D2L Fusion 2025 Speakers

Catherine Shaw

Catherine Shaw is a Managing Director at Tyton Partners, where she leads strategic consulting projects for the higher education ecosystem and education technology. Cathy excels in guiding industry-leading research (leading the widely recognized publications like Time for Class, Driving Toward a Degree, and Listening to Learners), supporting grant-making strategies, and advising on service-to-product pivots for influential nonprofits. Before joining Tyton in 2020, Cathy was an adjunct at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Public Policy. She has a decade of experience as an operator in education technology. She holds two patents for products she developed at EAB focused on student success and enjoys tracking how innovation in technology impacts the education ecosystem. Cathy earned her BS in Economics from MIT and a MA in Economics from Boston University.

Dr. Darcy Hardy

Dr. Hardy is the Founder and Chief Strategist for The Hardy Group. She most recently served as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Anthology Education and Research Center at Anthology Inc. (formerly Blackboard Inc.). Her work continues to focus on the online learning ecosystem and how it impacts all parts of an institution or organization.

Before her position with Blackboard, Dr. Hardy spent over 25 years in public higher education, including The University of Texas System, The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Texas State University-San Marcos.

During her tenure with UTSA, she worked with the Obama Administration, completing a two-year Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) appointment at the U.S. Department of Labor, and a one-year IPA appointment at the U.S. Department of Education.

From 1997 to 2010, Dr. Hardy served as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas System & Executive Director of the UT TeleCampus. She was a founding member and is a past president of the Texas Distance Learning Association (TxDLA).

Currently, she serves as Chair Emerita with the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) and is a member of the WCET Executive Council. She co-founded in 2004 the WCET-sponsored Annual Summit for Women in E-Learning (ASWE), formerly known as the USDLA International Forum for Women in E-Learning (IFWE), an event that focuses on issues faced by women in higher education as well as on the importance of networking and mentoring in the growth of women leaders for tomorrow.

Dr. Hardy was honored by Texas State University as a Distinguished Alumna in 2012. She was inducted into the USDLA Hall of Fame in 2009 and received the Mildred and Charles Wedemeyer Outstanding Distance Learning Practitioner Award in Madison, Wisconsin in 2006. In addition, she was inducted into the Texas Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame in 2006 and received the WCET Richard Jonsen Award in 2005.

She earned her PhD in Curriculum & Instruction (Instructional Technology) from The University of Texas at Austin in 1992.

Dylan Barth

Dylan Barth is the Vice President of Innovation and Programs at the Online Learning Consortium. Dylan provides strategic vision and oversight for professional development, consulting, research and publications, and the Quality Scorecard Suite at OLC. He has 20+ years of experience teaching in higher education and 12+ years working in faculty and instructional development. Dylan holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with an emphasis on masculinities in contemporary post-apocalyptic fiction.

Eric Palson

Eric currently holds the position as the Director of Academic Technologies at Babson College where he leads a team of instructional designers, instructional technologists, and graphic designers. His responsibilities for the group include strategic thinking and planning around curriculum and faculty research, creating content for blended and online learning, training faculty, coaching, and implementing innovative academic technologies.

In addition to his work as Director of Academic Technologies, Eric is an adjunct instructor at Babson College, where he teaches web and user interface design along with communication and collaboration courses specializing in virtual technologies. Before joining Babson College, he worked for a number of consulting and design firms, including Nextera Enterprises. Eric also co-founded the design firm Drive Thru Designs.

Eric holds a BA in advertising and graphic design from Loyola University in Maryland. He is also a graduate of Babson College where he earned an MBA in the Spring of 2009. His postgraduate studies also include media theory at Emerson College.

Specialties: Web design/development, graphic design, user experience design, user interface design, online and blended course design, instructional design, design thinking, marketing, branding, video editing, pedagogical analysis, training, management.

Franca Jonquière

Holly Doyle

Holly Doyle, is a passionate advocate for transformative learning experiences, dedicated to igniting the joy of learning through innovative eLearning strategies. With over 15 years of experience in instructional design, LMS administration, and digital education strategy, she has transformed eLearning environments across K-12, higher education, and corporate sectors. Holly has driven the development of scalable content solutions and streamlined training delivery for the organizations she has worked for. A digital learning champion, Holly’s expertise in Brightspace and other ed tech applications has empowered countless educators and learners, bridging technology and pedagogy to foster meaningful learning experiences. At the core of her work is a deep commitment to personal and professional growth, ensuring that individuals have the tools and opportunities to become the best version of themselves.

Dr. James Castle

James has worked in the field of education for over 20 years in roles ranging from classroom teacher to instructional technologist & designer. As the associate director of Online Learning, he works to help develop online graduate degree programs, provide strategic direction via data analytics, and maintain high-quality course and program design practices within the instructional design team. He earned his Doctorate in Learning, Design, and Technology from the University of Georgia.

