Working Together
We are a community of people working at public and private higher education institutions, consortia and statewide systems who advocate, support and facilitate open educational practices. We help one another, learn from one another, and create resources for the common good. When you join the Open Education Network (OEN), you become an important part of this supportive community collaborating to make higher education more open and equitable.
Learn more about our community leaders:
Current members, learn about leadership opportunities by contacting open@umn.edu.
Not yet a member? Let’s talk. We’d love to hear about your interest in leading.
Steering Committee
Established in 2016, the Steering Committee provides essential community perspective. It offers timely feedback to the leadership team and works to support current and future membership.
Elizabeth Clarage
Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)
Elizabeth is the Director of Collections Services for CARLI where she works with CARLI members to promote the cooperation and collaboration of open educational resources (OER) as they establish institutional OER and affordable initiatives. As a liaison to the consortium’s Open Educational Resources Committee, Elizabeth helps to develop and present OER workshops to both librarians and teaching faculty.
Amanda Grey
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Amanda is an Open Education Strategist at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), supporting faculty in the sharing, creating, and use of open education practices and facilitating open education initiatives such as the Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Initiative, the OER Grant program, and KPU's Open Publishing Suite (OPUS). As a trained librarian, Amanda has worked on open education initiatives for several institutions in British Columbia.
Heather McCullough
University of North Carolina
Heather is the Director of Learning Technology and Open Education for the 17-campus University of North Carolina System. She co-chairs UNC System OER and Affordability Council and supports the system’s OER Hub. She was previously Professor and Head of Digital Scholarship at the J. Murrey Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte where she initiated open access journal publishing and an open access data repository. She is faculty for the EDUCAUSE Digital Transformation Learning Lab and Digital Learning Leaders Institute.
Ben Rawlins
University of Kentucky
Ben is the Associate Dean for Outreach, Engagement and Collections at the University of Kentucky Libraries and is a member of the Kentucky Virtual Library’s (KYVL) Affordable Learning Steering Committee. He has led OER initiatives at institutions in three different states (New York, Texas, and Kentucky). His work on OER discovery and curation, as a co-developer of the OER search tool OASIS, has been recognized by the Open Education Consortium and the Association of College and Research Libraries.
David Tully
North Carolina State University
David is the Librarian for Student Success and Affordability at North Carolina State University Libraries. In his role he helps lead the Alt-Textbook committee and the Open Pedagogy Incubator as well as develop additional programs, services and other forms of academic support for students and faculty, reflecting the Libraries’ and the university’s commitment to making higher education more equitable and inclusive.
Yang Wu
Clemson University
Yang is the Open Resources Librarian at Clemson University, South Carolina, specializing in OER and Open Education. He is current Chair of PASCAL, the South Carolina academic library consortium's Affordable Learning Committee and has served as contributing editor of the OER Beyond Blog and on the Open Education Conference Communications Committee. Yang has the OEN's Certificate of OER Librarianship and is also a 2021 recipient of the US Department of Education's Open Textbook Pilot grant.
Workshop Presenters
Our workshops are facilitated by faculty and staff from member institutions with experience in implementing open education initiatives and practices.
Cheryl Casey
University of Arizona
Cheryl is the Open Education Librarian at the University of Arizona Libraries in Tucson and has been an active member of the Open Education Network since 2015. She coordinates campus OER initiatives and collaborates with a wide range of university partners. She is also a Faculty Senator and involved in library faculty governance.
Meggie Mapes
University of Kansas
Meggie (Ph.D. Southern Illinois University Carbondale) is a faculty member and Introductory Course Director in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas. Her research emerges at the intersections of pedagogy and critical/cultural studies. She is an open pedagogy advocate and the author of the open textbook, Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy.
Merinda McClure
University of Colorado
Merinda serves as an Open Educational Resources (OER) Lead at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, where she is also the Health and Human Sciences Librarian and an Associate Professor. She was a 2016-2017 OER Research Fellow with the Open Education Group’s fellowship program. She joined the Open Education Network in 2015 after participating in the Network’s inaugural summer institute. Merinda received her M.L.I.S. in 2002 from The University of British Columbia.
Publishing Cooperative Advisory Group
The Publishing Cooperative Advisory Group is responsible for developing open textbook publishing vision and support for the Open Education Network community.
Stefanie Buck (2023-2025)
Co-Chair
Oregon State University
Stefanie is the director of Open Educational Resources at Oregon State University. She received her MLS from the University of Hawai’i. She works closely with faculty who want to adapt, adopt or author open educational resources and helps to make these available to anyone who wants to use them.
Kelly Smith (2023-2026)
Co-Chair
Eastern Kentucky University
Kelly is the Director of Collections and Discovery at Eastern Kentucky University Libraries, and oversees EKU Libraries’ open publishing efforts, among other responsibilities. She received her MSLIS from Simmons College. Areas of interest in her library practice include: Open Educational Practices; Strengths Based Leadership; Assessment; and Library Collection Management.
