Dr. Elizabeth Barkley is an internationally known scholar, educator, and consultant who prides herself on her 35 years' experience as an innovative and reflective college teacher. Always trying to connect theory to practice, her best selling books Student Engagement Techniques and Collaborative Learning Techniques (Jossey-Bass, 2010 and 2005) were written to help college teachers find practical but research-based solutions to the challenges they face in today’s classroom. An early experimenter with technology to enhance learning, she was awarded the Carnegie Foundation’s California Higher Education Professor of the Year, the California Community College League’s Out-of-the-Box Thinker Award, and her course honored as “Best Online Class” by the California Virtual Campus. Currently writing digital textbooks that aim to blend learning theory with disciplinary content, she will be talking about using these as tools to engage students.

Elizabeth Slavitt works with schools to create individualized, collaborative, and joyful classroom environments in which Khan Academy software and visionary teachers help students master concepts at their own pace.

Before Khan Academy, Elizabeth worked at McKinsey & Company and earned a B.A. in Intellectual History at Penn.

Dr. Denise Swett is currently the Vice President of Student Services at Foothill College. Denise has worked at both 2- and 4-year colleges, including 11 years at the University of San Francisco in student life, at Chabot College as Dean of Students and Cañada College as Vice President of Student Services. Denise has been with Foothill College since July of 2007. As vice president she provides leadership and guidance for the student services division. She also oversees career and workforce grants, the Workforce Innovation Partnership and the Family Engagement Institute and college-wide professional development. She was Administrator of the Year, Foothill College, 2008-09 and has been recognized for her work by the Association of Mexican American Educators of Silicon Valley receiving the Educator of the Year award for 2010-11, and recently received the National Community College Administrator of the Year 2011-12 from NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Denise earned her BA and MPA at San Jose State University and her Ed.D. in organization and leadership (with a concentration in higher education administration) from the University of San Francisco.

Ahrash N. Bissell, Ph.D., is a Special Projects Manager for the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE), as well as a Consultant on innovation in education and science for several projects and organizations, including the Mozilla Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Alexandria Archive Institute. Dr. Bissell also sits on the boards for Peer 2 Peer University and Wikieducator. Dr. Bissell's current and prior work encompasses educational research and technology, with special focus on science and math (STEM) disciplines, open educational resources (OER), and data sharing. Prior positions include serving as the Executive Director of ccLearn at Creative Commons, the Assistant Director of the Academic Resource Center and a Research Associate in Biology at Duke University, and an Instructor at several universities. Dr. Bissell has a Ph.D. in Biology (Evolutionary Genetics) from the University of Oregon and a BS in Biology from the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Geri Anderson currently serves as the Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs and Provost for the Colorado Community College System. In the role of Chief Academic & Student Affairs Officer, she provides leadership for all community college academic and student affairs policy review and development, ensures the development and enhancement of high quality career and technical and transfer education programs through on-going program review, assessment of student learning, high academic standards and the expansion of scholarship/creative activity. In addition, she is responsible for the administration of the Colorado Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Plan and the Colorado Technical Education Act.

Jayme Johnson is the Web Accessibility Instructor at the High Tech Center Training Unit (HTCTU) for the California Community Colleges. The HTCTU provides trainings and technical assistance to higher-education faculty and staff on the use of assistive computer technology for students with disabilities, the creation of alternate media, and web accessibility.

Jayme has a Master's degree in Instructional Design and Technology, and conducts workshops and trainings in the areas of assistive computer technology, alternate media, and Internet accessibility. Centered in the context of higher education, and focusing on enhancing the opportunities for success for students with disabilities through the use of technology, Jayme finds and develops solutions in areas of instructional design and technology, assistive computer technology applications, emerging technologies and media, distance education, mobile devices, and institutional access issues. When not otherwise occupied, Jayme also provides assistance to individual faculty and staff from across the 112 campuses of the California Community College system, and teaches online courses related to web accessibility.

Dr. Christina Royal has been involved in education for over 15 years, in both academic (community college and private four-year institutions) and corporate environments. She currently serves as the Associate Vice President of eLearning & Innovation at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), and has district-wide oversight over one of the largest distance-learning units in the state of Ohio. Her extensive experience as an administrator and faculty member allows her to bring significant expertise and value to discussions, and a forward-thinking approach to ideas associated with contemporary higher education teaching and learning practices, approaches, issues, and solutions.

Dr. Royal is leading Tri-C’s $2MM Title III grant to enhance distance learning in four key areas: student success and retention, innovative faculty development, infrastructure and technology, and quality. She also led the College in obtaining its first regional accreditation (Higher Learning Commission) for fully online programs at Tri-C. Dr. Royal developed and led the College in its most comprehensive strategic planning process for distance learning. Under her leadership, Tri-C has advanced policy and program development, virtual support services, faculty professional development and training, and technology system integration and innovation in support of teaching and learning.

Dr. Royal received her Ph.D. in Education/Instructional Design for Online Learning and a Graduate Certificate in Teaching Online from Capella University. She also received a Master's in Educational Psychology and Bachelor's in Mathematics from Marist College.

