Program Director, Innovate Alabama
Shannon Allen is the Program Director for HBCU Engagement at Innovate Alabama. In this role, she oversees the development and implementation of all of Innovate Alabama's strategies for talent attraction and retention.
Prior to joining Innovate Alabama, Shannon served as the Director of Special Projects and Strategic Initiatives at the Birmingham Business Alliance, where she led both internal and external initiatives aimed at strengthening the organization and bolstering BBA's business attraction efforts. During her time at BBA, she spearheaded ExperienceBHM, a cross-organizational business development program that leveraged large-scale Birmingham events (such as the Regions Tradition golf tournament and the HBCU Football Classics) as vehicles for business and talent attraction to the Birmingham region.
Throughout her career, Shannon has led communications strategies, innovated organizational processes for companies and directed key projects and programs that have helped organizations achieve their goals.
Shannon resides in Vestavia Hills, Alabama where she is active in salsa dancing and her local church.
Executive Director Tech Operations, Deputy CIO, Auburn University
Jill Albin-Hill is the Deputy CIO and Executive Director of Technology Operations at Auburn University. Since joining in March 2021, Jill has led efforts to enhance the university's technology infrastructure, focusing on network stability, customer service excellence, and the integration of innovative technologies. She has been instrumental in incorporating AI and Microsoft Copilot into Auburn's operations, while also overseeing a wide range of technology initiatives that support the university's mission. Jill's leadership has been recognized in Business Alabama’s Women in Tech 2023 and she was named "CIO+ of the Year" by the Society of Information Management in 2020.
Executive Director, Biggio Center, Auburn University
Asim Ali, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Biggio Center at Auburn University where he advances professional development programs and resources to enhance instructional innovation and support scholarly and creative activities. Before this role, he served as Founding Director of Auburn Online. Asim earned a bachelor’s in software engineering, a master’s in information systems management, and a doctorate with research focused on self-directed and technology-enhanced learning, all from Auburn University. Asim co-leads work on artificial intelligence to build capacity for understanding and implementing AI, and he has modeled the implementation of generative AI in the introduction to information systems management course he teaches for the Harbert College of Business. Asim also co-leads innovative initiatives for micro-credentials and AR/VR. He has been an invited keynote speaker and presenter nationally and internationally at conferences and universities.
Dean, University of South Alabama
Dr. Todd R. Andel is a Professor and the Dean of the School of Computing at the University of South Alabama. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Florida State University (2007), a M.S. in Computer Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology (2002), and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida (1998). Prior to joining the School of Computing, he was a faculty member of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology from 2007 to 2012. He is a retired Major in the U.S. Air Force, serving over 23 years specializing in cyber systems defense, research, and education. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed papers and journals related to computer and information security, side-channel analysis, embedded systems security, network security protocols, and formal methods. During his 12 years at South, Dr. Andel has shared in over $11M of external funding as a PI, co-PI, or project lead. Dr. Andel is a senior member of the IEEE and senior member of the ACM. Currently, Dr. Andel serves as the co-chair for the University of South Alabama’s Artificial Intelligence Exploratory and Advisory Committee.
Director of University Writing, Auburn University
As director of University Writing, Dr. Christopher Basgier promotes University Writing’s mission of supporting students as thinkers and communicators by helping them become better writers via diverse programs and initiatives to promote student and faculty development. In collaboration with the unit’s full-time staff, graduate assistants, and peer leaders, Basgier oversees the Miller Writing Center, an award-winning student support service. He also runs the Writing Across the Curriculum program, which includes workshops and consultations for Auburn faculty who teach high-impact, discipline-specific, writing-focused courses and curricula.
Associate Director for Learning Experience Design, AU Biggio Center, Auburn University
Shawndra Bowers is the Associate Director for Learning Experience Design at the Auburn University Biggio Center, where she leads a team dedicated to enhancing instructional experiences for students, faculty, and other university stakeholders, strengthening Auburn’s institutional culture for innovative teaching and learning, and establishing Auburn as a national leader in innovative and engaging learning experience design. Bowers has spoken at numerous conferences including the BbWorld, ISTE, ICPEL (formerly NCPEA), USDLA, UPCEA, and EDUCAUSE. She holds a B.S. in Business and Public Administration, a M.Ed. in Curriculum & Technology, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Adult Education at Auburn University.
