Dr. Sherri Braxton, Senior Director for Digital Innovation @ Bowdoin / USM Consultant, Bowdoin College

Dr. Sherri Braxton currently serves as the Senior Director for Digital Innovation at Bowdoin College. In this role, she is responsible for supporting the ongoing Bowdoin Online Learning and Teaching (BOLT) operational vision and strategy and providing day-to-day guidance and support across the overall effort. She regularly partners with stakeholders throughout the college while leading efforts to identify, prioritize, and pursue other opportunities for digital innovation. She also leads efforts to partner and collaborate with peers and other institutions on these digital learning initiatives.  Dr. Braxton also currently serves as a consultant for the University System of Maryland under the direction of the Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation. In that role, she supports strategic programs in the areas of alternative credentialing, online learning and other areas as needed. Dr. Braxton previously served as the Senior Director of Instructional Technology at UMBC where she was responsible for leading the Division of Information Technology’s (DoIT) strategy for end-user support of instructional technologies including online, hybrid, and traditional “face-to-face” technologies as well as the alternative credentialing initiatives.

Deborah Hodge, Director of Programs, Greater Washington Partnership

Deb brings almost 20 years of higher education experience to her role.  As Capital CoLAB’s Director of Programs, she works closely with post-secondary education partners as they implement the Digital Tech Credential Program.   In previous roles at Excelsior College and SUNY Empire State College, she designed and implemented degree programs with faculty that centered around non-traditional learners.   Through Deb’s higher education experience and her previous role as CIO at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, she sees improving interoperability as a necessity to better connect learner outcomes to employment opportunities.   She is passionate about the retention and persistence of learners at all stages of their educational journey and believes awarding credit for both formal and experiential learning provides a more efficient path to degree attainment and economic mobility.  Deb holds a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University at Albany.

Suzanne Carbonaro, Director of Academic Partnerships, AEFIS

Suzanne Carbonaro, M.Ed, MS, CE School Administrator, is the Director of Academic Partnerships at AEFIS. Suzanne has 27 years experience in higher education teaching, curriculum design, assessment and leadership. Most recently, Suzanne served as the Director of Assessment at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences where she designed the real-time assessment process for the newly implemented competency-driven doctor of pharmacy curriculum. She came to USciences from Rider University where she served as Director of Assessment and Strategic Partnerships at the College of Education. Here she redesigned their assessment process and managed over a million dollars in grants. Suzanne has led successful self-studies and re-accreditation efforts for the doctor of pharmacy and teacher and leader education programs. She is a proud member of the team who successfully received the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) 2019 Award for Excellence in Assessment. Suzanne was invited to present her research and development of Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs) to IMS Global at the 2018 Learning Analytics Summit, 2019 IMS Global Digital Credentials Summit and was a finalist for Learning Impact Awards at the Leadership Institute in May 2019. She received the USciences 2018 Founder’s Day Award for Innovation and has presented at AALHE (2018, 2019, 2020), Drexel Assessment Conference (2018, 2019, 2020), IUPUI (2018, 2019, 2020), AACP (2019) as well as regional assessment conferences, and the Competency-Based Education Network (2019, 2020).