Writing a book is no easy feat. Without persistence, determination, and a whole lot of support it wouldn’t have been possible. To the instructional design and faculty development community, there are so many wonderful people who influenced me, supported me, and cheered me on and I am grateful I was able to give something back in the form of this book in return. A special thank you to Dr. Luke Hobson, Lillian Nave, and Warren Kennard. I have learned so much from you about instructional design, ed tech strategy, and universal design for learning. Thank you to my beta readers – Sharon Tavares, Jim Peterson, Komal Shah, and Sonia Tiwari. I am so grateful for your feedback and perspective. Every piece of advice was considered.
I want to acknowledge the amazing scholar-practitioners who contributed to my book by offering insights, answering L&D, graphic design, and digital accessibility questions for my audience, and weighing in on some of the most pressing topics covered. These incredible humans are experts in their respective fields and I highly encourage you to follow them. Thank you Dr. Thomas J. Tobin, Dr. Robert Gibson, Heidi Kirby, Dr. Eric Moore, Parm Gill, Diana Davidson Lerner, and Meryl Evans. You made my book better just by being a part of it. Thank you Tim Slade who kindly wrote my foreward and who does so much to improve the visual communication skills of instructional designers and has such wonderful e-learning expertise to share. I love your approachable style and the way you deliver such helpful feedback to your community at the e-learning academy. To Heather Cowap for being my writing sprint partner and the person to bounce ideas off of. I gained an accountability buddy and also a friend. Thank you Dr. Terri Givens who inspired me to write this book and who is such an accomplished author herself. I will always be a champion of the social justice work you are doing and feel honored to have worked with you. Thank you to Patrick Keeffe whom I have had the pleasure to work with for almost 10 years in various capacities. Thank you for editing my first draft, your early feedback was integral to how the book evolved. Thank you Jen Abbot for the developmental editing and for helping me make this book the best it can be.
I want to acknowledge Dr. Patrice Torcivia Prusko, at Harvard Graduate School of Education. You are one of the kindest, most inclusive, and empathetic leaders I know. Your unrelenting quest to mentor and support women in STEM is remarkable. I am honored to have worked with you at HGSE and am a better leader because of it. Lastly, I would also like to acknowledge Mac Glovinsky, Global Program Manager of the Learning Passport at UNICEF. I am continually amazed at your uncanny ability to lead in a way that inspires all those around you to be the very best versions of themselves. It is rare to find leaders at your level with equally proficient interpersonal and technical skill. I am truly learning from one of the best.
