Our Presenters

Northwest Network 2009, Our Presenters…. Dr. Jerian Abel provides direction to the distance learning projects in the Volunteer Leadership Center at NWREL. Her responsibilities include researching and implementing effective practices in the design and delivery of distance learning and support approaches and supporting the development of various online learning initiatives. Jerian has extensive experience designing, implementing and facilitating professional development opportunities in a variety of settings including K-12. Prior to joining NWREL, she was the program director for a national direct AmeriCorps program in the Pacific Northwest. Jerian holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on technologybased instructional design. As Idealist.org's Director of Volunteerism Initiatives, Erin Barnhart develops and delivers tools, trainings, and resources for volunteers and volunteer resource managers worldwide in order to support meaningful, effective engagement. She serves on both the founding board of the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement and the Oregon Committee on Volunteerism, co-hosts the Volunteers and Technology forum on TechSoup.org, and chairs the National Organizations' Volunteer Network as well as the Effective Practices Workgroup of the Brookings Institution's Initiative on International Volunteering and Service. Erin also coordinates Idealist.org Global Volunteering Fairs and developed and manages Idealist's online Volunteer Management Resource Center and International Volunteerism Resource Center. Kari Chisholm, Kari Chisholm, president of Mandate Media, is an experienced campaign staffer, media strategist, political consultant, and interactive web developer. Prior to catching the Internet bug, Kari Chisholm worked as a political consultant and campaign manager at the local, state, and federal level. Notably, he was on the staff of Darlene Hooley’s Congressional campaign in 1996 and managed David Bragdon’s campaign for the Metro Council in 1998. In addition, Kari was the volunteer board chair of X-PAC, a 1000-member nonpartisan 501(c)3 that motivated young people to get involved in politics in Oregon. During his time as the creative director for new media at Lewis & Clark College, Kari was a national leader in internet strategy for higher education marketing communications. Kari graduated from the University of Southern California in 1995. Kevin D. Jones focuses on learning using social media. He has been in the learning industry for over 10 years leading company wide learning & training initiatives. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon in Business Management and is nearing completion of his Master’s degree in Instructional and Performance Technologies from Boise State University. He runs the "Social Learning Question of the Day" (@slqotd) on Twitter and co-hosts a weekly podcast. He is the director of the Social Learning Special Interest Group for the local chapter of the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD). His blog and more information can be found at EngagedLearning.net.

A former AmeriCorps member who served two years in the early days of the program, Richard Melo now works with Northwest Lab and supports national service through the development of learning materials and online distribution. He is also on the team that coordinates the Northwest National Service Symposium, an event that draws heavily on reflection activities for AmeriCorps members. A published novelist, Richard writes fiction and book reviews in his spare time.

Northwest Network 2009, Our Presenters, Continued…. Angela Nicholas is an instructional designer for the Volunteer Leadership Center at NWREL. Angela's expertise includes instructional design, multimedia development, and adult learning. She is involved in the development of interactive tutorials and provides leadership and guidance regarding interactivity, graphics, navigation, course consistency, testing and tracking, and end user features. She completed her Master's degree in instructional design and technology in 2006. Prior to NWREL, Angela led a multimedia development team producing highly interactive elearning courseware for the U.S. Army. She also has several years' experience creating instructional computing projects for organizations such as Kansas City Public Television. Amy Potthast is Director of Service & Graduate Education Programs at Idealist.org. She teaches people about national service as an entry point to social-impact careers, and about graduate school options. She blogs at The New Service (www.idealist.org/thenewservice), the Idealist homepage blog (www.idealist.org), tweets (http://twitter.com/amypotthast) and hosts the Idealist Careers Podcast show (www.idealist.org/podcast). She’s also the author of the forthcoming book, The Service Corps Companion to the Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers. She’s an alum of Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and AmeriCorps*VISTA. You can email her at [email protected]. Erich Stiefvater is a program advisor for the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. He develops and delivers face-to-face and online training for national service programs on the topics of education, youth development, and member recruitment and support. He is a former AmeriCorps VISTA member and recruiter for the Corporation for National and Community Service, with additional professional experience in training and education consulting. He has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the University of Portland and a Master’s degree in educational technology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.