Division of Academic Innovation

Macy Jackson

Academic Program Coordinator

Department of Continuing Education & Assessment

Macy joined the UNT system in 2022 and transitioned over to the DAI team at the beginning of 2023. She has prior experience in non-profit work, leadership development, event planning, and general administrative work. Macy brings her prior experience to her current role which focuses on supporting interprofessional/interdepartmental educational activities at JPS Health Network. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Austin Flores

Instructional Media Specialist

Department of Media Production

Austin joined the HSC team as an Instructional Media Specialist in 2023. He graduated from Texas Christian University with a degree in Film, Television, and Digital Media in 2016. After working as a commercial and reality television freelancer for a few years, he graduated in 2019 with a master’s degree in Film & Media Studies from Southern Methodist University. His passions are helping people learn a wide variety of topics and is excited to be helping form the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Brandon Sermon

Associate Director of Academic Communications

Administration

Brandon Sermon serves the Division of Academic Innovation as Associate Director of Academic Communications, a joint position shared with the Division of Student & Academic Affairs. With over seven years of experience in higher education, Brandon brings his skills in creative thinking, marketing, social media strategy and project management to the DAI Team. He holds a Master of Arts in Communication Studies from Tarleton State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communication from the University of West Alabama.

Traci Carroll

Instructional Designer

Department of Educational Development

Traci Butler Carroll, MEd, CTC, LSSYB, joined HSC in 2019. She has worked with patients, students, residents, and licensed healthcare professionals across multiple disciplines. Using a competency-based approach, she has educated healthcare professionals in inter-professional environments. In addition to her work here in the Division for Academic Innovation, Traci is also Faculty at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in the University Writing Center.

Ana Rodriquez

Educational Program Manager

Department of Continuing Education & Assessment

Ana joined HSC in 2017 as a member in student affairs. She recently joined DAI from the HSC DPT program. Ana has six years of higher education experience working with all programs at HSC and with external stakeholders. She brings her project management skills and relationship building abilities to the CE & Assessment team. Ana is enthusiastic about continuing education and improving patient outcomes through her role in CE.

Nicholas Alexander

Media Specialist

Department of Media Production

Nicholas graduated from UNT in 2016 with a BA in Media Arts. He joined UNTHSC as an instructional media specialist in 2022. He has a passion for shaping the world of tomorrow and will utilize everything that he knows to do it. That is what led him to UNTHSC—because there is no better way to shape the world of tomorrow than by educating future health professionals. Nicholas is ready to tackle anything! He works with passion and enthusiasm!

Adria Battaglia

Director

Department of Educational Development

Dr. Battaglia has twenty years of teaching experience in university and college settings. She spent three years as an educational consultant and Universal Design for Learning specialist, then two years as a college completion coach for post-traditional learners. Adria embraces every opportunity to enrich the educational experience for, and to promote the intellectual and emotional well-being of, students and educators.

Vivian Seki

Digital Accessibility Specialist

Department of Educational Development

Vivian has a BA in Spanish and a MS.Ed in Instructional Technology. She has been a certified braille transcriber since 1990 and directed production centers of braille and other accessible formats since 1988 in agencies in Texas, Arizona, and Illinois. She taught community college classes in braille technology for 3 years, live and online. For three years before coming to HSC, she worked at Northern Illinois University remediating and creating accessible curricular materials for students and faculty.

Marcus Taylor

Instructional Designer

Department of Educational Development

Marcus joined HSC after serving in the Army for more than 20 years. He worked within the Army University System, Army Logistics University, and the Total Army School System as an Instructor/Facilitator. He is a Master Army Instructor and led professional teams of instructional designers and the Army’s Professional Military Education program. He holds an Executive Master of Business Administration focusing on Leadership Development from Prairie View A&M University and has over 15 years of experience in graphic design.

Cynthia Edwards

Instructional Technology Specialist

Department of Educational Development

Dr. Edwards is an educator with a background in education, technology integration, business management, and music. Her recent research includes teacher educator technology standards, program evaluation, Universal Design for Learning, and digital micro-credentials. Her twenty years of teaching experience spanning kindergarten through higher education have provided opportunities such as workshop and conference presenter, adjudicator, and TIME (Technology In Music Education) state board member.

Leila Mahmoudi

Instructional Designer

Department of Educational Development

Leila joined HSC as an Instructional Designer on November 2021. She brought her experiences of more than 4 years of working with professional teams of instructional designers and web developers to design quality online courses. She is skilled in ELearning and web-based learning design. She holds a Master’s degree in Education (MEd) with focus in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Learning, Design, and Technology from the University of Houston.

Laura Moore

Executive Assistant

Administration

Laura Moore is the Executive Assistant for the DAI. She is the first point of contact for our customers and is able to assist with anything related to DAI. Laura supports every member of the DAI team and also serves as administrative support for the Distance Education Committee and Microcredential Committee.

