ALT - Key Persons


Abbi Shaw

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Andy Blackall

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Christina Vines

Job Titles:
  • Administration Officer ( on Maternity Leave )

Darren Gash

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

David Hopkins

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
David is the UK Director of Content Services for LearningMate. He joined LearningMate in the summer of 2023, bringing over 17 years of experience in learning technology and higher education to the business, where he is responsible for being the critical bridge between technology solutions and university partners. As the lead on aspects of partner transformation, digital strategy, technical and pedagogical implementation, and content-orientated partnerships, David joined LearningMate at a crucial time of development and growth for the business. David developed his career in HE and learning technology from his background in data management and internet technologies; he remains an advocate of the appropriate and considered use of technology to support and enhance learning. David is an active and social member of ALT, he obtained his CMALT in 2013, and has been a vocal supporter of CMALT and an assessor on many successful CMALT portfolios from across the membership.

David White - President

Job Titles:
  • President
  • Head of Digital Education
David White is the Head of Digital Education and Academic Practice at University of the Arts London. He has worked at the intersection of teaching, research and digital for over 20 years. David is best known for the Digital Visitors and Residents idea which provides a framework to understand what motivates online engagement in different forms. He is a keen advocate for Open Educational Practices and a well-known thinker in digital and open online education.

Emily Moore

Job Titles:
  • Member of the ALT Staff Team
  • Administration Officer ( Maternity Cover )
As ALT's Administration Officer Emily works across all of ALT's areas of activities including all membership activities, publications and events.

Emma Procter-Legg

Job Titles:
  • Member of the ALT Staff Team
  • Project Manager for AmplifyFE
Emma is the Project Manager for AmplifyFE. AmplifyFE launched in October 2020 and connects over 2200 professionals in Further Education and Vocational Education, providing a strong networking community for them to share, collaborate and learn.

Fiona Jones

Job Titles:
  • Member of the ALT Staff Team
  • Professional Development Manager
Fiona manages ALT's growing professional development services which enhance professional recognition for Members, including ALT's Awards, accreditation and continued professional development activities.

Helen O'Sullivan - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
Helen has recently been appointed Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Chester. As Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education, Professor O'Sullivan was previously responsible for taking strategic leadership for all aspects of education at Keele. She joined Keele on 1 st January 2018 and before that was Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Online Learning at the University of Liverpool.Helen is a member of the Advance HE Board and is Co-Convener of Advance HE's PVC Network. Other external activities include membership of UUK International's Transnational Education Advisory Board and of JISC's Horizon Group.

Hennie Yip

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Jade Kimberley

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Jane Frankel

Job Titles:
  • Finance
  • Member of the ALT Staff Team
  • Membership Manager
Jane is responsible for day to day finance of ALT, including banking, payroll and accounts. As Finance and Membership Manager Jane also oversees organisational membership working closely with the CEO and the COO in this important area of our operations.

Julie Voce

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Karisha Kimone George

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Katie Johnson

Job Titles:
  • Events Manager
  • Member of the ALT Staff Team
As ALT's Events Manager, Katie is responsible for the logistics of all of ALT's conferences and our hybrid events programme, including ALT's annual 3 day international conference and the Open Education conference.

Keith Smyth

Job Titles:
  • Vice - Chair
  • Professor of Pedagogy
Keith Smyth is Dean of Learning and Teaching and Professor of Pedagogy at the University of the Highlands and Islands, where he leads the directorate responsible for learning and teaching strategy, professional development and recognition, academic standards and enhancement, curriculum innovation, and educational scholarship. Keith has particular interests in co-creative pedagogies and curriculum models, open education and scholarship, and digital educational strategy and policy. Keith developed the openly licensed 3E Framework for technology-enhanced learning which has been used extensively across FE and HE, and has been actively involved as a trustee and volunteer for several third sector education organisations and initiatives. Keith blogs (sporadically) at www.3eeducation.org.

Kerry Pinny

Job Titles:
  • Member of the ALT Staff Team
  • Interim CEO and Chief Operations Officer
  • Interim Chief Executive ( CEO )
Kerry is ALT's Interim Chief Executive (CEO) and Chief Operations Officer (COO). Kerry leads the staff team, is responsible for day to day operations of ALT and works with members, stakeholders and policy makers to deliver ALT's strategy.

Laurie Wilson

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Matt Cornock

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Natalie Lafferty

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Head of the Centre for Technology
Natalie Lafferty is Head of the Centre for Technology and Innovation in Learning at the University of Dundee. She leads a team that designs and delivers digital educational services across the University supporting the academic community in their use of the VLE, educational video, online assessment, WordPress and with the development of courses including MOOCs. Together with the team she provides guidance on learning design, content development and pedagogic approaches. She also works on strategy and policy developments at the University. Natalie has particular interests in open education, in working with students as partners and as co-creators of learning and interdisciplinary approaches to learning. She is the co-organiser of PressED an annual Twitter conference on WordPress in education, research and pedagogy. Natalie blogs at natalie-lafferty.net

Peter Bryant

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Professor of Business Education at the University of Sydney Business School
Peter Bryant is Associate Dean (Education) and Professor of Business Education at the University of Sydney Business School (Australia). He leads the educational strategy of the Business School and is the project sponsor of critical initiatives in co-design, digital storytelling, crowdsourcing, connected learning at scale and leadership for good. His research interests include pedagogical change, digital pedagogy and future of education. He is the Director of the Disruptive Innovations in Business Education Research Group. He is an active blogger and tweets @peterbryantHE.

Puiyin Wong

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee
  • Trustee
Puiyin is the Innovation & Scholarship Manager at the Queen Mary Academy, Queen Mary University of London. She is also a PhD researcher at Lancaster University, her work explores the interplay between pedagogies and technology for learning and professional development. With nearly 20 years experience in higher education, she is connected to colleagues in the UK and internationally. Importantly, as a person from the Global Majority, she empathises with her peers from the Global Majority and other underrepresented groups. Puiyin runs a successful monthly webinar series - #TELresearchers (also #HEresearchers) that introduces TEL and HE researchers from around the world to the HE and research community.

Richard Beggs

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Sammy White

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee

Sharon Flynn

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee
  • Trustee
  • National Coordinator of the N - TUTORR
Sharon is the national coordinator of the N-TUTORR programme, an innovative collaboration to transform learning across the technological university sector in Ireland. She works with 7 HEIs in the technological sector on a programme designed to transform learning, teaching and assessment by focussing on transforming the student experience and developing the capabilities of all staff, to address a sustainable pedagogical and learning environment, informed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Sharon is on secondment from her role as Assistant Director at the Centre for Excellent in Learning and Teaching at the University of Galway, where she led a team of learning technologists.

Shonagh Douglas

Job Titles:
  • Honorary Treasurer
Shonagh Douglas is an Accounting and Finance Lecturer at the Robert Gordon University. She has a number of years' experience in delivering online courses and has a particular interest in the use of learning technology to create interactive online resources and improve the virtual student learning experience. Shonagh is a Chartered Accountant - she previously trained and worked as an auditor with KPMG and continues to be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Shonagh has completed a PhD which focused on understanding the development of non-technical skills of trainee accountants.

Vicky Devaney

Job Titles:
  • Member of the CMALT Committee