SPARC is thrilled to congratulate the fifth cohort of the Open Education Leadership Program on their graduation from the program. The 2021-22 cohort graduating class includes 25 academic professionals from across the United States and Canada, officially bringing the program’s total graduate count over 100.
This year’s graduates include a wide range of academic professionals with responsibilities related to open education— librarians, instructors, program managers, policy experts, student leaders, and more. These varied perspectives enriched cohort discussions and built a strong network of open education practitioners.
Graduation marks the end of a two-semester journey through an intensive and challenging year. During the fall semester, the cohort completed an online course designed to build subject matter mastery on open education and formulate a roadmap for a capstone project. During the spring semester, fellows implemented their capstone projects with support from a mentor, many of whom are graduates of the program themselves. Emerging themes from the cohort’s capstone projects included developing institutional strategic plans, workshops and toolkits to equip faculty with the tools they need to adopt OER, grant development plans, state-level action guides, and many others.
While the cohort didn’t have the chance to meet in-person, it was an absolute pleasure to watch fellows develop bonds in their own, unique way. We are so proud of the resilience, determination, and leadership that carried our fellows through an unprecedented year. We know that they will continue to do great things and can’t wait to see where they go next!
2021-2022 SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellows
- Amanda Langdon, Access Services & Distance Learning Librarian/OER Campus Lead, Adams State University Nielsen Library
- Amy Blau, Scholarly Communications Librarian, Whitman College
- Beatrice Canales, Academic Unit Assistant, San Antonio College
- Catherine Riehle, Associate Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
- Charlotte Dailey, Program Specialist-OER, Southern Regional Education Board
- Christina Hilburger, Research and Information Literacy Services Librarian, State University of New York at Fredonia
- Courtney Eger, Learning and Engagement Librarian, Temple University, Health Sciences Libraries
- Cynthia Orozco, Librarian for Equitable Services/Associate Professor, East Los Angeles College
- Elena Kuzmina, OER, E-resources and Collections Librarian, Vancouver Community College
- Elizabeth Speer, Electronic Resources & Acquisitions Librarian, The University of North Texas Health Science Center
- Emily Carlisle-Johnston, Research and Scholarly Communications Librarian, Western University
- Isaac Mulolani, Open Educational Resources Publishing Program Manager, University of Regina
- Kristopher Meen, Assistant Librarian, Academic Skills and Marketing & Engagement, NUI Galway
- Kylah Torre, Program Director, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
- Liz Thompson, Open Education Librarian, James Madison University
- Meredith Cudmore-Keating, Students’ Union Vice President Academic, St. Francis Xavier University
- Nataly Blas, Collection Development Librarian, Loyola Marymount University
- Nicola (Nicky) Andrews, Open Education Librarian, University of San Francisco
- Rachel Becker, Copyright & Open Educational Resources Librarian, Madison Area Technical College
- Sarah LeMire, Coordinator of First-Year Programs, Texas A&M University
- Sarah Shaughnessy, Faculty Engagement Librarian, University of Alberta
- Shayna Pekala, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Gonzaga University
- Tori Stanek, Digital Access and Public Services Librarian, Columbia Gorge Community College
- Yang Wu, Open Resources Librarian, Clemson University Libraries
- Zachariah Claybaugh, Student Success Librarian, University of Connecticut
2021-2022 SPARC Open Education Leadership Mentors
- Amanda Larson, The Ohio State University
- Angela Chikowero, University of California Santa Barbara
- Brad Ost, Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, Inc.
- Bryan McGeary, Pennsylvania State University
- Chris Barnes, Franklin & Marshall College
- Christina Riehman-Murphy, Penn State Libraries, Abington College
- Claire Nickerson, Fort Hays State University
- Connie Strittmatter, Fitchburg State University
- David Tully, North Carolina State University Libraries
- Dawn (Nikki) Cannon-Rech, Georgia Southern University
- Donna Langille, University of British Columbia Okanagan
- Hailey Babb, SPARC
- Jeanne Hoover, East Carolina University
- Jeff Gallant, Affordable Learning Georgia
- Jennifer Beamer, The Claremont Colleges
- Julia Rodriguez, Oakland University
- Kevin Corcoran, Connecticut State Colleges & Universities
- Michelle Brailey, University of Alberta
- Nicole Allen, SPARC
- Regina Gong, Michigan State University Libraries
- Stephanie Quail, York University
- Tanya Spilovoy, WICHE
- Teri Koch, Drake University
- Trudi Radtke, SPARC
- Ursula Pike, Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex)