TLOS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Learning Services
Aaron Bond, Ph. D. has worked in the field of instructional technology, distance education, and professional development for more than 20 years. He has served as a corporate trainer, face-to-face classroom instructor, an online instructor, and as a secondary principal. Currently he serves as the Senior Director for Learning Services in Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies at Virginia Tech where he oversees faculty professional development, learning technologies, and instructional design.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor in the Department of Business Information
- Associate Professor, Department of Business Information Technology, Pamplin College of Business
- Senior Editor of Decision Support Systems
Alan S. Abrahams is an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Information Technology, Pamplin College of Business, at Virginia Tech, and an Associate Director of the Executive PhD Program. He is also a member of the Affiliated Faculty at the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Injury Research and Policy.
Abrahams's primary research interest is in developing text analytic techniques for detecting product safety concerns. His research has analyzed consumer postings for multiple Fortune 50 and NYSE-listed retailers and manufacturers and has addressed diverse industries including, amongst others, consumer products, home appliances, food, over-the-counter medicines, medical devices, and automotive.
Abrahams is a Senior Editor of Decision Support Systems and has published more than 40 peer-reviewed articles in diverse journals, including Decision Support Systems, Production & Operations Management, Risk Analysis, Safety Science, and others.
Abrahams began his teaching career in the Department of Informatics at the University of Pretoria. He subsequently taught undergraduate and MBA classes in the Operations and Information Management Department at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He has taught in the Business Information Technology program at Virginia Tech since 2007, at both the undergraduate and Executive MBA levels. Abrahams has also held a Bualuang ASEAN Fellowship from Thammasat University, Thailand.
Abrahams holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge and has a Bachelor of Business Science degree with honors in Information Systems from the University of Cape Town.
Job Titles:
- Director, Engineering Online and Cardinal Education
Alicia Johnson holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction (Instructional Design & Technology) from Virginia Tech, and an M.S. in Instructional Media (Education) from Wilkes University. With a career beginning in the classroom as a secondary English teacher, she ultimately transitioned into academia as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Her graduate teaching focused on all aspects of instructional design (ID), development, implementation, and evaluation practices and ID research. Her research focuses on Instructional Design as well as teaching and learning in a variety of contexts. Currently, she is the Director of Virginia Tech Engineering Online, driving the strategic development of online graduate and professional studies, fostering global marketing plans, and managing collaboration among multiple universities through Cardinal Education. As a leader, Johnson champions inclusive and effective learning environments, fusing traditional academic practices with forward-thinking strategies. Her work is recognized in several international conferences and academic journals, underscoring her commitment to refining and innovating the field of education.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Associate Professor, Emergency and Critical Care Medicine / Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice Provost for Technology - Enhanced Learning
- Our Executive Leadership Team Directs the Activities and Initiatives of All Groups Within
Our Executive Leadership team directs the activities and initiatives of all groups within TLOS.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator of Reading and Literacy, School of Education
Dana A. Robertson, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Reading and Literacy in the School of Education at Virginia Tech. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, he was the Executive Director of the Literacy Research Center and Clinic and Associate Professor in the School of Teacher Education at the University of Wyoming, where he also held a two-year appointment (2019-2021) as the Everett D. and Elizabeth Lantz Distinguished Professor in Education. He is a former elementary classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and literacy coach. Robertson conducts research focused on classroom discussion and teachers' talk, reading and writing challenges, and literacy professional learning through coaching and whole-school literacy improvement. Through each of these projects, he has sought ways to provide equitable and inclusive literacy opportunities to teachers and school-age children in ways that are humanizing, agentive, and sustainable.
