Dr. Deborah Adair is the Executive Director of Quality Matters, an international non-profit organization providing a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning. Utilized by over 1500 institutions across education sectors in more than 30 countries. QM’s tools and training support education professionals in improving digital education and meeting QM’s nationally-recognized standards. Dr. Adair serves on the Board of Directors for the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and has served on advisory bodies for the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies, the National University Technology Network, the Presidents Forum, and Credential Engine.

Paul Stacey is a global open education leader and strategist who is known for visionary big picture thinking, innovation, and culture of care approaches to organization and community building. His work spans the world with extensive experience initiating and supporting open education efforts in North America, Europe, Latin America, the MENA region, Africa and Asia. Paul works with grassroots practitioners, government officials, and senior level administrative decision makers helping them realize the benefits of open education and implement successful programs.

Paul's career spans work in government, corporates, nonprofits, startups and learning organizations. He has led the provision of education and training programs for air traffic control systems around the world, taught autistic children, been an adjunct faculty for online learning graduate degree programs, worked at Creative Commons, helped create BCcampus and a new university from scratch - the Technical University of British Columbia (now Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus).

Paul has been a founding pioneer in open education. Starting in 2003 Paul led an Open Education Resources development program at BCcampus for nine years (2003-2012) providing $1 million a year in grants to British Columbia’s universities and colleges to create for credit courses and degrees with open shareable resources. From BCampus Paul went to work for Creative Commons where for five years he helped organizations and creators around the world adopt open licensing practices. At Creative Commons Paul led support for the $1.9 billion Open Educational Resources Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program of the US Department of Labor. He also was the lead developer of the Creative Commons Certificate program. While at Creative Commons Paul, and his colleague Sarah Hinchliff Pearson, raised funds through Kickstarter and co-wrote a book on open business models called Made With Creative Commons.

From Creative Commons Paul transitioned to Open Education Global (OEGlobal) where he has been the Executive Director since 2018. Open Education Global is the leading members based organization focused on advancing open education around the world through a wide range of activities including Open Education Week, Open Education Awards for Excellence, and the OEGlobal annual conference. OEGlobal's strategic plan maps out the key stewardship role OEGlobal has.

Paul has four different degrees including a B.Sc in Biology, a B.A. in Psychology, a B.Ed in Education and a graduate degree in Adult Learning and Global Change.

Professor Asha Singh Kanwar, one of the world’s leading advocates of learning for sustainable development, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning. Throughout a career spanning over 35 years, she has made outstanding contributions in the areas of teaching, research and international development.
Professor Kanwar received her undergraduate, Master's and MPhil degrees from the Panjab University in India and a DPhil from the University of Sussex, UK. Her areas of expertise include open distance and technology-enabled learning, open educational resources, quality assurance, gender and organizational development. Professor Kanwar has written and edited a dozen books, published over 100 papers and articles, and delivered numerous keynotes at prestigious international conferences. Prior to joining COL, Professor Kanwar was a senior consultant in open and distance learning at UNESCO's Regional Office for Education in Africa (BREDA). She has also served as Director, School of Humanities and as Pro-Vice Chancellor at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi, India. She was a Fulbright Fellow for post-doctoral research at Iowa State University in the US, where she was later invited to teach. Currently, she serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies and Education (IITE).
Professor Kanwar won several international awards, including the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) Prize of Excellence, and the Meritorious Service Award for outstanding contributions in open and distance education from the Asian Association of Open Universities. She has been conferred eight honorary doctorates from Universities in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.

Borhene Chakroun is an engineer and has a PhD in Education Sciences from Bourgogne University in France. Borhene worked, during the 1990s, as trainer, chief trainer, project manager. He has also worked as short-term consultant for the EU, World Bank and other international organisations before coming to the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2001. At the ETF, Borhene worked as Senior Human Capital Development specialist. He is now Director of Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems Division at UNESCO-HQ. Borhene conducted a range of policy reviews and skills systems diagnosis in different contexts. He has authored and co-authored various articles and books in the field of skills development and lifelong learning. Much of his most recent work focuses on global trends in reforming education and training systems and global agenda for skills development in the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. He is also the coordinator of the Global Education Coalition launched by UNESCO to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr Ethel Agnes Pascua- Valenzuela is the director of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat, which serves as the executive arm of the SEAMEO Council of Ministers from 11 member countries that make up SEAMEO.

Dr Ethel Agnes P Valenzuela is the 18th SEAMEO Secretariat Director and the first woman director of the SEAMEO Secretariat. She has served a SEAMEO for over 15 years, 10 years as Director of International Affairs and Student Services at the Commission on Higher Education and teaching in universities since 2000. She was a UNESCO Commissioner in Education at the National Commission of UNESCO in the Philippines.