Assistant Provost and Dean of Graduate School, Alabama State
Caterina Bristol is a music professor and associate dean for the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Alabama State University. She supports and promotes the development of students from diverse backgrounds to help build the next generation of leadership in the arts and higher education. She has presented on the topics of diversity in graduate music programs, and 21st century musicianship, and the use of technology for under-resourced institutions at several national and international conferences. She coordinates an HBCU Composers’ Concert, featuring the music of composers from historically black colleges and universities. She works with accreditation projects at ASU and serves as an evaluative visitor for the National Association of Schools of Music. She serves as the Southern Division Chair for the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors and is a Fellow of the Sphinx Organization SphinxConnect program. Caterina earned degrees in music performance and pedagogy from the Ohio State University and the University of Northern Colorado. She also holds a Master of Library Science from Texas Woman’s University.
Co-Director, Alabama
Lawrence Cappello is an historian of U.S. legal & constitutional history and director of UA's Legal History Concentration.
Dr. Cappello is an expert on the right to privacy — particularly its relationship to the First and Fourth Amendments. He is the author of On Privacy: Twenty Lessons to Live By (Hachette Book Group, 2025) and None of Your Damn Business: Privacy in the United States from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age (University of Chicago Press, 2019). A certified information privacy professional (CIPP/US & CIPM), his work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Hill, The Economist, and AL.com.
Course offerings include the Great Cases in U.S. Legal History (HY 309), the Right to Privacy (HY 352), the First Amendment (HY 351), and U.S. Constitutional History I & II (HY 323 & HY 324). He also offers advanced law school application coaching to UA history students, and is co-director of UA’s Artificial Intelligence Teaching Enhancement Initiative (AITEI @UA).
Assistant Professor, University of North Alabama
Dr. Justin Carter is a proud alumnus of the University of North Alabama, where he earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Business Administration. In addition, he holds a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies and a Ph.D. in Human Capital Management. With over 25 years of industry experience working with Fortune 500 companies and leading consulting projects, Dr. Carter now serves as an Assistant Professor of Management at UNA. His research examines the intersection of technology and human capital, with a current focus on how large language models impact well-being, a topic he will address in his upcoming TEDx Talk.
Director, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Amy approaches the UAB Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning position with a deep passion for fostering meaningful learning experiences and a commitment to faculty development. She holds a Doctorate in Health Education and Promotion, where her work and teaching have focused on enhancing engagement and comprehension in diverse learning environments.
Amy’s decades of teaching experience span various levels of education, from undergraduate and graduate programs to community-based education and K-12 instruction. Her classroom has been characterized by its inclusivity, fostering an environment where every student's unique perspective is valued and integrated into the learning process.
Beyond the classroom, Amy is an advocate for ongoing professional development among educators. While serving as the CTL Director, she will maintain her faculty appointment as an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, including leading the state-wide AmeriCorps VISTA program and community-based, CDC-funded research in the Black Belt region of Alabama.
Co-Director, UA AITEI and CIPHER AI/Asst. Professor of Anthropology, University of Alabama
Katherine Chiou is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama. Her research spans foodways past and present, social inequality, plant domestication, applied
ethics, and responsible conduct of research. At UA, she serves as co-director for UA’s AI Teaching Enhancement Initiative and for UA’s Coalition for Innovating Privacy, Ethics, Humanities, & Rights in Artificial Intelligence (CIPHER AI). Her current collaborative AI and archaeological ethics projects, funded by the NSF Ethical and Responsible Research Program, probes the effectiveness of case-study-based training in developing ethical
decision-making competencies and works to diversify STEM ethics education. She is a longtime organizer of the premier ethics training opportunity for emerging professionals in archaeology—the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) Ethics Bowl—and has advised on ethical issues and codes/principles SAA, the Register of Professional Archaeologists, the Institute of Andean Studies, and the World Archaeological Congress.
