Meet The Team
The people at Noodle have designed, built, and managed some of the best online undergraduate and graduate programs in the world.
Darwin serves as the Chief Privacy Officer of Noodle and is responsible for Information Systems and IT operations. In this role, he identifies security concerns, maintains the cybersecurity, data privacy, and compliance scope for the company, as well as establishes policy in each of these areas. Across the ecosphere of the company, Darwin and his team endeavor to foster a culture of privacy. This involves designing, implementing, and ensuring compliance within the organization, addressing security framework, products, infrastructure, and software development lifecycle.
With over 15 years in IT leadership, including systems management, project management, data center operations, mission-critical infrastructure, and software-defined networks, Darwin is driving Noodle Partners forward as an agile, groundbreaking technology company. He is passionate about cultivating a work environment that promotes a sense of purpose, ownership, and meaning amongst his team members in order to deliver a superior product to Noodle Partners’ clients.
Whenever he can find spare time, Darwin enjoys family activities, gourmet cooking, great wine, and competitive sports.
John is currently an Enrollment Advisor working with the Virginia Commonwealth University for the Masters in Social Work program. He graduated from CUNY Lehman College with a bachelor degree in psychology and Silberman School of Social Work at CUNY Hunter College with a masters degree in clinical social work. He previously worked as a Admissions Counselor in CUNY Welcome Center assisting undergraduate students in assisting both domestic and international students complete college enrollment process both in person and remotely. In his spare time, he enjoys singing, cooking, volunteering at his church, excerising, martial arts and learning something new. He currently resides in New York, NY
Jessica graduated from Cal Baptist University with a Masters in School Counseling. She brings 7 years of experience working with every school age level from TK- undergrad and has worked alongside counselors at community colleges assisting students through the application and registration process.
Most recently, she was working full-time as a wedding and lifestyle photographer. In her spare time, she enjoys location scouting for photography sessions, including traveling to new states and countries. She explores these new places with her husband and daughter who fill any other time she might have.
Bethany is an Enrollment Advisor for Columbia University's AMP Program. She graduated from California State University of Los Angeles with a degree in Education. She worked as an Enrollment Advisor prior to Noodle. In her spare time she enjoys volunteering with a local non-profit teaching yoga to at-risk communities. She also loves cooking, eating, and watching sunsets at the beach.
Rob joins Noodle with over a decade of experience in higher education as an educator and ed tech leader. He comes to us from Cengage Learning where he led the Customer Success group, focusing on the full lifecycle of digital clients - from adoption to training, implementation, usage optimization, and renewal.
Prior to being Director of Customer Success, Rob was Director of Sales at Cengage and has had posts at Pearson Education as a District Manager, Technology Specialist, and Sales Representative. In each of these positions, Rob was at the epicenter of the massive shift in content delivery from traditional print to digital content and platforms. The constant has been Rob's mission and passion for connecting educators and students to engaging learning tools to improve access to high-quality learning experiences that increase student retention and outcomes.
Raised in North Carolina, Rob currently resides in Knoxville, TN. He received his B.A. in Communications from Eastern University in St. Davids, PA, before matriculating to the University of Maine for an M.A. in Communication Studies. Rob completed his Ph.D. coursework in Speech Communication at the University of Georgia. Rob enjoys spending time with his two young boys, traveling, cycling, and watching college sports.
Brooke Bailey brings 15 plus years of business development and relationship management experience to Noodle. For more than seven years, she has worked for a management consulting firm to build and maintain relationships with Fortune 500 clients across various industries including media, technology, and financial services. As the Director of Client Development for the firm, she successfully identified new clients, scoped consulting engagements, and served as the liaison between the client and consultants. Originally from New Orleans, LA, Brooke earned a B.A. in Journalism from Southern Methodist University where she became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Germaine is currently an Enrollment Advisor working with the University of Tennessee Knoxville Masters of Public Health program. She graduated from Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia with a degree in Political Science. Germaine has a diverse background working in education, public health, the service industry, to most recently healthcare. She previously worked for Emory University Hospital and Wellstar Hospital, where she performed duties in various roles such as patient access and financial counseling. Germaine is looking forward to using her talents to connect with students and coworkers from every region. When Germaine isn’t helping family or friends, she enjoys nice long road trips singing along to Mariah Carey wherever the wind may blow her.
Sarah joined Noodle from Temple University's Masters of Education Higher Education Access and Success Program. Sarah spent two years as an Americorps member working with college students from low-income backgrounds in the Philadelphia area through College Possible. As a Tech-Connected College Coach, and later an Enrollment Specialist, she learned to foster relationships with students from a distance, which helps her to better serve students in her current role as an Enrollment Advisor. She brings a drive for connecting students with resources and helping them navigate online learning. She is committed to removing barriers to access to higher education for students of all backgrounds and values the learning environment that is created when everyone has a seat in the classroom (physical or virtual).
Marwa is an Enrollment Advisor for Tulane University’s School of Social Work based in the Philadelphia office. A native of West Philadelphia, Marwa is a graduate of Temple University's Lew Klein College of Media and Communications where she specialized in Strategic Communications. Prior to Noodle, Marwa was a PR Events and External Communications specialist at Fox-Chase Cancer Center, an affiliate of the Temple Health Network.
Marwa is an aspiring higher education professional and is currently pursuing her Masters in Higher Education at Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development, focusing on student access and success. As a first generation Algerian-American, Marwa feels that it is her mission to further explore the disparities that minorities face in their pursuit for higher education.
In her spare time, Marwa enjoys freelance journalism and community outreach. Marwa is fluent in Arabic and French, and is a beginning-AP French tutor.
Nick currently resides in Louisville, KY and has been working in the higher education field since 2016. He likes spending his free time with his son Oliver and doing anything related with the outdoors. He is passionate about being able to help people and hopes to continue with that passion throughout his life.
Adrienne is excited to join the Noodle team as a Student Support Coach. She began her career in higher education after graduating with her Master’s Degree in student affairs from the University of West Georgia in 2016. Her experience in orientation and transition programs fueled her passion for helping students succeed, and she is excited to pursue that passion even further with Noodle. When she is not working, you can often find her running, spending time with her family or at her favorite place in the world- Disney World!
Michelle started her professional career as a High School Speech and Debate coach and English teacher. After a few years in public education she realized her real calling was working with educators to help them further their skill sets. She has been working with Boston College's online Master's of Education programs since February of 2019. She enjoys spending her free time hiking, making pottery, and dancing.
Bella currently serves the role of Learning Systems Product Development Manager. She originally joined Noodle as a Media and Creative Production Intern and then transitioned to the Learning Team as a Course Operations Associate. Bella was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and first moved to the US to attend Trinity College, CT in 2017, the institution from which she graduated in 2021. She also spent the 2019-2020 academic year studying at University College London, and has experience in psychology research both as a laboratory assistant and as primary investigator conducting her own thesis.
