My academic research focuses on engaged learning, high impact pedagogical practices, service-learning & community engagement, teacher preparation and policy, and, most recently, the rise of digital learning technologies and their influence on higher education practices and policies. I am an internationally-recognized scholar in these fields and have been sought out in numerous capacities for my expertise. I have, for example, been interviewed in national and international media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, the BBC and Forbes magazine; served on national task forces for MIT, the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), the US Department of Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Carnegie Corporation; been a keynote speaker at conferences and events at institutions such as Duke University, the University of Toronto, and the Ohio State University, and internationally in Canada, Australia, and the Caribbean; and served as a consultant and/or reviewer for multiple institutions and organizations such as MIT’s Office of Digital Learning, The MacArthur Foundation’s Fellows (“genius Grant”) Program, Repair the World, and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong. My consulting includes individual topic-centered workshops, focused projects, and long-term consultancy. This includes, for example, working with faculty to support “high impact” teaching through one-time workshops or up to year-long initiatives and working with senior administrators through a combination of idea generation, project report development, and strategic planning. Topics include my areas of research (e.g., service-learning; high-impact teaching practices; academic programs in community engagement) as well as my expertise in academic program development (e.g., I have developed and launched over a dozen successful face-to-face and online academic programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in education, educational leadership, higher education, and community engagement). Below is a listing of such speaking and consulting activities, in reverse chronological order (the most recent listed first). 
  • External Reviewer, The MacArthur Fellows Program (“Genius Grants”) of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, 2016-2017
  • External Reviewer, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, 2014-2017
  • External Member, Carnegie Corporation sponsored MIT Online Education Policy Initiative Group, 2014-2016
  • Consultant, MIT’s Office of Digital Learning, 2013-2014
  • Member, Digital Resources Study Group, AAC&U GEMM (General Education Maps & Markers) Initiative, 2013-2015
  • Program Reviewer, Allegheny College – Academic Program in Values, Ethics and Social Action, 2013
  • Consultant, Repair the World, Initiative on Service-Learning Jewish Studies, 2010-2013
  • Member, AAC&U and AASCU National Steering Committee, Assessment of Civic Learning, 2012-2014
  • Program Reviewer, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee – Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies, 2011
  • Member, Alumni Advisory Group for the Future of MIT Education Task Force, 2013-14
  • Executive Board Member, Northeast Regional Readiness Center (Massachusetts), 2011-2014
  • External Advisor, Rennie Center’s Condition of Education project, 2013-2015
  • “The Engaged Campus: Key Models for Powerful Teaching, Learning and Research.” Invited Keynote Address at Washburn University, January 30, 2017.
  • “Transforming Learning in Higher Education” – Invited Keynote, University of West Indies. September 23, 2016.
  • “The Next Education Revolution? The ‘Engaged Campus’ in the Disrupted University” – Invited Keynote at Engagement Australia’s “Changing Times, Changing Agendas” 12th International Conference of Engaged Scholars & Practitioners, Sydney, Australia. July 20-22, 2015.
  • “From Engagement to Transformation: Best Practices in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education” – Invited Keynote, University of West Indies. June 24, 2015.
  • “Learning Sciences and Online Learning.” Invited participant. National Science Foundation (NSF) invitation-only symposium, MIT, Cambridge, MA, May 21-22, 2015.
  • “What is Best Learned Online & What Types of Students Benefit from Online Learning” Invited panel talk at MIT’s xTalks Speaker Series, Cambridge, MA, May 20, 2015. With Shanna Smith Jaggar and Bror Saxberg.
  • “Civic Engagement, Education and Becoming a Global Citizen” – Invited Keynote talk, Texas Christian University. April 21-23, 2015.
  • “Online Learning: Shaping the Future of Higher Education On and Off Campus” Invitation-only summit, MIT, Cambridge, MA, April 7-8, 2015.
  • “Developing the Dissertation” – Invited Keynote talk, George Washington University. April 3, 2015.
  • “Engaged Learning: Defining and Developing Experiential Education and Engaged Learning in the ‘Engaged Campus’” – Invited Keynote talk, University of New Hampshire – Manchester. June 9, 2014.
  • “Flip This: Community Colleges, Online Learning, and the Future of Civic Engagement in the Age of Disruption” Webinar for AAC&U and the Democracy Commitment’s Bridging Cultures to Form a Nation: Difference, Community, and Democratic Thinking. November 6, 2013.