Associate Clinical Professor, Auburn University
Elizabeth W. Covington, Pharm.D., BCIDP is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, she received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Furman University in 2012 and completed her doctor of pharmacy at the Harrison College of Pharmacy in 2016. Upon graduation, she went on to complete an ASHP-accredited post-graduate residency at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In 2019, she became a Board-Certified Infectious Disease Pharmacist.
Dr. Covington joined the Harrison College of Pharmacy faculty in May 2023 as an associate clinical professor. She returned to The Plains after six years as an assistant professor at the Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy. In her position at Auburn, she teaches within the Practice Ready Curriculum in both the didactic and experiential settings, where she has integrated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance student learning and engagement.
Dr. Covington is active in several state and national pharmacy organizations, including the Alabama Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP). She has spoken on AI prompt engineering at the national level at AACP and serves on an ACCP task force forecasting the impact of AI on pharmacy practice. She was recognized by AACP in 2022 with the AACP Women Faculty SIG Early Transformative Teaching Award and in 2024 for the Technology SIG Innovation Award for her use of AI in experiential education.
President and Trustee, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Vilas Dhar is President and Trustee of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a 21st-century philanthropy advancing artificial intelligence and data solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all. Vilas is a leading voice on human equity in an AI-enabled world.
Appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres to the UN High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, Vilas also serves as the U.S. Government Nominated Expert to the Global Partnership on AI, as a member of the OECD Expert Working Group on AI Futures, on the Global Future Council on AI at the World Economic Forum, on the Advisory Council at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), and as Chair of the Centre for Trustworthy Technology. His LinkedIn Learning course, Ethics in the Age of Generative AI, has been translated into six languages and reached over 300,000 learners worldwide.
He holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law, an M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School, and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Illinois, where he was named University Chancellor’s Scholar.
Associate Director for Educational Development, Auburn University
Lindsay Doukopoulos, PhD, is the Associate Director for Educational Development of the Biggio Center at Auburn University. With a background in creative writing, her current research emphasizes the integration of instructional technologies to enhance motivation and assessment in learning. She focuses on scaling faculty development through active learning spaces, gamification, and storytelling to foster equity and innovative teaching practices. Currently she is Co-PI on an NSF grant to examine the impact of active learning PD on students’ sense of belonging and engagement in active learning classrooms. As leader of the Biggio Teaching Unit she contributes to the award winning Teaching with AI course, which has been licensed by the SEC Academic Committee and is now implemented in over 100 campuses, engaging more than 10,000 faculty members across higher education.
You can learn more about her approach to supporting faculty amid AI disruptions by listening to her episode on the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, titled Teaching with Artificial Intelligence, and reading her Letter to the Editor in the Chronicle of Higher Education “Now More Than Ever, Job of a Faculty Member Is to Design Experiences That Lead to Learning.”
Professor, Auburn University
Dr. Dozier is the Charles D. McCrary Eminent Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering and director of the Artificial Intelligence & Identity Research Lab. His research interests include artificial intelligence, machine learning, cyber identity, neural networks and facial recognition. Dr. Dozier earned a Ph.D. in computer science at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. Prior to his arrival at Auburn in 2017, he was professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science at the North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina, which was the first public HBCU in the nation to offer a Ph.D. in computer science. In addition to several prominent leadership roles, Dr. Dozier was the founding director of the Center for Advanced Studies in Identity Science and the first director of the National Intelligence Science and Technology Center of Academic Excellence in the U.S. He has been the keynote speaker for numerous national cyber security expos and colloquiums, has been featured in Evolution magazine and was named “most promising in STEM” by United States Black Engineer & Information Technology. Dr. Dozier is the co-author of five book chapters, 36 refereed journal publications and more than 100 refereed conference publications. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, Bank of America, the Army Research Laboratory, the Department of Education, the National Reconnaissance Office and NASA.
Vice President, Product Strategy, Higher Education Application Development, Oracle
Nicole Engelbert is vice president of product strategy for student systems at Oracle. She is responsible for engaging the industry ecosystem to develop thought leadership and best practice with cloud technology and to use those insights to guide the development of Oracle’s higher education solutions including its Student and Campus Solutions product suites.
