QM Research Colleagues

Current QM Research Colleagues

• Deborah Anne Banker, Ed.D., Tarleton State University (since 2014)
  

  Deborah Anne Banker is a Full Professor in the Division of Child Development and Family Studies at Tarleton State University. She also serves as the Quality Matters Coordinator for the university. Dr. Banker has engaged in independent research to improve her online courses and is fascinated by discoveries in the research literature regarding student learning, achievement, satisfaction, and retention in online courses. She is published on teacher preparation and training.

• Heather Braatz, MSEd, New England College of Optometry (NECO)
  

  Heather is an instructional designer at the New England College of Optometry (NECO). With a background in fine art, funeral service education, and administrative leadership, Heather brings a unique perspective to her work in instructional design. Passionate about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), AI integration, neuroinclusive design, and creating interactive, accessible learner experiences, Heather’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and engagement drives her to design educational experiences that inspire and empower diverse learners.

• Racheal Brooks, Ph.D., Director of QA Implementation Solutions
  

  Dr. Racheal Brooks, Director of Quality Assurance Implementation Solutions at Quality Matters, is a higher education administrator, educator, and consultant who has dedicated over fifteen years to expanding the possibilities of teaching and learning. She leads QM's consulting initiative and provides targeted, individualized support to institutions committed to enhancing their online quality assurance implementation efforts. As a faculty member, Dr. Brooks facilitates online and blended Spanish and graduate-level research methods courses. Dr. Brooks's research centers on online instruction, learner success, curriculum development, culturally affirming and inclusive design, digital accessibility, program assessment, and online language instruction.

• Steven Crawford, Ed.D., Maricopa County Community College District (since 2022)
  

  Steven Crawford is the District Director for the Maricopa Center for Learning and Innovation at the Maricopa County Community College District. His interests include the use of educational technologies, usage of multimedia, and emerging technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence. He is also interested in approaches to course design to effectively leverage blended, HyFlex, and synchronous online learning environments. In addition, Steven serves on the Quality Matters Academic Advisory Committee.

• Barbara Frey, D.Ed., University of Pittsburgh and Point Park University (since 2022)
  

  Barbara is an Instructional Design Consultant with the University of Pittsburgh and an Assistant Professor with the School of Education at Point Park University. Her background includes over 20 years of teaching experience with the World Campus at Pennsylvania State University and the Global Campus at Colorado State University. In addition, Barbara is an active Quality Matters Facilitator, Master Reviewer, and Researcher. Her research interests include instructional design, online teaching and learning, and digital accessibility. Barbara is co-editor of the book Guide to Digital Accessibility: Policies, Practices, and Professional Development (Quality Matters and Stylus Publishing, 2023) and co-author of the book Distinctive Distance Education Design: Models for Differentiated Instruction (IGI Global Publications, 2011).

• Amy Grincewicz, Ph.D., Kent State University (since 2022; Senior Research Colleague since 2024)
  

  Amy Grincewicz is the Director of Instructional Design for Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Kent State University. Her dissertation from Capella University focused on instructional design strategies to promote deep learning within accelerated online courses across various disciplines and much of her current research focuses on designing quality courses and programs. She is an experienced face-to-face and online instructor with over 15 years of teaching experience. Read more about Amy M. Grincewicz and her work at Kent State.

• Steve Kaufman, University of Akron (since 2024)
  

  Steve has been an instructional designer for 18 years, and is a Senior Instructional Designer and Strategic Initiatives Coordinator at the University of Akron. Currently, he serves as one of the Quality Matters Ohio Consortium’s State Leads and is chair of their executive committee. Steve is also a certified APPQMR Facilitator, Course Review Manager, Master Reviewer, and Chair of the QM Instructional Designers Association. Through his experience, he has been able to help grow online programs by providing insight and guidance into the course development process, and frequently coaches institutions on their QM implementation.

