2020 Candidates

Each year, ADEIL members elect representatives to the ADEIL Board of Directors. This year, the following ADEIL members have been nominated for board positions:

President Elect: J. Richard Freese, DMA

Rich Freese has served on the ADEIL board, presented at an ADEIL conference, conducted Webinars and author interviews for ADEIL’s social media channels, and currently chairs the awards committee. He holds a PhD in music composition and is an excellent and caring distance education instructor. He has taught and authored several Independent Learning courses, including Legendary Performers, Music Appreciation and History, and Jazz Styles. More recently, he became involved with Independent Learning program administration and staff professional development. With the onset of COVID, Rich participated in the initial campus instructional response planning committee, and has acted as both Batch Lead for the Music Department and now Uber Batch Lead for faculty for 7 departments in the College of Letters and Science (coordinating remote instruction resources and consulting with faculty on how to transition their face-to-face courses for remote delivery).

Treasurer: Sarah Korpi, Ph.D.

Sarah Korpi has dedicated over a decade to teaching and administration in Independent Learning and distance education. She has experience serving in executive board positions, including as the president of ADEIL and the secretary/treasurer and co-president of the UW-Madison German and Dutch Graduate Student Association. In her administrative work, she has experience advocating for, establishing, and monitoring budgets to ensure that programs operate in a fiscally responsible way.

At Large Board Positions:

Dara Anderson Ed.D.

I have worked in online education for the last 4 years as an instructor at a regional, public institution. In that 4 years, I also completed an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from Texas Tech University. My dissertation focus was on how teaching presence correlates with student satisfaction in online graduate courses. In March 2020, I elected to take a change of pace and took a position in our eLearning Center as a Learning Management System Administrator. While this position has taken me away from teaching students, it has not taken me away from engaging with faculty and students on a daily basis about online education. I have had the opportunity to participate in trainings and attend webinars to strengthen my knowledge of distance education, as we know it in the COVID era. In my new role, I have had the opportunity to be part of New Student Orientation for Angelo State University this past summer in a completely online format. The eLearning Center was an integral part of organizing and facilitating the 12 sessions that were hosted. This experience has given me another lens in which to view the boundless opportunities that the online format can be used for to reach students wherever they are.
Being a part of the ADEIL at large board is an opportunity to continue to network with people in the field of distance education. The two conferences I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at were by far the most engaging learning experiences I have had at a conference. Furthermore, having the fortune to hear Dr. Michael Moore speak in Wisconsin will forever be a highlight of my professional career.

Chad Turley

Chad is a former public school teacher, created and managed two different online high schools in Arizona, served as a regional representative for the iNACOL, is presently completing his doctorate degree in Instructional Psychology & Technology, and works fulltime as the Manager of Educational Services. As the Manager of Educational Services, Chad supervises BYU’s Continuing Education’s Tutoring & TA Services Unit, does the faculty hiring, training, evaluation and managing of 200 high school independent study faculty, and supervises the training and interface with 150 independent study university faculty for CE’s Academic Services Department.

Meg Milligan Ph.D.

My academic background includes Boston University, a transfer to the American University of Beirut, Lebanon (B.A. in sociology/anthropology), and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Auburn University, Alabama (Veterans Administration internship with rotations in PTSD, inpatient psychiatry, geriatrics, and neuropsychology). Youth suicidality, narcissism, and interdisciplinary/international collaboration are current research interests.

My 25 years of post-secondary teaching experience includes adjunct, instructor, assistant, and associate professor ranks at 2-year and 4-year schools, a variety of delivery formats, such as f2f, online (since 1999), live-recorded, teleclass, and blended, and students with a wide range of demographics. I teach on my university’s Alabama campuses as well as in Malaysia, and I develop and lead study abroad programs. In response to Covid-19, I am working on a virtual “study abroad” program I hope to launch in 2021. I am a Quality Matters Certified Master Reviewer and have served as chair, external reviewer, and subject matter expert on many review teams.

My interest in ADEIL started during the AACIS annual conference in 2009, held at Troy University’s Montgomery Campus in Alabama. I presented at that conference, and was smitten by everyone’s dedication, enthusiasm, expertise, collegiality, and shared commitment to fostering the organization’s objectives. Since then, I have presented at many ADEIL conferences, served on the Board of Directors, 2014-2016, and was awarded the 2014 von Pittman Excellence in Research honor and the 2019 College-Level Course Award. I welcome the opportunity to serve in the capacity of At-Large Board Member again, and contribute to ADEIL in any way I can. Thank you for your consideration!

Eric Peloza

I learned the value of education early in life when I witnessed my mother return to school to complete a graduate degree and transition into a career as an educator. I experienced the value myself when I returned to UW-Madison in 2013 to complete an undergraduate degree in Zoology with a certificate in Environmental Studies. Since then I have continued my educational pursuit by completing professional development certificates from UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies (Foundations of Online Learning and Professional Certificate in Online Education) and am currently in the process of completing a Master’s degree in Learning Design and Technology from Purdue University. I was raised in Northeast Wisconsin and outside of my studies, I enjoy walking or hiking through Wisconsin’s many nature preserves, collecting vinyl music, and cooking meals together with my wife.

I have been in my current role as an instructional designer for over three years at UW Extended Campus. I primarily work with faculty from across Wisconsin in the design and development of courses for the new UW Applied Biotechnology program. I have learned a lot of lessons from my involvement in building a program from the ground up. Before then, I helped design and develop courses for the UW Independent Learning program. Both these programs focus on best practices in asynchronous, distance education. In my role as an instructional designer, I value working closely with faculty members through the entire course cycle.

I also enjoy being an active participant and engaging with the distance learning community through presenting at conferences, writing for academic journals, writing articles for newsletters or blog posts, and hosting webinars. Additionally, as a working adult student, I have gained the perspective of the student for whom I am designing courses. It has provided great insights into the student experience and I have used these insights in my work with faculty. I focus on student-centered design.

It is rewarding and fulfilling to know that I work in a field that gives others the ability to better themselves and further their educational pursuits. I have seen the difference such a pursuit has made in my life and find motivation in knowing that I contribute to providing others with the same opportunity.