Prior to Oracle, Nicole served as the Director of Research & Analysis at Ovum where she spent the last decade advising institutions globally on critical areas such as cloud migration, legacy modernization, emerging technologies, and student experience.
A sought after presenter on the higher education technology conference circuit, Nicole is also regularly quoted in publications such as the NY Times, University Business, Campus Technology, and the Wall Street Journal. Nicole holds a BA in classics from Union College and an MEd in educational administration & policy analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Professor, University of Alabama
Dr. Sergei Gleyzer works on new physics phenomena at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of the CERN particle physics laboratory, located in Switzerland. He has been an integral part of the team that discovered the Higgs boson in 2012 and is now involved in the measurement of the properties of this new particle to pin down effects of any new physics beyond the Standard Model. Dr. Gleyzer’s research explores novel approaches to physics analysis, particle and event identification, detector reconstruction, simulation and particle physics triggering systems. Dr. Gleyzer works on the development of artificial intelligence techniques for new physics, including searches for rare decays of the Higgs boson and dark matter using the data collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment. In particular, his group has focused on using machine learning techniques to search for the extremely rare decays of the Higgs boson decaying into particles such as photons, electrons, and taus. In another line of research, his group is attempting to identify the nature of dark matter among the many collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In a complementary direction aimed at understanding the nature of dark matter, Dr. Gleyzer’s group has developed a novel machine learning approach to probe dark matter with strong gravitational lensing. Dr. Gleyzer also contributes to the development of the High-Granularity Calorimeter for CMS Endcap and the High Luminosity LHC project. Dr. Gleyzer is founder of the Inter-experimental LHC Machine Learning (IML) Working group, founding convener of the CMS Experiment’s Machine Learning Forum and the Machine Learning for Science (ML4SCI) Foundation.
Other research interests include pure machine learning and computer science theory of optimization, particularly by automatic feature extraction and breaking down the learning algorithms to their most basic pieces and finding ways to optimize them.
Director, University of Montevallo
Emily Gill, MFA, is an Associate Professor of Theatre in the Department of Theatre in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Montevallo. She comes to Montevallo from her graduate work at the University of Georgia where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Drama focusing on performance design and film theory. Emily received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre Arts from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and moved from there to an internship at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. After wrapping up at the Rep, Emily returned to her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, where she was a freelance designer for live performance until 2007, then occasional guest contracts until earning a tenure track position at UM in 2009 after two years as a guest instructor. Emily has over 80 design credits in Theatre and performing arts in addition to Certification in Experience Design through Odyssey Works of Baltimore and NYC. A frequent recipient of grant support from UM, in January of 2023, Emily began service as the Director of the Malone Center for Excellence in Teaching at UM working with an expert staff to create professional development programming for Faculty and teaching staff. When not involved in Theatre or academic work, Emily coordinates the Montevallo Artwalk event each year- an eclectic art festival on Montevallo’s historic Main Street.
Cyber Subject Matter Expert, University of Alabama
Executive Director of Enrollment Services, Ocean County College
Sheenah Hartigan currently serves as the executive director of Enrollment Services at Ocean County College (OCC), N.J. where she oversees the one stop shop, enrollment services, recruitment and admissions, retention services, and early college. Hartigan worked to develop and launch the successful one stop shop at OCC and is currently piloting a retention model. Hartigan’s work in implementing an AI chatbot at OCC was recently awarded a national Bellwether award for 2022 in Planning, Governance and Finance. She has presented at national conferences and on panels for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Middle States Commission for Higher Education, Ellucian, and others. Hartigan is passionate about student enrollment and recruitment, streamlining processes, and change management. Hartigan earned her bachelor’s degree in business management from The College of New Jersey. She earned a master’s degree in student service administration and a doctorate in higher education administration, both from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Associate Professor of MIS, University of Alabama
Matthew Hudnall has worked for the past 16 years as the deputy director for the center of advanced public safety at the University of Alabama. He is now an assistant director in the Culverhouse Institute of Business Analytics.
Dr. Hudnall’s research focuses on large-scale government decision support systems, cyber security of state and federal government systems and integration of cybersecurity from project inception through development and into production, as well as the development of new and innovative data analytics approaches to legacy data collection systems.
