National Consortium of Open Educational Resources (NCOER)

Tanya Spilovoy

Director, Open Policy, WCET

tspilovoy@wiche.edu

Tanya is the Director of Open Policy at WCET where she leads the National Compacts OER (NCOER) Initiative, which focuses on the policy, practice, and implementation of Open Educational Resources in compact regions, states, systems, and higher education institutions. She and her team conduct research, share best practices, and initiate efforts to ensure all students have equitable access to low-cost, openly licensed, high-quality learning materials. As Director, she collaborates with the regional compacts (MHEC, WICHE, NEBHE, and SREB) to implement open educational resources in states and systems across the nation.

Tanya joined the team in 2016 and previously served as the Director for Distance Education and State Authorization for the North Dakota University System. Her continual commitment to the field is evidenced by her engagement in multiple capacities, from co-authoring two national reports to co-creating and teaching at the SPARC Open Educational Leadership Program. She was also presented the 2020 MHEC Outstanding Service Award.

In her spare time, Tanya can be found at the ice rinks cheering on her kids Dakota and Ruby as they play ice sports, although one can also spot her singing or acting in a local musical production.

Russ Poulin

Executive Director, WCET & Vice President for Technology-Enhanced Education, WICHE

303-541-0305rpoulin@wiche.edu

@RussPoulinLinkedIn Profile

Russ Poulin is the Executive Director for WCET. He directs the team’s work in supporting the efforts of postsecondary institutions from all 50 states with a focus on the policy and practice of digital learning. He is a highly sought-after expert and leader regarding policy issues for distance education and on-campus uses of educational technologies. As WICHE Vice President for Technology-Enhanced Education, he advises on policy and projects for the regional higher education compact. Russ’s commitment to the field is continually noted, and he was honored to have represented the distance education community on federal negotiated rulemaking committees and subcommittees. Russ has received recognition from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), the Presidents’ Forum, Excelsior College, and the National University Technology Network (NUTN) for his contributions to postsecondary digital education and educational policy.

Russ received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Denver and holds a master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado. For no discernible reason, Russ also writes movie reviews for WCET members. As a movie enthusiast, Russ is most fascinated with characters and plots that surprise him. In addition, Russ is a recovering trivia guy who is also partial to cats and to his wife, Laurie.

Jenny Parks

Vice President of Policy and Research, Midwestern Higher Education Compact

jennyp@mhec.org

Jenny Parks is vice president of policy and research at the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC). She leads the exploration, development, and implementation of projects that help Midwestern postsecondary institutions improve the way they serve students. Jenny has worked at all levels and in multiple sectors of education, including state and federal compliance, institutional research, and policy advocacy. She earned her master’s degree in educational policy and research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently she is writing her dissertation for the doctoral program in higher education from Northeastern University in Boston.

Tiffany Harrison

Research Associate, Education Technology and Multistate Cooperative Programs, Southern Regional Education Board

tiffany.harrison@sreb.org

Tiffany Harrison works with SREB’s Educational Technology Cooperative on research and policy efforts regarding the 10 Issues in Educational Technology. She joined the SREB benchmarking college- and career-readiness standards team in April 2017, bringing more than 10 years of experience in education research and program evaluation. Prior to joining SREB, she was a program evaluation and data specialist with the North Carolina Partnership for Children. She was a research associate for the SERVE Center at UNC-Greensboro. Tiffany holds a bachelor’s of arts in English from North Carolina Central University and a master’s in education research from The Ohio State University.

Liliana Diaz

Policy Analyst, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education

ldiaz@wiche.edu

As a policy analyst with the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), Liliana Diaz works on a diverse range of activities including conducting and communicating policy research on a wide array of higher education-related topics, developing and sustaining relationships with external stakeholders, and conceptualizing and executing short- and long-term collaborative projects with states. Liliana received her B.S. in journalism and mass communication, B.A. in film studies, and a certificate in technology, arts, and media from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She earned her M.A. in higher education from the University of Denver, where she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in higher education administration.

Patrick Lane

Vice President, Policy Analysis and Research, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education

plane@wiche.edu

Lindsey Gumb

Fellow, Open Education, New England Board of Higher Education

lgumb@nebhe.org

Lindsey Gumb is an assistant professor and the scholarly communications librarian at Roger Williams University, where she has been leading OER adoption, revision, and creation since 2016. She co-chairs the Rhode Island Open Textbook Initiative Steering Committee and is fellow for Open Education at the New England Board of Higher Education. She researches the intersections of open education, information literacy, and U.S. copyright law.