Jason Crouch

In late 2019, following UTC’s split into three companies, I joined Carrier Engineering University. As the lead Learning Experience Designer, I manage daily operations and collaborate with Carrier engineers to create engaging educational content. My background in design and education equips me to enhance learning materials for our 5,000 engineers and 50,000 employees overall. Prior to this I worked as a UI/UX designer and professional high school educator.

Jefferson Pestronk

Dr. Pestronk brings two decades of experience at the local, state, and federal level, including as VP for strategy and development at New Visions for Public Schools, one of the largest non-profits focused on improving public education in New York City; and as director of special initiatives in the US Dept of Education, advising on research and development-related policy. He holds a doctorate in ed leadership from Harvard and a BSE in operations research and financial engineering from Princeton.

Lacey McCan

Lacey McCann is a product leader with 13+ years of experience in the education space, specializing in designing and operationalizing front-end and back-end learning solutions that drive outcomes for working adults. Her expertise spans innovating end-to-end product experiences for competency-based education programs and developing solutions that connect frontline workers to educational opportunities. Lacey leads C-BEN’s CompetentU, the only online, on-demand learning and development platform that models and teaches competency-based education and skills-based program design. She also is the initiative lead for a pilot program testing new skills-based math pathways and implementation models at the community college level aimed to help adult learners avoid the barriers often associated with standalone remediation courses.

Before joining C-BEN, Lacey was Director of Product Management, Student Experience at Guild, where she led the product team transforming the internal CRM system and communication channels for learners. At Strada Education Network, she defined product and service portfolios and provided strategic consultation to affiliates like CAEL and InsideTrack. As Director of Product Management at Walden University, Lacey was part of the Tempo Learning team that launched one of the first direct-assessment CBE experiences in the U.S., overseeing the end to end learner journey from awareness to completion, including messaging, enrollment/onboarding, portal and LMS UX; while partnering with academic and institutional operational teams to innovate the necessary backend, policy and support models necessary for scale.

Natalia Mejia

Natalia Mejia leads the learning experience design strategy for the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN). In her most recent positions, she has developed various skills-based, workforce-relevant programs for one of the largest online nonprofit universities in the United States serving adult learners. As a well-rounded instructional designer, she has performed all the jobs related to conceptualization, design, build, maintenance, and oversight of online programs, paying special attention to learning science principles and educational frameworks. Natalia has also hired, trained, and coached instructional designers in various positions and has helped them develop their skills to become proficient designers who deliver results. She has also taught adult students at the college and professional levels. Natalia is pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership and holds a master’s degree in Education and a bachelor’s in Communications.

Paige Pullen

Dr. Paige C. Pullen is a distinguished leader in literacy research and educational technology, renowned for developing the Literacy Matrix—a statewide professional learning system that led to an 82% improvement in educators’ literacy instruction effectiveness. As a former Chief Academic Officer and Literacy Principal at the University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning, Dr. Pullen advanced literacy initiatives, including the integration of AI-automated assignment scoring in online micro-credential programs for educators. A pilot study demonstrated that AI scoring produced mastery rates comparable to instructor-scored sections, with significant cost and time savings. Her work has secured over $600 million in funding for literacy initiatives and professional learning programs, further solidifying her influence in the field.

Dr. Pullen’s scholarly contributions include co-authoring textbooks such as Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education, which are widely used in higher education to prepare educators for diverse learning environments. She has published over 30 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, focusing on reading instruction, learning disabilities, and instructional coaching.

As President of Pullen Education Strategies, Dr. Pullen continues to innovate in AI-driven professional learning and competency-based assessments for educators. She also serves as a Senior Advisor to the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy, supporting statewide early literacy initiatives focused on systems-level transformation.

Dr. Pullen’s experience as a professor at the University of Florida, her leadership at the Lastinger Center, and her work at the University of Virginia have provided her with a broad foundation in literacy research and teacher preparation. Her ability to translate the science of reading into actionable strategies has profoundly influenced professional learning delivery.

Dr. Stephen Balfour

Stephen Balfour holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Texas A&M University (1998) and directs the Office of Online Learning at the University of Georgia. He has been the principal investigator on over $900,000 of Department of Defense contracts for projects related to artificial intelligence (AI) aided open-source media analysis and technology enhanced language learning.

Dr. Balfour has published five articles and book chapters, given more than 30 invited talks on pedagogy and technology, and been cited in popular media eight times. He was appointed to the faculty of the University of Georgia as a senior academic professional in 2017. Previously at Texas A&M for 25 years, he directed the College of Liberal Arts Summer Institute for Instructional Technology Innovation for nine years, participated on the Wakonse South Conference for College Teaching Planning Committee for 15 years, and chaired the Learning Technologies track of the Texas A&M University System TechSummit for two years.