Angelique Carson (2023-2025)
WRLC
Angelique is the Shared Collections Librarian at the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) and currently serves as co-chair of the WRLC’s Textbook Affordability Working Group (TAWG). Angelique has held Librarian posts at Southern University of New Orleans, the Southern Food and Beverage Culinary Library and Archive, the Catholic University of America and Howard University.
Daniela Dutra Elliott (2023-2026)
Leeward Community College (University of Hawai'i)
Daniela has been a faculty member at University of Hawai'i-Leeward Community College where she serves as program coordinator for the Sustainable Agriculture Program. She has worked to develop OER materials for her classes and is passionate about the opportunities OER brings to localizing materials so they are relevant to people of diverse backgrounds.
Mark Lane (2023-2025)
Oregon State University
Mark Anthony Lane is the assistant director of Open Educational Resources at Oregon State University. He works alongside faculty and students to develop and publish high-quality and accessible course materials. He received his MSEd from Western Oregon University, where he specialized in educational technology and instructional design.
Christina Riehman-Murphy (2023-2025)
Penn State University Libraries
Christina is the Open and Affordable Educational Resources Librarian at Penn State. In this role she coordinates the expansion of open education initiatives across Penn State’s many campuses. She is embedded in an English class on an open pedagogy project where undergraduate students are contributing to an open anthology. She has her MSLS from Clarion University and her BA in English and Secondary Education from the Catholic University of America.
Christina Trunnell (2023-2025)
Montana State University
Christina is the Assistant Dean of the Montana State University Library. She has served the academic community as a writing faculty member, leading academic libraries, and running a statewide OER program. Christina’s passion and expertise is in supporting DEI work throughout academia, from instructional design and programming to system and policy level changes.
Pub101 Committee
The Pub101 Committee ensures a community-driven experience for Pub101, a curriculum and orientation to open textbook publishing.
Amanda Larson (2021-2025)
Chair
The Ohio State University
Amanda is the Affordable Learning Instructional Consultant at The Ohio State University where she creates professional development opportunities for staff, librarians, and instructors around open pedagogy and open educational practices. Previously, she was the Open Education Librarian for University Libraries at Penn State University where she coordinated affordable content initiatives across all Penn State campuses.
Heather Caprette (2021-2024)
Cleveland State University
Heather is a Senior Media Developer/Instructional Designer in the Center for eLearning at Cleveland State University. She works with faculty to build high quality online courses and helps with Textbook Affordability Grant projects. She designs and teaches professional development courses on accessible online design, Pressbooks and open pedagogy. Heather holds a Master of Fine Arts in Design.
Angelique Carson (2022-2024)
WRLC
Angelique Carson is the Shared Collections Librarian at the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) and currently serves as co-chair of the WRLC’s Textbook Affordability Working Group (TAWG). Angelique has held Librarian posts at Southern University of New Orleans, the Southern Food and Beverage Culinary Library and Archive, the Catholic University of America and Howard University.
Melissa Chim (2023-2025)
Excelsior University
Melissa Chim is the first Scholarly Communications Librarian at Excelsior University where she manages the university’s scholarly publishing platform and institutional repository. She was a SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellow for their 2022-23 cohort. She is currently a part of OEN’s Ketida and Open Textbook Planner pilot program. She holds an MLIS from St. John’s University and an MA in History from Queen Mary, the University of London.
Micah Gjeltema (2023-2025)
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Micah Gjeltema is the Open Education & Affordable Content Librarian at the University of Minnesota. He promotes open educational practices and manages the Partnership for Affordable Learning Materials (PALM), an OER textbook incentive program.
Cindy Gruwell (2023-2025)
University of West Florida
Cindy Gruwell is an Associate Librarian and Coordinator of Scholarly Research at the University of West Florida. As the liaison for the College of Health she is responsible for instruction and collection development among other activities. In her role as coordinator she focuses on building OER resourced courses across the campus utilizing informative workshops and providing support for the Pressbooks authoring system.
Jessica McClean (2023-2025)
University of Texas at Arlington Libraries
Jessica McClean is the Director of Open Educational Resources at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries where she supports faculty in adopting and creating open educational resources and helps advance university initiatives related to affordability and open education. In this role, Jessica administers the UTA CARES Grant program, which provides financial support for faculty pursuing OER projects, and manages OER publishing on Pressbooks through Mavs Open Press.
Kelly Smith (2023-2025)
Eastern Kentucky University Libraries
Kelly is the Director of Collections and Discovery at Eastern Kentucky University Libraries, and oversees EKU Libraries’ open publishing efforts, among other responsibilities. She received her MSLIS from Simmons College. Areas of interest in her library practice include: Open Educational Practices; Strengths Based Leadership; Assessment; and Library Collection Management.
Certificate in Open Education Librarianship Instructors
Our instructors for the Certificate in Open Education Librarianship are experienced open education leaders who offer you a supportive learning experience.
