NMC Board of Directors

The NMC Board of Directors is a group of ten visionary individuals who all share a common commitment to the promise of technology to transform the work we do as learners and educators. The NMC Board focuses its time and considerable talents on considering the future of both formal and informal education and in setting the strategic course for the NMC in that future. The board has embraced the principles of policy governance, and shares the following core beliefs:

• We are unabashedly pro-technology, and our passion for the work we do is fueled by what we believe to be true about education.
• We believe that education not only should change its core practices, but that it must.
• We believe that the need for change is urgent -- we cannot continue to tweak the same outmoded models and expect results that have eluded us for decades.
• We believe that technology -- itself a dynamic and ever-changing landscape -- provides the levers to enable that change. If we can embrace the never-ending flow of new technologies and put creative thought to how to apply them, those same processes can be applied to other organizational dynamics.
• Furthermore, we believe that technology brings us more than a facility in managing change. It connects us in ways that matter, and allows expression to our humanity.

The NMC Board is authorized for a maximum of fifteen seats, but only ten are generally filled. Board members serve three years, and each spring, the Board considers nominations to replace the three members who retire each year. Up to four seats each are set aside for members and platinum partners; an additional four are designated as “at-large” and open to anyone the board wishes to invite.

The board has three special seats as well — one is reserved for the CEO; two additional seats are set aside for “visionaries,” and these seats are filled by extraordinary thinkers whose role is to help the board to approach its work creatively and see its mission in new ways.

Current NMC Board of Directors 

Gardner Campbell, Chair
Virginia Tech
Board Member since 2009

Gardner Campbell is Director of Professional Development and Innovative Initiatives in the Division of Learning Technologies at Virginia Tech , where he also serves as an Associate Professor of English. Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, Gardner was founding Director of the Academy for Teaching and Learning at Baylor University, where he was also Associate Prof. of Literature, Media, and Learning in the Honors College. From 1994-2008, he was Professor of English at the University of Mary Washington, where from 2003-2006 he also served as Assistant Vice-President for Teaching and Learning Technologies. He has been involved in teaching and learning technologies for nearly two decades, including work at the University of San Diego and the University of Richmond, where in the fall of 2006 he was Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology. Gardner received his B.A. in English from Wake Forest University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Frye Leadership Institute (2005), was chair of the Electronic Campus of Virginia from 2006 to 2008, and has served on program committees for both EDUCAUSE and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative . He currently serves as vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the New Media Consortium and on the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE). From 2007-2011 he was a member of the ECUCAUSE Learning Initiative Advisory Board.You can read Gardner’s blog, “Gardner Writes,” at http://www.gardnercampbell.net.

Scott Sayre, Vice Chair
Sandbox Studios
Board Member since 2010

Scott Sayre is a founder and principal at Sandbox Studios, a Minneapolis-based group that works with museums and other non-profits to plan, create, manage and assess education programs and technology projects. Sandbox Studios creatively applies tested technologies and innovative educational strategies to bring museum collections and people together. Sandbox Studios staff design and develop projects ranging from online classroom materials to Web portals encompassing multi-museum collections. In 2005 Sandbox formed a new division, Museum411, which specializes in the production of mobile device-based audio tour/information systems for museums, galleries and sculpture parks. Scott has a doctorate in Education and has over twenty years of experience working with emerging education and information technologies. He teaches at Johns Hopkins University, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano  and the University of Victoria. In 2002-2003 Scott served as the Art Museum Image Consortium's Director of Member Services and US Operations. From 1991-2002 he was the Director of Media and Technology at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Prior to his work with museums Scott was a Media Applications Researcher at the University of Minnesota's Telecommunications Development Center.

Don Henderson, Treasurer
Apple Computer, Inc
Board Member since 2008

Don Henderson is the  Senior Manager of Creative Expression for Apple Education.  In his role, Don is responsible for creating programs and solutions that integrate Apple’s Digital Media Tools across the curriculum. In this role, Don works with educators around the country and abroad who have created programs focused on the use Apple’s Professional Applications. Prior to joining Apple, Don was the Director of Educational and Library Technology for the Grossmont Union High School District  in San Diego, California.  Don is also a two-time Smithsonian Laureate for the award winning Digital Media programs he created for the Grossmont Union High.

Larry Johnson, Ex-Officio
Chief Executive Officer, NMC
Board Member since 2002

Laurence F. Johnson, Ph.D. is the founder of the Horizon Project, which produces the acclaimed series of Horizon Reports  that are now used by more than a half-million educators in nearly 60 countries, and Chief Executive Officer of the New Media Consortium, an international not-for-profit consortium dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. Its hundreds of member institutions constitute an elite list of the most highly regarded universities, museums, research centers, and companies in the world. Johnson is an acknowledged expert on emerging technology and its impacts on society and education, and the topics of creativity, innovation, and how to think about the future. With more than 25 years of experience in the higher education arena, he has served in roles from professor to dean, CIO and provost, and most recently, president before joining the NMC in 2001.