Kelly Zarwell

Educational Program Assistant Director

Department of Continuing Education & Assessment

Kelly Zarwell has a long history in continuing medical education, working in the HSC CE Department for 15+ years. As a Senior Program Manager, Kelly leads a small team at JPS Health Network developing and implementing interprofessional/interdepartmental educational activities. In addition, Kelly works with DAI’s external stakeholders to develop large-scale interprofessional education activities and multi-hour conferences.

Jennifer Parker

Sr. Operations Analyst

Administration

Jennifer Parker manages DAI’s financial and accounting support, as well as client and customer service. She has held various accounting positions with multiple corporations such as RadioShack, Glidepath Inc. and Dean Foods. Jennifer has a wealth of experience in customer service, account reconciliation, expense reimbursements as well as purchasing and accounts payable/receivable.

Caroline Gourley

Instructional Technology Specialist

Department of Educational Development

Caroline Gourley provides Canvas and instructional technology support to faculty, staff, and students across campus. She is the first point of contact for anyone emailing the DAI or Canvas. Caroline earned a Bachelor’s of Science from UNT. Before joining the DAI in 2020, she worked in the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) for 13 years performing several roles including course coordinator which sparked her interest in her current role.

Adam van Fossen

Sr. Instructional Media Specialist

Department of Media Production

Adam joined the HSC team as an Instructional Media Specialist in the summer of 2020. He graduated from the University of North Texas in 2013 with a degree in Media Production and has been producing media ever since. Adam specializes in many forms of media production and can help you with audio recording, filming, video editing, and more. He strives to try new and interesting ways to produce great media content, and has never met a project he has not been able to handle.

John McKenzie

Executive Director

Administration

John McKenzie leads the team that designs online courses, microcredentials, short courses, continuing education, and rich educational media for all of the above. He is also chair of the HSC Microcredential Committee. John holds master’s degrees in Learning Technologies and Communication, and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Communication in higher education for nearly 20 years. He is a Certified Digital Accessibility Specialist (TxDLA), Quality Matters Peer Reviewer, and CPE Reviewer.

Honor Anderson

Sr. Instructional Designer

Department of Educational Development

Honor is a former secondary teacher specializing in pedagogy, assessment, academic technology, curriculum design and development, faculty development, creative instruction, and student-centered engagement. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a master’s degree in Professional Development. She joined the HSC family in 2018 and currently serves as one of the campus’ Quality Matters Coordinator. Helping others succeed is her biggest passion.

Jiaqi Yu

Sr. Instructional Designer

Department of Educational Development

Dr. Yu is an experienced designer with a demonstrated history of working in higher education and e-learning. She received her Ph.D. in Instructional Technology and Human-Computer Interaction from Iowa State University. Her research has been focusing on online learning, peer mentoring, and communities of practice. As a QM coordinator and peer reviewer, she enjoys collaborating with faculty to improve course design and incorporate experiential learning strategies.

Stephen McBroom

Director

Department of Media Production

Stephen McBroom leads the efforts of the Educational Media team in the Division of Academic Innovation. Stephen works with clients to develop educational media that is outcomes driven. He has a passion for creating content that is innovative, relevant and engaging through the proper utilization of technology. He is a native Texan and has worked for UNTHSC in various departments creating media and educational content. He received his M.Ed. in Educational Technology from WGU and has over 20 years of experience in video production.

Andy Pottkotter

Graphic Designer

Department of Media Production

Andy Pottkotter is the DAI’s graphic and web designer. He made this website! He also does animations. Sometimes, he makes whole modules in Articulate Storyline. If you couldn’t tell, he wrote this blurb himself. That’s why it’s written so well! He does a lot of copyediting, after all. He has a master’s degree in Design with a focus in design research.

Sujita Adhikari

Educational Program Manager

Department of Continuing Education & Assessment

Sujita Adhikari brings a public health background to the team and uses her needs assessment, program planning, and evaluation skills to execute and evaluate continuing education activities. As an educational program manager, she works in collaboration with different internal and external stakeholders to achieve optimal patient and community health outcomes. She is a Certified Public Health Professional and holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health and a Bachelor’s in Pharmacy.

Brenda Wilson

Sr. Instructional Designer

Department of Continuing Education & Assessment

Brenda holds the national credential as a Certified Healthcare CPD Professional. She brings her wealth of experience in educational design, program development, and project management to create and implement accredited continuing education across the health professions’ spectrum. She holds a Master of Science in Learning Technologies and a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management.

Adrienne Wilson

Instructional Designer

Department of Educational Development

Adrienne Wilson has worked in higher education for 10 years and has 4 years of course development experience. As an Instructional Designer, Adrienne consults on course design, content production, and supports faculty training and development. She graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Bachelor of Science in Emergency Administration and Planning. She obtained her Master of Education degree from The University of Oklahoma.

Ericka Harden-Dews

Director

Department of Continuing Education & Assessment

Ericka Harden-Dews is Certified Healthcare CPD Professional (CHCP) with over 15 years of experience designing continuing education and managing the continuing education function. She has a diverse set of skills in program planning, needs assessment, grant development, the governance of continuing education operations as well significant experience successfully leading multiple institutions/organizations through ACCME Accreditation and/or Joint Accreditation. She holds a Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts in Communications.