Todd Sanders is an award-winning Senior Information Processing Consultant (read: social media specialist who has lucky streaks) at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he plays on the Web to discover new ways to make old things sound cool to young people. In 2011, he participated in the Mercedes-Benz Tweet Race, where his network of friends demonstrated how the power of quality relationships can overcome much larger networks. He’s been a solid Father of the Year contender since 1998, is happily married to the most awesome woman in the world, feeds two dogs and a hamster, loves football and has a passion for making boring things fun.

Kishia Brock, M.Ed., serves as Vice-President of Student Affairs for Rio Solado College, the largest in headcount of the ten Maricopa Community Colleges located in metropolitan Phoenix, and the largest public online community college in the nation. Rio Solado serves approximately 70,000 students annually, including more than 41,000 online students.

Ms. Brock was selected for her position in 2011 after serving as the college’s Interim Vice-President. Her previous positions with Rio Solado include Dean of Enrollment Management, Associate Dean of Student Services, Director of Student Services, Coordinator of Academic Advisement, and Academic Advisor. In her current role, Ms. Brock plans, organizes, and directs the Student Affairs and Advancement division. The division includes: Student Affairs (Admissions, Records, Registration, Advisement, Career Counseling, International Education, Judicial Affairs, Testing and Assessment, Military Advisement and Outreach, Financial Aid, Veterans Affairs, Disability Resources and Services, and the ACE Puente Program) and Institutional Advancement (Marketing, Advertising, Media & Social Relations, Web Development, College Copy Center, Outreach and Recruitment).

Ms. Brock is well-known as an advocate for student success in higher education. For the last 15 years, she has led in the development, oversight and transformation of major Student Affairs initiatives on a local and national level, created transformational approaches to managing a high-volume online student services model, and forged innovative alliances and partnerships with educational providers while working for Rio Salado College. In addition, Ms. Brock is currently pursuing a doctorate of Philosophy in Leadership for Higher Education from Capella University.

Michael Shouldice has been with Athabasca University for 6 years. Prior to AU he helped opened the Commerce Career Development Centre at the University of Toronto and was an Enrolment Counsellor for Sylvan Learning Centres. In other pre-academia lives he worked for Marriott, and Hilton hotels, as well as Canadian cell phone and software companies.

Michael and his wife, who both study at Athabasca University, have just welcomed their first child and are living the AU promise by balancing work, family and school. When not busy working, or studying, or rearing Michael enjoys exploring the far reaches of the golf courses he plays and convincing Sheri that diamonds are not only her best friend on her finger but also on the slopes.

Holding a Bachelor of Commerce and a Teacher of Adults Certificate Michael is completing his Master’s of Arts while working as a recruitment officer for Athabasca University. He has had the pleasure of presenting for Innovative Educators in the past in Cambridge, MA and recently presented in Houston at the NAFSA International Education Conference about using social media to engage students.

Gay Krause is the Director of the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College. The KCI focuses on K-12 teachers and administrators designing and implementing innovative professional development education and training, with an emphasis on technology integration and STEM curriculum, to support the diverse workforce needed to compete in the knowledge economy. Gay guides the vision of the KCI which has served 14,000 educators since 2000.

Their highly renowned trainings include:

MERIT: Making Education Relevant and Interactive through Technology is aimed at developing and supporting innovative applications of technology in teaching and learning.

FAME: Faculty Academy for Mathematics Excellence is a professional development experience for teachers of mathematics in grades 6-8 aimed at the simultaneous development of both content and technological knowledge in order to enhance teachers’ pedagogical practices.

FASTtech classes are a series of short, affordable and conveniently timed classes for K-14 educators that address the California Technology Proficiencies by providing an opportunity to discover ways to incorporate technology into curriculum.

Tony Garife is a State Program Manager in the Workforce Development Division for ACT. In his current role, Tony provides job skills assessment systems that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce. Tony also helps educators ensure that individuals are ready for work—and for life. In addition, Tony has worked in the higher education field for over 20 years in the field of federal financial aid, assisting students with financing their college education. Tony has a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communication with a minor in African American Studies from San Diego State University and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Washington.

Moryt Milo founded InternBound after she saw how frustrated her college- age daughter and friends were trying to find quality, paid internships. The site was designed with one goal in mind: Make sure the majority of listings were paid and students could find them easily. The service is free and it is now used in schools throughout California, including colleges and universities in the UC, CSU and California Community College systems. Moryt is an award winning journalist and Editor of the Silicon Valley Business Journal, a B2B publication that covers business news in the Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. She has a B.A. in sociology from Case Western Reserve University.

Alexis Ringwald is an entrepreneur with a passion for solving massive social challenges. She co-founded LearnUp after spending six months in America’s unemployment offices researching the education and jobs crisis. Prior to LearnUp, Alexis co-founded Valence Energy, which was acquired by Serious Energy in 2010.

Alexis lived in India for three years as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. While there, she co-directed a Climate Tour across India in solar electric cars in 2009.

Alexis was selected for Forbes "30 Under 30" in 2012. She completed her B.A./M.E.M. from Yale University.

Valerie Kisiel has over 10 years experience as a teacher, advisor, recruiter and web administrator at the high school and the community college levels. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a Master’s degree in Information and Learning Technologies from the University of Colorado, Denver. As an owner of Innovative Educators, Val works full-time on behalf of the company and teaches/advises part-time at Front Range Community College. Prior to this, she served as the Coordinator of Student Success for Online Learning at Front Range Community College. Her responsibilities included instructional design, course development, faculty training and online instruction.