Carrie O’Donnell: 
Carrie O’Donnell, CEO of Nectar.inc. (parent company to Alchemy), is an entrepreneur and change-maker focused on the digital transformation of higher education institutions and the workplace. She founded O’Donnell Learn, a leading learning design and faculty enablement company, over 30 years ago with a commitment to humanized, inclusive and engaged learning that continues to serve as Alchemy’s guiding star today. A strategic advisor and thought leader, she is a frequent conference speaker and host of the Change-Makers in Higher Ed podcast. Over the past two years, Carrie has guided the development of Curie, Alchemy’s groundbreaking technology platform that empowers educators and allows institutions to scale the development of effective learning experiences.

Jennifer Mathes:
Jennifer Mathes, Ph.D serves as the Chief Executive Officer at the Online Learning Consortium. In this role, she provides the strategic direction for the organization and supports the development of key projects and programs to support OLC members. Dr. Mathes has 25 years of experience in both public and private education where she has continuously supported digital learning initiatives. In addition, Dr. Mathes is the author of the ICDE Report Global Quality in Online, Open, Flexible and Technology Enhanced Education: An Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (2019) and co-editor of the OLC Quality Scorecard Handbook: Criteria for Excellence in Blended Learning Programs (2017). She continues to write and present on key topics in online, blended and digital learning.
In her career, she has been instrumental in working with start-up initiatives as well as leading growth in institutions with an existing technology enhanced program. She has also served as a consultant, providing recommendations to institutions on steps to take to implement best practices in online education. Her recent work has involved collaborating with higher education associations and institutions internationally to support the global adoption of best practices in online learning.
Dr. Mathes holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 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.

Our lead-off speaker for Foundry Day is Dr. Pope-Ruark, who is currently Director of the Office of Faculty Professional Development at Georgia Institute of Technology. In this role she is able to contribute significantly to strategic planning, development and implementation efforts key to instructor and student success. Prior to this role, she was a member of the faculty in the Center for Teaching and Learning at Georgia Tech.
A coach, speaker, facilitator, and educator, Rebecca also has 12 years of experience as a tenured professor at Elon University. She has led faculty development workshops on productivity, project management, and burnout at over 20 institutions across the country and at major conferences. She’s also certified through the International Coaching Federation.She is the author of two books – Agile Faculty: Practical Strategies for Managing Research, Service, and Teaching and Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal which came out last fall. Rebecca also hosts the Agile Academic podcast for women in higher education.

Brett Christie: 
Brett (he/him/his) has worked in higher education for over 25 years, with extensive experience leading teaching effectiveness and student success initiatives involving a myriad of stakeholders at campus, system, and national levels. Many of these efforts have included curricular redesign for more innovative and effective uses of technology, including quality online-blended course design and delivery. In his role at Alchemy, Brett has led the development and implementation of our Purposeful Learning Framework, which enables the creation of student-centric learning experiences that are humanized, inclusive, and engaging.
Since earning his doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction in 1997, he has applied his knowledge and passion to become an established teacher, researcher, and thought leader on many topics in contemporary education. These range from sound fundamentals of effective course design and delivery to more innovative practices and uses of technology to provide greater access, engagement, and real-world application. In particular, Brett is known as an expert in applying Universal Design for Learning in post-secondary education as a means for greater equity, accessibility, and inclusivity. He has led many faculty and institutional efforts to apply the principles of UDL in ways to enable success by the greatest number and diversity of students possible. As a first generation college student himself, Brett is particularly invested in closing equity gaps that exist in postsecondary education. He works and resides in Olympia, Washington, on the ancestral lands of the Medicine Creek Treaty tribes. As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, Brett enjoys all the scenic beauty and recreation the area has to offer and spends a great deal of time on regional trail and water pursuits.
In acknowledging that we benefit from community input and shared meaning-making practices, this session invites participants in for collaboration around how we define equity and quality, particularly the relationship between equity and quality. Together we will share own unique experiences in measuring equitable and quality learning in online, blended, and digital environments, story our challenges in designing for equity and quality, and identify key areas of focus and direction that we should prioritize as a community in the future. Finally, as part of the OLC and McGraw Hill’s partnership, contributions made during this session (and across the event more generally) will be synthesized into a series of free artifacts/resources for the community following the event. With this specifically in mind, this session not only invites you to story your own expertise, but invites you in as a collaborator and credited contributor for those resources (e.g. white paper).