Bella continuously applies her interest in the development of academic curricula, learning theories, and information sharing by researching new ways of creating content in the online environment. And as a member of the Learning team, she helps envision new ways of designing courses and provide accessible learning opportunities that are aligned with what learners need and technology allows.
With over a decade of experience in education technology, Bradshaw heads the University Partnerships team at Noodle. He has formed deep relationships in a breadth of academic disciplines including Public Health, Social Work, Education, Business, Law, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Health Informatics, and Speech Pathology.
Before joining Noodle, he lead 2U’s new-program software integrations, collaborating with teams at USC, Berkeley, George Washington, American, SMU, Yale, Northwestern, Syracuse, and NYU. By implementing nuanced workflow efficiencies, he deployed more software in the first 18 months than had been deployed in the previous five years of operations.
You can reach Lee at lbradshaw@noodle.com.
Alice joins Noodle after almost ten years in public health, healthcare, and higher education. She began her career as a coordinator for the Obesity Prevention Initiative, which worked with both UNC-Wilmington and Blue Cross Blue Shield on community health efforts as well as research. Alice then entered her graduate degree program at the University of Virginia, where she received her MSN with a certification in Clinical Nurse Leadership. After graduation, she worked as both a nurse at the University of Virginia Health System, and as adjunct faculty for the School of Nursing. After moving back to her hometown in North Carolina, Alice went back into the nonprofit public health sector to help those in her small community until she joined Noodle Partners. She is passionate about the empowerment of education, and the incredible opportunities that advancements in technology will bring to those who seek to better themselves through learning.
Jess brings almost 7 years of experience as an Academic Advisor in Higher Education to Noodle. Originally from Kalamazoo, MI, she currently resides in the Chicago area. Jess holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and a Masters in Higher Education Administration from the University at Buffalo. She is a dedicated mentor who is passionate about the success of each student she works with. Additionally, Jess is a strong advocate for online education and strives to make Higher Education more accessible to all. During her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her family, chasing after her daughter, and wine tasting.
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Johanna is a Certified Physician Assistant with ten years of experience in clinical medicine. She trained at the Yale University School of Medicine before practicing in general pediatrics in Nevada and Arizona. As a PA, she loved building strong patient-provider relationships and watching patients grow. To her role as Director of Field Placement, she brings a passion for healthcare and an understanding that exceptional clinical placements are essential to training qualified medical professionals.
Kyle Buchanan joined Noodle in 2022 as an Enrollment Advisor for the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to joining Noodle Kyle worked as a public school music educator in New Jersey for six years. Kyle is very excited to transition into the realm of higher education and help students realize their maximum potential. In his free time, he is an avid theatergoer, trivia player, reader, and piano player.
Owen has spent over 15 years working in the higher education marketplace, and is deeply experienced in building strong partnerships with top tier universities. Before joining Noodle he spent a number of years at Wiley Education Services working with academic institutions to kickstart and grow their online programs. Owen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Eastern Illinois University and a MBA in Strategic Leadership from the University of Delaware.
Kyle began his career in management consulting at Prophet, a boutique firm that specializes in customer research, marketing, and growth strategy. A deeply curious person and lifelong learner, Kyle next followed his heart to the New York Public Library, where he had the great privilege of working on library and education programs serving audiences from early childhood through old age. In his six years at NYPL, Kyle worked in a variety of roles and gained experience in nearly every analytical discipline in non-profit management—strategic planning, budgeting, institutional data analysis, user research, program evaluation, and others—as well as experience implementing new programs like Library Hotspot, an initiative that provides Internet access to low-income households. Prior to joining Noodle, Kyle worked for Sarah Lawrence College, supporting the President’s Chief of Staff in market validation and planning for new graduate programs and partnering with administrators and faculty on institutional research, program evaluation, and planning efforts.
Kailynn joins Noodle after spending 5 years in Student Success and Advising Management for various graduate health sciences programs, with an intense focus on online student learning and support. She also has a background in tutoring services and educational sales at the K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels. Kailynn has a bachelor's degree in English from Texas State University and a M.S. Ed. in Higher Education with a specialization in Student Leadership and Success from Walden University. Kailynn considers herself a lifelong learner and, after completing an online graduate level degree, she is passionate about the growing landscape of online learning in higher education. She believes in creating a dynamic, intentional and exceptional student experience that not only results in student success, but also empowers programs and institutions to go boldly forward in reaching their online student engagement goals. In her free time, Kailynn is a stage manager with various local theaters alongside her actor/singer husband, and she is a Disney/Harry Potter fanatic!
I joined Noodle after 7 years in HR and 3 more in benefits and retirement plans. During my time in HR, I have been the point person for setting up HRIS systems, creating reports, processing payroll, and overseeing benefits. I have a BA in Management Information Systems and a minor in Music from Shippensburg University. One of my biggest passions is helping others, and I am excited to join the Noodle family!
Sian has a passion for the student experience from beginning to beyond. Her career in Educational Services began in Student Affairs and Alumni Relations for a non-profit tech startup working with diverse populations of career changers seeking an alternative learning pipeline in tech. In her free time, Sian enjoys fitness, true crime podcasts, and a friendly game of chess.
Felix is a Quality Assurance professional with experience developing manual and automated testing solutions for mobile, web, and TV. Before joining Noodle, he led teams of globally distributed freelance testers to passionately test the apps of emerging and industry leading organizations. He recently moved across the country to New York to continue his journey in QA all while taste testing the best food in town.
Sid studied English at Rutgers University and became a teacher of English and English as a Second Language after graduating. After five very enjoyable years in classrooms in India, South Korea and the tri-state area, Sid entered the education technology space in 2014 and has worked with students through Kaplan, 2U, Syracuse University's Whitman School and New York University's Steinhardt School since. Sid joined Noodle in 2020 and currently works with Tulane University's online programs. He loves New York City, nature, movies and reading.
Nikita joins Noodle with over ten years’ experience working in higher education as an educator with diverse learners from first-year undergraduate students to medical students. Her career started as a graduate teaching and research assistant where her innate passion for teaching and mentorship began. From there, Nikita continued to mentor students as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health and then served as an instructor at the University of South Florida. Prior to joining Noodle, Nikita served as a faculty member and in an administrative capacity at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as both a professor and curriculum dean where she oversaw the curriculum development, implementation and delivery of the first two years of the medical school curriculum. She holds a Bachelor of Science and Ph.D. degree in Microbiology and Cell Science.
Jennifer joined Noodle after spending almost four years in Hong Kong working at Verizon as part of their international accounting team overseeing the Asia-Pacific region. She started her professional career in public accounting at a mid-size accounting firm in New York and then joined the property accounting team at jetBlue Airways. Jennifer received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from University at Albany. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, volunteering, hiking, and traveling to different cities and countries.
