John R. Bourne, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Ex-Officio Member of the Board
John Bourne is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Olin College, Professor of Technology Entrepreneurship at Babson College, and directs the Sloan Consortium. He was previously Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, where he had been on the faculty since 1969. He founded the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) and remains as editor. He established the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supported Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) Web in 1996. In 2008, he incorporated Sloan-C as a non-profit corporation in the state of Massachusetts.

Bethany Bovard
Instructional Design Consultant
Bethany Bovard is an adjunct teacher and staff at New Mexico State University, where she teaches and develops distance education programs and courses. Her primary interestes and work all relateto professional development of educators interested in learning how to integrate technology into their courses and how to teach online. Bethany's background in computer technologies began in the late 1970's when she took her first programming class, and she continues to be an avid user of all types of computer technology. While she is passionate about technology in general, her real interest is in helping teachers and faculty find and select the right technologies to support the learning objectives of their courses. Bethany's work with Sloan-C as a woskshop creator and facilitator allows her to indulge those passions daily.

R.T. Brown
Program Manager
R.T. Brown started his career with online technologies before there was something called THE WEB (early nineties). For many years he worked in the yellow pages industry creating online directory products, serving as a bridge between marketing/content groups and system developers. Somehow, even with his BA in English from Fordham University, he has most often found himself in technical positions. He came to Sloan-C after having worked for a small urban public charter school with their virtual high school endeavors and teaching English and Basic Computer Programming. At Sloan-C he's found the perfect arena to combine both educational interests with technology as Program Manager.

Sandra Coswatte
Events Producer
Sandra Coswatte has worked with the Sloan Consortium as a consultant since 2008. She also currently works at Urban College of Boston as a Financial Aid Director and Adjunct Faculty. She has been teaching online and in person at the Boston and Pittsburgh campuses with the University of Phoenix and Axia College since 2003. Sandra has also taught for 3 years at West Virginia University in the Freshman Year Experience program. Sandra has a B.A. in psychology and a M.S. in Community Agency Counseling from California University of PA as well as a M.A. in Higher Education Leadership and Administration from West Virginia University.

Martine Dawant
Director of Technical Operations
Martine Dawant is a Sloan-C consultant in private practice. M.S., Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium). Her domain of work and research focuses on Asynchronous Learning Networks. She created and maintains the Sloan-C Web, a resource of information for online education practitioners and newcomers. She develops various web-based applications that support and distribute ALN knowledge and resources. She creates online workshops and seminars.

Sandi Fecteau, M.B.A.
Chief Financial Officer
Sandi Fecteau serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Sloan Consortium. She possesses entrepreneurial financial expertise in Fortune 500, private and non-profit settings. Prior to coming to the Sloan Consortium, Ms. Fecteau worked as a consultant; advising start-up companies in all aspects of accounting, finance, business, and strategic planning. Prior to consulting, Ms. Fecteau served as controller for Verizon’s Electronic Commerce Services, where she served as a member of the leadership team, as well as directed and managed all aspects of accounting, financial planning/budgeting and analysis, measurements, billing and collections, and policies and procedures for this start-up electronic commerce business. Ms. Fecteau earned her M.B.A from Bentley College in Massachusetts.

Jean Frederick
Director of Marketing
Jean Fredrick has over 20 years experience in online marketing, product development and project management. Jean is currently the Director of Marketing for The Sloan Consortium, focusing on the growth of a multitude of core services and product initiatives. Jean previously served as Executive Marketing Director for The Kelsey Group, a strategic research and analysis leader in online directories and local media. Prior to this, Jean was Marketing Manager for Verizon’s online yellow pages team leading the successful creation and launch of today’s Superpages.com. As a marketing consultant, Jean has worked on projects for Stratfor, focusing on geopolitical, economic, political and military information services, and YellowBrix, focusing on data analytics and contextual advertising. Jean holds a BS in Business Administration from Emmanuel College in Boston.

Kathryn (Katie) Fife Schuster
Director of Online Learning

Katie Fife Schuster is the Director of Online Learning for Sloan-C. She manages The Sloan Consortium workshop program. In this capacity, she manages the planning, development, and production activities. She has experience from her years in the publishing industry prior to joining Sloan-C and holds a BA from Tufts University in anthropology and Spanish.

Carol Johnson
Events Producer
Carol Johnson serves as a consultant for Sloan-C and is the Director of The Virtual School of Music, an innovative and technologically-based online music school. She is an active technology educator and musician throughout North and South America. Her previous university teaching appointments include Belmont University, Nashville, TN and Taylor University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, as well asvarious K-12 public school positions. Currently, Ms. Johnson is completing her Doctor of Musical Arts in e-learning technology. An established educational writer, Ms. Johnson has published numerous music book series for both the elementary through professional music student.

