Meet Our Board of Directors

Dr. Paige McDonald is an assistant professor at the George Washington University (GWU) in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership.

Paige is an educational researcher who has focused on how to integrate technology into health-professions education to achieve pedagogical goals, with a particular emphasis on blended learning design. At GW, Paige teaches courses on complexity science, knowledge translation, and implementation science and innovation leadership in an interdisciplinary, blended PhD program on Translational Health Sciences.

She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on blending for higher levels of learning, reflective practice, collaborative learning and knowledge integration. Within OLC, she has previously served as a conference program chair, track chair, reviewer, and guest editor for Online Learning.

Kaye Shelton, Ph.D. is a Professor of Educational Leadership in the Center for Doctoral Studies in the College of Education at Lamar University. Previously as the Dean of Online Education for Dallas Baptist University, she led the development and ongoing operations of their online education programs with over 55 majors and degrees offered fully online. She is certified as an online instructor, teaching online since 1999, and also an online education consultant. Winner of the both the Blackboard and eLearning exemplary online course awards, she has published over 40 articles and book chapters in the field of online education, including a co-authored book entitled An Administrator's Guide to Online Education. Dr. Shelton was also awarded a Sloan-C Effective Practice award for her research on the Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Education Programs, the John R. Bourne award for Outstanding Achievement in Online Education and the NCPEA Morphet Dissertation award. Dr. Shelton has been involved with research in online education since 1997 and has spoken at numerous conferences and workshops and advised peer institutions regarding the creation of an online education program and best practices for teaching online and faculty support. Recently, Dr. Shelton has been involved in the national and international use of the OLC Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs as it has been adopted by institutions in Latin America. She is also an Online Learning Consortium Quality Scorecard program evaluator and teaches workshops regarding its implementation.

Dr. Kelvin Thompson works to make online and blended learning even better a little bit every day while serving at the University of Louisville as Vice Provost for Online Strategy and Teaching Innovation. Kelvin writes, speaks, and consults within the US higher education community. During his 24+ years at UCF he created a number of resources for use by the broader online community (e.g., the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository; the Faculty Seminars in Online Teaching; and the BlendKit Course). He also co-hosts the popular “TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast” and is co-editor of the SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education. In 2020, Kelvin was selected as a Fellow of the Online Learning Consortium.

A.Frank Mayadas, founding president of OLC, is a prominent education innovator in online learning and has served as a Senior Advisor to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 2010, advising the Foundation on its continuing grants in the Anytime, Anyplace Learning Program. From 1992 to 2009, he serves as a Program Director at the Foundation, helping craft the Foundation’s grantmaking strategy in online learning, globalization, industry studies, and career choice in technical fields. Prior to coming to the Sloan Foundation, Dr. Mayadas spent 27 years at the IBM Corporation. Dr. Mayadas received a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell in 1965, and a B.S. from the Colorado School of Mines in 1961.

Dr. Patsy Moskal is Director for the Digital Learning Impact Evaluation in the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Since 1996, she has served as the liaison for faculty research involving digital learning technologies and in support of the scholarship of teaching and learning at UCF. Patsy specializes in statistics, graphics, program evaluation, and applied data analysis. She has extensive experience in research methods including survey development, interviewing, and conducting focus groups and frequently serves as an evaluation consultant to school districts, and industry and government organizations. She has served as a co-principal investigator on grants from several government and industrial agencies including the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Gates Foundation-funded Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC). Patsy frequently serves as a proposal reviewer for conferences and journals, also serving on the editorial boards of the Online Learning journal, Education Sciences and The International Journal for the Scholarship of Technology Enhanced Learning, in addition to serving as a frequent reviewer for NSF IUSE and SBIR/STTR proposals and DoE proposals.

