Meet the Founder
Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn, Foundry College President and CEO
Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn is the President and CEO of Foundry College. He led a team of instructional designers in building the Foundry curriculum, and designing the teaching techniques, based on his decades of work in learning science. Most recently, Dr. Kosslyn served as the Founding Dean and Chief Academic Officer of the Minerva Schools at the Keck Graduate Institute. He was previously the director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Prior to that, he was chair of the Department of Psychology, Dean of Social Science, and the John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in Memory of William James at Harvard University. He received a B.A. from UCLA and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, both in psychology.
Instructional Designers
Our instructional designers collaborated with Dr. Kosslyn to develop the Foundry College curriculum, including specifying key competencies to be taught and developing detailed lesson plans for each session.
Dr. Tracey Leacock
Dr. Tracey Leacock is the instructional designer for Learning for Life.
Tracy Leacock
Dr. Tracey Leacock is the instructional designer for Learning for Life. She earned her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Princeton University and is a certified Project Management Professional. She has overseen the development of online training for one of the largest emergency medical services providers in North America and served as Associate Dean, Academic Projects at a start-up university in British Columbia, where she was responsible for mentoring faculty in best practices in instructional design for online and hybrid learning. She has held faculty positions in interactive arts & technology and in education and enjoys teaching Renaissance and Medieval swordplay in her spare time.
Dr. Ted Kirkpatrick
Dr. Ted Kirkpatrick is the instructional designer for Working With Others.
Ted Kirkpatrick
Dr. Ted Kirkpatrick is the instructional designer for Working With Others. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in computer science with an emphasis on human-computer interaction. He has designed courses in cloud computing, usability, and technical writing, and has co-designed cross-disciplinary semesters in dialogue and innovation.
Dr. Louise Vigeant
Dr. Louise Vigeant is the instructional designer for Critical Analyses.
Louise Vigeant
Dr. Louise Vigeant is the instructional designer for Critical Analyses. She received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Cornell University, specializing in linguistics, logic, and language. With over ten years of experience in higher education, she has taught and designed courses online and in the classroom, for universities in the Netherlands and the United States, on topics ranging from applied ethics, to human rights, to critical thinking.
Dr. Beth Callaghan
Dr. Beth Callaghan is the instructional designer for Clear Communications.
Beth Callaghan
Dr. Beth Callaghan is the instructional designer for Clear Communications. She received her B.A. in English and World Literature from UCLA, her M.A. in English from UC Irvine, and her Ph.D. in English and Gender Studies from the University of Southern California. She has taught in high school and college classrooms in southern California and was previously an Assistant Professor and course designer at The Minerva Schools at KGI. She is passionate about creating curriculum that gives students real-world skills and connects concretely to their life experiences.
Dr. Sarah Hillenbrand
Dr. Sarah Hillenbrand is the instructional designer for Practical Problem Solving.
Sarah Hillenbrand
Dr. Sarah Hillenbrand is the instructional designer for Practical Problem Solving. She completed her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley in 2015. Since then, she has been teaching courses in science and science communication at Stanford University.
Dr. Jess Karanian
Dr. Jessica M. Karanian is the instructional designer for Thinking with Software.
Jessica M. Karanian
Dr. Jessica M. Karanian is the instructional designer for Thinking with Software. She received her Ph.D. from Boston College in cognitive neuroscience with a specific focus on human memory. She has designed and taught a variety of college courses including statistics, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and sensation and perception. Of direct relevance to this course, she brings experience using activity-based learning to introduce students to statistical software packages.
Opportunities for Faculty
Foundry College is actively seeking talented, innovative faculty to help us grow. If you hold a Ph.D. and have experience teaching critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, learning techniques, or collaboration skills, and would like to teach a diverse body of motivated students via our proprietary technology, we would love to hear from you.
Business Leadership Team
The business leadership team manages admissions, operations, partnerships, technology, marketing and communications, and other administrative responsibilities at Foundry College.
Anne Kauth
Anne Kauth leads partnerships at Foundry College.
Anne Kauth
Anne Kauth leads industry partnerships at Foundry College. Anne has spent her career working to close the skills gap in roles across education and gender policy, academia, and technology. Most recently, Anne was the founding member of the Minerva Project/Minerva Schools at KGI Professional Development Agency. She previously served as Director of U.S. Partnerships at Fullbridge, a learning technology company. Anne has worked for the Women in Public Service Project—an initiative of the U.S. Department of State, the White House National Economic Council, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and several state and national political campaigns. A Fulbright grantee and native Minnesotan, Anne is completing her M.B.A. at the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College.
Meredyth Lacy
Meredyth Lacy leads operations at Foundry College.
Meredyth Lacy
Meredyth Lacy leads operations at Foundry College. Prior to Foundry, Meredyth worked in a variety of roles spanning the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors. Meredyth most recently worked in strategy and operations for several LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn Talent Solutions sales development teams in North and South America. Previously, Meredyth served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Napolitano at the University of California system. Prior to UC, Meredyth worked for several years in consulting at Bain & Company and the Bridgespan Group. Meredyth graduated from Pomona College with a BA in Economics and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Melanie Vuynovich
Melanie Vuynovich leads marketing and communications at Foundry College.
Melanie Vuynovich
Melanie Vuynovich leads marketing and communications at Foundry College. Most recently, Melanie ran her own communication firm in San Francisco, providing strategic marketing, branding, and messaging guidance to a variety of education, technology, non-profit, and enterprise businesses. Previously, she was a core member of the founding team at the Minerva Project/Minerva Schools at KGI. Before that, she managed communications at Intrax, a cross-cultural exchange company. She has significant public relations experience in a number of industries including education, consumer and B2B technology, lifestyle, travel, food, and the arts. Melanie holds a B.A. in Journalism and Spanish from Indiana University.