Robertson was named an Emerging Scholar in the Reading Hall of Fame. He has been awarded the Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award, the Marvin Millgate Engaged Faculty Award, and the Mary Garland Early Career Fellowship, all from the University of Wyoming. He is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, and he was a collaborating author on the International Literacy Association's Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals (2017), which serve as credentialing standards for the preparation of literacy professionals at institutions of higher education throughout the United States. He serves as a Board Member-at-Large for the International Literacy Association (ILA) and Chair of the ILA Research Committee, and he was a past Board Member for the Literacy Research Association. He has co-authored two books, co-edited a third book focused on equitable and sustainable literacy professional learning, and has published numerous book chapters and articles in literacy and education journals including Journal of Literacy Research, Theory Into Practice, Professional Development in Education, Literacy Research and Instruction, The Reading Teacher, Reading Psychology, Language Arts, Voices From the Middle, and Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. He has contributed to EdWeek publications related to the science of reading and was a guest on the Classroom Caffeine podcast.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator of Service Design and Evaluation
Job Titles:
- Professional Liaison Award
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Support Services
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Training and Program Advancement
Ian is the Assistant Director of Training and Program Advancment for TLOS. He also development lead for all video on demand and self-paced instruction. With his experience, he is often brought in for special projects with other University departments as a training and development consultant. Before coming to Virginia Tech, he served as an Instructional Designer for two years at Advance Auto Parts and the Instructional Technologist & Instructional Designer at Wytheville Community College for 4 years. He has received his B.A. in Media Studies with a concentration in Advertising and M.S. in Educational Technology at Radford University. His experience in print and digital production combined with instructional design makes him a valued part of the team.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Practice, Accounting and Information Systems
Jacob Shortt, CPA, is an Assistant Professor of Practice in Accounting and Information Systems at Virginia Tech. Jacob graduated from Virginia Tech with both his Bachelors and Masters in Accounting and Information Systems. After graduation, Jacob obtained his CPA license in North Carolina and joined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the core audit group specializing in manufacturing clients. He then joined the risk advisory consulting practice of Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP working in the banking practice as a lead consultant. In addition to risk advisory services, he also conducted internal and external corporate training. Jacob worked as the cash and investments manager at Carolinas HealthCare System. Most recently, Jacob worked as a regulatory advisor at Bank of America. His teaching passions are Intermediate Accounting, Accounting Information Systems, and Accounting Analytics.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities for the Accounting and Information Systems Department at Virginia Tech, he has taught in the Executive MBA program as well as the Online MBA program. Through Virginia Tech outreach he teaches in a Data Analytics Certificate program and has taught in the Virginia Tech India program coordinating with the NMIMS University in Mumbai and the Institute of Technology Kharagpur.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Jennifer Jones joined the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in February 2016. Before joining the Virginia Tech faculty, Jennifer was in a leadership position in the public school system in Richmond, Virginia. She has been in the education field for over twenty years and has previously worked with students of all ages.
Jennifer currently works in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences program office as the Assistant Director for the Online Master of Agricultural and Life Sciences (OMALS) program. She currently oversees the eight different concentrations within the program and manages all aspects of the program including marketing and recruitment, admissions, student progress, and programmatic development and evaluation. She also manages the OMALS website, the Canvas student resource project site, and the faculty resource project site.
Jennifer serves at the college and university level in multiple capacities including being a former CALS Faculty Association executive board member, current A/P faculty senator, and current A/P Faculty Senate Secretary. She is also a TLOS Faculty Fellow for online learning.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Operations
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director for Teaching & Learning Engagement
- Assistant Director, Teaching & Learning Engagement, University Libraries / Newman Library
Kayla McNabb is the Assistant Director for Teaching & Learning Engagement (T&LE) in the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. In this role, she draws on her formal instructional design, pedagogy, and management training as well as her teaching and user testing experience to address the changing needs of the Virginia Tech campus community and her department. Kayla values and encourages open collaboration and open pedagogical principles throughout her work utilizing approaches informed by universal design for learning, user experience design, and critical open pedagogy.
Kayla is proud to support the T&LE team as it brings together foundational library instruction, often referred to as information literacy, with broader conceptions of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that learners need to be successful in our digital society under the umbrella of digital literacy. These principles impact the learning experiences that are available to folks within and beyond our communities, and the Community Engagement, Digital Literacy, and Learning Design teams work together to support learners.
Kayla can be contacted at kmcnabb@vt.edu and is available for consultation by appointment.
Job Titles:
- Senior Instructional Designer
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Universal Design and Accessible Technologies
Natalie has an associates of Arts and Sciences from NRCC and currently assists PDN with session planning and publishing professional development offerings. Additionally, Natalie helps with assessment and reporting. She is a lover of all things music, a devourer of books, and has lead a life of working directly with the public through various jobs and activities.
Job Titles:
- PDN Program Coordinator
- Program Coordinator for PDN
Nikki is the Program Coordinator for PDN. She focuses her time on faculty communication and engagement in the Computer Refresh program. Before coming to Virginia Tech she served as a Career Navigator at Virginia Western Community College as well as several years in public and non-profit education and job training. She takes great pride in lifelong learning and continuing education for others. She holds a B.A. from Bridgewater College. Her diverse background in education and human services brings a unique outlook to the PND team.
Norman Ferguson has been having a great time over the last twenty years on several area stages in a variety of roles such as Alvin Patterson in "Annie Warbucks", Lt. Comdr. Queeg in "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial", Horatio in "Fortinbras", Emory Wages in "Bad Seed", Capt. Corcoran in "H.M.S. Pinafore", Rev. Hale in "The Crucible", the Narrator in "The Rocky Horror Show", and Carlson in "Of Mice And Men".
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice Provost for Technology - Enhanced Learning
Job Titles:
- Web Accessibility Solutions Designer
Job Titles:
- Director of Computer - Integrated Learning Spaces
Job Titles:
- Senior Learning Data Analyst