, combining deep experience in teaching, leadership, and system-wide change. He remains actively engaged in research, doctoral education, and advisory work across the education landscape.

Robert MacAuslan, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence | Southern New Hampshire University

Dr. Robert MacAuslan is Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Southern New Hampshire University, where he works on institutional strategy for AI adoption, governance, and implementation. His work focuses on responsible deployment of AI across higher education, including policy, ethics, literacy, and emerging applications that support teaching, learning, and operations. He holds a PhD in Sociology, an MA in Economics, and undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Mandarin Chinese, bringing an interdisciplinary perspective to questions of technology, culture, and organizational change.

Claus von Zastrow, Senior Policy Director | Education Commission of the States

As senior policy director, Claus oversees Education Commission of the States’ Policy Team and works with his colleagues to promote timely and relevant education policy and research. He has held senior positions in education organizations for 25 years and has spent much of that time helping diverse stakeholders find consensus on important education issues. Claus is dedicated to ensuring that state leaders have the information and guidance they need to make the best possible decisions affecting young people.

Travis Hurst, Senior Project Manager | LearningMate Double Line

Travis Hurst is a Senior Project Manager for Double Line and is leading the company's development of the E-W Framework Analysis Tool. Over the last 15 years, he has helped clients tackle tough problems related to managing their Education data.

Sagarika Prabhakar, AI and Learning Solution Architect | LearningMate

Sagarika Prabhakar, an EDSAFE AI Alliance’s Women in AI Fellow (2025), brings 10+ years of experience in education curriculum development and AI-enabled learning design solutions to the EdTech industry. She has held diverse roles as an English Language Trainer, AI-Conversation Designer, and Instructional Designer, specializing in blended e-learning and instructor-led training (ILT).

By authoring and presenting at prestigious international conferences showcasing solutions focusing on AI’s impact in education, she has honed her expertise in AI technologies and led AI-driven projects and workflows in educational content platforms, assessment generation, and AI-based tutoring Chatbots, and much more.

Ninad Kochkar, Technology Solution Architect | LearningMate

With over 20 years of IT expertise, Ninad Kochkar specializes in architecting scalable, enterprise-grade AI solutions and large-scale microservices systems. As a leader in AI Solutions at LearningMate, he spearheads cutting-edge initiatives in Generative and Agentic AI, orchestrating multimodal content generation specifically for the EdTech domain. His deep technical proficiency spans cloud-native architectures and DevOps, enabling him to drive digital transformation by modernizing legacy systems and implementing intelligent automation for educational content quality and delivery.

Geordie Hyland, President and Chief Executive Officer | American College of Education (ACE)

Geordie Hyland is the President and Chief Executive Officer of American College of Education. Geordie brings extensive industry experience and leads ACE as an accredited, fully online institution focused on delivering high-quality, flexible, and affordable programs in education, business, leadership, healthcare, and nursing.