Sharon Lecuyer

Sharon Lecuyer is the Assistant Director of IT Projects & AI Initiatives at Wellesley College. As a first-generation, non-traditionally aged graduate, her unique journey fuels a deep passion for helping others navigate new technologies and refine their project management skills. She is dedicated to fostering a growth mindset for career development within the higher education space, ensuring that colleagues feel empowered to evolve and succeed. 

A proud Wellesley alumna with a BA in English, Sharon also holds an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University.

 

Eric Palson

 Eric currently holds the position as the Senior Director of Academic Technologies at Babson College where he leads a team of instructional designers, instructional technologists, video production specialists, and graphic designers. His responsibilities for the group include strategic thinking and planning around curriculum and faculty research, creating content for blended and online learning, training faculty, coaching, and implementing innovative academic technologies.

In addition to his work as Director of Academic Technologies, Eric is an adjunct instructor at Babson College, where he teaches web and user interface design along with communication and collaboration courses specializing in virtual technologies. Before joining Babson College, he worked for several consulting and design firms, including Nextera Enterprises. Eric also co-founded the design firm Drive Thru Designs.

Eric holds a BA in advertising and graphic design from Loyola University in Maryland. He is also a graduate of Babson College where he earned an MBA in the Spring of 2009. His postgraduate studies also include media theory at Emerson College.

Specialties: Web design/development, graphic design, user experience design, user interface design, online and blended course design, instructional design, design thinking,  AI implementation, marketing, branding, video editing, pedagogical analysis, training, management.

 

Patty Patria

Patty Patria is the Chief Information Officer at Babson College. She is an innovative, strategic thinker with 20+ years of experience in higher education, collaborating with faculty, students, and staff to envision and implement transformative solutions. She is responsible for providing strategic leadership in long-term and short-term planning, managing administrative and academic technology, and proving oversight for the management of security, networks, service desk, enterprise applications, web applications, institutional research, analytics, AI and the library.

Patty was a Co-Chair for EDUCAUSE’S Higher Education Information Security Committee (HEISC) from 2018 to 2022, is a Trustee for NERCOMP, and is the recipient of the 2023 HMG Global Leadership Award. Her team also received a 2024 and 2025 CIO 100 Award for innovation, and Patty was the Boston Orbie CIO of the Year for the Non-Profit sector in 2024.

Patty holds a Master of Business Administration from Suffolk University. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Prosci Certified Change Management Professional.

 

Jonathan Zaretsky

Jonathan Zaretsky “JZ” is a Customer Success Director at Alchemy, where he partners with higher education institutions to modernize ERP, cloud and security platforms in support of Workday transformations. He guides universities through complex digital initiatives that align technology, operations and academic outcomes.

Drawing on enterprise consulting, cybersecurity and applied AI, JZ brings a delivery focused perspective to digital transformation. His work emphasizes governance, automation and data driven execution to help institutions reduce risk, accelerate adoption and achieve measurable operational and student success outcomes.

Outside of work, JZ is a devoted father of two boys who play hockey, ages six and seven, and is happily married to his wife, having just celebrated their eleventh year of marriage.