In 2011 Dr. Moskal was named an Online Learning Consortium Fellow “In recognition of her groundbreaking work in the assessment of the impact and efficacy of online and blended learning.” Patsy is very active in both EDUCAUSE and Online Learning Consortium (OLC) conferences. She serves on the EDUCAUSE Analytics & Research Advisory Group and co-leads the EDUCAUSE Evidence of Impact Community Group. She currently serves as Vice President of the OLC Board of Directors, serves on the OLC Research Advisory Council, and is a special issue editor for the yearly Online Learning special issue on OLC conferences. Patsy has co-authored numerous articles and chapters on blended, adaptive, and online learning and is a frequent presenter at conferences and to other researchers. Her latest edited book (2021), with Picciano, Dziuban & Graham, is now available: Blended Learning Research Perspectives, Volume 3.

Sheila Bouie, Ed.D., has served in higher education for over 20 years. Her background is in health related programs at the community college. She currently serves as the Dean of Health and Sciences at Southwest Tennessee Community College, in Memphis, TN where she leads the effort to create multiple pathways into health related careers.

As an advocate for the provision of healthcare to underserved communities, she launched the first on-campus health center to serve the college. This center also serves as a hub to disseminate health information, and teach lifestyle changes for better health.

Her teaching background is nursing and she has developed, led, evaluated and consulted formany nursing programs at various education levels across several states.

She earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Bradley University, a masters degree in nursing from Governors State University, a masters degree in education, e-learning from University of Illinois, and a Doctorate in Higher Education Organizational Change from Benedictine University.

Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Ciabocchi currently serves as associate provost for academic affairs at Adelphi University. In this role, she oversees all curricular offerings, working closely with each of the University’s deans, faculty and administrative offices to implement, manage and revise the curriculum, including interdisciplinary offerings. She also serves as the primary Adelphi University liaison with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), the New York State Education Department and the U.S. Department of Education.

With more than 25 years of experience in higher education, Liz most recently served as vice provost for digital learning and executive director of online learning and services at St. John’s University, where she led academic initiatives to develop digital learning strategies for programs offered in fully online and hybrid formats. Prior to her time at St. John’s, she served in various roles at Long Island University, such as associate vice president for online learning, and also in areas including instructional technology, academic planning and academic affairs. She previously worked at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and the New York College of Health Professions.

Author of two book chapters, Liz has published peer-reviewed journal articles and has presented her research on leadership and e-learning in higher education and other topics at dozens of conferences. Her teaching experience includes graduate-level courses in St. John’s University’s School of Education and undergraduate courses and graduate thesis supervision at the New York College of Health Professions. She has been extensively involved in committees and evaluation teams for Middle States reaccreditation and has held board and committee positions with the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), which named her a fellow in 2015.

Liz earned her EdD in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University; a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from New York Chiropractic College; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Scranton. She holds certifications from the OLC in Online Teaching and Leadership in Online Learning.

As SJSU’s provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, Vincent J. Del Casino Jr. serves as a key member of the university president’s leadership team with primary responsibility for ensuring academic excellence in undergraduate and graduate studies as well as a continual commitment to research, scholarship, and creative activities that benefit all students and society at large.

At the University of Arizona, Del Casino provided leadership and administrative oversight as the campus redeveloped central spaces for student support activities; re-organized its central administrative areas; increased online enrollment and program offerings; and enhanced student success and retention. With more than 18 years of academic and administrative experience in higher education, he also served as professor and chair of the Department of Geography at California State University, Long Beach.

Del Casino is a prolific writer and researcher who authored the book Social Geography: A Critical Introduction. He has also edited, co-edited and co-authored multiple other books and published dozens of articles and book chapters on topics ranging from health, robots and robotic technologies, cartographic theory, and tourism, in the context of geography. His numerous commentaries on higher education have been published in The Evolllution and Inside Higher Education, including “Machine Learning, Big Data and the Future of Higher Education.”

Prior to earning his doctorate in geography from the University of Kentucky, Del Casino received his master’s in geography from the University of Wisconsin and bachelor’s in international relations and East Asian studies from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.

Vickie S. Cook recently accepted a new role at the University of Illinois Springfield as the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment & Retention Management and is a member of the UIS Chancellor’s leadership team. For the past 10 years she has overseen Online Learning through the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service, Continuing and Professional Education, Office of Engaged Learning, and Center for Faculty Excellence and served as a member of the Provost leadership team. Cook is a Research Faculty member for the UIS School of Education in Educational Leadership.

