Registration is now open For the 15th Annual Digital Education Summit #DES26!

Chief Impact Officer at The Kern Family Foundation and co-host of the podcast "A Life Worth Working," Dr. Michelle Weise is an internationally recognized leader in the future of learning and workforce development. Named by Thinkers50 as one of the top management and leadership thinkers to watch, she is the author of the award-winning Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs that Don’t Even Exist Yet and co-author of Hire Education: Mastery, Modularization, and the Workforce Revolution.

Her keynote explores how higher education must evolve to prepare learners for a rapidly changing world of work. She introduces the concept of the Cloverleaf Design, a model focused on continuous engagement with real-world challenges that helps cultivate adaptable professionals equipped with both technical fluency and strong character.

Associate Vice President for Academic Innovation at Blackboard, Dr. Justin Louder leads strategic initiatives focused on digital learning, artificial intelligence integration, and institutional transformation. With more than 18 years of experience in higher education innovation, he previously served as Associate Vice Provost at Texas Tech University, where he developed a nationally recognized online learning enterprise and oversaw a global K–12 program serving 16,000 students.

His keynote examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping higher education by shifting the focus from content delivery to intentional learning design. He argues that the most meaningful impact of AI is pedagogical, requiring institutions to rethink assessment in ways that emphasize process, judgment, and reflection in order to strengthen learning outcomes and academic integrity.