Rebecca has worked in higher education for over a decade with a focus in non-traditional learning. She joins Noodle Partners from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where she worked with Kenan-Flagler Business School’s online graduate programs including MBA@UNC and MAC Online. Most recently, Rebecca was the Director of Academics and Operations for the UNC Master of Accounting Program where she played an integral role in the launch of the online format of the program. Leveraging the curriculum developed for online, she led the operational effort to re-launch the on-campus program using a blended delivery model. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University.
Prior to joining Noodle, Tom spent 8 years at 2U overseeing the creation and enforcement of standards for style, content, and coding of asynchronous content for all partner programs. Tom came to 2U from the Princeton Review, where was lead author of the company's guide to undergraduate programs (Best Colleges) and contributed substantially to other TPR guidebooks. He also wrote numerous test prep books for TPR's Cracking series and composed, produced, and performed the musical podcast The Princeton Review Vocab Minute. Tom lives in Chapel Hill, NC.
Julia has supported graduate level students for the past 5 and a half years and is excited to continue this journey with Noodle moving forward. While obtaining her bachelor's degree in Business Administration Marketing at San Jose State University, Julia worked with K-8 students in after school curriculum based programs at the YMCA. She also hopes to continue her own education journey and obtain a masters degree in the future. Her passion for the education field has led her to dedicate herself to the success of the rapidly growing NYU Teacher Residency program since its first cohort in 2016. Julia's role as the NYU Teacher Residency Senior Student Success Advisor, allows her to work closely with faculty to continually improve the student experience each year. She's proud to support such an impactful program serving tomorrow's educators. "The Influence of a good teacher can never be erased"
Nicole Cornali joined Noodle with 10 years of experience in higher ed and working within the OPM space. Nicole has experience driving results for programs such as University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and later used her Enrollment experience to manage the Nursing@Georgetown program at 2U. Nicole now works as an Enrollment Manager for American University and strives to build relationships with coworkers and university partners. Nicole loves watching football but especially the Pittsburgh Steelers!
With over 15 years of experience working within the education sector, Lauren brings a wealth of knowledge in digital marketing, strategy, branding, and an overall excitement to her role as Marketing Director at Noodle Partners. Prior to her role here, Lauren most recently managed marketing for several University partners at Wiley Education Services.
Lauren holds a BS in Marketing from Bentley University. She relocated to sunny SoCal in June 2020 with her husband and two children. You can usually find her enjoying all things that California has to offer, cleaning up after her kids, and most importantly navigating her new life as a working mom turned 2nd grade teacher.
Ann joins Noodle Partners with over twenty years of experience in technology. Most of that time has been spent in education supporting K-12. Her most-recent position was as the Educational Technology Coordinator for a special needs school where she was responsible for the student information system, all state reporting, and guiding staff and students through all aspects of technology use.
When Ann isn’t in front of a computer, you’ll find her in her garden in Malvern, PA, taking an online spin or yoga class, or spending time enjoying her family.
Will Dausman joined the Noodle enrollment team in 2020. Prior to joining, Will was an elementary school teacher. Throughout his career, he has taught students both domestically and abroad; and most recently, in Northeast Philadelphia. Will is excited to bring his favorite part of teaching - providing students with resources to achieve their academic goals - to his work as an Enrollment Advisor. Will graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2012 with his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, and enjoys woodworking and hiking in his spare time.
Over the past 10 years, Lauren has dedicated her career to helping universities build outstanding online graduate programs that attract top students across the country and internationally while upholding academic quality and integrity. She has been integral in launching and growing enrollment for graduate programs at the University of Southern California, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, American University, and recently Tulane University. Prior to specializing in online program management, she gained experience in working in higher education admissions and student development departments at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and Loyola University, Maryland. Lauren holds a bachelor's degree in English from Dickinson College and a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from Loyola University, Maryland. In her free time, Lauren enjoys hiking, playing golf, and photography.
Sarah is an Enrollment Advisor in Philadelphia for the online Master of Education (Med) in Education Policy and Leadership at American University. Prior to joining Noodle Partners, Sarah enjoyed a dynamic six-year hospitality career that includes operations, sales, and meeting planning. Although she joins Noodle Partners new to the enrollment industry, she is excited to connect with students and use her exceptional customer service skills to support them in meeting their goals. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys traveling, cooking, and live music.
I'm Laura Donegan, the conversion rate optimization specialist at Noodle. A northern-Minnesotan by birth and Marylander by choice. I love all the seasons that Maryland has to offer, but also have an inner desire to be buried in feet upon feet of snow. My career passions include creative engagement, evolving strategies, and process improvement (aka digital marketing).
I have over 10 years of marketing experience, which ranges from modern-day digital to dinosaur era print. I am rewarded by helping others, which is why I have chosen to devote my career to industries like education and healthcare. I love a good challenge, which is why I have found a strong interest in optimizing. No, I don't just mean making landing page updates. I mean the entire user experience, from start to finish. Are we giving the user what they expect and need? Only the data will tell!
When I'm not head down on landing pages, you can find me getting into trouble with my rambunctious toddler Beckett, running or hiking with my goldendoodle Sven, inhaling pizza with my husband, or stargazing with a dry, bold cab in hand. Okay, let's be honest, I'm probably doing laundry or ordering last minute things from Target!
David joins Noodle after spending the past six years leading university-wide system implementations at Vanderbilt University. During his time at Vanderbilt, David was responsible for implementing and supporting a diverse portfolio of academic systems, including four instances of Slate. David also built and managed numerous data integrations between university systems. Prior to Vanderbilt, David held technology roles at the Boston Consulting Group and Deloitte. David holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in management information systems from Northeastern University.
Learning is a passion of mine and I strive to learn new things every day, which made Noodle such an attractive place to work. I am Daniel Donovan, born and raised in Denver, Colorado. I received my BA from Colorado State University. Several years later I returned to school, earning an MA in International Relations with honors from Webster University. My career path has taken me around the world, working and living on five different continents throughout my life. Most of my career experience has been spent as a manager and strategist within the marketing space. In addition, in 2013 I created the Education non-profit ACA Initiative with two East Africans. We operate in Rufiji in Tanzania, feeding 850 children every day when they come to school. In my freetime I spend time with my family, play outdoors, travel and read Medieval history books.
Lauren joins Noodle with nearly 15 years of educational experience in areas of teaching, academic advising, and student coaching. She is passionate about building rapport with her students and supporting them through all stages of their educational journey.Originally from Southeast Georgia, Lauren attended Valdosta State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education. She later received her Master of Education in Teaching and Learning from Georgia Southern University. Through this educational experience, she found her passion for helping students develop and achieve their academic goals.Lauren currently lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their two sons. When she is not working, she enjoys being outside with her family and exploring new places.
