WCET Executive Council

Luke Dowden

WCET Executive Council, Vice Chancellor of Digital Strategy and Transformation, Alamo Colleges District

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Luke Dowden is the vice chancellor of digital strategy and transformation for the Alamo Colleges District. Through Alamo Colleges Online, he leads and supports capacity-building initiatives at all five community colleges so each may gain a greater market share of online learners in their respective service areas. Luke serves the online learning community by providing his leadership on the Quality Matter Board’s Executive Committee, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Learning Technology Advisory Committee, UPCEA’s Council for Credential Innovation Leadership, and WCET’s Executive Council. He has earned multiple honors and awards, including the Excellence in Leadership Practice Award from the 2022 Alamo Colleges District Emerging Leaders Class and the Leadership Award in Digital Credentials from 1EdTech (2023). He was also part of OLC’s distinguished Class of Fellows in 2022.

Darcy W. Hardy

WCET Executive Council Chair, Founder and Chief Strategist, The Hardy Group

(512) 757-5005darcy.hardy@thehardygrp.com

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Darcy W. Hardy is the Founder and Chief Strategist with the Hardy Group. Dr. Hardy is an award-winning distance and online learning professional who has worked as a higher education administrator, as an IPA with the Obama Administration, a board member in state and national associations, and as a contributor in higher education ed tech. Within the field of online learning, she focuses on strategy & vision; organization & governance; policy, process & practice; and quality oversight.

Dr. Hardy spent over 30 years in public higher education, including The University of Texas System, The University of Texas at Austin, UT San Antonio, and Texas State University – San Marcos. 

Dr. Hardy was honored by Texas State University as a Distinguished Alumna in 2012. She was inducted into the USDLA Hall of Fame in 2009 and received the Mildred and Charles Wedemeyer Outstanding Distance Learning Practitioner Award in Madison, Wisconsin in 2006. In addition, she was inducted into the Texas Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame in 2006 and received the WCET Richard Jonsen Award in 2005. She earned her PhD in Curriculum & Instruction (Instructional Technology) from The University of Texas at Austin in 1992.

Emma Zone

WCET Executive Council, Senior Director, Academic Affairs, D2L

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Dr. Emma Zone is the senior director of academic affairs at D2L, bringing 25 years of experience teaching, leading, and driving change within and across organizations. In her role, she supports the thought leadership strategy and all functions of Academic Affairs.
Previously holding senior leadership roles in higher education and edtech, her work has centered on helping organizations redefine their teaching and learning strategies across modalities, with a passion for faculty engagement and student access. Emma has teaching and curriculum development experience spanning the K-12, community college, and university levels.

Emma has long been committed to shepherding teaching and learning innovation, including leading large-scale institutional initiatives and courseware implementations. She served as the chair of the executive committee for the Courseware in Context framework, and she continues to share in the national conversation on the intersection of educational technology, optimizing teaching and learning, and institutional success.

Gloria Niles

WCET Steering Committee Chair, WCET Executive Council, Director of Online Learning, University of Hawai'i System

gniles@hawaii.edu

@teachtoreachmeLinkedIn Profile

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Gloria Niles is an internationally recognized thought leader in neurodivergent and technology-enhanced learning. Gloria currently serves as the director of online learning for the University of Hawai’i System, providing systemwide planning and direction of the university’s online learning programs, including all related institutional strategies for online delivery of instruction. In this role, she drives the implementation of policies, procedures, and systems necessary to execute the university’s vision and strategies for the statewide UH system with ten independently accredited campuses across the Hawaiian islands.

Fred Lokken

WCET Executive Council, Professor, Truckee Meadows Community College

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Fred is currently chair of the Business, History and Political Science Department, past dean of TMCC WebCollege, and in his 32nd year as a professor of Political Science at Truckee Meadows Community College. Fred also is a member of the Board of Directors (since 2003) for the Instructional Technology Council (ITC), an Affiliated Council of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). He has served as chair (twice) and is a founding faculty member of the ITC Annual Leadership Academy – now in its 15th year. He also conducts the annual ITC National Distance Learning Survey of Community Colleges, chair the advocacy committee, and authors the weekly ITC eNews Digest/column. He also served as the chair of the Council of Affiliated Councils (COAC) for seven years.

Van Davis

Executive Director, WCET & Vice President, Digital Learning, WICHE

vdavis@wiche.edu

LinkedIn Profile

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Expertise Includes:

• Artificial Intelligence,
• Policy and Practice,
• Federal and State Distance Education Policy,
• Degree Completion Initiatives,
• Competency-based Education,
• the Cost and Price of Distance Education, and,
• the Future of Higher Education and Digital Learning.  

Bio

Van Davis joined WCET in 2021 as chief strategy officer, and in 2025, he became WCET’s executive director and WICHE’s vice president for digital learning. Davis oversees all strategic and operational responsibilities of WCET’s membership, the State Authorization Network (SAN) that assists institutions with interstate compliance, and Every Learner Everywhere, which advocates for successful academic outcomes for all postsecondary education students through advances in digital learning. 

Van has over 25 years of experience in higher education as a faculty member, academic administrator, state policy maker, and edtech leader. He holds a Master’s and PhD in 20th Century US history with an emphasis in civil rights from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor’s in history from Southwestern University. Prior to joining WCET and WICHE, Davis served as principal at Foghlam Consulting, associate vice president at Blackboard Inc., director of innovation at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and a faculty member and academic administrator at several public and private universities with historically underrepresented student populations.  

Van lives outside of Austin, Texas, and will relocate to WICHE headquarters in Boulder, CO, later this summer with his beloved wife, Lisa, and two cats. When not working, Van collects Lego models and dreams of the day he can complete his western US camping trip.