Bio:

David is the Director of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Academic Innovations, State Authorization, & eLearning (AI&e). Reporting to a Senior Vice Provost, he leads UAA’s efforts to innovate teaching through the use of instructional technology. In this role, he oversees the instructional design, eLearning, professional development, online student and ePortfolio Services. David has expanded online student service offerings, established new and innovative professional development pathways, established an ePortfolio initiative, and redesigned the unit’s instructional design and development processes.

In 2015, David led UAA’s efforts to write and secure a U.S. Department of Education Title III, Strengthening Institutions grant.  The 5-year $2.25mil grant focuses on activities designed to develop an infrastructure to develop, pilot, and evaluate distance education services that reflect UAA's strategic priorities, addresses chronic problems (low graduation rates, retention of minority students, declining enrollment and credit hours), meet the NWCCU accreditation standards, and strengthen UAA’s financial stability.

Formally, David spent 14 years working for The Nature Conservancy, one of the world’s leading environmental non-profits. While there, David worked his way through the IT Services team, as a regional information systems manager, technical writer, and training developer. In his last role, he was a Learning Manager responsible for building, managing and growing TNC’s external learning portal (ConservationTraining.org). One of his proudest accomplishments was building a global learning community of 10,000 members working in 200+ countries.

David completed his Ph.D. in Instructional Design and Technology from Virginia Tech in 2013, with a research focus on how online technologies enhance K-12 education. Specifically, he is interested in how online virtual worlds are used and leveraged to deliver collaborative learning environments. His education also includes a Bachelor of Science from Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee, and a Master in Park, Recreation, and Tourism Management from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is also a member of the 2014 OLC IELOL (Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning) cohort.

David currently serves as Co-Executive Editor of The AAEEBL ePortfolio Review, the Public Four-Year Institution Representative to the WCET Steering Committee, and is a member of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Quality Strategic Initiatives Advisory Council.  He has multiple publications on the use of technology in education and has presented at regional, international, and online conferences on topics including instructional design, wearable technologies, online/distance education administration, virtual/augmented reality, and leadership and management.