Founded & CEO, Quanthub
Before founding StrategyWise and QuantHub, Josh started and sold multiple businesses in Asia, North and South America. With fluency in 4 languages and work experience in over 40 countries, Josh has played a key role in landing strategic accounts with numerous multinational firms such as Toshiba, Samsung, and Kirin Beer. He has been quoted by Forbes, CIO, InformationWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine, the Atlanta Business Chronicle and is a regular speaker and lecturer in Universities and conferences across the US.
Director of Strategic Partnerships, Grammarly
Nora Juraboeva serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Grammarly for Education, where she plays a fundamental role in advancing the best-in-class AI-powered writing tool for students, faculty, and administrators. With her extensive background in fostering the education technology sector and international development, Nora is dedicated to making transformative educational tool. accessible to a broader audience.
Before her current role, Nora made significant contributions to the global education landscape as an Associate Director for University Partnerships at Coursera. There, she was instrumental in enhancing educational access through online courses and credentials, working closely with top-tier universities worldwide.
Her commitment to democratizing education has significantly impacted learners globally, emphasizing her understanding of the challenges and opportunities in integrating AI tools in academic settings.
President, LBW Community College
Instructional Designer and AI Integration Specialist, Auburn University
Moriah Kent is an Instructional Designer and AI Integration Specialist at Auburn University. She blends cutting-edge technology with effective learning strategies to enhance personal and professional development. Moriah has led multiple AI education initiatives, including developing a microlearning module on Microsoft Copilot and tailored AI workshops. She collaborates closely with Microsoft to provide system training and has played a pivotal role in creating leadership development programs at Auburn University. Her work reflects a unique combination of AI expertise, instructional design skills, and industry collaboration, driving innovation in the field of professional development.
President, Central Alabama Community College
Lynn has more than 20 years of workforce and economic development experience across several southeastern states. He brought his distinctive skillset to the Alabama Community College System in 2016 where he served as the Vice Chancellor for Workforce as well as Aerospace and Aviation. Prior to his role at the ACCS, Lynn served as the Executive Director of Workforce Development Programs (LED FastStart) for Louisiana Economic Development.
Lynn began his career while in college, working full-time in manufacturing and the hospitality industry while studying Organizational Management from Auburn University. Lynn later served as the Head of ASMT Training Systems for Ciba Vision Corporation in Duluth, Georgia, where he led efforts related to technical and team skills training and served on the Southern Regional Education Board’s curriculum team. He also spent 10 years as the Director of Regional Project Operations for Georgia Quick Start, which is part of the Technical College System of Georgia.
Director of Sales, Harmonize Learning
Alan Manley is the Director of Sales at Harmonize Learning. He focuses on helping institutions implement solutions to help improve student engagement and satisfaction through the use of AI tools and engagement software. He has 14 years of experience in education technology and is based in Montgomery, Alabama.
Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Lilian Mina is Associate Professor of English in Rhetoric and Composition and the Director of the Composition Program. She is also the Vice President/President Elect of Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA) . Her research is situated in three major areas: digital writing, writing program administration, and multilingual composition. Her research in digital writing focuses on multimodal composing, teachers’ use of digital technologies, and using social media in teaching writing. Meanwhile, her research in writing program administration is focused on professional development of writing instructors, programmatic assessment, and reflective practices in teacher training programs. Finally, her research in multilingual composition is centered around multilingual writers’ experiences and response to (digital) pedagogies in the writing classroom. She has published articles in Computers & Composition, Composition Forum and book chapters in multiple books from university presses.
Executive Director of Infrastructure & Operations, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Rachel joined UAB in 2017. Before that, she was at Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia. Rachel’s role provides leadership and strategic direction for all aspects of infrastructure and collaborative cloud services, Windows and Linux administration, data center management, and database-provided enterprise application systems. Additionally, she co-chairs UAB’s enterprise technology architecture council. Rachel holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering, a M.S. in Internet Technology, and a PMP certification.
