President and co-founder of DXtera Institute℠ Dale Allen is responsible for the expertise and strategic direction necessary to realize DXtera’s entrepreneurial vision of transforming higher education through digital solutions.

A nationally recognized leader in post-secondary education policy and innovation, Allen brings over 25 years of experience in public and private higher education, systems office, and private industry. His successful record scaling educational innovations has led to more than $1 billion in shared investments to support policies, facilities and efforts aimed at significantly increasing student completion, improving the economic outcomes for individuals and their communities.

He most recently served as the Special Assistant to the President for Innovation at Quinsigamond Community College (QCC), leading the conceptualization and implementation of the education and workforce development components of two National Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (NMII): AIM Photonics and Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA).

Previously, he served as Vice President for Community Engagement at QCC, where he oversaw the $20 million US Department of Labor TAACCCT funded Transformation Agenda. Dr. Allen also served as a Special Assistant to the Massachusetts Commissioner of Higher Education, where he led policy development for college and career pathways, including the Commonwealth’s involvement with Complete College America and the Guided Pathways to Success in STEM careers initiative.

Dr. Allen holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Springfield College and a doctorate in Public Policy from University of Massachusetts Boston.

Laura I Rendón is Professor Emerita at the University of Texas-San Antonio. She is also an education consultant and featured speaker at higher education institutions and conferences throughout the nation. Her presentations focus on topics such as student success, Latinx STEM students, deep learning experiences and self-care and healing.

A native of Laredo, Texas Rendón’s passion is ensuring that the nation’s educational system fosters success for all students, especially those who are low income and first generation. Rendón developed “validation theory,” an asset-based student success framework that has been employed to frame research studies and programmatic activities in two- and four-year colleges and universities.

Rendón is also a teaching and learning thought leader. She is the author of the book, Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking Pedagogy): Educating for Wholeness, Social Justice and Liberation, as well as numerous publications focusing on student success and contemplative education.

She is a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, a member of the Board of Directors of the John N Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education and former Fellow of the Fetzer Institute. In 2013 the Texas Diversity Council awarded Rendón the title of being one of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in Texas. In 2019 the University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center recognized Rendón as one of the nation’s most influential Latinas whose scholarship has had transformative effects on higher education.

Rendón’s personal archives are located at the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas-Austin, one of the premier libraries in the world focused on Latin America and Latinx Studies.

Devon A. Cancilla is the Chief Knowledge Officer at the Online Learning Consortium. Prior to this role, he served as the Vice Provost for Academic Innovation at UMKC. His team provided instructional design support for the development of online and traditional programs and coordinates UMKC’s activities toward state authorization, student authentication and learning analytics. Prior to coming to UMKC, Devon served as Dean and then Associate Provost for Learning at American Sentinel University, a fully online institution. Devon was also an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Director of Scientific Technical Services (SciTech) at Western Washington University (WWU) where he led the development of the Integrated Laboratory Network (ILN), an online laboratory initiative funded by the National Science Foundation. Devon has received both the Sloan-C (now OLC) Outstanding Achievement Award for Online Education and an Effective Practice Award for his research into the development and use of online laboratories. He attended the University of Iowa, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and UCLA, where he received his doctorate in Environmental Health Science. Devon’s current research interests relate to the use of analytics in the design and development of online courses.