Kathleen S. Ives, D.M.
Associate Executive Director
Kathleen Ives has worked in online technology for over 20 years and serves as The Sloan Consortium's Events Producer. Formerly, Dr. Ives oversaw all forms of alternative instruction at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, MA (distance learning, accelerated programming). She teaches online for University of Phoenix and Axia College of Western University, and in an accelerated enviornment for working adults at both Regis College in Weston, MA and the University of Phoenix, Greater Boston Campus. Dr. Ives began her career at CBS and helped to develop the service that evolved into Prodigy. She then spent fourteen years designing and implementing consumer online information services, first at AT&T and then at Verizon. Dr. Ives sits on the Massachusetts Department of Education's Distance Learning Advisory Board for Adult Basic Education. Dr. Ives has degrees in communication, communication management, and organizational leadership from the University of California at Davis, the University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication, and the University of Phoenix-Online, respectively.

Janet C. Moore
Chief Knowledge Officer
Janet Moore is the Chief Knowledge Officer for the Sloan Consortium. She is an editor for the Sloan-C View, the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, effective practices, and annual volumes in the Sloan-C quality series. She participates in various initiatives, including helping design and conduct Sloan-C workshops and seminars, and Sloan-C Catalog reviews. She is the author of Elements of Quality: The Sloan-C™ Framework, Pillar Reference Manual.

Jennifer Rafferty, M.A.
Events Producer
Jennifer Rafferty is an independent education consultant. She has worked in the field of distance education as both an instructor and administrator since 1998. Formerly, she managed the Massachusetts Adult Basic Education Distance Learning Project at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Jennifer has also consulted with the Massachusetts Department of Education for the development of distance education guidelines for state funded distance learning programs. She holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively.

Jeff Seaman, Ph.D.
Chief Information Officer and Survey Director
Jeff Seaman has worked in education information technology for over 20 years. In addition to teaching at such schools as Cornell, the University of Wisconsin, and the Wharton School, he has created and run information technology organizations for the University of Pennsylvania and Lesley University. The client list for his consulting company, Pondview Associates, includes schools such as Harvard, Tufts, Boston University, Brandeis, and the University of Pennsylvania and technology vendors including IBM and Microsoft. He has served on advisory boards for many technology companies, including Apple, Claris, IBM, Microsoft, and Word Perfect. His industry experience includes serving as Chief Technology Officer at HighWired.com where he led the development of an online learning system and as the Vice President of Engineering for Vista Associates where he did functional design work and led the engineering team. Dr. Seaman has degrees in Demography/Statistics, Sociology, Electrical Engineering, and Housing, all from Cornell University.

Jonathan Small
Events Producer
In late 2006 Small began consulting for the Sloan Consortium as their Web Events Producer. Previously, Small served as the eLearning Program Manager for the New England College of Finance in Boston where he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the college's online programs. This work included faculty and student support, course design and development, LMS administration and the integration of new technologies for academic programs. Before joining the online department he served as a Marketing Coordinator fostering relationships with companies in the financial services industry. Mr. Small began his career at the Boston office of Agnew Carter/MS&L; an international public relations firm. Small is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University where he received a degree in Communications.

Gail Sullivan
Customer Service Coordinator
Gail Sullivan joined The Sloan Consortium, Inc. in the fall of 2006. In this capacity, Gail is primarily responsible for processing the registrations for membership, workshops and conferences as well as resolving issues raised by workshop participants and members. In her capacity as the assistant to the Director of Online Education, Dr. Kathleen S. Ives, Gail is the secondary contact person for our workshop facilitators. She is also responsible for fulfilling requests for publications. Gail has a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University in Personnel and Industrial Relations and has been involved with Higher Education for approximately ten years.

Joanna Tong
Marketing Manager
Joanna Tong works with the marketing and publishing aspects of Sloan-C. Along with publishing the monthly e-newsletter, The Sloan-C View and the bi monthly, Sloan-C Now, she also markets memberships, online workshops, teaching certificates, and conferences. Joanna serves as the main contact for all membership questions and specializes in retention. She graduated with a B.S. in Marketing from Bentley College in Waltham, MA. Prior to joining Sloan-C, she was the Marketing Assistant for the Boston General Office of New York Life Insurance Company.