She has also served in the capacity of Vice President of Innovation and Strategy and Dean of the School of Education for Greenville University in Greenville, IL. She served at Kaskaskia Community College in Centralia, IL for 14 years in various roles finishing her time there as Dean of Continuing Education and University Alliance.

Vickie publishes in journals and has written several book chapters regarding the intersection of capacity building through leadership. She is an advocate for innovations in learning strategies and has provided many faculty and staff professional development sessions in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Hong Kong. Her research interests focus on generational learning, multi-generational teaching in the online space, comparisons of Generation Z and Generation Alpha expectations for learning. She has served on various editorial boards, and on the board for higher education organizations in the fields of Continuing, Professional, and Online Education.

She was recognized as an OLC Fellow in 2017 and as a University of Illinois System President’s Executive Leadership Fellow in 2017.

Terry Di Paolo is Vice Provost of eLearning at Dallas College (formerly Dallas County Community College District). He has been with Dallas College since 2014 and served as an academic administrator in multiple roles leading major strategic projects associated with major academic transformation, academic technology and quality in online learning and teaching.

Terry moved to Texas in 2012 having spent over a decade as an academic at the United Kingdom’s Open University. With an interest in the intersections of technology and biography in the non-traditional student experience, Terry’s career has straddled both academic affairs and student success.

He is a specialist in online learning and teaching and draws on his experience as a social scientist to innovate in the higher education space through an equity lens and a focus on inclusive solutions.

Ralph E. Gomory became the President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 1989 after a long and distinguished career at IBM where he was responsible for IBM’s research division for almost 20 years. During his tenure as Sloan President, he led the Sloan Foundation into numerous fields relevant to major national issues. The Foundation supported pioneering work in the field of online learning before there was even a public Internet, and then supported its growth so that by 2009, more than 3.9 million people were enrolled annually in online courses in higher education in the United States. He was instrumental in the conception of the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C), now the Online Learning Consortium. In December 2007, Gomory became President Emeritus of the Sloan Foundation and joined NYU as a Research Professor. Dr. Gomory is well known for his mathematical research and has been awarded the National Medal of Science and many other awards in addition to eight honorary degrees.

Tanya Joosten, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist, the Director of Digital Learning Research and Development, and advisor to the Provost for innovation projects at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). She is the PI and Director of the National Research Center for Distance Education and Technological Advancements (DETA) and has been recognized for her work as she guides strategic digital learning efforts across the globe.

Currently, Dr. Joosten leads DETA working to support students’ success and access through identifying key research-based practices – learning, instructional, and institutional practices – with particular attention to students who are first generation, poverty affected, racially minoritized, and/or impaired or disabled. Through the development of the DETA Research Toolkit, Tanya advances and supports innovate methodologies and encourages the replication of research across institutions. DETA’s efforts are supported by the U.S. Department of Education, the Spencer Foundation, Online Learning Consortium (OLC), the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET), and the University of Wisconsin System Administration.

Dr. Joosten has a background in the social sciences hailing from the field of communication. Her notable keynotes include eLearning Asia, ITC eLearning Conference, and SACS COC President’s event, and her ideas have been highlighted on plenary panels at the UW-Madison Annual Distance Teaching and Learning conference and the OLC International Conference for Online Learning. You can find her ideas and work cited in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes, U.S. News World and Report, and more. Recent interviews with Dr. Joosten are available on ResearchInAction and TOPcast available on iTunes. Her book on social media is available from Wiley Publishing, she has authored numerous articles, chapters, and encyclopedia entries on human and social interactions and digital learning, and she often writes invited blog posts and magazine articles for organizations, such as EDUCAUSE, WCET, Inside Higher Ed, and Pearson.

Dr. Joosten previously worked as the Director of the Learning Technology Center leading faculty development and engagement initiatives, pedagogical and technological innovation projects, core learning technology oversight, and blended and online program development.

You can reach her on twitter @tjoosten or at tanyajoosten.com.

