Johannes Heinlein
EdX
Johannes Heinlein is vice president of strategic partnerships for edX, leading university partnership and collaboration initiatives. In this role, Johannes works directly with the edX president and board on identifying and executing strategy. Prior to joining edX, Johannes served as director in the Office of the President and Provost of Harvard University where he was responsible for the planning and execution of university-wide transformations in strategy and operations. Prior to joining Harvard, Johannes worked in the public sector and for global industry leaders, to develop and implement change management and program strategies. He has lived and worked in Europe, Asia and North America. Johannes holds degrees from the University of Hamburg, Germany, the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. Johannes is married with two children and calls Boston his home.
Scott Jaschik
Inside Higher Ed
Scott Jaschik, Editor, is one of the three founders of Inside Higher Ed. With Doug Lederman, he leads the editorial operations of Inside Higher Ed, overseeing news content, opinion pieces, career advice, blogs and other features. Scott is a leading voice on higher education issues, quoted regularly in publications nationwide, and publishing articles on colleges in publications such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Salon, and elsewhere. He has been a judge or screener for the National Magazine Awards, the Online Journalism Awards, the Folio Editorial Excellence Awards, and the Education Writers Association Awards. Scott served as a mentor in the community college fellowship program of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, of Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a member of the board of the Education Writers Association. From 1999-2003, Scott was editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Scott grew up in Rochester, N.Y., and graduated from Cornell University in 1985. He lives in Washington.
Harrison Keller
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Harrison Keller is Vice Provost for Higher Education Policy and Research and Executive Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to coming to UT Austin, Dr. Keller served as director of research for the Texas House of Representatives and senior education policy analyst for the speaker of the Texas House. He is an appointed board member of the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board that oversees the state college savings plans, has worked with Texas state leaders to develop and pass major education budget and policy proposals, including the Texas Tuition Promise Fund 529 college savings plan and college readiness provisions of House Bill 3 (81st Legislature, Regular Session). Dr. Keller frequently works with policymakers, foundations, and national policy organizations on issues regarding public and higher education and is a state advisor to Lumina Foundation’s higher education productivity initiative. His research interests include education policy and finance, moral philosophy, and democratic deliberation. He has taught at Georgetown University, St. Edward’s University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Keller holds a bachelors degree in philosophy with honors from the University of Notre Dame and a Master’s degree and Ph.D. from Georgetown University. He and his wife, Gena Nivens Keller, live in Austin with their children William, Elizabeth, and Emily.
Steve Mintz
University of Texas System
A pioneer in the application of new technologies to teaching and research, Professor Mintz comes to the University of Texas System from Columbia University, where he was a professor of history and director of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Center.
A former fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, he has taught at Oberlin College, the University of Houston, Harvard University’s Extension School, Pepperdine University, and Universitat-GH-Siegen.
A leading authority on the history of families and children, he is the author and editor of 13 books, including Huck’s Raft: A History of American Childhood, which received major prizes from the Association of American Publishers, the Organization of American Historians, and the Texas Institute of Letters. He has also served as president of the Society for the History of Children and Youth, and chaired the Council on Contemporary Families, an organization of leading academics and clinicians committed to improving the public conversation on families and their needs. A past president of H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online, which serves over 200,000 academics world-wide, he is also the creator of the Digital History website, which is used by 150,000 teachers and students a week and has been named one of the Top 5 sites in U.S. history and been placed on the National Endowment for the Humanities EdSitement list of exemplary online resources in the humanities.
In addition to playing an active role in the professional development of K-12 teachers and in programs to bring students from historically underrepresented groups into the professoriate, he was recently inducted into the Society of American Historians, whose membership is limited to 250 scholars and professional writers of history chosen on the basis of literary distinction. He has also chaired the Bancroft Prize and Frederick Douglass Book Prize juries, and received over $12 million in external funding, including two National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grants. He frequently appears on public radio and in The New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post.
