Doris Savron, MBA, Vice Provost of Colleges, Assessment and Curriculum | University of Phoenix

Doris Savron has over 23 years of experience in higher education in a variety of settings including on campus and online. Doris serves as Vice Provost overseeing the strategy for University of Phoenix Colleges, program and curriculum design, institutional assessment, and faculty performance and coaching. This includes oversight of strategy for degree, certificate, and course offerings, design of curriculum, and student learning outcomes for the University. She works collaboratively with her team members to innovate academic solutions that enable the University to provide exceptional student experiences and learning environments to support student success. In her tenure with University of Phoenix, she has served in positions of associate faculty, campus vice president, regional vice president of student services, and college operations.

Doris is passionate about giving back to the community and has served on several boards, including the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and Propenum College in Lusaka, Zambia. She currently serves on the board of Career Connectors. She also serves on several committees and advisory councils, including the DEI professionals committee for the Greater Phoenix Chamber and, most recently, the advisory council for UPCEA and AACRAO’s new Converge Conference in 2023 focused on the emerging field of alternative credentials in Higher Education. Doris is often sought out as a speaker for her expertise in mapping relevant skills in programs and building an infrastructure to support career tools in curriculum design, micro-credentialing, and other innovations in curriculum. Doris’s significant contributions in her profession, mentoring, and community leadership have led to her being selected as Greater Phoenix Chamber’s Private Sector Athena Finalist in 2020. Her advocacy for women in leadership has led her to project work in India, Zambia, and the U.S., supporting women to achieve their potential in their profession. She has designed, led, and presented at several international empowerment conferences.

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Additional Resources:

• Doris Savron’s University of Phoenix Profile
• Doris Savron’s LinkedIn Profile
• Doris Savron’s Website

Recommendations:

• Book: Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey
• Podcast: At the Table with Patrick Lencioni
• Podcast: Working Genius with Patrick Lencioni

Kristen DiCerbo, Chief Learning Officer | Khan Academy

Kristen leads the teaching and learning strategy for Khan Academy and works to ensure a consistent research-based pedagogical approach across their offerings. This includes leading the content, product management, design, and customer support teams and, most recently - the launch of Khanmigo.

Throughout her career, Kristen has focused on the design of interactive digital technologies for learning and assessment, as well as researched and published extensively on the use of data from learner activity in games and simulations to understand what learners know and can do.

Prior to joining Khan Academy, Kristen was the Vice President of Learning Research and Design at Pearson, provided research support to the Networking Academies at Cisco, and was a school psychologist in a local school district in Arizona. She has a Bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from Hamilton College and received a Master’s and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at Arizona State University.

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Additional Resources:

• Khan Academy
• Khanmigo
• About Kristen DiCerbo
• Kristen DiCerbo's LinkedIn Profile
• Kristen DiCerbo's X (Twitter) Profile
• Brave New Words by Sal Khan
• Daniel Willingham
• Barbara Oakley

Rachel Leintz, Former Director of Learning Design | LearningMate

Rachel Leintz has nearly 15 years of experience working in education, 10 of those years working directly with instructional and learning design. She studied English, Biology, and Psychology and has a Bachelor's from Tulane University and a Master's in Forensic Science with a Crime Scene Concentration. Rachel has owned and operated Rachel Leintz Photography since 2012 and has expertise in Generative AI tools, Adobe Photoshop, Midjourney, online content creation, and composition.

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Additional Resources:

• Rachel Leintz's LinkedIn Profile
• Blog Post: Prompt Engineering: How to Write Killer Generative Prompts for LLMs"
• OpenAI GPT-4o Introduction
• TED Radio Hour
• Hidden Brain Podcast
• Where Should We Begin? Podcast

Stuart Vanorny, Associate Vice President of Learning Design | LearningMate

At LearningMate, Stuart oversees the creation of courses and content for colleges, universities, non-profits, and corporate partners across the country. Stuart has over 25 years of experience in K-12 and higher education leadership, instructional design, and educational technology. Previously, Stuart was the Vice President of Instructional Design and Academic Technology at Zenith Education Group and Chief Design Officer at Everest College Phoenix. He was also a college professor for 15 years. He holds a bachelor’s in English from Winona State University and a master’s in humanities from the University of Chicago. He currently lives in Woodridge, IL, where he serves as President of the Woodridge 68 Board of Education.

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Additional Resources:

• Stuart Vanorny's LinkedIn Profile
• ENGAGE Learning Design Position Paper
• Book - The Golden Screen: Moves that Made Asian America
• Movie - Twinsters

Jayne C. Lammers, Ph. D., Director of Learning Design | Edmentum

Dr. Jayne Lammers is a respected lecturer and researcher and an expert in Learning Design, pedagogy, and E-Learning, committed to designing for equitable and empowering learning opportunities. She began her career in education teaching middle school and high school English, language arts and reading. She went on to attain a Master's in Reading Education from the University of Central Florida and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Arizona State University. Her past research focuses on studying adolescents' literacy practices and asks the question of why educators should care that youth are engaged in such practices such as online fanfiction forums or participation in YouTube and other social networks for the purpose of learning.

Dr. Lammers currently serves as the Director of Learning Design for Edmentum, a K12 curriculum, assessment and services provider supporting 43,000 schools in all 50 states and over 100 countries worldwide. She also currently lectures at University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education teaching the Instructional Technology module in the Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.