Carrie O’Donnell:
Carrie O’Donnell, CEO of Nectar.inc. (parent company to Alchemy), is an entrepreneur and change-maker focused on the digital transformation of higher education institutions and the workplace. She founded O’Donnell Learn, a leading learning design and faculty enablement company, over 30 years ago with a commitment to humanized, inclusive and engaged learning that continues to serve as Alchemy’s guiding star today. A strategic advisor and thought leader, she is a frequent conference speaker and host of the Change-Makers in Higher Ed podcast. Over the past two years, Carrie has guided the development of Curie, Alchemy’s groundbreaking technology platform that empowers educators and allows institutions to scale the development of effective learning experiences.

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.

Shani Suber is the inaugural dean of e-Learning effectiveness and enhancement at Dallas College. She has served in a variety of roles including 23 years in education as an adjunct, faculty, and administrator. In her current role, she is the academic lead administrator for Dallas College’s learning management system upgrade, development of effective online teaching practices, calibration of distance education guidelines and policies. Her leadership spans across 60k students, 3k faculty, and 7 ‘Schools Of’ at Dallas College. Shani has also led collaboration across the college to aid in online accessibility and technology. She advocates for students with disabilities and equality in education for all students while implementing innovation and quality online. As an online learning leader, Shani has been committed to diversity and inclusion efforts in higher education over the years. It’s her honor to commit her professional career to encouraging, developing, and collaborating with educators in this incredible and meaningful industry.

Elizabeth (Liz) Lehfeldt (she/her/hers) is Professor of History at Cleveland State University, where she has been Department Chair and the founding Dean of the Mandel Honors College. From 2016-2019 she was Vice President of the Teaching Division of the American Historical Association. Her work has appeared in Inside Higher Ed, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Times Higher Education. She offers higher ed professional development workshops on a variety of topics, including developing and implementing new pedagogical strategies, introducing and managing curricular change, and running better meetings. As of 2022, she is also a part of the Mellon Foundation funded Care in the Academy project, for which she is a co-facilitator of 36 national participants in an efforts meant to answer the question “ What does it mean to imagine and generate structural change rooted in the principle of compassion?”
Twitter: https://twitter.com/school_tales (@school_tales)
Personal-Professional site: https://elizabethalehfeldt.com/
Care in the Academy project site: https://www.knox.edu/care-in-the-academy

Andrew Dell’Antonio:
Andrew Dell’Antonio is Distinguished Teaching Professor in, and Head of, the Musicology/Ethnomusicology Division of the Butler School of Music in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. 
He is Co-Editor with William Cheng of the series Music and Social Justice (University of Michigan Press). His collected edition Beyond Structural Listening? Postmodern Modes of Hearing and monograph Listening as Spiritual Practice in early Modern Italy are both published by University of California Press. 
He blogs at The Avid Listener and is co-author of The Enjoyment of Music, both from W W Norton.​
He has recently turned his focus to Universal Design for Learning and related approaches to anti-racism, anti-ableism, and intersectional equity / inclusion in higher education music.  His commitment to UDL comes partly from his personal experience of neurodivergence.
Emily Beitiks:
Emily Beitiks received a Ph.D. in American Studies with a focus in Disability Studies at the University of Minnesota. She has served as adjunct at the University of Minnesota, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, Menlo College and San Francisco State University. In her last job, she served as senior program associate for the Center for Genetics and Society, where she helped organize the Tarrytown Meetings for scholar-activism in biopolitics.  She began at the Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University in 2012 and began serving as Interim Director in July 2022. In this role, she continues her work as a scholar and advocate of disability to showcase the way disability enriches our world. She was the project director for “Patient No More,” a multimedia, interactive exhibit which modeled new standards for exhibit access, and she also serves as director for Superfest Disability Film Festival, the longest running disability film festival in the world.