Ted Mitchell
Department of Education
Ted Mitchell is the under secretary of education. He has served in this post since his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on May 8, 2014, following his nomination by President Barack Obama on Oct. 31, 2013. Mitchell reports to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and oversees policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, adult, career and technical education, federal student aid, five White House Initiatives — Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Educational Excellence for African Americans, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and American Indian and Alaska Native Education— and the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
To spur education, economic growth, and social prosperity, Mitchell is charged with planning and policy responsibilities to implement President Obama's goal for the U.S. to have "the best educated, most competitive workforce in the world” as measured by the proportion of college graduates by the year 2020. Mitchell and his team are keenly focused on implementing President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative to improve college access, affordability, quality, and completion.
Mitchell is the former CEO of the NewSchools Venture Fund and served as the president of the California State Board of Education. Through his long career in higher education, Mitchell has served as the president of Occidental College, vice chancellor and dean of the School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and professor and chair of the Department of Education at Dartmouth College.
Mitchell received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and Ph.D. from Stanford University. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Christine, and their two children.
Diana Oblinger
EDUCAUSE
Dr. Diana G. Oblinger is President and CEO of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education through the use of information technology. The current membership comprises over 2,400 colleges, universities and education organizations, including 250 corporations. Previously, Dr. Oblinger held positions in academia and business: Vice President for Information Resources and the Chief Information Officer for the University of North Carolina system, Executive Director of Higher Education for Microsoft, and IBM Director of the Institute for Academic Technology. She was on the faculty at the University of Missouri-Columbia and at Michigan State University and served as the Associate Dean of Academic Programs at the University of Missouri.
Since becoming president of EDUCAUSE, Dr. Oblinger has become known for innovative product and services growth as well as international outreach. For example, Dr. Oblinger created the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), known for its leadership in teaching, learning and technology innovation as well as several signature products, such as the 7 Things You Should Know About series. She also initiated EDUCAUSE's first fully online events and its e-book series, including Educating the Net Generation and Game Changers.
In collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation she led the creation of the Next Generation Learning Challenges, a $30M program focused on improving college readiness and completion through information technologies. Partners include the League for Innovation in the Community College, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Hewlett Foundation.
Dr. Oblinger serves on a variety of boards including the American Council on Education (ACE), and DuraSpace. Previous board and advisory service includes the board of directors of ACT, the editorial board of Open Learning, the National Visiting Committee for NSF's National Science Digital Library project, and the NSF Committee on Cyberinfrastructure. She currently serves as chair of the Washington Higher Education Secretariat. Dr. Oblinger has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Employment, Safety and Training and the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Technology.
Dr. Oblinger is a frequent keynote speaker as well as the co-author of the award-winning book What Business Wants from Higher Education. She is the editor or co-editor of eight books: The Learning Revolution, The Future Compatible Campus, Renewing Administration, E is for Everything, Best Practices in Student Services, Educating the Net Generation, Learning Spaces, and Game Changers. She also is the author or co-author of numerous monographs and articles on higher education and technology.
Dr. Oblinger has received outstanding teaching and research awards, was named Young Alumnus of the Year by Iowa State University and holds three honorary degrees. She is a graduate of Iowa State University (bachelor's, master's, and PhD) and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Xi.
Timothy Slottow
University of Phoenix
Tim Slottow took up his appointment as the seventh President of University of Phoenix on June 20, 2014. Mr. Slottow’s distinguished career spans 30 years at public and private organizations throughout the U.S.
Before joining University of Phoenix, he served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer at the University of Michigan, where he supervised and was responsible for the university’s $6.3 billion annual operating revenues and more than $16 billion in financial and physical assets. Mr. Slottow’s work there helped the institution fulfill its academic mission and strategy on behalf of 61,000 students and 44,000 faculty and staff.
