Meet the Team
Dr. Akiba J. Covitz
Foundry College CEO and President
Dr. Akiba J. Covitz has led business development processes at numerous Ed Tech companies, including serving as founding Vice President for University Relations at edX. Akiba started his career as a tenure-track professor, and his academic career culminated with his appointment as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and a member of the faculty at Harvard Law School. At Harvard, under the leadership of now United States Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, Akiba oversaw the extraordinary expansion and diversification of the HLS faculty, after a long period of stagnant growth. Akiba then served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Relationships at Academic Partnerships, an online program management provider and he recently headed up business development at Minerva Project. Akiba has also served as a senior advisor to such organizations as Entangled Solutions (now part of Guild Education) and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn
Foundry College Founder, President Emeritus, and Chief Academic Officer
Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn is the President Emeritus and Chief Academic Officer 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.
Faculty & Instructional Designers
Our instructional designers collaborate with Dr. Kosslyn to develop the Foundry College curriculum, including specifying key capabilities to be taught and developing detailed lesson plans for each session. Our trained faculty use these lesson plans to instruct each class, incorporating active learning techniques to ensure that students learn the material, put it into immediate practice, and retain it for the future.
Dr. Kacey Warren
Professor and Instructional Designer
Kacey Warren
Dr. Kacey Warren is the Professor for the Practical Problem Solving, Critical Analyses, Learning at Work, and Analyzing and Conveying Information in Business courses; and also serves an instructional designer for the Learning at Work and Analyzing and Conveying Information in Business courses. She received her B.A. in Philosophy and French from CSU Sacramento, and earned her Ph.D. from CU Boulder, where she was also a Doctoral Dissertation Fellow for the James R., Anne M., and R. Jane Emerson Student Support Fund in the Humanities. Kacey had the honor of acting as Subject Matter Expert for the development of Philosophy 12 (Ethics) for CCCOnline and was recently awarded Instructor of Excellence for the Arts and Humanities, 2018. She is a published author specializing in Social and Political Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, and Philosophy of Disability and Bioethics. Kacey’s most recent publication “Using Stimulants to Promote Academic Equality” is an open peer commentary and was published in 2016 in the American Journal of Bioethics.
Dr. Melanie Obitz-Bukartek
Professor
Melanie Obitz-Bukartek
Dr. Melanie Obitz-Bukartek is the Professor for the Clear Communication, Working with Others, Managing Yourself at Work, Practical Problem Solving, and Thinking with Software courses. She earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, her M.Ed in Data-Based Decision Making and Organizational Improvement from Johns Hopkins University, and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her successful teaching record spans nearly two decades, and for the past six years, she has instructed adult learners both online and in-person. In addition to her specialization in adult education, Melanie is an expert in literacy, data-based decision making, and educational leadership. She has received multiple awards for Innovation in Teaching, and was a Kiwanis Club of Annapolis 2017 Teacher of the Year Winner.
Ms. Debra Hunter
Instructor
Debra Hunter
Ms. Debra Hunter is the Instructor for the Project Management Foundations course. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA, earned her M.S. in Management and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, and was also a Sloan Fellow in Public Policy Management and Analysis at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She is an expert in her field with more than 20 years of experience in consulting and information technology, having worked in local government with the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach and for consulting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and Sierra Systems. As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), she regularly teaches and mentors others to contribute to the Project Management and Technology professions. She also serves on the Small Business and Job Creation Advisory Board for the 36th Congressional District of California.
Mr. Reed Shell
Instructor
Reed Shell
Mr. Reed Shell is the Instructor for the Project Management in Practice course. He holds a B.A. in Communication from Boise State University and a M.A. in Organizational Leadership from George Fox University. He is a 30-year Information Technology professional who has worked for Fortune 50 companies, non-profits and small businesses. As a Certified Scrum Master and active Project Management Professional (PMP), he coaches companies in their agile transformations and served as the Executive Vice President of Operations for the Project Management Institute (PMI) Northern Utah Chapter. When he is not managing people, process, projects, or instructing, you will find Reed in his kayak soaking crab pots at his favorite bay on the Oregon Coast or rockhounding with his wife and best friend of 35 years.
Ms. Sandy Dolan
Instructor
Sandy Dolan
Ms. Sandy Dolan is the Instructor for the Salesforce Admin Super Set Foundations and Salesforce Admin Super Set Skills courses. She earned her B.A. in Management Information Systems from Auburn University and is a Certified Salesforce Administrator. She has been involved with the Salesforce ecosystem since 2007 and has extensive experience in training both end users and administrators. She also consults with companies who want assistance with making Salesforce work for them. She spent her early career in the network division of a large telecom company where she worked to bridge the gap between internal customers of reports and the development team who created them. In her free time, Sandy co-leads her daughter’s Girl Scout troop and tries to find ways to beat her husband in board games.