  •  “The Engaged Campus: Diverse Models for Community-Based Teaching, Learning, and Research” – Invited Plenary talk, Indiana University’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Speaker Series. March 29, 2013.
  • “MOOCs R Us: The Future of Teaching & Learning in the Age of Big Data” – Invited Plenary talk, Indiana University’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Speaker Series. March 28, 2013.
  • Computing Community Consortium’s Multidisciplinary Research for Online Education Conference. Invited participant (invitation-only event), February 11-12, 2013.
  • “Beyond Service: Deepening Civic Engagement through Community and Institutional Partnerships” – keynote address at The Ohio State University’s conference To Learn and To Serve: Critical Service-Learning Initiatives and Community Engagement, Columbus, OH, October 18, 2012.
  • “Open, Flat and Free Classroom”, Facilitator of session (with Mary Lou Forward and Jeff Shelstad) at the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) conference The University Unbound: Can Higher Education Compete and Survive in the Age of Free and Open Learning, Boston, MA, October 15, 2012.
  • “Duking it Out in Duke: The Great Butin-Furco Debate on Service-Learning in Teacher Education” Plenary address, with Andy Furco, at Duke University. Durham, NC, June 22, 2012.
  • “An Apprenticeship in Democracy: The Future of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Engagement in Higher Education” Keynote Talk at Grand Valley State University. Grand Rapids, MI, May 22, 2012.
  • “The Engaged Campus: Diverse Models for Powerful Community-Based Teaching, Learning & Research” Keynote Talk at the University of Toronto. Toronto, Canada, May 17,2012.
  • “The Moment of Uncertainty: Learning Analytics, Pedagogies of Engagement, and the Future of ‘Relevance’ in Higher Education” Keynote Talk at the Adron Doran Higher Education Symposium at Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, April 27, 2012.  
  • “Preparing New Teachers -- A Leverage Point in Education Reform”, Presenter, with Michael Goldstein, Jake Murray, and Jeff Riley, at the Boston Education Funders forum, Boston, MA, Feb. 14, 2012.
  • “Service-Learning in Theory & Practice: The Future of the Engaged Campus” Keynote Talk at Hobart & William Smith Colleges. Geneva, NY, Nov. 9, 2011.
  •  “Education for Global Citizenship”, Keynote Panelist at the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning and Dialogue, Cambridge, MA, June 3, 2011.
  • “Institutionalizing Community Engagement in Higher Education Through Academic Programs” – Keynote Talk at the Bonner Foundation Summer Leadership Institute at Siena College, Latham, NY, June 1, 2011.
  • “Advancing Social Justice Through Service-Learning” – Keynote Talk at the Equity and Diversity Conference at the University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN, April 15, 2011.
  • “From Experience to Engagement: A Vision of the Community-Engaged Campus” – Keynote Talk at the Community Learning Network conference, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, February 11, 2011.
  • Invited Speaker, US Department of Education, Initiative on Civic Learning & Democratic Engagement, Washington DC, February 7, 2011.
  • “When Service is Not Enough: Community Engagement in Higher Education” – Keynote Talk at Duke University, Durham, NC, December 1, 2010.
  •  “Democracy and Education: A Vision for the Engaged Campus” – Keynote Address at Oakland University’s Equity Within the College Classroom Conference, Rochester, MI. April 6, 2009.
  • “Service-Learning, Leadership, and Democracy” – Keynote Address at The International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership meeting. Portland, OR, February 17, 2009.
  • “Can I Major in Service-Learning? The Limits and Possibilities of Institutionalizing Community Engagement in Higher Education." – Keynote Address to the Ohio Campus Compact’s Service-Learning Symposium, Columbus, OH. August 6, 2008.
  • “Social Injustices in Education” – Keynote Address at Lasell College’s America Reads Conference, Newton, MA. April 21, 2007.
  •  “The Limits and Possibilities of Service-Learning in Higher Education” – Plenary Address to the Michigan Campus Compact Institute on “Service-Learning and Civic Engagement”. February 8, 2007.
  • “You Say You Want a Revolution…Mapping the Limits and Possibilities of Service-Learning in Higher Education” – Muhlenberg College. Invited address. April 18, 2006.
  • “The Ideologies of Teacher Preparation: A Re-Evaluation” Debate with David Steiner hosted by the Progressive Policy Institute’s 21st Century Schools Project.  Washington, D.C., September 10, 2004.