Dr. Gloria Niles is a distinguished leader in higher education with innovative contributions to online learning, academic technologies, and faculty development. With over three decades of experience in education, Dr. Niles has consistently driven transformative initiatives that empower institutions, faculty, and learners to thrive in an ever-changing academic landscape.

Currently, Dr. Niles serves as the Director of Online Learning for the University of Hawaiʻi System, where she oversees online education strategies for the system’s ten campuses. In this role, she champions innovation in digital pedagogy, fostering excellence in online teaching and learning. Her leadership ensures the integration of cutting-edge technologies and inclusive teaching practices, creating equitable access to education for Hawaiʻi’s diverse student population.

Dr. Niles is a dynamic speaker, facilitator, and coach focusing on strategies for building collaborative leadership in higher education and navigating personal and professional change in academia. Dr. Niles shares insights into how educators can sustain fulfilling careers while adapting to evolving challenges.

Dr. Niles’ career is defined by a passion for fostering innovation and collaboration. She has guided faculty development programs integrating best practices in teaching and learning, including emerging technologies, open educational resources, and competency-based education. Her leadership in faculty development has transformed how educators approach teaching, ensuring that their practices are informed by research and driven by compassion.

Dr. Tina Parscal, Ph.D. is the Associate Vice Chancellor for CCCOnline and Academic Affairs for the Colorado Community College System (CCCS). She serves as the system’s Chief Online Learning Officer responsible for developing and implementing a strategic vision that ensures the continuation of the Colorado Community College System (CCCS) as a nationally recognized consortium model for online and shared course teaching and learning. Additionally, she oversees system-wide academic technologies and online services and coordinates collaboration and communication among the colleges, CCCS, Colorado Online, and CCCOnline.

Dr. Parscal possesses broad higher education experience previously serving in such roles as a provost/chief academic officer, executive director, college dean, professor, and director. With over 20 years in higher education leadership, she has a breadth of leadership experience with online and distance learning, academic affairs, faculty development, enrollment services, and student affairs as well as extensive mentoring, teaching, and scholarship experience at the doctoral, master’s, undergraduate, and community college levels.

For her outstanding service and leadership in digital learning, she earned the Dick Jonsen & Mollie McGill Award from Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Cooperative for Education Technologies (WCET) in 2022.

Dr. Parscal received her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from Regis University; Master of Social Sciences from the University of Colorado, Denver; and Ph.D. in Instructional Design for Online Learning from Capella University.

Dr. Anthony G. Picciano is a Professor and Executive Officer for the Ph.D. Program in Urban Education at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He is also a member of the faculty in the Education Leadership Program at Hunter College, the doctoral program in Interactive Pedagogy and Technology at the Graduate Center, and the CUNY Online BA Program in Communication and Culture. He has forty-four years of experience in higher education administration and teaching and has served as a director of computer services, dean, vice president, and deputy to the president at CUNY and SUNY colleges. He has been involved in a number of major grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, IBM, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. In 1998, Dr. Picciano co-founded CUNY Online, a multi-million dollar initiative funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that provides support services to faculty developing online and blended learning courses.

Dr. Picciano's major research interests are school leadership, education policy, online teaching and learning, data-driven decision making, and multimedia instructional models. Dr. Picciano has conducted three major national studies with Jeff Seaman on the extent and nature of online and blended learning in American K-12 school districts. He has authored or edited numerous articles and eleven books including Educational Leadership and Planning for Technology, 5th Edition (2010, Pearson), Data-Driven Decision Making for Effective School Leadership (2006, Pearson), Distance Learning: Making Connections across Virtual Space and Time (2001, Pearson), and Educational Research Primer (2004, Continuum). In 2012, he published a book with Joel Spring, entitled, The Great American Education-Industrial Complex: Ideology, Technology, and Profit, (Routledge). In 2007, he co-edited a book on blended learning with Chuck Dziuban entitled, Blended Learning: Research Perspectives and has just published (2014) a new version of this book entitled, Blended Learning: Research Perspectives, Volume 2 (Taylor/Francis). He is currently writing a new book with Chuck Dziuban, Charles Graham, and Patsy Moskal entitled, New Pedagogical Frontiers: Conducting Research in Online and Blended Learning Environments.