Watson Professor & Chair, Auburn University
N. Hari Narayanan is John H. and Gail Watson Endowed Chair Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSSE) at Auburn University. His research interests span Learning Sciences & Technologies, Human-Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science. He has edited three books and authored over ninety refereed research publications. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Institute for Education Sciences, Office of Naval Research, Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Electronics & Telecommunication Research Institute of South Korea, Open Society Foundation, and Auburn University, and recognized by Auburn University Engineering Faculty Research Excellence Awards in 2001 and 2005. He received the National Science Foundation Director's Award for Collaborative Integration in 2006. He has presented invited talks and tutorials at the US Naval Research Laboratory, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria, France, India, Japan and South Korea. He received the B.E. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India. He then attended the Indian Institute of Science and the University of Rochester, obtaining the degrees of M.E. (Automation) and M.S. (Computer Science). He earned his doctorate in Computer and Information Science from the Ohio State University, specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science. He worked at the Advanced Research Laboratory of Hitachi, the Knowledge Systems Laboratory of Stanford University, the EduTech Institute and the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology prior to joining Auburn in 1996.
Professor of Medieval Literature and Director of the AI Forward Initiative, Troy University
Dr. Richard Scott Nokes is a Professor of Medieval Literature and the Director of the AI Forward Initiative at Troy University.
He is also the Founder and Senior Academic Editor at Witan Publishing, the first e-publisher of medieval scholarship.
SVP, Strategic Growth Initiatives, Meazure Learning
Dr. Ashley Norris serves as Meazure Learning’s SVP of Strategic Growth Initiatives and Chief Compliance Officer. Ashley joined Meazure Learning (ProctorU) in 2018 overseeing academic initiatives and policy development. During her tenure, Ashley has been a key client facing leader supporting Higher Education and Professional Testing organizations in areas of compliance, data privacy, and test security. Prior to Meazure, Ashley spent nearly 15 years in higher education as both a faculty member and administrator across major institutions including the University of Alabama and Samford University. Serving as the Dean of Programmatic Accreditation and Regulatory Affairs at the University of Phoenix, Ashley became a thought leader on ethics and integrity in education and continued that work at Meazure Learning.
Ashley holds a Doctorate and Master’s degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Alabama and a Bachelors in Psychology and Corporate Communications from Southern Methodist University.
South Alabama
Director of Distance Education, Trenholm State Community College
Melissa Pickett is the Director of Distance Education at Trenholm State Community College in Montgomery, AL. Melissa has been with Trenholm for 26 years, and during that time, she has served as a Computer Information Systems Instructor, Program Coordinator, Division Chair, and now Director of Distance Education. In her current role, Melissa manages the college’s LMS (Canvas) and provides training for the faculty and students.
President, Southern Regional Education Board
Stephen Pruitt took office as the sixth president of the Southern Regional Education Board in July 2018.
He started his education career as a high school chemistry teacher in Fayette County, Georgia. During his career, Pruitt has amassed education policy, assessment and instructional background at the local, state and national levels.
Before coming to SREB, Pruitt was Kentucky’s state commissioner of education. At the national level, he had worked closely with state agencies and educators around the country to improve policy and practice in science education. In Georgia, Pruitt served as science and mathematics program manager, director of academic standards, associate state superintendent for assessment and accountability and chief of staff for the Georgia Department of Education.
Pruitt also served as a board member to the Council of Chief State School Officers, as president of the Council of State Science Supervisors and as a member of the writing team for the College Board Standards for College Success for science. In addition, he was named to the National Research Council’s Board on Science Education and served on the National Academies of Science Committee on Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards that developed the Framework for K-12 Science Education.
A native of Georgia, Pruitt holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from North Georgia College and State University, a master’s degree in science education from the University of West Georgia and a doctorate of philosophy in chemistry education from Auburn University.
Pruitt and his wife are the parents of two children. Their son is a recent graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder; their daughter attends the University of Kentucky.
Higher Education Executive Officer, Alabama Commission on Higher Education
Dr. Purcell took the helm of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in April, 2017. His tenure in Alabama, combined with Arkansas, Louisiana and Rhode Island, makes him the longest serving active State Higher Education Executive Officer in the country. He has served in cabinet positions of four governors which include one Republican (LA), two Democrats (AR, RI) and one Independent (RI).