Matt joins Noodle as a Learning Partnership Director after spending over 10 years working in higher education in a variety of roles. He served as Director of Assessment and Educational Effectiveness at Western University of Health Sciences College of Graduate Nursing in Pomona, CA before joining Noodle. Additionally, Matt has taught graduate level courses focused on research methods, statistics, and student success strategies.
While pursuing what seemed to be a promising future with a very well-known coffee chain company, Jacob stumbled upon a part-time gig at a private university in San Antonio, Texas. It was there that he fell in love with what he believed was the true purpose of higher education, to provide opportunities for individuals to grow. After working at multiple institutions in various positions within admissions, student services, and teaching, Jacob realized the true purpose of higher education would never be achieved if the higher education infrastructure failed to evolve. Recognizing the impact of data as a Student Retention Team Manager at a Dallas-based OPM, Jacob smoothly transitioned into a Business Analyst role within the organization. A whole new world of data and data storytelling opened up to him, urging him to find ways to improve data integrity and data interpretation.
Thanks to a former coworker (thanks Cat!), Jacob was introduced to Noodle Partners and the opportunity to redefine the OPM. He now serves as a Business Analyst on the Solutions Team, supporting the organization both internally and externally as it relates to data. Jacob brings over 15 years of experience in higher education administration, operations, and IT, leading teams at a variety of universities, community colleges, and the aforementioned OPM. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity University and a Master of Education from the University of the Incarnate Word. Jacob is passionate about spending time with his wife and two brilliant daughters, and building precise and sustainable data pipelines that improve the experiences for his colleagues and for our students.
Anna is experienced in working in higher education for the last 15 years from small private liberal arts schools to large research one universities. Before joining Noodle, she most recently worked at a small community college in PA for the last 10 years in various roles related to admissions, teaching, assessment, advising, retention, transfer, and student success, as well as co-authoring a book needed for a class there. Outside of work, she is passionate about children's literacy and victim advocacy. She has worked in almost every functional area of Student Affairs and is excited to continue her work with graduate students through Noodle.
Todd joined Noodle with over twenty years of leadership experience in both the K-12 and higher education sectors. Todd most recently served as a Managing Director for Shorelight Education, where he was responsible for a joint venture U.S. university partnership that developed a “best-in-class” university experience for international students. Prior to Shorelight, Todd served as a regional vice president of operations for Kaplan University, overseeing Kaplan’s 7-campus Midwest region.
Earlier in his career, Todd worked for the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University’s Teachers College, where he conducted qualitative research on Gates and Lumina Foundation funded initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes at U.S. community and technical colleges. Todd began his career in education as a social studies teacher and department chair at an international school in Mexico City and later served as founding dean of a Mexican university. Todd received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carleton College and a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Josiah is currently an Enrollment Advisor working with the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He graduated from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a degree in Political Science. He previously worked at Calvin University, where he served as an International Admissions Coordinator. He is passionate about working with students, and he loves to help students find the right fit for them. One of the reasons Josiah joined Noodle was his desire to remove barriers to higher education for all. He looks forward to working with students, as they continue to seek empowerment through education.
After four years at Penn State for undergrad as a Telecommunications major and also helping lead the largest student run philanthropy called THON, Matthew found himself working at a special education school as a behavior staff member. He then took a position at a tech start-up company that helped non-profits increase their fundraising through a mobile platform and event based fundraising. After that, Matt then went on to work at a recording studio as an engineer and producer.
Though each of these jobs may seem extremely different, the common thread between them all is Matt’s passion for helping others. As Enrollment Coordinator, Matt continually strives to improve support for the Enrollment Team and University Partners.
Jessica Fitzgerald resides in Fort Myers, Florida and serves as a Student Success Coach. Prior to joining the Noodle team, she served at the University of South Florida in the offices of Parent and Family Programs and Student Government Advising. Throughout her career, she has worked within different areas of higher education, giving her a broad perspective and a passion for supporting students and their families as they navigate the college experience at all levels.
Jessica and her family enjoy investing time in their community and traveling to explore new places. While most of her time outside of work is spent chasing after a curious toddler, she is also sure to carve out time to read books, connect with friends, or take in a yoga class. Jessica can always be found with coffee and conversation.
Ron comes to Noodle from Meteor Learning where he spent 8 years as Meteor’s VP, Finance and HR. Ron led the financing function including accounting, treasury, and risk management, as well as overseeing all human resources. Prior to joining Meteor, Ron held various roles in industrial and technology-based manufacturing and service businesses throughout North America and Europe. From his home in Amesbury, MA, he enjoys all things outdoors from the seacoast to the mountains of New England.
Darwin serves as the Chief Privacy Officer of Noodle and is responsible for Information Systems and IT operations. In this role, he identifies security concerns, maintains the cybersecurity, data privacy, and compliance scope for the company, as well as establishes policy in each of these areas. Across the ecosphere of the company, Darwin and his team endeavor to foster a culture of privacy. This involves designing, implementing, and ensuring compliance within the organization, addressing security framework, products, infrastructure, and software development lifecycle.
With over 15 years in IT leadership, including systems management, project management, data center operations, mission-critical infrastructure, and software-defined networks, Darwin is driving Noodle Partners forward as an agile, groundbreaking technology company. He is passionate about cultivating a work environment that promotes a sense of purpose, ownership, and meaning amongst his team members in order to deliver a superior product to Noodle Partners’ clients.
Whenever he can find spare time, Darwin enjoys family activities, gourmet cooking, great wine, and competitive sports.
Owen has spent over 15 years working in the higher education marketplace, and is deeply experienced in building strong partnerships with top tier universities. Before joining Noodle he spent a number of years at Wiley Education Services working with academic institutions to kickstart and grow their online programs. Owen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Eastern Illinois University and a MBA in Strategic Leadership from the University of Delaware.
Rebecca has worked in higher education for over a decade with a focus in non-traditional learning. She joins Noodle Partners from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where she worked with Kenan-Flagler Business School’s online graduate programs including MBA@UNC and MAC Online. Most recently, Rebecca was the Director of Academics and Operations for the UNC Master of Accounting Program where she played an integral role in the launch of the online format of the program. Leveraging the curriculum developed for online, she led the operational effort to re-launch the on-campus program using a blended delivery model. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University.
Over the past 10 years, Lauren has dedicated her career to helping universities build outstanding online graduate programs that attract top students across the country and internationally while upholding academic quality and integrity. She has been integral in launching and growing enrollment for graduate programs at the University of Southern California, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, American University, and recently Tulane University. Prior to specializing in online program management, she gained experience in working in higher education admissions and student development departments at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and Loyola University, Maryland. Lauren holds a bachelor's degree in English from Dickinson College and a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from Loyola University, Maryland. In her free time, Lauren enjoys hiking, playing golf, and photography.