Dr. Picciano has been on the Board of Directors of the Online Learning Consortium (formerly the Sloan Consortium) since 2001. His activities have included serving on the planning committees for the Annual Conference, the Annual Workshop on Blended Learning, and the Symposium on Emerging Technologies. Lastly, he has been an associate editor of JALN since 2002 and has edited five special editions. In 2010, Dr. Picciano received the Online Learning Consortium's National Award for Outstanding Achievement in Online Education by an Individual.

Jason Rhode is Associate Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Digital Education at Northern Illinois University (NIU). In his role he serves as chief online learning officer and provides direction for the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) and oversees university-wide digital learning. He also holds a joint faculty appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment.

With over 20 years of leadership experience in higher ed online education and faculty development, Jason is a champion for academic excellence and student-centric, equity-minded approaches across the faculty development and digital learning functions that he leads. Jason has published and presented widely and has received numerous accolades for his contributions to the field, most recently named an OLC Fellow in 2023.

Prior to earning his doctorate in Instructional Design for Online Learning from Capella University, Jason received his master’s in curriculum and instructional from Seattle Pacific University and bachelor’s in children’s ministries from North Central University. 

Melissa Vito is a recognized higher education leader with over 35 years of experience in public higher education. She served as both Senior Vice President for Enrollment and Student Affairs and Senior Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives and Student Success at the University of Arizona, retiring in July of 2018. She began consulting full time working with several large public institutions in developing a plan for fully online programs and with selected ed tech companies providing thought leadership. Currently, she is serving as the Vice Provost for Academic Innovation at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

A transformational leader, she has earned a reputation as forward-thinking and team focused. Under her leadership, she initiated and developed University of Arizona’s online programs which launched in Spring of 2015 and was recognized by UPCEA in Spring of 2019 for the Innovation in Transformation Award. While at University of Arizona, she also co-founded the Gender Based Violence Center; co-coordinated efforts resulting in University of Arizona’s designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution; envisioned and developed the Think Tank learning center, Arizona’s first comprehensive academic support area for students; and reimagined Career Services, linking a commitment of student engagement for all undergraduates and student leadership into a comprehensive four-year experience for students.

Her consulting at University of Texas at San Antonio to assist in building a plan for developing fully online programs, led to a longer-term commitment to lead the development of this program and to lead the newly established division of Academic Innovation. This work in building the division along with a growing infrastructure for fully online programs made UTSA’s move during the pandemic to remote and online learning relatively seamless. Several of the programs established by Academic Innovation during the pandemic have received national recognition including the Defining Moments interdisciplinary project and the initiation of Faculty Champions and Points of Contact.

She speaks and writes frequently, including contributing a chapter to NASPA’s newly released book Online & Engaged (March 2020). Her areas of expertise include leadership, career development, digital literacy, online education, and campus emergency response, among other areas. Recognized nationally by NASPA as a Pillar of the Profession, she has also received the ACPA national award for Excellence in Practice, the Tucson’s 40 under 40 Mentor of the Year Award, the National Association of Fraternity and Sorority Advisors Kent Gardner Award for Excellence, the Salpointe High School Hall of Fame and has recently joining the Online Learning Consortium Board of Directors.

She earned a bachelor’s in Journalism and English; Masters in Higher Education and Counseling both from University of Arizona and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Yan Xu, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of History at Spelman College, where she also directs the eSpelman Online Program and the Online Undergraduate Program. She is dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion in online education. Her efforts enhance the online learning experience for learners of all backgrounds, particularly through her leadership of the Wintermester and summer online courses for undergraduates, as well as online certificate programs aimed at working adult learners. Dr. Xu is an alumna of the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL), a prestigious program by the Online Learning Consortium (OLC). Additionally, she contributes to the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council. Previously, Dr. Xu served as the chair of the History Department at Spelman College and was Vice President of Professional Development at the Project Management Institute Silver Spring Chapter. She can be reached at yxu@spelman.edu.