This Professional Almanac identifies organizations and resources related to distance learning and educational technology that we hope you’ll find useful. We invite you to visit their websites for further information as many of the organizations hold annual conferences and other regular activities. If you have a suggestion of an organization to be added to this Professional Almanac, please email the details to Dr. Vanaja Nethi at nethi@nova.edu.
Emily Ballesteros is a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education Administration Ph.D. program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also serves as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies department.
Sarinporn “Yam” Chaivisit is an instructor in the Department of Educational Technology at Kasetsart University, Thailand. Her research interests involve artificial intelligence, e-learning, immersive learning environments, and emerging technologies in education.
Mary Lynne Derrington is in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research includes school leadership, character education, and virtual school leadership. She is the EdD K-12 leadership coordinator. She previously served as a K-12 principal and superintendent.
Thanh Do is a dedicated lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam, where she has been developing and teaching English as a Foreign Language courses to diverse learners since 2008. In addition to her teaching role, she serves as an Instructional Designer at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, where she contributes to the development and enhancement of instructional materials. She earned her Ph.D. in Learning, Design, and Technology from Oklahoma State University in 2022. Her research focuses on integrating emerging technologies such as augmented reality, mixed reality, and artificial intelligence to improve educational environments.
Stephanie Gilstrap is a Ph.D. student in the program of Learning, Design, and Technology at the University of Georgia. Her research interests center on instructional designers in higher education and their role as institutional change agents.
Stephen David Grover is an assistant professor of English and the Program Coordinator of First-Year Writing at Park University.
Leonard Hammer is the co-creator of the Human Rights Practice Program focusing on project-based learning and creating educational programs (mainly in the human rights field) around the world for the Open Society Foundation. He has lectured around the world for various universities and has been involved in online education for over 10 years. He conducts various human rights projects in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and focuses as well on cultural heritage protection and sacred space.
Ayodeji Ibukun is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Learning Design and Technology program at Oklahoma State University. His research interests include the design and development of educational augmented reality applications, diffusion of emerging technologies in public libraries, and integrating technology into collaborative community science education.
Heather Ann Johnson is an English instructor at Park University.
Younglong “Rachel” Kim earned her PhD degree in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Oklahoma State University where she serves as an adjunct professor. Her research interests include technology integration for learning, teaching, and leadership, professional development, and psychological needs support. She also serves as the Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs in the Division of Access and Community Impact at OSU.
Liudmila Klimanova is an expert in linguistics and educational development, focusing on Russia and Central Asia. She utilizes various online tools and seminars to create unique forms of language instruction, principally using culture and human rights projects as an inroad to better understand the context and frameworks in which language is developed and used. She lectured in Canada at McGill University before taking up a position at the University of Arizona and has also worked for the United Nations.
Glenn Lester is an associate professor of English at Park University.
Jeana Partin is in the Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research includes character education, school leaders’ ethical leadership, rural school and virtual school leadership. She is the Dean of Student Success at Carson-Newman University, Jefferson City, Tennessee. She previously served as a K-12 Virtual School Principal.
Jill Stefaniak is an associate professor in the Learning, Design, and Technology program at the University of Georgia. Her research interests focus on the professional development of instructional designers, designer decision-making processes, and contextual factors influencing instructional design in situated environments.
Fan Yang is a third-year Ph.D. student in the program of Learning, Design, and Technology at the University of Georgia and his research interests focus on online learning engagement and instructional design practices that facilitate learners’ academic help-seeking behavior.
