The USDLA Advisory Board is a distinguished body of distance learning and industry leaders who volunteer their time to provide support, guidance, and resources to the efforts and events of the organization. They represent a cross-section of USDLA’s constituencies including: Pre-K through 12 education, higher education, home schooling, continuing education, corporate training, military and government training, and telehealth.
Members of the Advisory Board each bring unique talents, expertise, and perspectives, but they are all bound by their passion for giving back to the distance education community and helping to move USDLA forward in ways that best serve distance learners everywhere.
While on the Advisory Board, members frequently play active and pivotal roles on USDLA Committees. Once they have had the opportunity to work closely with Committee activities, they are frequently nominated to move to the main USDLA Board of Directors. Conversely, some request to remain active in the organization by sitting on the Advisory Board after completion of their Board of Director terms.
The members of the Advisory Board are provided below. If you would like to learn more about the Advisory Board or have any questions, please contact the Advisory Board Chair, Valary Oleinik, voleinik@usdla.org.
USDLA BOD Advisory Board
Valary Oleinik
USDLA Advisory Chair
Speaker & Gamification Coach
voleinik@usdla.org

Erica Bell
Director of Educational Outreach
University of Tennessee, Martin
ebell3@utm.edu

David Stein
Video Services Manager
Governing Advisory Board, Ohio Distance Learning Association
dstein@laca.org

Dr. Arifa Garman
Instructional Designer, University of Maryland
President Garman eLearning
arifa@garmanelearning.com

Phillip Herr-Klepacki
Director for Distance Education
University of Florida – College of the Arts
pklepacki@arts.ufl.edu

Janine Lim, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Online Higher Education
Andrews University
janine@andrews.edu

Jason Ruckert, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor, Worldwide Online Education
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
jason.ruckert@erau.edu

Ira M. Weinstein
Founder/Managing Partner
Recon Research, Inc.
iweinstein@reconres.com

William Ryan, Ph.D.
President
Ryan Consulting
wjryan@ix.netcom.com