Heather serves as the Senior Vice President, Finance at Noodle where she is responsible for the oversight of the finance and accounting functions. Heather brings over 15 years of experience in business leadership, accounting, financial planning and analysis to her role.
Beginning her career in public accounting, Heather led the execution of multiple complex audit engagements in accordance with the firm’s quality control policies. Heather also held leadership roles at middle market public and private companies where she was highly collaborative across all functions to drive customer satisfaction and increase business results. Heather was instrumental in building automation and operational efficiencies across the organizations.
Heather has her CPA license and graduated from the Fox School of Business at Temple University with a BBA in Accounting. Heather has a passion for learning and continuous improvement.
Vinay joins Noodle after a decade of experience in the adult education space. His career spans online program management, education software, and strategy and operations consulting. Prior to Noodle, he was part of the Strategy team at Instructure, focusing on go-to-market and growth planning for the company's corporate learning offering, Bridge. Vinay was also part of the senior management team at 2U from 2013-2015 (where he got to attend the company's IPO celebration at Nasdaq) and was the General Manager responsible for launching the company's partnership with UC Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Vinay shepherded the successful development of the first-ever fully online data science degree in the country. He also created and built the company's first Content Strategy team, scaling course planning and production to over 200 courses per year. Vinay holds a JD/MBA from New York University and a BA in International Relations from Brown University.
Jamal joined Noodle with nearly a decade of experience working closely with over two dozen globally recognized colleges and universities to develop, scale, support and improve learning outcomes through the creation of high-quality digital educational experiences.
In former roles as Senior Director and Vice President of Production at 2U, Jamal and his teams created the necessary project and data management infrastructure, workflows and protocols leading to the ongoing iteration and continual improvement of 2U's expansive portfolio of academic coursework. Additionally, Jamal and his teams led the delivery of Semester Online, an interdisciplinary undergraduate program consisting of over twenty credit-bearing course offerings developed in partnership with a consortia of globally recognized American and international colleges and universities. In an earlier role, Jamal worked directly with faculty to develop the creative vision, production and delivery of the online Master of Social Work program at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and the online Master of Teaching program at the USC Rossier School of Education.
Prior to his pivot into higher education, Jamal was an accomplished multimedia producer and project manager helping Fortune 100 brands extend their marketing activations to hard-to-reach audiences. Jamal co-founded Wonderbox Studios, a Los Angeles-based production company, which partners with globally recognized brands, cutting edge technology firms, and front-line non-profit organizations to produce promotional and cause-based content.
Jamal earned a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications and Film with a minor in Business from California State University, Los Angeles. He subsequently completed coursework in Design Project Management and Digital Media for the Web and Mobile Devices. Jamal is now based in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area and enjoys golf, photography, and traveling abroad with his wife and young children.
Cammie has 15 years of experience working in higher education. She focuses on new business development, providing marketplace perspective and improving sales processes and operations strategy. Cammie has been working in the online program management space for over 4 years to develop, launch, and scale strategic online offerings based on institutional objectives and market demand. She spent 8 years with Pearson Education where she worked as an Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships and an Institutional Sales Manager. During this time, she worked closely with higher ed executives to develop partnerships in an effort to power key institutional initiatives. While at Pearson, she led the efforts to develop and implement one of the first competency based education programs offered in the western United States. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing from Wichita State University and a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Kamilah Lewis brings to Noodle 20+ years of experience supporting product innovation as a classically trained brand manager and certified Facilitator, amassing a consultant portfolio that includes several Fortune 500 companies and series funded start-ups.
Before joining Noodle, Kamilah came from EAB where she was a Principal & Senior Consultant, and one of the architects for the Agency's digital strategy product offering.
She is a highly-requested speaker for a range of industry topics, from online content strategy to enrollment marketing, and has been a panelist and presenter at several higher education events including the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and regional CMO Roundtables.
Lewis earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Maryland Global Campus (formerly UMUC) and a Master of Business Administration from American InterContinental University.
Brandon Martínez joined Noodle after working at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Education and as the Principal of one of the largest and highest-performing high schools in northern Orange County, California. In his role at USC, he helped design, build, and teach in the MAT@University of Southern California program and in the Ostrow School of Dentistry, has taught in the on campus Ed.D. and the online Ed.D. in Organizational Change and Leadership.
Mike McKito is a hands-on marketing executive with over 15 years of operations experience in higher education. Mike was most recently Vice President of Marketing and Enrollment at HotChalk, Inc supporting 6 universities and over 25 online degree programs. Prior to HotChalk, Mike was Vice President of Marketing at Northcentral University, an online university serving over 10,000 graduate students. Mike began his career at Education Management Corporation (EDMC) working in campus and shared services roles across a variety of departments including marketing, enrollment, finance, financial aid and business analytics. Mike has a passion for using data, analytics and technology to drive accountability and institutional outcomes. Mike graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Business Administration and Psychology and Certificate in Human Resource Management from Washington & Jefferson College and earned his MBA from the Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.
Abe' has spent a majority of her professional career in Higher Education. Prior to joining Noodle Partners, Abe' worked at 2U where served as Managing Director of Recruitment running several of 2U's largest programs. During her 8 years at 2U, Abe' played an integral role in launching and delivering record enrollments numbers for several universities. USC, Simmons, NYU, Fordham, University of Denver, Pepperdine, Northwestern, American University and Washington University, St. Louis to name a few.
Abe' holds a BA in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
A seasoned executive and international consultant with over 30 years of experience in business, government, and higher education, The Honorable David Ramadan, Ed.D., was elected and served two terms in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Dr. Ramadan is an adjunct professor at George Mason University. He also served as a member of GMU’s Board of Visitors, appointed by the Governor of Virginia. David previously taught at George Washington University. In 2021, he was named a Resident Scholar at the University of Virginia Center of Politics.
David emigrated to the United States from Lebanon in 1989 after attending International College in Beirut. He graduated from GMU with a Bachelor’s in Government and Politics, and a Master’s in International Trade and Transactions. David completed graduate studies at Oxford University, the American Graduate School of Business in Geneva, Johns Hopkins University, and Georgetown University.
In 2022, David earned a Doctor of Education degree in Leadership and Learning in Organizations from the prestigious Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University. His doctoral research focused on online higher education and workforce development and training.
After graduating from Fairfield University, Jed served as a volunteer in Quito, Ecuador at the Centro del Muchacho Trabajador. When he returned, he started his career at The Princeton Review, where over the course of 20 years, he managed business units throughout the northeast including Marketing, Sales, Operations, Customer Service, Management and Partnership Development. His last few years there were spent working closely with K12 school districts, colleges, and universities, and non-profits to develop specialized programs for their students.