• Rae Mancilla, Ed.D., University of Pittsburgh (since 2022)
  

  Rae Mancilla is the Executive Director of Online Learning at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She brings to bear over a decade of design and project management expertise in developing fully online and blended programs, including large-scale course developments. She is also an active educator and researcher, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on Instructional Technology, and is passionate about faculty development for online learning. Her research interests include the professional development of instructional designers, language learning and technology, digital accessibility, and program evaluation.

• Roxanna Medeiros, Maharishi International University
  

  As VP of Online Education, Roxanna advocates for holistic learner wellness and social justice, leveraging over seven years as a Senior Graduate Instructor in Physiology & Health and 15 years as an Ayurvedic Practitioner. Combining expertise in integrative medicine and leadership, Roxanna is committed to fostering inclusive, high-quality online learning environments. By integrating Quality Matters standards and continuous improvement, Roxanna aims to exceed expectations, enrich student experiences, and drive transformative engagement and success.

• Penny Ralston-Berg, M.S., Pennsylvania State University (since 2020)
  

  Penny Ralston-Berg is currently a Senior Instructional Designer for the Penn State World Campus. She has over 25 years of online learning design experience. Her research interests include student perspectives of quality and how this impacts design practice, the growth of instructional designers from novice to expert, and the use of games and simulations in online instruction. She is a QM AOFC and AAFC facilitator and former chair of the Quality Matters Instructional Designers Association. She is also a Quality Matters Coordinator for Penn State.

• Andria F. Schwegler, Ph.D., Texas A&M University – Central Texas (since 2020)
  

  Andria Schwegler is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Counseling and Psychology Department at Texas A&M University – Central Texas and serves as Chair of the Counseling and Psychology Department and the Program Coordinator for the Master of Science in Applied Psychology. She has 30 years of experience teaching students from pre-kindergarten to graduate school with over 10 years of experience teaching blended and online courses in higher education. Her research interests include norms related to teaching, participation in course enhancement, quality of feedback in course reviews, academic rigor, the application of human learning research to teaching, and online information literacy.

• Kay Shattuck, D.Ed., QM Founding Director for Research, Emerita
  

  Kay Shattuck has worked with adult education for more than 35 years, focusing on online and distance education since 1999. Kay was a member of the initial group of Maryland distance educators who developed what would become Quality Matters and served as QM’s Director of Research through 2019.  She continues now as Founding Director and Senior Advisor for Research by supporting the research team led by Dr. Bethany Simunich, QM’s Director of Research and Innovation. In addition to her work with QM, she is an associate editor of The American Journal of Distance Education.

• Bethany Simunich, Ph.D., QM Vice President of Innovation & Research
  

  Dr. Bethany Simunich is the Vice President of Innovation and Research at Quality Matters (QM), an educational non-profit dedicated to quality online learning at all levels of education. In this role, Dr. Simunich leads efforts to help institutions, faculty, and staff make data-driven, research-based decisions to implement quality assurance best practices and promote online student success. In her 20+ years in higher education, she has held faculty roles for both in-person and online teaching, and also worked in educational technology, instructional design, and faculty development for online learning. As an online learning administrator, she has created and managed instructional design processes and teams, led faculty development for online teaching, and served in leadership and consulting roles for institutional, state, and national efforts for online quality assurance. Dr. Simunich is also co-Director of the CHLOE Project (Changing Landscape of Online Education), which presents the unique perspective of senior leaders in online learning from U.S. higher education institutions, and co-author of High Impact Design for Online Courses (HIDOC), which presents an instructional design model purpose-built for the unique considerations of online learning modalities. 

• Megan VanBuskirk, Germanna Community College
  

  Megan VanBuskirk serves as the Dean of Online Programs and Learning Support at Germanna Community College, a part of the Virginia Community College System. She is currently pursuing an EdD in Entrepreneurial Leadership, focusing on the integration of social justice and systems thinking to address educational inequities. With nearly two decades of experience in curriculum design, instruction, and educational innovation, Megan brings expertise in strategic planning and institutional growth. Her work emphasizes balancing business sustainability with social impact, ensuring that educational initiatives empower learners to become leaders in their careers and communities.