As an Alabama native, he is committed to providing accessible, affordable, high-quality educational opportunities for all.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic when higher education was forced to make rapid transitions, Purcell worked closely with institutions in broadening student access and advocating for funds to support needed programs.
During his career, he has served as chief higher education planning and research officer at public, private two- and four-year institutions, as well as at the state level. He continues to use this experience as a strong advocate for planning, the fidelity of implementation of strategic initiatives and ongoing assessment.
He grew up in rural Autauga County, graduating from Marbury High School before attending Auburn University where he earned a B.S. in Public Administration. He holds a M.Ed. in Counseling from the University of Montevallo and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Alabama.
Student Use of Generative AI for Construction Estimating, Auburn University
He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in construction management from Florida International University as well as a Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning from Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the faculty at Auburn, Sands spent the last four years teaching in the Department of Construction Management at Florida Gulf Coast University. He also spent seven years teaching at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, both as an adjunct and a faculty member. In addition to teaching, Sands has worked in the industry as a Project Coordinator and Estimator for general contractors in Miami and Miramar, Florida. His research focuses on construction safety and health, microcredentials for construction, construction education and workforce development and enhancement programs for construction. Sands will be teaching Construction Information Technology I as well as Estimating and Costing classes. Having coached students in competitions in the past, he is eager to become involved in student activities. “I believe co-curricular experiences like competitions and networking events as well as out-of-class discussions and informal mentoring are essential to the teaching-learning relationship,” he stated. “I thoroughly enjoy being part of those experiences and that aspect of teaching.” “We are very excited to have Assistant Professor Sands joining us,” stated BSCI School Head Richard Burt. “His experiences in academia and industry along with his enthusiasm for teaching make him an excellent addition to our faculty.”
President, Southern Union State Community College
Todd Shackett is the President of Southern Union State Community College with locations in Opelika, Valley and Wadley Alabama. Prior to that he served in roles as Director of Operational Excellence, Program Director and Plant Manager for Baxter Healthcare, a company specializing in Medical and Pharmaceutical technology and products. In his role as Program Director, he oversaw the $300 million expansion of the Dialyzer Operation in Opelika. He also served in engineering and management roles at General Motors Corporation and Becton Dickinson.
Prior to moving to Alabama with his family in 2010, President Shackett ran operations in North Carolina and Connecticut in facilities that manufacture products used in bioscience research and drug delivery. In addition to his professional career, President Shackett has also served in leadership and advisory capacities with Auburn University’s Graduate School Advisory Board, The Boys and Girls Club of East Alabama, the American Red Cross, the March of Dimes, North Carolina A&T State University and the Opelika Chamber of Commerce.
President Shackett has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Management both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He lives in Opelika with his wife Tracy and has 3 grown children, Quentin, Skylar and Grayson.
Senior Teaching and Learning Specialist, Turnitin
Karen Smith is one of the veteran educators who make up the Teaching and Learning Innovations team. Before coming to Turnitin, Karen spent 34 years working in public education in the U.S. as a secondary English Language Arts teacher and as a literacy coach. In addition, Karen led various technology initiatives, served as the Site Testing Coordinator for statewide assessments, and worked on various regional and state curriculum and assessment projects. In this capacity, she has played a key role in shaping best practices with and for educators and students, both in her classroom and others. With degrees in secondary education and in the teaching of writing, the path to Turnitin seemed inevitable.
Since coming to Turnitin in 2021, Karen has continued to design instructional/curricular resources and professional learning content to support educators around the world in the understanding of pedagogy and implementation of Turnitin’s products and services, all of which are underpinned by academic integrity.
Head of Strategic Initiatives for the Developer Ecosystem, NVIDIA
Louis Stewart currently serves as the Head of Strategic Initiatives for the Developer Ecosystem at NVIDIA. Prior to joining NVIDIA, he served as the City of Sacramento's first Chief Innovation Officer for three years. As in his previous role with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, Louis was responsible for the development and growth of the overall innovation ecosystem by establishing programs and initiatives that supported, drove, influenced, and built upon an economic inclusion philosophy, business development strategies, goals, customer relationships, and business results.