Jed came to Noodle after working for the last 5 years at Bottom Line, a highly regarded college success non-profit, where he was the National Director of Development Operations. While at Bottom Line he helped to build fundraising and organizational capacity as the organization expanded, opened new offices in New York and Chicago, and more than doubled the number of students they served annually. Jed lives in the suburbs of Boston with his wife, 3 kids, and his dog Sandy.
Anne joins Noodle Partners from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she helped lead Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Executive Development team for several years. As the Director of Operations, she developed effective operating procedures and policies for program deliveries to create strong client relationships. Prior to working at UNC Chapel Hill, Anne worked in politics for 10 years in Washington, DC, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Florida. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Meredith College and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Kathy is passionate about improving education through innovation and providing access to underrepresented populations. Prior to joining Noodle Partners, Kathy was the Senior Director of Field Placement at 2U, Inc. She developed a standardized process and managed a dynamic team to place over 7,000 online students nationwide. Kathy joined 2U’s early stages as a start-up company from the University of Southern California School of Social Work leading recruitment for on-ground campuses. Early in her career, she was a social worker providing mental health services to diverse populations and organizing community efforts. Kathy also served as a consultant to various social service organizations, foundations, and higher education institutions in leadership development, program management, and policy. She holds a master’s degree of Social Work from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in International Business from Pepperdine University.
With over a decade of experience in education technology, Bradshaw heads the University Partnerships team at Noodle. He has formed deep relationships in a breadth of academic disciplines including Public Health, Social Work, Education, Business, Law, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Health Informatics, and Speech Pathology.
Before joining Noodle, he lead 2U’s new-program software integrations, collaborating with teams at USC, Berkeley, George Washington, American, SMU, Yale, Northwestern, Syracuse, and NYU. By implementing nuanced workflow efficiencies, he deployed more software in the first 18 months than had been deployed in the previous five years of operations.
You can reach Lee at lbradshaw@noodle.com.
Stephen Green is the Chief Program Officer at Noodle, where he oversees all of Noodle Partners' 20+ university partnerships and 40+ online programs in the core functions of online program management. Throughout his extensive career in online education he has led more than 100 program launches and implementations. Stephen is committed to improving the intersection between access, education, and technology.
Prior to joining Noodle, Stephen was the CMO at eCornell, the online learning arm of Cornell University, and Qubed Education, an ed tech company that builds online career exploration programs for millennials with top universities and leading consumer brands. Earlier in his career, Stephen was one of the earliest employees at 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU), where he helped several great institutions build and run high-quality online degree programs in a series of senior management positions including EVP/General Manager and President of Graduate Programs.
Stephen is a member of the National Alliance of Black School Educators and the National Council on Educating Black Children. Green also sits on the boards of Bright Star Schools, a Los Angeles based Charter School Network, and UThink PC, a build your own computer company. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross; an M.A. from Columbia University; and an Ed.M. from Teachers College.
Keri Hoyt started her career at The Princeton Review. During her 18-year tenure, she partnered with colleges and universities to help improve their marketing and admissions processes, helped build online programming, and honed her marketing and product-development skills. Keri joins Noodle from Success Academies, where she ran 34 high-performing elementary, middle, and high schools throughout New York City.
John Katzman is the founder and CEO of Noodle. Prior to getting it right, he founded and ran 2U, which is also involved in online learning, and The Princeton Review, which helps students find, get into, and pay for higher ed.
Katzman is the co-author of five books, and has served as a director of several for- and non-profits, including Carnegie Learning, Renaissance Learning, the National Association of Independent Schools, the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, and the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools.
Alan leads the Solutions Architecture team at Noodle, which designs and configures the tools and technologies used to deliver an exceptional student experience from marketing to graduation.
Prior to joining Noodle, Alan Mlynek was a director of data and technology for Success Academies. At Success, Mr. Mlynek led the delivery and integration of solutions for digital learning, content management, project management, helpdesk support, and communications for 14,000 students and 2,000 employees. He created a team of IT specialists, project managers, and developers dedicated to automating processes across the 41 schools in order to support organizational growth and efficiency.
Before Success Academies, Mr. Mlynek worked in strategic communications for members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He holds a Master's of Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.
Allison Nugent leads Noodle's People team as Chief People Officer; she is responsible for developing and executing human resources strategies supporting the company's overall business plan and strategic direction. These strategies include succession planning, talent management, change management, organizational and performance management, and forward years workforce planning.
Allison is a people-centric HR leader with 20+ years of experience spanning global HR operations, global mobility services, talent acquisition, expatriate management, change management, and employee program management. Crafts human capital, workforce planning, and succession planning strategies that build organizational capacity and fuel long-term sustainability. Champions employee engagement, wellness, and diversity and inclusion programs foster a positive culture and promote a thriving, high-performance workforce.
Before joining Noodle, Allison spent several years as the Corporate Human Resources Principal of Relationship and Programs Operations for an Aeronautic-Defense organization. In this role, she conceptualized and delivered high-impact human capital initiatives, harmonizing strategies with business needs, operations, and people strategies.
During her career, Allison has held leadership roles in the full life cycle of Global Human Resources, global immigration and mobility, talent acquisition, operations, mergers and acquisition, and business development at Fortune 500 companies.
Allison is an active member of the Society of Women Engineers and holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering (CE) and a Master's of Business Administration (MS & MBA).
Allison currently sponsors orphanages for abandoned children in the Caribbean.
Ali Rubin has spent her career working to improve education. After graduating from Barnard College, Ali joined Teach for America and began her career as a New York City public school teacher. For the past seven years Ali has worked at Success Academies where she helped to build and run high performing charter schools across New York City.
Meredith has been CFO for Noodle Companies since June 2017, and recently transitioned to CFO of Noodle Partners where she leads capital raising and financial and accounting efforts. Prior to joining Noodle, Meredith served as CFO for iD Tech Camps, the largest tech camp education company in the country, where she helped double revenue over three years. Meredith spent 14 years covering education as an investment banker first for Legg Mason and later for Stifel Nicolaus. She holds her BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Starr has spent her career helping financial services and education companies accelerate their growth through customer acquisition, retention, and cross-sell marketing efforts. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Starr has held growth marketing positions at brands such as Discover, Charles Schwab, and GE and helped launch new products and business lines across credit cards, deposit, and lending products. Starr spent more than three years at Wiley where she was the head of marketing for the Education Services business and most recently served as SVP, Growth Marketing at a fintech lender.
Catie received her bachelor of arts in advertising from Bradley University and has an MBA with a concentration in marketing management from San Diego State University.
