If you’re not already acquainted with the Online Learning Consortium’s Leadership Network, allow me to introduce you! OLC offers a diverse array of programming and development opportunities designed for online, blended, and digital leaders at all levels. Among these opportunities, the OLC Leadership Network stands out, providing a platform for leaders from various backgrounds and expertise to engage in signature events, such as the much-anticipated OLC Leadership Network Symposium, scheduled to take place on October 24th in Washington, DC, just ahead of OLC Accelerate 2023.

The OLC Leadership Network Symposium is a highly collaborative one-day event crafted explicitly for leaders at all levels. Its main objective is to collectively identify and address the pressing challenges and promising opportunities surrounding equitable, inclusive, and high-quality digital and online education. Building upon the success of previous Leadership Network events and heeding the requests from senior leaders, this year’s symposium serves as a dedicated meeting space for those seeking to shape the future of digital education. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore critical questions within the following tracks: Digital Strategy & Policy, Emerging Leaders, Equitable and Inclusive Digital Learning Leadership, Student Experience, and Workforce Education.

I am both excited and deeply grateful to serve as the Chair for this year’s Leadership Network Symposium, and I extend a warm welcome to leaders across the digital and online education landscape. Coming together as a community of leaders is always a special and cherished aspect of these events. Personally, my growth as a leader has been significantly influenced by the OLC network, especially through the relationships I’ve built with other professionals. Working through challenges, problems, and the unknown alongside them has been an invaluable experience. Our collective ability to address these issues together, explore new ideas, and put them to the test has empowered each of us to make a positive impact within our respective organizations.

This year, we have taken a purposeful approach in curating the Leadership Network Symposium’s program, ensuring that panels and sessions feature representation from emerging leaders all the way to senior executives and advisors. The value of diverse leadership voices at the table, discussing policies, equitable and inclusive digital leadership, and student experiences, cannot be overstated – it brings exponential power to our mission as educators.

As a sneak peek, let me introduce you to a couple of the esteemed leaders who will be participating in this year’s program:

• Jennifer Wurch, Director of Curriculum Operations, Penn Foster Group: Jennifer, an IELOL alumni and advocate, will be speaking in the Emerging Leaders track. Her focus will be on how emerging and seasoned digital leaders can collaborate to build leadership capacity within their organizations, with an emphasis on leading with purpose. In an upcoming OLC Insights Blog, she will share her thoughts on the significance of this partnership in cultivating and nurturing the next generation of digital and online leaders.

• Panel Session featuring Bethany Simunich, Quality Matters; Eric Fredericksen, University of Rochester; and Richard Garrett, Eduventures: As we eagerly await the publication of the 2023 Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) report, the authors of this report, Bethany Simunich, Eric Fredericksen, and Richard Garrett, are collectively examining survey responses from senior leaders across higher education. This panel session will shed light on the current state of affairs and explore how leaders are preparing for the future of online and digital learning.

We’re excited to announce that the full symposium program will be published in August, presenting an array of sessions and networking opportunities tailored for digital and online leaders across all levels. For more information, please visit our website: https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/attend-2023/accelerate/leadership-network-symposium/.

We look forward to welcoming you to the OLC Leadership Network Symposium as we embark on a journey towards a more equitable, inclusive, and forward-looking landscape for online education. Together, we can shape the future of digital learning and make a lasting impact on students and institutions alike.