Dr Valenzuela is presently a Governing Board Member of UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and a member of the Global Alliance for Literacy. She is also a Technical Advisory Panel for the new Intl Standard Classification of Teacher Training Programmes (ISCED-T). She represents Regional Organizations in Asia and the Pacific in the UNESCO SDG Steering Committee and a co-chair of UNESCO INTL Teacher Task Force in Distance Learning and ICT. She is a Technical Panel of Expert of the Commission on Higher Education in the Philippines for Distance Education and Transnational Education.

Prof. Maria Amata Garito is the President and Rector of the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO. She is also Professor Emeritus of Psychotechnologies at the Faculty of Psychology of the same university. She is also a researcher, whereas her work mainly focused on the following three fields:

1. Training Structures and Methodologies; 2. Comparative Education; 3. New Technologies applied to Teaching and Learning Processes. She produced over two hundred publications journals related to the aforementioned research topics. She received many prizes and awards at national and international level for the activity carried out at academic level.

Professor Ebba Ossiannilsson, Sweden, is an independent consultant, advocate, expert, influencer, and quality reviewer in the field of open, flexible online and distance education in the context of SDG4 and the future of education. In her 20+ year career in the field, working in higher education, government, corporate, non-profit, and community settings, she has made exceptional contributions in the areas of teaching, research, innovation, and cultural development at the national and international levels. Her current work focuses primarily on global trends, responses to COVID -19, micro-credentials, the digital transformation of education, leadership, and learner-centred education.
Ossiannilsson has served ICDE in various capacities such as ICDE Board, OER Ambassador and Chair of OER Advocacy Committee, Quality Auditor, Quality Network, Open Praxis, Researcher for the study of quality models and the one on blended learning. She works as a quality reviewer for EADTU and on their development of their benchmarking frameworks. EDEN and EUCEN elected her for two terms. Ossiannilsson works with the European Commission, ISO, ITCILO, ICoBC and with UNESCO OE4BW. Ossiannilsson has received several fellowships, including from EDEN, ICDE, Open Education Europe and SPARK Europe. She is regularly invited as a keynote speaker. Her publications include more than 200. On a national level, she is vice-president of the Swedish Association for Distance Education. She is currently working on behalf of the government at the Swedish Council for Higher Education on the quality of distance education. She was one of the initiators of Meetingplace OER Sweden.
Ossiannilsson received her PhD in technology from University of Oulu, Finland, with a major in Industrial Engineering and Management. She holds two master's degrees: Occupational Therapy and Pedagogy and Didactics of Health Sciences at Lund University, Sweden.

Prof. Joong Ryul Kim is the president of Korea Council for Online Universities and the president of Cyber Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He earned his PhD in Economics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the United States. Since 1988, he has been serving as a professor in the Department of Economics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He has also contributed to academic advancements in the fields of economics and statistics by acting as an expert to the National Statistics Office, a consultant for the Seoul Development Institute, and head of the Social Statistics Research Lab under the Consumers Union of Korea.
As a leader of open education, Prof. Joong Ryul Kim is currently engaging in various efforts to promote open and distance learning.

Ojat DAROJAT is a professor at Faculty of Education Universitas Terbuka (UT) Indonesia who has more than thirty years of experience working for distance teaching university.
Educational background: Bachelor of Commerce Education- Institute for Teacher and Science Education – Indonesia, Graduate diploma in Management 1998 and Master of Business Management 2000 from LaTrobe University - Australia. He earned his Ph.D in Curriculum Theory and Implementation from Simon Fraser University – Canada. His main area of research interest is curriculum and quality assurance system for distance higher education.
Working Experience: He has been assigned as the head of Social Studies Department, Vice Dean in Student Affairs, Head of UT’s Regional Center, Head of UT’s Quality Assurance Centre, and Chairman for the Development of Learning Materials, Examination, and Information System – UT Indonesia. Since 2017 he has been elected as Rector of Universitas Terbuka Indonesia. Currently, he also been elected as the President of Asian Association of Open University (AAOU) and as focal point people for ICDE Quality Network for Asia Region.

Dr. Neil Fassina became Okanagan College's President in April 2021, drawn to the institution for its reputation for transforming lives and communities.

Fassina holds a PhD in Management from the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto, a BSc in Psychology from the University of Calgary and is a chartered professional in human resources (CPHR), and a chartered director through the Institute of Chartered Directors (ICD.D). As an active researcher, he has authored or co-authored a number of refereed articles, a Canadian Human Resource Management text, and pursues research interests in negotiations, applied decision making, and the role of education in shaping societies.

