Our Team
Charla Long
President
How does a theme park lawyer with a background in meeting planning and 25 years of higher education experience end up as C-BEN’s President?
It was her love for theme parks (and Disney, in particular) that led Charla into higher education. She first started teaching hospitality law and then broadened her teaching areas. She’s taught in the arts & humanities, science & technology, and business divisions of public and private institutions. As a teacher, she infused project-based, experiential learning into all of her classes. As a higher education administrator, she’s launched a social justice institute, a graduate school for aging services, and a new academic college. Today, she is regarded as one of the nation’s leading experts on competency-based education earning her a name as a top 10 influential people in higher education by The Chronicle.
With an undergraduate degree in Meetings and Tourism Destination Management and experience with Disney and Apple Computer, Charla knows how to plan awesome events. CBExchange was an idea she brought to fruition in 2015 and has led ever since. If you’ve been to CBExchange, you know Charla’s heart. If you haven’t attended the conference yet, you must come experience the magic of our CBE community.
Amber Garrison Duncan
Executive Vice President and Chief Growth & Systems Transformation Officer
Amber fell in love with higher education the moment she left her small Texas town and stepped foot on campus at Texas Woman’s University. Her passion for supporting holistic approaches to learning were honed at this “campus with a heart” and led to a career working at institutions, nonprofits, and foundations to support the transformation of the U.S. higher education system to be more equitable and just.
Amber has led work in competency-based education, learning frameworks, assessment, credential recognition, digital learner records, and open data standards, as well as quality assurance. Before her role at C-BEN, Amber spent 8 years as a grant maker at Lumina Foundation and prior to that served as Director of Student Affairs Assessment and Research at the University of Oregon, and various student affairs roles at Florida State University, University of Michigan, Hope College and Texas A&M University.
If you’ve ever caught yourself in a brainstorming session with Amber, you know she thinks about what is possible and how to leverage change to create the most good, for the most people, in the largest way possible. The C-BEN community is a natural home for her as it is full of fun spirited and bright innovators who are focused on what is best for learners.
Lisa McIntyre-Hite
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Whether playing bass in a rock band at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her home state of Ohio or being featured in songs featured on American Pickers and Pawn Stars, this musician and CBE leader provides the constant rhythm for change.
Lisa’s purpose and passion is rooted in the desire to address inequities in education which she has translated into a career leveraging competency-based approaches to ensure equitable outcomes, drive high-quality learning experiences, and lead to economic and social mobility. While Lisa started her leadership in learning innovation as a high school English teacher and principal, she has experience across K-12, workforce, government, higher education, ed tech, and non-traditional learning providers.
Prior to joining C-BEN, Lisa was Vice President of Learning Innovation at Guild where she led strategy and operations to ensure that high-quality workplace learning counts toward a degree and provides a pathway to mobility. She also led Guild’s Learning Center of Excellence, focused on improving learning outcomes for working adults. She also served as Senior Advisor at Entangled Solutions and Vice President of Partner Strategy and Innovation at Pathstream, a non-traditional learning provider embedding industry certificates into academic and workplace pathways. Prior to these system approaches, Lisa was the Executive Director of Learning Innovation at Laureate Education and Walden University’s founding Dean of Competency-Based Education responsible for developing and scaling the university’s direct-assessment offering. As a scholar, Lisa’s research has been published by the Clayton Christensen Institute and is featured in several peer-reviewed journals.
C-BEN Solutions is a natural home for Lisa, where she can continue to strum and keep the rhythm of change going for a work-learn ecosystem that empowers individuals to live fully in their purpose.
Laurie Dodge
Vice President of Quality Assurance and Accreditation
Since she was little, Laurie has been as curious as they come about the world and sought to understand how things came to be. She turned that curiosity into building and crafting using whatever she could get her hands on at that age- glue, tape, and fabrics were a favorite. Her curious nature led her to study psychology and early in her career she worked as a school psychologist in Indiana, West Virginia, and California. Laurie expanded her work in education by teaching courses at a nearby military base and fell in love with teaching adult learners. This led her to a career shift from K-12 into higher education as professor and progressive leadership roles as dean, vice provost and most recently provost at the University of Massachusetts Global where she has led the development of six CBE direct assessment programs.
In addition to leading on her campus, Laurie has provided leadership on quality, assessment, and accreditation. Namely, Laurie has served as a member of the WASC Senior College Commission Substantive Change Committee and participated in countless accreditation visits both nationally and internationally. Laurie has also served on several association boards, including UPCEA, Credential Engine and is currently on the NC-SARA Board of Directors. Laurie has been a long-time leader in CBE and was “in the room where it happened” for seminal conversations for what would become C-BEN. As C-BEN was formed, Laurie served as the inaugural Chair of the Board.