Cheryl Casey
University of Arizona
Cheryl is the Open Education Librarian at the University of Arizona Libraries in Tucson and has been an active member of the Open Education Network since 2015. She coordinates campus OER initiatives and collaborates with a wide range of university partners. She is also a Faculty Senator and involved in library faculty governance.
Gabby Hernandez
University of Texas
Gabby is the Open Education Librarian at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She coordinates the Textbook Affordability Project which supports the advocacy and implementation of open educational practices at UTRGV. With a background as a K-12 educator, she brings a unique perspective and understanding of the importance of equitable access to education. She has also served on various external committees and spoken at conferences to advance OER in Texas and beyond.
Jeanne Hoover
East Carolina University
Jeanne is the Scholarly Communication Librarian at East Carolina University. She leads the Research and Scholarly Communication team in supporting faculty and student scholarly communication needs on campus. She is also active in state-wide OER and textbook affordability initiatives through the University of North Carolina System and NC LIVE’s Open Education North Carolina. Jeanne was a 2018-2019 SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellow.
Bryan McGeary
Penn State University
Bryan is the Learning Design and Open Education Engagement Librarian at Penn State University. He is a 2020-2021 SPARC Open Education Leadership Fellow, a facilitator for the Rebus Textbook Success Program, a graduate of the inaugural cohort of the Open Education Network’s Certificate in OER Librarianship, and co-editor of the peer-reviewed open access journal Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice. He is also co-creator of the Open Pedagogy Project Roadmap.
Lily Todorinova
Rutgers University
Lily is the Undergraduate Experience Librarian/Open Educational Research at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. Lily has been involved with open education since 2015, as a participant in the Open Education Network Institute and as a participant in the first OER Librarianship Certificate Program. Lily’s interests include open pedagogy, open research, and student/faculty outreach.
Nicole Williams
City University of New York
Nicole is the Electronic Resources Librarian and an Assistant Professor at the City University of New York’s School of Medicine. She holds an MLIS from Rutgers University and a MALS with a concentration in Africana Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center. Nicole is an advocate of equitable, inclusive, and student-centered learning experiences, particularly those achieved through the use of open pedagogy and open educational resources.
Michael Whitchurch
Brigham Young University
Michael is the Open and Media Learning Librarian at Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library. He currently leads the OER efforts at BYU in part by chairing the BYU Affordable Course Materials Working Group and the Library Scholarly Communications Committee. He also provides strategic guidance to the software training, media production, and makerspace units of the library.
Di Zhang
Renton Technical College
Di ("Day") Zhang is the Instruction and OER Librarian at Renton Technical College. He received his MLIS from the University of Washington in 2012 and has worked in various library roles—public as well as academic—since 2008. Di received a Certificate in OER Librarianship from the Open Education Network in 2022, and the experience was extremely helpful to his role as OER Librarian. In his spare time, Di enjoys practicing martial arts and gardening with his wife and two kids.
Certificate in Open Educational Practices Instructors
Our instructors for the Certificate in Open Educational Practices are experienced open education leaders who offer you a supportive learning experience.
Will Cross
North Carolina State University
Will is the Director of the Open Knowledge Center & Head of Information Policy at NC State University. Trained as a lawyer and librarian, he guides policy, speaks, and writes on copyright literacy and open knowledge. As a course designer and presenter Will has developed training materials and workshops across the US and for international audiences from Ontario to Abu Dhabi. He is currently conducting research on international copyright literacy practices as a Fulbright Schuman Scholar.
Abbey Elder
Iowa State University
Abbey is the Open Access & Scholarly Communication Librarian for Iowa State University, where she has managed campus initiatives for open access and open education since 2017. In addition to her institutional work, Abbey serves as the Statewide Open Education Coordinator for the Board of Regents on the Iowa Open Education Action Team (Iowa OER), where she collaborates with institutional leads to develop and assess programs that support open education across the state of Iowa.
Tanya Grosz
Open Education Network
Tanya is the Director of Educational Programs for the Open Education Network (OEN). She began her career as a high school English teacher before transitioning to college-level teaching and administration and completing her Ph.D. in Education and Online Teaching and Learning. In her previous role as dean at the University of Northwestern - St. Paul, she spearheaded an open education initiative which led to creation of the first Z degree in the state of Minnesota.
Lindsey Gwozdz
Roger Williams University
Lindsey is an Associate Professor and the Scholarly Communications Librarian at Roger Williams University, where she has been leading OER adoption, revision, and creation since 2016. She co-chairs the Rhode Island Open Textbook Initiative Steering Committee and is a fellow for Open Education at the New England Board of Higher Education. She researches the intersections of open education, information literacy, and U.S. copyright law.
Heather Miceli
Roger Williams University
Heather is a Lecturer at Roger Williams University where she teaches general education courses. Before this, she was an adjunct faculty member for 13 years at several institutions, both on-the-ground and online. She is very interested in the impacts Open Education Practices/Open Pedagogy have on student achievement and how those practices impact student confidence and anxiety in science courses. She also serves on the New England Board of Higher Education OER Advisory Committee.