2025 Innovations in Designing Learning Experiences Presenters

PRESENTERS:

Erin Benson, Director of the Disability Resource Center, University of Georgia
As the Director of the Disability Resource Center, Erin leads the university’s commitment to educate and serve students with disabilities, ensuring equal educational opportunities as required by the ADA and other legislation. The Disability Resource Center works with students to determine appropriate academic accommodations and houses the Test Accommodations Office for onsite classroom testing and Alternative Media Services, which converts required printed material into accessible formats for students with reading disabilities.  Erin has two degrees from the University of Georgia, a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a Master of Public Administration and Policy. She spent most of her undergraduate years at UGA as a student disc jockey for the WUOG 90.5 radio station. Erin initially joined the staff of the Disability Resource Center in 2015 as a senior disability services coordinator and has served as director since 2018. Previously, she served more than nine years in Student Affairs at the University of North Georgia 

Margaret Christ, Director - J. M. Tull School of Accounting and J. M. Tull Chair in Accounting, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia
Margaret H. Christ, PH.D, CIA is the Director of the J. M. Tull School of Accounting and holds the J. M. Tull Chair in Accounting in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses broadly on management control systems, including the effects of control systems and incentive compensation on employee behavior, the implementation of control systems in inter-organizational collaborations, and internal audit practices. She has earned several research awards from the American Accounting Association, including the Deloitte Wildman Medal, Accounting Horizons Best Paper award, and outstanding paper awards from the Management Accounting Section, Information Systems Section, and the ABO Section. Her research is published in peer-reviewed journals such as The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Accounting Horizons, and The Journal of Management Accounting Research. Margaret currently serves as an editor forAccounting Horizons and has previously served as an editor for  The Accounting Review and the Journal of Management Accounting Research. She serves on the editorial boards of Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, Behavioral Research in Accounting, and Management Accounting Research. Dr. Christ teaches accounting analytics and has developed a case-based curriculum that focusing on the use of emerging technology across all accounting domains. In conjunction with the EY Academic Resource Center, Margaret has developed an extensive portfolio of teaching cases focused on the analytics and innovation mindsets, which won the  2020 Innovation in Accounting Education Award from the AAA.

Nicole M. Coomber, Clinical Professor of Management & Organization and Assistant Dean of Experiential Learning, Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park 
Nicole M. Coomber, Ph.D. is a clinical professor of Management & Organization at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. She teaches management, leadership, and consulting for undergraduate, masters, and MBA students. Dr. Coomber also serves as the school’s Assistant Dean for Experiential Learning, building partnerships for the Smith School with corporations, alumni, and other organizations.  Dr. Coomber is the author of Management: An Interactive Approach, a principles of management textbook from Pearson Higher Education. Dr. Coomber has been recognized for her teaching, service, and commitment to diversity & inclusion, receiving the Bradford Spirit of Excellence Award in 2024, the Allen J. Krowe Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2023, and the People & Culture Professor Champion and Mentor Professor of the Year awards from the full-time MBA students in 2024.

Lauren Cunningham, Keith Stanga Professor of Accounting, Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Dr. Lauren Cunningham is the Keith Stanga Professor of Accounting at Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also serves as the Director of Research for the C. Warren Neel Corporate Governance Center. Dr. Cunningham teaches at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels, and has delivered courses in in-person, online, and hybrid formats. She frequently incorporates a flipped classroom approach to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Her research focuses on auditing, corporate governance, and regulatory oversight, employing both archival and qualitative methods. 