Prior to joining OC, Fassina was the President of Athabasca University (2016-21). He served previously as Provost and Vice President Academic at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and the Dean of the JR Shaw School of Business and School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts. He has taught as part of his academic career at the University of Toronto, the University of Calgary, the University of Manitoba, and in executive environments

Professor Belinda Tynan became ACU’s new Provost in February 2021. Previously from RMIT, where she was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Vice President. She was also a director of RMIT Online and supervised the Academic Portfolio at RMIT Vietnam.

Professor Tynan served as Pro Vice-Chancellor of Learning and Teaching Innovation at The Open University in the UK, Pro Vice-Chancellor Learning, Teaching and Quality at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ).

Professor Tynan is an ACU alumna and holds numerous qualifications, including a doctorate in distance education from the University of Western Australia and a Masters in online learning from USQ. A graduate of the Company Directors Course (GAICD) from the Australian Institute of Company Directors, she is well versed in matters of governance.

An accomplished educator, Professor Tynan has considerable experience in digital innovation, online education, industry-enabled curriculum and technology-enhanced practices. Her professional and research interests are concentrated in the field of education. She has numerous refereed publications and is a frequently invited guest, keynote-speaker, and facilitator.

Professor Tynan’s leadership background reaches across school, vocational and higher education sectors in Australia and abroad. Among other leadership roles, she is the Commonwealth Government’s nominee, Deputy Chair and nonexecutive director of the Commonwealth of Learning, and immediate past President of the International Council of Open and Distance Education. Her passion for inclusive education for all has been a hallmark of her career to date. She was awarded the 2020 Telstra Business Womens Award (State Winner, VIC) in the Public Sector and Academia section and is listed in the AFR Top 100 Women of Influence 2019.

Melissa Layne, Ed.D., Vice President and Board Member, OEGlobal and Founder of International Journal of Open Educational Resources Journal
Dr. Layne has worked in several educational capacities for over twenty years. From a Pre-K teacher and English high school teacher to a university professor, researcher, and OER advocate, she is a self-proclaimed "continual learner and will always be a human-centric person."

Melissa was recently re-appointed to the OEGlobal Board of Directors for a second term, and currently serves as their Vice President. OEGlobal is a non-profit, global, members-based network of open education institutions and organizations and represents its members and provides advocacy and leadership around advancement of open education globally.

During her ten-year tenure at American Public University System Dr. Layne held various positions and had the opportunity to lead projects and initiatives around research, emerging technologies, publishing, and the development of online and self-paced courses. Throughout her entire ten years, she also served as Editor-in-Chief for the Internet Learning Journal, Global Security & Intelligence Studies, and is the Founder of both Space Education & Strategic Applications and the International Journal of Open Educational Resources.

She is also currently a member of several top tier editorial and advisory boards. Her work has been covered in well over fifty peer-reviewed journal publications, book chapters, presentations, and invited keynotes. Her research has been awarded by several distance learning organizations including the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), National University Technology Network (NUTN), and the Distance Learning Administration (DLA).

Dr. Layne earned a master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Curriculum and Instruction. In 2010 she received her Ph.D. in Digital Literacies from Sam Houston State University.

Prof Puleng LenkaBula is a South African (of South Africa and Lesotho descent. She is a trained Feminist Ethicist with a PhD in Social Ethics (2006/7). She has widely published in the intersections of Ethics, Economy, and ecology, especially on thematic areas of Feminist social theory, Ecological, Economic, Justice and Ubuntu. She has also supervised students in these areas. She is the new Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of South Africa since January 2021 and the first woman Vice Chancellor in the 148 years of Unisa existence and the 3rd Vice Chancellor since the advent of South Africa’s democratisation. Prior to this appointment she worked at the University of the Free State as the Deputy Vice Chancellor: Institutional Change, Student Affairs and Engaged Scholarship and at the University of University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg as the Dean of Student Affairs, and member of the Vice Chancellor’s office. She was a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor at UNISA since 1999 to 2010. She was a visiting Professor at the Emmanuel College of the University of Toronto where she worked on the interface of intellectual property rights on life forms and the ethical questions associated. She is a member of the Circle of Concerned African women Theologians and Ethicists, the Council for the Development of Social Sciences Research in Africa, where she also served as a member of the Executive Committee for 7 years. She has served as the Vice President of the SACC in the consolidation of South Africa’s democratisation. LenkaBula continues to partner with scholars in other universities, including but not limited to visiting scholarships in Botswana, Ghana, Vasteras, Sweden, Columbia University Center for African studies, and Emmanuel College of the University of Toronto.