Senior Vice President, Auburn University
Senior Lecturer of Business Law, Auburn University Montgomery
I have been a practicing lawyer in Montgomery for over forty years, with experience extending beyond that. My legal career began in Washington, D.C., working for United States Senator Howell Heflin on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a staff attorney for Hon. H. Randall Thomas. I opened my private law office in 1982 and formed partnerships with other lawyers in 1983, handling various litigation and appeals in state and federal court. I served as General Counsel for the Alabama Department of Education as Deputy Attorney General for over six years before becoming Chief Administrative Law Judge for Education within the Attorney General’s office. I am trained as a Mediator, Arbitrator, and certified Guardian Ad Litem for Alabama courts. I hold degrees in Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from Cumberland School of Law and the Brock School of Business, Samford University.
Since 1983, I have taught various courses at AUM within the College of Business and joined the faculty full-time in 2015 as Senior Lecturer of Business Law. From 2015 to 2019, I taught in China at the Hubei University of Economics, comparing Chinese and U.S. legal systems. During recent summer terms (2020-2022), I taught the course online to students in Wuhan, some of whom are now studying in the U.S. This experience has been rewarding and enlightening.
I teach because I enjoy sharing the challenges of the law and want my students to gain confidence and practical knowledge. My philosophy is to remove the mystery surrounding legal issues, allowing solutions to present themselves. Over my career, I have learned that court rulings and laws change over time, and understanding the legal system is a strength when life’s circumstances collide with it. This knowledge is essential for successful business leaders. The legal world has changed dramatically, including how we provide classroom instruction and resources. The internet has transformed how I practice law, conduct research, and deliver documents to courts. It offers students and instructors more resources and flexibility in learning.
I will end my career at AUM, cherishing every group of students I have challenged. If something discussed in class helps them avoid a major distraction in their lives, one of my primary goals is achieved.
Associate Professor, Computer Science and Software Engineering, Auburn University
Yang Zhou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the Auburn University. Prior to that, he received his Ph.D. degree in the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His current research interests lie in the areas of Trustworthy Machine Learning, Foundation Models, Parallel, Distributed, and Federated Learning, Graph Machine Learning, and interdisciplinary research in Transportation, Manufacturing, and Healthcare.
He has published more than 110 research papers in top venues of machine learning (ICML, NeurIPS), artificial intelligence (AAAI, IJCAI, TIST), natural language processing (ACL, EMNLP), high performance computing (HPDC, SC, TPDS), database systems (VLDB, ICDE, TKDE, VLDBJ), data mining (KDD, ICDM, TKDD, DMKD, KAIS), Web (WWW, TWEB), etc. The developed algorithms and systems have been widely used by many research groups and eight papers have been included and taught in courses at universities worldwide. He was named as KDD Rising Star by Microsoft Academic Search in 2016. He was honored with IEEE ICDE Best Demo Runner Up Award in 2024. He was awarded with ITE Safety Project Award in 2024. The lab has built close collaborative relationships with Sony AI, Microsoft Azure AI, and Amazon AWS.
K12 Outreach Manager, QuantHub
Dr. Veronique Zimmerman-Brown's 25-year journey in education showcases her versatility and dedication. Currently serving as the K12 Outreach Manager for QuantHub, LLC, a data literacy company, she continues to shape educational landscapes.
Her career began in K-12 classrooms, evolving to instruct future educators at the collegiate level. She later directed a federal education grant and served as an educational director in the non-profit sector. This diverse experience spans K-12, higher education, non-profit, and corporate realms.
Dr. Zimmerman-Brown's academic journey culminated in a PhD in Educational Leadership, building on her foundation in Mathematics Education. Her expertise is reflected in certifications across mathematics, special education, ESL, and educational leadership, along with credentials from ACT Inc. and the Southern Regional Education Board.
A respected voice in her field, she has presented at numerous national and state conferences. Dr. Zimmerman-Brown's multifaceted career uniquely positions her to bridge traditional education with emerging needs in data literacy. In her current role, she continues to influence the educational landscape, preparing students for a data-driven future while drawing on her rich background in diverse educational settings.