Kristina Demek, Ph.D., CFE, Assistant Professor, Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy, University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business
Dr. Kristina Demek is an Assistant Professor at the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy in the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business. Her research interests include the role of accounting information and control systems in the judgments and decisions of investors and managers. She has published in AUDITING: A Journal of Practice and Theory, the International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, and Accounting and the Public Interest. She teaches undergraduate auditing and graduate IT auditing and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Forensic Accounting Research.  Dr. Demek was previously an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida where she served as a faculty advisor to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Student Chapter. Dr. Demek earned her Ph.D. at the University of Washington where she created and taught an undergraduate course in Fraud Examination and a master’s course on current topics in auditing. Dr. Demek also started a modified version of the Justice for Fraud Victims Project where she led teams of students in investigating two separate embezzlement cases.  Prior to academia, Dr. Demek held several positions in auditing, fraud investigations, management, and law enforcement. She holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and industrial management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Thomas V Edwards, Jr, DPS, Chair, Department of Engineering, Technology, and Management, College of Engineering, 
Temple University
Tom Edwards pursues organizational innovation from the three perspectives of research, practical application, and teaching.  Tom began his career as an engineer working on rocket motor and spacecraft projects. His many years of practical experience include driving innovation from the top management team of a NYSE-listed company and as an independent consultant.  This practical experience is augmented by doctoral research into what makes organizations innovative.   Tom has served as an executive with profit and loss responsibility for a strategic business unit of a NYSE listed manufacturing firm focused on water and air pollution control products.  Tom then accepted the challenge of building a culture of innovation at the company, an effort that resulted in significant new products that made significant contributions to the performance of the businesses. Tom’s current challenge is building a graduate program in leadership for the college of engineering at Temple University in Philadelphia.  Tom began to apply management principles to the leadership of neurodiverse employees in 2015. The complete lack of research into this question led Tom to develop a workshop for industry practitioners that began to build a body of practical knowledge. Tom has spoken on this topic at numerous organizations including SAP Inc., the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP), the National Agricultural Library, and the 2021 Villanova University TEDx conference. Additionally, Tom has made sure that the graduates of the Engineering Management program at Temple University are equipped to step up this challenge in the workplace. Several of these graduates have become involved in the autism-at-work programs at their organizations.

Stacy Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, University of North Alabama
Dr. Stacy C. Lee, Ed. D, LICSW-S, PIP., is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Alabama (UNA).  She began teaching at UNA as an adjunct-faculty member in 2009 and, previously, worked as the Coordinator in Disability Support Services at UNA from 2015-2022. She currently teaches full time at the University of North Alabama in the Bachelor’s Level Curriculum, as well as, Master’s Level Curriculum.  Dr. Lee’s practice experience includes Child & Adult Welfare and Protective Services, Public Health Services, and Disability Support Services in Higher Education. She has worked in clinical social work, case management, and administration. She has extensive knowledge and work in Higher Education in the field of Disability Support Services.  Dr. Lee’s research has included the disability request process in higher education and housing and residence life’s experiences when working with students with disabilities.  She has various areas of interest and research including: Disability Inclusion in Diversity; Gerontology; Social Work Leadership and Supervision; and Self-Care Practices from the classroom to professional practice settings.  Her previous research of disability services in higher education has been published in the Journal of Higher Education and Disability.    

Peg Monaghan - Associate Director, CAN (Center for Autism and Neurodiversity), Drexel University
Peg Monaghan is the Associate Director and Employment Advisor for the Drexel University Center for Autism and Neurodiversity. Her focus is on supporting students as they pursue their interests, skills and talents to find, get and keep meaningful co-ops as students and career roles as graduates and alumni. In her role as job coach for those who have found meaningful employment, she supports employees as they find success in their roles and plan their job development for the future.  Before joining CAN Peg was the Program Consultant for the SAP Autism at Work Program. She has participated with the program since its inception in 2014 as a buddy and mentor. She co-developed and facilitated the Enterprise Readiness Academy to help candidates continue to develop their teamwork, communication and collaboration skills. Peg is a founding member of the Neurodiversity Employment Network - Philadelphia whose mission is to connect job seekers, employers, educators, and service providers to enable neurodivergent individuals gain meaningful employment.  Peg has had many years of IT experience working before moving on to her full-time work in neurodiverse employment. Peg has a BA and MBA in Computer Science and Information Technology from LaSalle University and MS in Virtual Team Management from Brandeis University. She has 8 years of experience as an Adjunct faculty member teaching Computer Science.

Sam Norton - Staff / Assistant in the Advisory Services, LLP
Sam Norton is a Staff / Assistant in the Advisory Services practice of Ernst & Young LLP. She is based in the Atlanta office. Prior to joining EY, she had experience in providing (Software as a Service) SaaS process analyst and internal transformation consulting services to a large educational institution as well as performing Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) testing and internal audit services in the transportation industry. Sam strives to authentically gather new skills and experiences in familiar and new experiences.