Prior to his work at the University of Michigan, Mr. Slottow oversaw strategic business planning and finance as assistant vice president at Amtrak in Washington, D.C. Before joining Amtrak, he worked as a director of policy and planning for the City of Seattle where he supervised city-wide financial policy development, capital budgeting and planning, and long-term strategic financial planning and analysis.
At Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting), Mr. Slottow worked as a manager in the Pacific Northwest practice where he specialized in improving financial management functions at large companies.
He earned a master’s degree in business administration from University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Slottow’s extracurricular passion during his educational career was gymnastics. He held a spot on the men’s team at UC Berkeley. At University of Washington, he coached the men’s team and founded the University of Washington boy’s gymnastics club.
He resides in Phoenix with his wife Marie.
Burck Smith
Straighterline
Burck Smith is the CEO and founder of StraighterLine. Ten years before launching StraighterLine in 2009, he co-founded SMARTHINKING, the largest online tutoring provider for schools and colleges. Burck has written chapters for three books on education policy for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is a member of the American Enterprise Institute's Higher Education Working Group. Prior to starting SMARTHINKING, Burck was independent consultant and journalist whose clients included the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Computer Curriculum Corporation, the CEO Forum on Education and Technology, the Milken Exchange on Education and Technology, Teaching Matters Inc., Converge Magazine, Wired Magazine, Wired News, University Business, the National School Boards Association and more. In the early 1990's, he wrote articles on a variety of subjects including creating community telecommunication networks, electronic access to political information, telecommunications deregulation and the ability of utilities to serve as telecommunications service providers. Burck holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from Williams College.
Kara Van Dam
University of Maryland University College
Kara Van Dam is Vice Provost for Learner & Faculty Experience at University of Maryland University College, where she leads faculty development and academic technology teams to create an integrated approach towards designing optimum learning experiences.
John Walda
NACUBO
Mr. John D. Walda has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of National Association Of College And University Business Officers since 2006. Before coming to NACUBO, Mr. Walda was a Partner in the law firm Bose McKinney & Evans in Indianapolis and was Senior Vice President of Federal Relations for Bose Treacy Associates LLC. He was President Emeritus of Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis. He was Trustee Emeritus of Indiana University, Bloomington. He has been a Director of Stetson University since May 2011. He has been a Director of National Association Of College And University Business Officers since May 2011. He is on the Board of Directors for the Yellowstone Park Foundation. He is a member and past-chair of the Steering Committee for the Washington Higher Education Secretariat, a past Director for the American Council on Education, a director of the Indiana University Foundation and a trustee for Carroll College. He served as president of the Indiana University Board of Trustees, as chair of the Indiana Lottery Commission, as a director and chair of the Association of Governing Boards, and as chair of the Board of Clarian Health Partners (now Indiana University Health).
Mr. Walda has been a member of the American, Montana and Indiana State Bar Associations; American Inns of Court (Master of the Bench); American College of Trial Lawyers (Fellow); NCAA Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics; AAU Council on Federal Relations; and NASULGC Council on Government Relations. Mr. Walda received both his BA in 1972 and JD in 1975 from Indiana University.
Michelle Weise
Christiensen Institute
Dr. Michelle R. Weise is a Senior Research Fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute specializing in disruptive innovation in higher education. Michelle works to inform policymakers, community leaders, academic administrators, and innovators on how the theories of disruption clarify our understanding of the changing academic terrain. She co-authored a book with Clayton M. Christensen about how online competency-based education will revolutionize the workforce and disrupt higher education titled, Hire Education: Mastery, Modularization, and the Workforce Revolution. Michelle’s commentaries and research have been featured in a number of publications such as The Economist, The Boston Globe, Inside HigherEd, The Chronicle of Higher Education, USA Today, and National Journal.
Prior to joining the Institute, Michelle served as the Vice President of Academic Affairs for Fidelis Education. She has also held instructional positions, serving as a professor at Skidmore College as well as an instructor at Stanford University. Michelle is a former Fulbright Scholar and graduate of Harvard and Stanford.