John Sener is the founder of Sener Learning Services, a consulting practice which focuses on supporting the evolution of online and other technology-enabled learning environments in higher education institutions and consortia, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. He has been involved in many Sloan-C activities and initiatives, including serving as Director of Special Initiatives and coordinating the Speakers and Consultants Bureau. He has been on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks since its inception and is a Contributing Editor for the monthly newsletter Educational Pathways. While at Northern Virginia Community College, he directed development of distance and online- accessible associate degrees in engineering, information systems technology, public management, and business management. His career in education and training over the past twenty-five years includes directing a number of foundation and federally funded projects; he has also been a trainer, teacher, administrator, instructional designer, and tutor in the areas of adult literacy, basic skills, information systems, and English as a Second Language. He holds a M.S. degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Psychology from Oberlin College.

Karen Swan (B.A., Philosophy, UConn.; M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, Keene State College; Ed. M., Ed. D., Columbia University, Instructional Technology) is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice and the Director of the Learning Technologies Laboratory. Her research has been primarily in the area of educational computing environments-namely, Logo programming, Integrated Learning Systems and hypermedia-on which she has published widely. She is also interested in social learning from broadcast video and has edited a book on that subject with Dr. Carla Meskill. Dr. Swan has published two interactive video disk applications-The Multimedia Sampler for IBM and Set on Freedom: The American Civil Rights Experience for Glencoe. Dr. Swan is currently a project director for the technology and literacy research strand of the National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA).

Linda Enghagen, J.D.
Linda Enghagen is an attorney and Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her teaching career began in distance learning when she first taught Engineering Law & Ethics as part of the university’s Video Instructional Program in 1984. In 1990, she became the first woman to receive an Outstanding Instructor Award from National Technological University, which also offered her course. In 2002, she received a second Outstanding Teacher Award from the College of Food & Natural Resources at the University of Massachusetts.

Professor Enghagen teaches cyberlaw at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and developed a corporate training program entitled Information Technology and the Law: Software, the Internet and E-mail in conjunction with the PBS Business & Technology Network. Her scholarly contributions related to intellectual property are directed to the needs of faculty members. Her publications include two books, Technology and Higher Education: Approaching the 21st Century and Fair Use Guidelines for Educators, as well as numerous articles such as Fair Use in an Electronic World and Copyright Law and Fair Use—Why Ignorance Isn’t Bliss. She also developed a pamphlet entitled Educators, Technology and the Law: Common Questions/Direct Answers and a brochure entitled Legal Literacy in the Information Age—Ten (easy to understand) Rules of Thumb. In addition, she has been a guest commentator on a local NPR affiliate where she discussed copyright piracy in a piece entitled Napster Worries Me.

Christine Geith, Ph.D.
Executive Director, MSU Global
Michigan State University
Christine Geith leads business strategy, product development and financial management as director of MSU Global at Michigan State University. She is a founder and co-executive director of the award-winning Horticulture Gardening Institute at MSU. Prior to joining MSU, Dr. Geith was executive director of eLearning at Rochester Institute of Technology where she was instrumental in launching one of the first online degree programs in the U.S. in 1991. An Arena Award recipient from the Center for Digital Education and senior associate of the TLT Group, Dr. Geith holds an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology and Ph.D. in education administration, curriculum and instruction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Stephen Schiffman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship
Babson College and Olin College
Stephen Schiffman has served in faculty and dean positions at Babson College since 1986. Under his leadership as Dean of the undergraduate program, Babson College received the 2002 Hesburgh Award for reinvention of undergraduate business education. Stephen’s research interests include entrepreneurship and the business issues of online education. His previous experience includes positions at Digital Equipment Corporation, Colorado College and University of Colorado-Boulder. Dr. Schiffman holds an M.S. from MIT in management and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College in mathematics.

Karen Vignare
Director, MSU Global Ventures
Michigan State University
Karen Vignare is Director of MSU Global Ventures. She is responsible for growing globally accessible, innovative online customized professional development programs like the award winning Horticulture Gardening Institute. Karen joins MSU Global most recently from the Rochester Institute of Technology where she served as a Senior Research Analyst in Online Learning. Before RIT, Karen was an Assistant Professor for Retail, Marketing and Business Technologies at the State University of NY, Alfred. Her career began on Wall Street where she served as a Vice-President and Research Analyst for Political Economics. She is on the Advisory Board of National Telecommunications University Network and the editorial board of EdPath and Distance Education. Karen Vignare has an M.B.A from the Simon School at the University of Rochester and is currently enrolled in doctoral courses at Nova Southeastern University in Computer Technology for Education.