Laura Westhoff:
Laura Westhoff (she/her/hers) is professor and chair of the History Department at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her research fields include: the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, U.S. democracy and social movements, the scholarship of teaching and learning history (SoTL), and the history of education. She is the author of A Fatal Drifting Apart: Democratic Social Knowledge and Chicago Reform (The Ohio State University Press, 2007) and is currently working on a book on the mid-twentieth century democratic practices, titled Educating for Activism (under contract, University of Illinois Press). Her articles have appeared in the Journal of American History, The History Teacher, Women’s History Review, and the History of Education Quarterly. Currently she is a contributing co-editor for the Textbooks and Teaching section of the Journal of American History. Dr. Westhoff is committed to advancing history education at all levels, and is a frequent presenter at history workshops and colloquia for teachers. She has served as the faculty coordinator for the Student Teaching in China program at UMSL In 2017 she received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and in 2018 was awarded the Eugene Asher Award for History Education from the AHA.

As the Director of Community Strategy and Engagement, Madeline (Maddie) Shellgren serves as the lead innovator, designer, and project manager of the OLC’s portfolio of online engagement opportunities. Known for her love of storytelling, play, and all things gameful, Maddie thrives on facilitating and designing meaningful ways for people to connect, learn, and grow together. Within the OLC, she has served on steering and operations committees for several of the organization’s conferences (including as Technology Test Kitchen and Innovation Studio lead, as well as Engagement Co-Chair) and has had the distinct honor of being the mastermind behind the OLC Escape Rooms. She looks forward to continuing supporting OLC community building efforts, is committed to sustainable, equitable, and anti-oppressive ecologies within education, and is genuinely excited to leverage her interdisciplinary scholarly and professional backgrounds as she helps lead the OLC towards truly innovative and transformative models for what’s possible for online and digital engagement. Maddie joins the OLC from Michigan State University (MSU), where she has served as the lead on numerous student success initiatives related to instructional design and technology, accessibility, and equity and inclusion. Over the past eleven years, Maddie has dedicated her professional life to teaching and learning related initiatives and has strategically sought out opportunities that give her a multi-dimensional perspective on teaching and learning, including working as a Standardized Patient training medical students, serving as Program Director for Teaching Assistant development, taking lead on a number of cross-institutional educator onboarding and professional development projects, and teaching across online and face-to-face contexts. She most recently worked as an Assistant Rowing Coach for the MSU Varsity Women’s Rowing Program. There she was given the opportunity to help redesign a community from the bottom up, story the team’s new journey together in fun and multimodal ways, lead in the co-construction of community expectations and norms, help ensure alignment across a variety of stakeholders and initiatives, and develop and operationalize strategic structures for long-term sustainability (such as entirely new social media, marketing, communications, and content management strategies). She had the privilege of seeing the impact of her human-centered and equity-oriented approach each and every day as the team reimagined what it meant to be a Spartan on the MSU Rowing Team. With her move to the OLC, she will continue on as a volunteer coach, still supporting these efforts and the team, and is excited to get back on the water.

Dylan Barth: 
Dylan Barth is the Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Learning and a Co-Director of the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning (IELOL). Dylan provides strategic vision and oversight for professional development, research and publications, and the Quality Scorecard Suite at OLC. He has 20+ years of experience teaching in higher education and 12+ years working in faculty and instructional development. Dylan holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with an emphasis on masculinities in contemporary post-apocalyptic fiction.

Carrie O’Donnell:
Carrie O’Donnell, CEO of Nectar.inc. (parent company to Alchemy), is an entrepreneur and change-maker focused on the digital transformation of higher education institutions and the workplace. She founded O’Donnell Learn, a leading learning design and faculty enablement company, over 30 years ago with a commitment to humanized, inclusive and engaged learning that continues to serve as Alchemy’s guiding star today. A strategic advisor and thought leader, she is a frequent conference speaker and host of the Change-Makers in Higher Ed podcast. Over the past two years, Carrie has guided the development of Curie, Alchemy’s groundbreaking technology platform that empowers educators and allows institutions to scale the development of effective learning experiences.