Melora joined Noodle Partners after working at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education as a Professor of Clinical Education. In that role she designed, built and taught in several online and blended doctoral programs. She also served as Executive Vice Dean, overseeing degree programs, student services, faculty affairs, continuing education and research. Sundt also chaired the design teams to create the MAT@University of Southern California program, the Global Executive Ed.D. and the new online Ed.D. in Organizational Change and Leadership.
Moshiur is a versed technologist with 18 years of hands-on and management experience in developing technology solutions with a particular focus on the education industry. Before joining the Noodle family, he co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer at Story2. Under his leadership the company transformed an offline storytelling based college admissions essay business into a seamless and integrated online experience, significantly increasing company exposure and business volume. Story2 was selected for the Techstars accelerator program, invested in by Kaplan, and named one of the "10 EdTech Companies You Need to Know About" by Forbes.
Prior to Story2, he was the Director of Application Development at 2U, where he led a large team of engineers in developing cutting-edge web and mobile applications to facilitate higher-ed online education, Chief Technology Officer at Unigo, and Assistant Vice President at The Princeton Review. At Princeton Review he played an integral part in building learning solutions for grades K-12 and college students. He also managed the development of standardized online test products for SAT, MCAT, and GMAT exams. Moshiur studied computer engineering at Polytechnic University concentrating in VLSI. During his off-time, he is a devoted father of four and an avid camper.
Patrick T. Halfmann, CFA is a Partner of Inclusive Capital Partners. Mr. Halfmann is currently a director of Noodle Partners and GreenStruxure, and a former director of AppHarvest. Mr. Halfmann was previously an Associate at ValueAct Capital. Prior to joining ValueAct Capital, Mr. Halfmann worked at Morgan Stanley, where he held roles in investment banking and equity and fixed income research. He graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Business Administration and is a CFA charterholder.
John Katzman is the founder and CEO of Noodle. Prior to getting it right, he founded and ran 2U, which is also involved in online learning, and The Princeton Review, which helps students find, get into, and pay for higher ed.
Katzman is the co-author of five books, and has served as a director of several for- and non-profits, including Carnegie Learning, Renaissance Learning, the National Association of Independent Schools, the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, and the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools.
Nate joined Osage Venture Partners in 2008 and as Managing Partner oversees investment and portfolio management activities. He serves on the Board of Directors of BA-Insight, Canvas, InstaMed, FieldView, OpsDataStore, PeopleLinx, Pneuron, Phone2Action, RackWare, and Sidecar. He is also a board observer of 51Maps, Brazen, ExecOnline, Identropy, and ResiModel and formerly was on the board of Carnegie Speech and Medallion Analytics. He is a member of the Technology Investment Advisory Board for Ben Franklin Southeast Pennsylvania. Nate is a frequent speaker and panelist at venture events and is actively involved with numerous venture focused organizations including PACT, NJTC, MAVA, GCV, and Early Stage East.
Prior to joining Osage, Nate was President and CEO of Verticalnet, Inc., a publicly traded SaaS solutions provider, which was sold in January, 2008 to Italy-based BravoSolution. He served as the Malvern, PA- based Verticalnet’s CEO for over five years and was attributed with leading the transformation of Verticalnet from an online operator of web portals to a proven software solution provider, while navigating the company through a financial turnaround. Prior to Verticalnet, Nate was a Partner at Mercer Management Consulting and led both the San Francisco and the Hong Kong offices. During his time at Mercer, he worked closely with multinational companies and high growth emerging businesses both in the U.S. and in over fifteen countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Nate began his career at Chemical Bank in New York providing lending and structured finance services to mid-size companies. He is a graduate of Brown University and of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he graduated with honors. Nate resides in Philadelphia, PA, with his wife Suzanne and his two sons and daughter.
Tory is actively involved with all facets of the firm and serves on the board of directors of Accelerate Learning, BetterLesson, Degreed, DreamBox Learning, Kiddom, LearnZillion, Newsela and Noodle. As one of the pioneers in the next generation of EdTech companies, Tory has led investments in some of the most successful companies in the sector. As a lead investor and board member he has helped them across all facets including their sales and distribution models, hiring, funding and path to successful exit.
Prior to Owl Ventures, Tory was a Partner at Catamount Ventures where he founded and ran Catamount’s education investment practice and led investments in education companies TenMarks (acquired by Amazon), MasteryConnect, PresenceLearning and EdSurge. Tory began his career as an investment banker focused on technology and healthcare companies holding investment banking positions with GCA Savvian, Wells Fargo Securities and Robertson Stephens. Tory is a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow and holds a B.A.in Economics from Williams College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Rubina Singh is a tech industry veteran with experience scaling impactful, data-driven marketing for hyper-growth companies. She joined Arcadia, a climate technology company, as the SVP of Marketing and previously led global consumer marketing at Pinterest. Prior to joining Arcadia, she was head of marketing at Jumpstart, a SAAS recruiting platform. Rubina holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Judith Spitz, Ph.D. is the Founder and Executive Director of Break Through Tech, a national initiative that propels women and underrepresented groups into higher education and careers in tech through curriculum innovation, career access and community building. She is a member of the Advisory Board of an AI company called ASAPP. From 2005-2016, she was a senior vice president and CIO at Verizon. Forbes named her to their 2021 50 over 50 Women of Impact list.
Melissa Beckwith serves Butler University as the University’s first Vice President for Strategy and Innovation. In this role, Melissa is primarily responsible for leading the University’s forward looking efforts to ensure Butler is well positioned to leverage future opportunities and emerging trends in the ever-changing higher education landscape. Melissa directs and oversees the University’s strategic and long-range goal planning function and serves as a catalyst for strategic initiatives that support the long-term growth plan including strategic partnerships, new program development, and new mission-aligned ventures. In addition, Melissa oversees Butler Ventures, a subsidiary focused on the transformation of higher education.
During her fourteen years at Butler, Melissa has served in variety of roles including the manager of a start-up consulting organization for privately-held businesses across Indiana, the Director of Strategic Initiatives within Information Technology and Interim Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
Melissa regularly engages with early stage education companies as a board member and advisor. She is also on the Board of Advisors for High Alpha Innovation.
Melissa earned her bachelor’s degree from the Lacy School of Business at Butler University and MBA from Valparaiso University. Prior to joining Butler, Melissa served in industry as a management consultant and in higher education as marketing and communication leader.
Wendy Colby joined BU in 2022 as the inaugural Vice President and Associate Provost of BU Virtual, a new unit designed to advance BU’s online presence – bringing innovation and service capabilities to support the creation of high-quality online programs. Working in close collaboration with BU’s deans and academic leaders, Wendy provides strategic leadership in the design, development and scalable delivery of digital teaching and learning models, programs and solutions, designed to increase access and impact for more learners, and promote student success. She oversees a team that manages a portfolio of online degree and certificate programs that provide students with the flexibility and mobility to advance their education and accelerate their careers.
