David Bass-Clark, Director of AR/VR Research and Development, Unity College
David is an educational technologist and XR strategist, evangelist, and innovator. David leads Unity’s XR initiative which aims to empower the next generation of environmental leaders, content creators, instructional designers, and educators to harness the power of XR technologies to redefine what is possible in distance education.

Bryant Richards, Director, Center for Intelligent Process Automation & Assoc. Professor of Accounting & Finance, Nichols College
Bryant Richards is the Stansky Distinguished Professor of Accounting and Finance at Nichols College.  He spent 20+ years in the industry primarily in internal audit and compliance.  As the Director of Corporate Governance at the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, Richards developed a leading class compliance and internal audit organization.  Richards is currently developing the Center for Intelligent Process Automation at Nichols College with a focus on providing the skills and experiences students need to build a career in an environment of accelerating change.   

Randall Rode, Director of Campus IT Partnerships and Relationship Development, Yale University
I am a member of Yale University’s Information Technology Services team, charged with assisting faculty, staff, and student leaders across Yale departments, schools, and centers with emerging technology needs and projects.  One of my focus areas is innovation in the use of extended(XR), virtual(VR), and augmented reality(AR) technologies in research and teaching settings, working from faculty in art, architecture, drama, medicine, and the sciences.  My support work includes establishing partnerships with XR industry leaders and building campus XR learning communities to foster and advance the uses of these innovative technologies.  

Instructional design is a strong part of my professional background and an important part of my approach to serving students and the faculty I support.  During my time as an online instructor with Quinnipiac University (Hamden, CT) I adapted and developed several graduate courses in the Communications Department.  My specialization for that program was user-centered design techniques for web communications – techniques that transfer well when planning XR projects.  Instruction design is also a key element of creating effective and impactful XR experiences for an educational setting.