Speaker: Valarie Chavis

Valarie is the initial contact for faculty and students who need technical support with their online courses or with basic Canvas issues. She is also the facilitator for EXT099, Introduction to Online Learning, the prerequisite for all students taking an online course regardless of program.


Speaker: Kim Edelman

Kim Edelman is the Senior Manager of Academic Platform Support for the Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) program at Harvard. She manages a team of business analysts and user support specialists who helped transition Harvard’s course platform from a home-grown LMS to Canvas.


Speaker: Tom Lamy

Tom is a system administrator with the University of New Hampshire Academic Technology Department.  Tom has been with UNH since 2005 where he got his start as an application and server administrator with the IT Service Desk.  Since March 2011 Tom has been working for Academic Technology serving as both a Canvas and Blackboard administrator.  Tom is a key member of the project team that conducted the UNH LMS Review, made the decision to migrate to Canvas, and has been supporting the implementation and 10 month migration from Blackboard to Canvas.   His current responsibilities include on-going maintenance and care of SIS and user account data integrations with both Canvas and Blackboard and the roll-out of a new, improved Canvas SIS integration using the Canvas API tools and a MariaDB “DataHub”. Future projects include the implementation of Grade Pass Back from Canvas to Banner and exploration of Canvas Big Data.  Prior to working at the University of New Hampshire, Tom served with the United States Marines.


Speaker: Kristin Lofblad Sullivan

Kristin is the Program Director for the Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) program at Harvard University. Prior to her role in TLT, Kristin served for eight years as head of academic technology at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Kristin's functional background is in teaching and learning, and her professional focus is IT strategy and leadership. 


Speaker: Shane O’Hara

Shane is a system administrator with the University of New Hampshire Academic Technology Department.  Shane has been with UNH since 2013 and has experience with a number of educational technologies including Blackboard and now Canvas.  Shane is a key member of the project team that conducted the UNH LMS Review, made the decision to migrate to Canvas, and has been supporting the implementation and 10 month migration from Blackboard to Canvas.  His current responsibilities include on-going maintenance and care of both Canvas and Blackboard, management of the LTI integrations and user support.  Prior to working at the UNH, Shane worked for the University of Southern Maine as an Online Learning Support Specialist, the University of New England as an Instructional Technologist, and the University of New England as a Systems Analyst.  His unique blend of technical and functional experience are ideal for implementing a SaaS tool like Canvas.  Shane is a veteran of the United States Army.


Speaker: Drew Reynolds

At the Center for Teaching Excellence, Drew works to support teaching across the university through faculty development and instructional design.  Specifically, Drew supports online and hybrid course development, offers workshops on teaching with technology, and works with faculty as they use technology in the classroom.  Before transitioning into his current role, Drew worked as a Graduate Instructional Designer to develop online courses for the International PhD Program in Social Welfare and the Center for Social Innovation at the Boston College School of Social Work.

Drew has an MSW (2013) from Boston College and M.Ed from The University of Notre Dame (2011).  He is currently working toward his PhD in Social Work and has conducted research in Positive Youth Development, adolescent peer friendships and social networks, parent involvement in education, and the consequences of economic hardship on adolescent development.  He is a former high school teacher and has been an instructor for graduate students in social work. 

Speaker: Jason Sparks

Jason Philip Sparks, M.Ed., is a total data dork. He is a firm believer in evidence-based assessment and its critical association to the continuum of learning. Published in the fields of pharmacy technology and developmental education, Sparks has served students as Lecturer at the George Washington University School of Business, Associate Professor and Chair at Austin Community College Department of Pharmacy Technology, and Division Chair (Allied Health & Natural Sciences) at Arkansas State University-Mid-South. With over decade of experience in higher education, assessment, instructional design consulting, and technology. Sparks believes making use of meaningful data helps faculty directly affect the learning process and actively engage and retain students

Speaker: Peter Testori

Peter Testori currently serves as the Director of the Center for Online and Digital Learning at Bay Path University. He is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University where he earned his master of science in student development/higher education and continued his graduate study in instructional technology design at UMass Boston. Mr. Testori is responsible for the management and oversight of all online courses in the graduate and traditional undergraduate programs at the University. He develops and leads the strategy for innovative, high quality online learning in the traditional undergraduate and graduate programs. He works closely and collaboratively with faculty and program directors to assist in the planning and coordination of the design and delivery of all online courses. He is responsible for fulfilling training and support needs for all faculty teaching online as well as for fulfilling the pedagogical needs of faculty and students in the online environment.    

Speaker: Jamie Walker 

As a Multimedia Developer, Jamie has spent the last 15 years immersed in the production of CD-ROM, video, and web applications for companies in various industries, including health care, publishing, hi-tech, and education. His involvement has been inclusive, from overseeing day-to-day operations, the solicitation of new work, and the building of project specifications to all aspects of project development and production. His experience includes the development of database-driven web sites and web applications using asp, asp.net, php, and Cold Fusion as the head of his own consulting business, Highrock Interactive, and informs his current work with the Drupal framework and php/mysql-based application development. He holds a BA in Geology from Boston University and has toured internationally with the roots-rock band Swinging Steaks.


Speaker: Mary Wiseman

Mary provides online course development services to faculty and assists faculty in integrating multimedia and collaborative activities to create innovative and engaging online learning. She is responsible for 'translating' faculty syllabi into an interactive and collaborative online learning experience.   If you want ideas on what to do in your online course, call Mary.   Mary loves to learn and when not on her computer, she can often be found in her kitchen whipping up new vegetarian dishes.