Wendy brings more than 25 years of leadership and expertise in online and hybrid program creation and development, working closely with major institutions across higher education to lead, design, implement, support, and scale high-quality degree and certificate offerings. Most recently, she served as chief executive officer of UMGC Ventures, a portfolio of education technology and services businesses affiliated with the University of Maryland Global Campus (serving over 90,000 students) and the broader University System of Maryland’s regional campuses, working collaboratively with university leaders to design new programs, optimize existing systems, and enhance the overall student journey. She has extensive experience in strategic product management, innovation, portfolio development, marketing, online program management, entrepreneurial leadership, technology enablement, and more
Prior to UMGC Ventures, Wendy was divisional vice president at Laureate Education, where she led the development, commercialization, and scale of digital teaching and learning solutions for over 80 universities around the world. During her tenure, she also led the College of Nursing at Walden University, overseeing enrollment, marketing, portfolio management, online program development, and profit and loss operations. She has additionally held senior leadership roles with Carnegie Innovations (an affiliate of Carnegie Mellon University), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Thomson Reuters, and Silicon Valley-based startup DigitalThink, guiding digital transformation efforts and spearheading new lines of business growth.
A graduate of Illinois State University, she holds a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco.
Ranjan Daniels is a global enrollment pioneer skilled at recruiting and developing diverse leaders. As the Senior Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Global Outreach for the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, Ranjan leads admissions, marketing, financial aid, executive education, new program development, and international partnerships. Ranjan is responsible for transforming the admissions process at the Harris School and spearheading tremendous growth. Under Ranjan’s direction, Harris achieved 62% enrollment growth in his first year, setting Harris on a path of growth that would exceed leadership expectations. He has also led the significant diversification of the Harris student body, increasing enrollment of populations typically underrepresented in graduate enrollment and enrolling students from 40 different countries. Before joining the University, he spent twenty years building new products and championing innovation at Kaplan, Berkshire Hathaway, the Tribune Company, and the City of Chicago.
Ranjan earned an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and an MPP from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Emory University. Ranjan serves on the Board of Trustees of Fourth Presbyterian Church, and in his free time enjoys running, grilling, and coaching baseball.
In his role as the founding executive director of the University of Michigan Center for Academic Innovation and associate vice provost for academic innovation, James works at the intersection of strategy, design, policy, and technology while leading University-wide programs and initiatives designed to extend U-M’s academic excellence, expand the institution’s public purpose, and foster equity and inclusivity in higher education. He also works on a range of multi-institutional initiatives, advisory councils, and advisory boards to help build and sustain a global network for academic innovation. Prior to serving as the chief architect of U-M’s academic innovation strategy, James worked with and provided strategic counsel to more than 60 universities in more than 15 countries across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Australia and North America. His work centers on transforming access and developing sustainable models for equity, inclusion, and innovation in higher education.
An American Counseling Association (ACA) Fellow with 30 years of experience as a former kindergarten teacher, elementary school counselor, family therapist, and most recently university professor and administrator, she has a wealth of knowledge, expertise and wisdom. Dr. Holcomb-Mccoy is currently the Dean of the School of Education and a professor at American University (AU). She is also the author of the best-selling book (including revised edition) School Counseling to Close Opportunity Gaps: A Social Justice and Antiracist Framework for Success (Corwin Press) and the edited book, Antiracist Counseling in Schools and Communities (ACA Publishing).
In her six years as Dean, Dr. Holcomb-Mccoy has significantly increased enrollments via the launch of successful online graduate programs and through new partnerships such as becoming the higher education partner with Urban Teachers, a national teacher residency program. In addition, she founded AU’s Summer Institute on Education, Equity and Justice, and the AU Teacher Pipeline Project, including an early childhood educator stackable credentialing partnership with Trinity Washington University, and Martha’s Table, a DC-based non-profit organization. With colleagues in the AU teacher preparation program, she is actively working to develop an antiracist curriculum for teachers-in-training.
Prior to leading the School of Education at AU, she served as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs campus-wide and Vice Dean of Academic Affairs in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University, where she launched the Johns Hopkins School Counseling Fellows Program and the $25M Faculty Diversity Initiative. Dr. Holcomb-Mccoy has also been an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services at the University of Maryland College Park and Director of the School Counseling Program at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.
A decorated scholar, she has written more than 100 publications, including articles in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and white papers. From 2014 to 2016, she served as a consultant to former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative, a program dedicated to supporting first-generation students make it to and through college. A proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Dr. Holcomb-Mccoy holds her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Virginia. She earned a doctorate in Counseling and Counselor Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
She lives in Potomac, Maryland with her husband and two children.
Dr. Joshua Kim is the Director of Online Programs and Strategy at Dartmouth College, and a Senior Fellow for Academic Transformation, Learning, and Design at the Center for New Designs in Learning & Scholarship (CNDLS) at Georgetown University.
Josh has a PhD in sociology and demography from Brown University. He started his career on the faculty at West Virginia University, helped start Britannica.com’s education division in San Francisco, and was one of the original founders of Quinnipiac University Online. He has taught both on-ground and online courses in sociology, marketing, and higher education leadership.
With Eddie Maloney, Josh published Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education and The Low-Density University: 15 Scenarios for Higher Education. Both books are from Johns Hopkins University Press, and both came out in 2020.
Josh is best known for his Learning Innovation blog on InsideHigherEd.com, a website that receives over 3.6 million unique monthly visitors.
Josh and his wife Julie, a pediatric oncologist at Dartmouth, live in Hanover with their (now college and graduate school going) daughters.
You can follow Josh on Twitter @joshmkim and he can be reached by e-mail at joshua.m.kim@dartmouth.edu
Dr. Edward Maloney is the executive director of The Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS), a professor of the practice of narrative literature and theory in the Department of English, and the founding director of the Program in Learning, Design, and Technology. As executive director of CNDLS, a research center on teaching, learning and technology, he helps to define Georgetown’s strategy to advance teaching and learning practices at the University, including developing innovative approaches to technology-enhanced learning, learning analytics, and fulfilling the Jesuit mission of teaching to the whole student. As a professor in the Department of English, he teaches courses on modernism, postmodernism, critical and narrative theory. He has a particular interest in the works of James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Samuel Beckett, Vladimir Nabokov, and Jorge Luis Borges, and he has published on Joyce and others, as well as on issues related to narrative theory, film studies, and hypertext fiction. As founding director of the Program in Learning, Design, and Technology, he works with students to engage in a critical study of higher education through the lenses of learning, design, technology, and analytics. He is the author (with Josh Kim) of Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, February 2020) and The Low-Density University: 15 Scenarios for Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, August 2020).