Brennan Pancer, Early Careers Talent Attraction Recruiter, EY
Brennan Pancer is an EY Early Careers Talent Attraction Recruiter based in Atlanta, Georgia. Having served universities throughout the Southeast during her career, she specializes in identifying and engaging top talent from a variety of backgrounds. With a passion for fostering individualized connections and promoting agile career opportunities, Brennan currently leads EY’s recruiting efforts for the state of Georgia. Committed to enhancing the candidate experience, she strives to create an inclusive and supportive environment for all applicants.

JP Price, Assistant Director, EY
Jennifer Price goes by “JP.” With an undergraduate degree in Social Work and over 20 years of corporate and consulting experience; she is a career counselor to engineers and data analysts as EY Chicago's Neurodiversity location leader. JP is a Disability Lead fellow and mentor to Chicagoans. She is also neuro-distinct. JP celebrates her strengths and enjoys working with mentees and counselees to help them identify their “thrive stride” at work.

Melissa Rapp, Associate Dean, Admissions, Goizueta Business School, Emory University
Melissa Rapp joined Goizueta in May 2019 as the Associate Dean of MBA Admissions. In this role, Melissa leads the team responsible for the recruitment, evaluation and matriculation of students across the portfolio of MBA programs. A longtime high education professional, Melissa has worked at both small and large institutions helping to form and implement admissions strategies. Most recently, she was Director of Admissions for Full Time MBA and MSMS programs at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She holds an undergraduate degree from The University of Kansas and a masters from Baker University.

Luke Scanlon, Principal Talent Advisor, Oracle
For the past 20 years, Luke Scanlon has worked in the Human Resources and Talent Acquisition space across the Healthcare, Consulting, and Technology industries. Throughout his career, Luke has specialized in building and managing comprehensive talent acquisition strategies, forecasting hiring needs, and developing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives that drive meaningful organizational impact. He is also deeply committed to university relations and early career recruitment, partnering with colleges and universities nationwide to cultivate strong, diverse talent pipelines for the future workforce.


Beau Seagraves, Associate Vice President for Student Well-being within the Division of Students Affairs, University of Georgia
In addition to leading the campus-wide Well-being Resources initiative, as associate vice president, Beau directly supervises four departments, including the University Health Center, Student Care and Outreach, Recreational Sports, and Accessibility and Testing.  He serves on the university’s Behavioral Assessment and Response Council (BARC) and has an adjunct faculty appointment in the Mary Frances Early College of Education.  He previously worked in the residence life departments of Furman University and Presbyterian College before coming to UGA as a doctoral intern in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Since then, he has served the university in a number of roles, including assistant dean for Student Support Services, associate director for Student Conduct, assistant dean of students, and associate dean of students and director of Student Care and Outreach.  Beau is an alumnus of the University of Georgia, where he earned his Doctor of Philosophy in counseling and student personnel services. He also holds a Master of Education in counselor education from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from Furman University.

Megan Simmons, Assistant Director of Disability Support Services, University of North Alabama
Mrs. Megan Simmons is a Licensed Master of Social Work and the Assistant Director of Disability Support Services at the University of North Alabama (UNA).  She also is an adjunct-faculty member in the Department of Social Work at UNA teaching in the Master’s Level Curriculum.  Mrs. Simmons practice experience has been centered around assisting individuals with disabilities with an emphasis on community mental health services and alternative recreation experiences. As a member of the Disability Support Services office, Mrs. Simmons meets with students on a daily basis and oversees student support programming, such as Peer Mentoring, Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society, and Group Learning. She also creates and provides educational and professional development workshops related to students with disabilities to University faculty and staff. 

Carrie Snyder, Assistant Dean of Students, Temple University
Dr. Carrie Snyder (she/her) joined Temple in May 2022 as the Director of Disability Resources and Services. Currently, as Assistant Dean of Students, her portfolio includes Disability Resources and Services and the CARE Team. Prior to coming to Temple, Carrie worked at the University at Albany in New York for eight years, where she served first as the Assistant Director, then the Assistant Dean of Disability Access and Inclusion Student Services. Identifying as a disabled woman, Carrie can relate to students seeking accommodations in higher education, as she utilized the services of disability offices throughout her academic career.  Carrie earned her Doctorate in Social Work from Millersville University in Pennsylvania in May of 2022. She channeled her passion for disability and DEI into her research which focused on the inclusion of disability in diversity training.  She is also a two-time alumna of the University at Albany, where she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Social Welfare.