Ms. Jamie Grettum
Instructor
Jamie Grettum
Ms. Jamie Grettum is the Instructor for the Salesforce Admin Super Set Foundations and Salesforce Admin Super Set Skills courses. She earned her B.A. in Social Work from San Jose State University and is a Certified Salesforce Administrator. She specializes in teaching system admins and new users the essential Salesforce skills needed to accomplish daily tasks, and has been training and consulting around Salesforce since 2010. Jamie spent a large portion of her earlier career as a Business Analyst supporting Sales Operations in the corporate training industry. This experience laid the foundation for understanding the unique needs of Sales users and where those needs intersect with Sales technology configuration. Jamie is committed to helping students master the skills needed to be effective Salesforce administrators.
Student Support
Our student support staff serve important roles at Foundry College, overseeing and supporting our students to ensure academic success.
Nick Rothacher
Senior Coach
Nick Rothacher
Nick Rothacher is the Senior Coach, providing direct coaching to our students and is responsible for leading our student coaching program. Nick was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He completed undergraduate degrees in Biology and Spanish and graduate degrees in business and education. After finding success in sales, he transitioned into a student support role at a nonprofit online university, and most recently started and sold his own business. He enjoys working with others to move his organization or team forward and is thrilled to bring his experience and enthusiasm to Foundry College. When he’s not working, he is spending time with his family, planning his next trip, or mountain biking near his home in Phoenix, Arizona.
Susan Chang
Personal Coach
Susan Chang
Susan Chang is the Personal Coach, providing direct coaching to our students. Susan was born in Taipei, Taiwan, spent her early childhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil and now resides in Southern California. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Business, a graduate degree in Counseling Psychology, a Certificate in Human Resources Management and is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and a MBTI Certified Practitioner. She has navigated several career transitions and has over 20 years of combined experience, most recently in higher education, career coaching, and human resources. She is passionate about helping students get the most of their academic experience as well as achieving work/life integration. When she is not working, Susan enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, and traveling.
Business Leadership Team
The business leadership team manages admissions, operations, partnerships, technology, marketing, communications, student experience, and other administrative responsibilities at Foundry College.
Melanie Vuynovich
Chief Student Experience Officer
Melanie Vuynovich
Melanie Vuynovich is the Chief Student Experience Officer, leading student experience and administration 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.
Scott Williams
Chief Technology Officer
Scott Williams
Scott Williams is the Chief Technology Officer at Foundry College. Scott has spent the last 30 years designing and building complex, distributed computer systems. He has worked in a number of industries, including: Education (McGraw-Hill), BioTechnology (Twist Bioscience), Entertainment (Netflix), Computer Software and Services (HP, Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia, Intuit), Banking (Bank of America, BNY Mellon), and Defense (DARPA, Lockheed Martin). Scott has spent an equal amount of his career at small/medium sized startups and large, well known companies. Several of the startups with which he has been associated have gone on to be acquired or IPO on the public markets. Scott graduated Phi Beta Kappa from San Diego State University with a double major in Russian and Computer Science. In his free time, Scott likes to hike in the hills of Marin County, body board, and surf.
Karen Adams
Chief Marketing Officer
Karen Adams is the Chief Marketing Officer at Foundry College. Prior to Foundry, Karen worked in a variety of marketing roles spanning economic development, workforce development, and higher education, providing experiences that encompass a 360° view of business and industry. Karen most recently led marketing and recruitment activities at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Karen is a graduate of Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, where she attended as an adult student while working full-time and raising a family – which she credits for instilling her love of lifelong learning and driving her passion to help others find their way along their educational journey.
Dr. Beth Callaghan
Dean, Foundry College
Beth Callaghan
Dr. Beth Callaghan is the Dean of Foundry College, leading the college’s curriculum development and faculty. 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.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is committed to the vision and mission of Foundry College. The Board consists of nine members, six of which are confirmed at this time.
Rob Hutter
Founder and Managing Partner, Learn Capital
Dr. Stephen Kosslyn
Founder, President Emeritus, and Chief Academic Officer, Foundry College
Greg Mauro
Founder and Managing Partner, Learn Capital
Norman Atkins
Managing Partner, Together Education; Co-Founder and Board Chair, Relay Graduate School of Education
Dr. Akiba J. Covitz
CEO and President, Foundry College