Eva de Lera, Board Member
Open University of Catalonia
Board Member since 2011

Eva de Lera is the Senior Strategist for the Office of Learning Technologies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). In her role, Eva works with UOC's leadership to help create opportunities and programs that bring innovation to this global and fully online higher education institution. She also leads the Joy of Learning project, focused on designing inspirational and engaging online learning spaces and the Open EdTech think/do tank, an initiative to help understand and draft the future of open educational technology. Prior to joining UOC, Eva worked as a communication strategist and creative advisor in the arts, media and advertising, education and technology arenas. She is also an entrepreneur, founder of several technology-related initiatives, with a focus on online communities.

Vijay Kumar, Board Member
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Board Member since 2011

Dr.Vijay Kumar, Senior Associate Dean and Director, Office of Educational Innovation and Technology provides leadership for planning and implementing technology-enabled educational innovations at MIT. In his prior roles at MIT as Assistant Provost and Director of Academic Computing, as well at other institutions, Kumar’s work focused on the effective integration of information technology in education. Kumar was the Principal Investigator of O.K.I (Open Knowledge Initiative), the MIT-led collaborative project supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to develop an open architecture for enterprise educational applications. He has been a member of the Faculty Advisory Committee of MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) since its inception.  He serves as the Executive Officer of MIT’s Council on Educational Technology. Vijay's research and his extensive engagement as advisor and consultant to academic and professional institutions are directed toward strategy, planning and implementing innovations for education. Vijay has been actively involved in efforts, such as those supported by the Hewlett Foundation and Curriki to advance the use of Open Educational Resources for improving educational access and quality. He is a co-editor of a Carnegie Foundation book "Opening Up Education" (MIT Press, August 2008). Vijay has served as advisor to India's National Knowledge Commission, and to UNESCO on their strategy for open educational resources. He is an advisor to the Open University of Catalonia, the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and to the Qatar Foundation International on educational technology and innovation. His experience includes programs for teacher education and planning for technology integration in K-12 education. He currently serves on the Operations Board of Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council. 

Philip Long, Board Member
University of Queensland
Board Member 2006-2009, Board member since 2010

Phil is a Professor Innovation and Educational Technology, founding Director of the Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology  at the University of Queensland , and a Visiting Researcher at the Center for Educational Computing Initiatives at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a lapsed biologist cum learning technologist focused on emerging technologies and learning spaces, physical and virtual.

Megan Stewart, Board Member
Adobe Systems, Inc
Board Member since 2011

Megan Stewart is the Director of Worldwide Higher Education and Community Programs at Adobe Systems in San Francisco, California. In her role, Megan is responsible for the strategy and programs that make Adobe software available to 2 and 4 year colleges and universities worldwide. This includes working closely with customers, the education community and industry to ensure that Adobe solutions support the needs of students, faculty and administrators across the campus. Megan is also responsible for Adobe’s education community programs supporting primary, secondary and higher education. These programs include advisory boards, institutional and individual leadership programs that support innovative and exemplarily uses of technology to improve teaching and learning.

 Marco Torres, Visionary
PushCreativity.com
Board Member since 2009

Marco Antonio Torres has taught high school for ten years,  and has been media coach and education technology director for San Fernando High School,  one of the nation’s largest urban schools in Los Angeles. In addition to his work in the classroom,  Marco Torres is also a professional filmmaker and photographer who uses these digital storytelling skills to add value to his curriculum. He has been recognized locally and internationally,  including being honored as a California Teacher of the Year,  for his accomplishments in the classroom,  and for the use of technology to empower minority students. Torres is an advocate for more collaboration between the media arts world. In addition,  many television,  radio,  online, magazines,  books,  and news periodicals have highlighted his media rich program. Torres has presented at numerous conferences throughout the world and his practical workshops help teachers push their teaching and learning to new exciting levels. He is a consultant for many U.S. and international schools and has keynoted in almost every state. He sits on the board for the George Lucas Educational Foundation,  New Media Consortium and Full Sail University Online Advance Studies. He has been recognized by thought leadership groups such as TED and Big Ideas Fest. Marco currently serves as an advisor on education leadership, strategy, and creativity both nationally and internationally in places such as Texas, Chicago, NY, Mexico, Australia and London and is co-owner of Alas Media, a production studio.