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Victoria Pylvainen, SVP, K12 Product Solutions | LearningMate

Victoria Pylvainen’s educational journey spans diverse roles, including working with homeschooling organizations, leading an international virtual school, and contributing to traditional schooling for private, charter, and public institutions. Her passion for individualized learning blossomed through these varied experiences as an education analyst and practitioner. Victoria's commitment to education is grounded in a deep appreciation for the learning sciences, evidence, and theory. Today, she applies this appreciation in her work, leveraging extensive knowledge in pedagogy, learning analytics, and product strategy. Her expertise extends to designing tailored digital curriculum products, professional learning tools, and operational solutions for online and blended learning.

Throughout her career, Victoria has led large-scale teams in digital transformations, playing pivotal roles in startups and established organizations. Her approach has been crucial in driving product enhancements and optimizing operational efficiency within the education sector globally, including countries like Angola, Australia, Brazil, China, Guatemala, and the U.S.

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Additional Resources:

• Dr. Lammers' Scholar Profile
• Dr. Lammers' LinkedIn Profile
• Victoria Pylvainen's LinkedIn Profile
• Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope by Bell Hooks
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Thomas Hidber, Head of Educational Development | University of Zurich

Dr. Thomas holds a PhD from the University of Bern (Switzerland); he taught Classics for more than 12 years at the Universities of Bern and Göttingen (Germany), where he did a postdoc and then worked as a project officer in the context of the German Excellence Initiative. Back in Switzerland, he took over the management of Academic Programme Development at the University of Zurich in 2007, before he was appointed head of the newly formed Educational Development Department.

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Alexandra Jansky, Team Lead, Digital Education Innovation | University of Zurich

Dr. Alexandra Jansky completed her doctorate in Physics Education Research in collaboration with CERN and the University of Vienna, setting a strong foundation for her career. With this specialized background, she has redirected her expertise towards educational development, emerging as a driving force in digital education innovation at the University of Zurich. Her work includes exploring the impact and use of educational technologies and artificial intelligence to support innovative teaching and learning strategies.

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Shannon Gattens (Guest Host), TDirector of Higher Education Digital Learning | LearningMate

Shannon is a native of the United States east coast and has a BA in English from Temple University and studied Instructional Technology at Philadelphia University and New York University. In her positions over the last 25 years, she has done content development, product management, market research, strategy, sales and marketing. Wearing so many hats has given Shannon a unique perspective in a variety of disciplines. At LearningMate, she leads a team of content development managers helping to create online course materials, supplements and media for our publishing clients.

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More on AI and Higher Education:

• Setting Sails: Navigating AI in Higher Education Podcast
• Higher Education Futures LinkedIn Group
• You and AI: A Guide to Understanding How Artificial Intelligence Is Shaping Our Lives by Anne Scherer and Cindy Candrian

Jeff Simmons, Superintendent | Idaho Digital Learning Alliance (IDLA)

Jeff has an extraordinary passion for teaching and has worked in public education since 2001 and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Idaho, with a research focus on measuring the impact of in-person support provided to K-12 online students. Jeff holds an MA in Education Leadership from the University of Idaho, and a BA in Social Studies and English Education from Northwest Nazarene University.

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Ryan Gravette, Director of Information & Technology | Idaho Digital Learning Alliance (IDLA)

Ryan works to develop the systems and support infrastructure that make online learning possible. Prior to his work at Idaho Digital Learning Academy, Ryan worked in Idaho and California school districts supporting and leading Information Technology in brick and mortar classrooms. Ryan received the 2011 Presidential Award for outstanding support for technology from the Idaho Educational Technology Association. Besides a passion for technology and programming, Ryan has a BS in Psychology from Westmont College and an MBA from Boise State University.

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More about IDLA and the Clarity platform:

• Visit IDLA's website
• Learn about how LearningMate and IDLA worked to develop the Clarity Platform to harness their data and improve student outcomes

Meet our guest, Dr. Kristen Ponichtera

Dr. Kristen Ponichtera has a clinical nursing background focused on critical care, emergency, and flight. She has also worked in nursing education for the last 10 years, serving as a classroom and clinical faculty member. Currently, she serves as the Nursing Content Specialist with LearningMate. Dr. Ponichtera holds a BSN in nursing from Seton Hall University, an MSN in nursing leadership from Western Governors University, and a DNP from Chamberlain University.

More about:

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)

Dr. Ponichtera's LinkedIn Profile

Thought-Leader Recommendations:

Whitepaper: Competency-based Education In Undergraduate Prelicensure Nursing Education Programs by Dr. Kristen Ponichtera

Meet our guest, Dr. Andrew Shean

As Chief Learning Officer at Penn Foster, Dr. Shean leads academic program leadership, curriculum and courseware, academic support, faculty, non-academic support, and academic operations in pursuit of improving student lives. Prior to joining Penn Foster, Dr. Shean was the Senior Vice President & Chief Academic Officer at National Education Partners. He has also served in roles such as the Chief Academic Learning Officer for Bridgepoint Education, Vice Provost for Arizona Global University, and Executive Dean for the College of Education at Arizona Global University. He previously served as a high school English teacher where he was named the 2009 District Teacher of the Year, and in 2017 was selected a Chief Academic Officer Digital Fellow, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr. Shean earned his Doctorate of Educational Leadership and Management from Alliant International University. He holds an MA in Education and a BA in Sociology from the University of Northern Colorado.

More about:

Penn Foster Group

Dr. Shean’s LinkedIn Profile

Thought-Leader Recommendations:

We Make the Road by Walking by Myles Hoston and Paul Freire

The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday

More about our guests:

Jean Sharp's LinkedIn Profile

Dr. Ellen Strzalkowski's LinkedIn Profile

Angela Vann's LinkedIn Profile

Links to resources:

CASEL

Facing History