D2L Connection: Michigan

Ruthlyn Antoniou

Learning Experience Consultant, D2L

Ruthlyn is a certified teacher passionate about education, life-long learning, and enabling all learners to succeed. In 2016, she completed her Master’s of Education, where her research focused on integrating advanced technology into education. Fast forward to today, she sees her research come to life as she works with D2L customers to transform their content into dynamic, engaging, and meaningful online learning experiences. 

Ruthlyn has years of experience inspiring learners in the classroom and through the creation of online learning. She joined D2L as an Instructional Designer, where she had the opportunity to work on corporate, association, and K-12 projects. She has experience with courseware development, quality assurance, and accessibility testing.  

Today, Ruthlyn represents D2L’s Learning Services as a Learning Experience Consultant. She loves meeting with new and existing clients to discuss how they are transforming learning within their organizations. Her professional and academic experience, creativity, and motivation make her a solid asset to D2L’s Learning Services team. 

Robyn Hammontree

VP, Academic Partnerships, D2L

Robyn Hammontree is Vice President of Academic Partnerships at D2L and a 2026 Nieman Fellowship Affiliate at Harvard University. In her role at D2L, she partners with universities to turn digital learning priorities into executable plans that improve program quality. Prior to joining D2L, Robyn held senior roles at Noodle, where she supported institutions through complex work, and spent eight years at The University of Alabama in online learning, contributing directly to online program development and the operational practices that support quality at scale. She has worked across K12, Higher Education and Corporate Learning throughout her career, and brings that lens to her work today. 

Michelle Piper

Sr. Customer Success Manager, D2L

Michelle Piper, Ed.D.,  has worked in higher education for over 20 years, serving as an Instructional Technologist and LMS Administrator. She has taught across all modalities—face-to-face, hybrid, and online—for more than 15 years. Today, she partners with institutions to align learning technology strategy with student success, accessibility, and innovation goals. 

Lindsay Shipman

Director of Release and Product Enabelment

Lindsay Shipman is the Director of Release and Product Enablement at D2L and a part-time instructor at Fanshawe College. With 13 years in educational publishing and technology, she specializes in blended and online learning. Lindsay holds a BA in English and a Master of Professional Education in Curriculum and Pedagogy. She is passionate about building connections, fostering community, and supporting students’ holistic growth. 

Kristin Hrynczuk

Senior Instructional Technologist at Western Michigan University

Kristin Hrynczuk is a Senior Instructional Technology Specialist with extensive experience supporting educators in designing engaging, accessible, and technology‑enhanced learning experiences. She partners with faculty and staff to integrate digital tools, especially D2L Brightspace, into teaching and learning in ways that are practical, innovative, and student‑centered. Kristin has been in the higher education space for 18 years and at Western Michigan University for 10  years. 

Justin Bamberg

LMS & Multimedia Design Technologist, Delta College

Justin Bamberg is an LMS and Multimedia Design Technologist at Delta College, where he focuses on faculty and student solutions, system integrations, training, and building scalable tools within the Brightspace LMS ecosystem. With more than 15 years of experience working in Brightspace, Justin enjoys rethinking processes and finding practical ways to make complex systems easier to use. What once operated primarily as a help desk model has grown into a trusted, campus-wide partner supporting nearly every department, with an emphasis on proactive training and sustainable solutions. 

In recent years, Justin has developed several dashboard systems supporting enrollment management, reporting automation, and student success initiatives by combining Brightspace APIs, Data Hub extracts, Colleague reports, and lightweight web applications. He is especially interested in turning LMS data into tools that simplify work and support better institutional decision-making. 

Christian Pantel

Chief Product Officer, D2L

Christian was appointed Chief Product Officer in 2024. He leads global Product Strategy, Product Management, Product Design, User Experience Research and Accessibility at D2L. Christian first joined the company in 2015 and has expanded his leadership in product, design, and engineering. He has extensive experience in Education Technology and knows D2L customers well. With deep empathy for diverse learners and educators, Christian has led D2L to develop products with a world-class user experience.  

Christian has over 25 years of leadership experience building software at notable enterprise software companies including Workday, Infor, and PeopleSoft. Christian earned a Master of Science in computing science from Simon Fraser University, specializing in human-computer interaction and Web-based learning environments. He also holds a Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) from the University of Manitoba. Christian lives in Winnipeg with his wife and four children. 

Joanna Palmer

Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning and Innovation at South University

Dr. Joanna Palmer serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning and Innovation at South University, where she leads online learning strategy and the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. Her work focuses on evolving online education to meet the needs of tomorrow’s learners, guiding initiatives such as the university’s Generative AI Steering Committee, a comprehensive technology inventory and needs assessment, and the revision of academic integrity policies and processes. Dr. Palmer draws on her more than 20 years in higher education, including roles as faculty, dean, Associate Provost, and Interim Provost, and her background in psychology to support student success and empower academic teams. Earlier in her career, she served as a mental health assessor and therapist and worked with the United States Navy’s Program for Afloat College Education to bring distance education and face-to-face classrooms to deployed Navy ships and submarines. She is dedicated to pursuing thoughtful innovation that enhances the student experience, removes barriers to learning, and supports every student’s path to success.

Dawn Bauer

Instructional Technologist/Designer at Oakland Community College

Dawn graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in both Biology and Psychology.  For the last 3 years, Dawn has worked as an Instructional Technologist/Designer at Oakland Community College.  Over the last 20 years, she has been working with faculty at various two- and four-year Higher Education Institutions, helping faculty learn and integrate various technologies into courses of different modalities and formats.  Dawn has two fur babies at home, Oliver (dog) and Pader (cat).  She enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, music, and the culinary arts. 

Linda Wareck

Instructional Technologist, Academic Technology Group, Oakland Community College

Wareck brings over two decades of experience as an instructional technologist at the community college and university levels. Her work focuses on emerging tools for teaching and learning, and instructional applications of a learning management system. Linda provides end user support for faculty through consultations and training for enhancing the use of instructional technology tools for instruction. 

Max de Raaff

Director of Business Development at FeedbackFruits

Max de Raaff is the Director of Business Development at FeedbackFruits, where he has been a driving force since the company’s earliest days. With nearly a decade of experience partnering with higher education institutions across Europe, North America, and APAC, Max has a unique global perspective on how technology can bridge the gap between academic theory and career-ready skills. He is a passionate advocate for “authentic peer feedback” practices and is currently leading initiatives to help universities scale learning innovation through the FeedbackFruits 2026 Pilot Program. Max’s approach is rooted in pragmatism: ensuring that AI and digital tools serve to enhance the human element of teaching rather than replace it.