In 2016 Laurie was named one of “The Sixteen Most Innovative People in Higher Education” by Washington Monthly (September/October 2016). She is co-author of “A Leader’s Guide to Competency-Based Education: From Inception to Implementation” with colleagues Deb Bushway and Charla Long.
Laurie is happy to report that she has evolved from building using glue and taping fabric together to now being a garment sewer, CBE program builder, and inspiring others to embrace innovation for learners. To be a part of the beginning of C-BEN and re-joining the team now is like coming home. Laurie is excited to help build and advance CBE, opening more doors to higher education for all.
Josh Laney
Vice President of Apprenticeship and Work-Embedded Learning
Josh’s background as a fourth-generation Alabama cattle farmer and the product of a family of public school educators gives him a deep appreciation for work and learning that matter beyond the classroom. A self-described “skill collector,” he’s equally at home baking a cake, making peach wine, or designing a national apprenticeship framework. He’s also ruined more than a few good pairs of work slacks with hydraulic fluid and tractor grease.
As Vice President of Apprenticeship and Work-Embedded Learning at C-BEN, Josh leads the National Project on Apprenticeship Standards and Interoperability (PASI), a U.S. Department of Labor–funded initiative created through a cooperative agreement with the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. PASI builds the models and systems to expand scalable, competency-based registered apprenticeship that align learning with real workforce needs.
Josh brings to this work over two decades of leadership at the intersection of public policy, education, and workforce strategy. He joined the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship with a reputation for practical problem-solving, plain talk, and follow-through, and further solidified it by helping build one of the most adaptive and widely respected state apprenticeship systems in the country. His work focuses on aligning systems so the needs of learners and employers are more directly connected positioning them to achieve mutual benefit with greater confidence.
Grace Fowler
Vice President of Operational Success
Learning systems are under great pressure to change and provide greater outcomes for learners and employers. Throughout her career, Grace has honed a commitment to and expertise in how to leverage these pressures to unlock opportunity for underrepresented learners. Grace started her career coaching high school and college students on successfully navigating through college and beyond. As an experienced education strategist, she understands that the process of change is just as important as delivering on outcomes.
Similar to how she cooks meals for those she loves most, Grace approaches change with creativity, taking whatever ingredients are available in the pantry and crafting a great meal. This mindset informs how Grace approaches C-BEN partners, helping to maximize their differentiating attributes within their unique contexts. Before joining CBEN, Grace was a strategy and innovation consultant at Entangled Solutions and Guild Education, collaborating with learning providers on outcomes improvement, learner experience design, change management, and innovation enablement. She’s excited to leverage this experience to build the capacity of CBEN partners to scale CBE as the Senior Director of Client Success.
Grace looks forward to meeting you and supporting your organization through its next chapter by charting a course, navigating the waters of change, and maintaining grace under pressure.
Sara Beth Hoffman
Senior Director of Healthcare Innovations
Sara Beth is a strategy and operations leader with a passion for improving education, economic, and health outcomes through people-centered services. With over 10 years of experience spanning higher education and healthcare workforce development, she excels at tackling complex challenges by quickly setting strategic direction and leading stakeholders to deliver measurable, high-impact results.
At Guild, Sara Beth led a 10-person team managing implementation, operations, and customer success for hands-on programs offered to prepare 750K+ potential learners for high-demand healthcare careers at low to no cost at employers like Bon Secours Mercy Health and Disney. She reduced the timeline to launch self-paced critical needs healthcare programs tailored to working adult learners by 40%.
In strategic consulting roles at Deloitte and Entangled Solutions, Sara Beth managed teams delivering education initiatives for community colleges, universities, and non-profits, including managing the Rise Prize—a $1.5M philanthropy-funded competition designed to scale innovative higher education solutions for student parents.
Sara Beth holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School and a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University. When not building healthcare and work-embedded learning pathways, such as nursing apprenticeships, she can be found reading with a cup of milky black tea and birdwatching.
Lacey McCann
Senior Director of CBE Products & Experience
Lacey McCann is a product leader with 12+ years of experience in the education space, specializing in visioning and operationalizing learning solutions that drive outcomes for working adults. Lacey’s background spans leading end-to-end product experience and operational design, from awareness to completion, for competency-based education learning programs; to strategizing, designing and building front-end and backend solutions that connect adult frontline workers to educational opportunities.
Prior to joining C-BEN, Lacey was Director of Product Management, Student Experience at Guild, where she led the product team responsible for transforming the CRM systems and communication channels used to serve learners. At Strada Education Network, Lacey served as Director of Product Management and Strategy, defining the product and service portfolio and providing strategic consultation to Strada affiliates such as CAEL, InsideTrack, Education at Work, and Roadtrip Nation. As Director of Product Management, Tempo Learning at Walden University, Lacey led the end-to-end customer journey design and launch of one of the early entry CBE programs in the U.S., including messaging, enrollment/onboarding, portal and learning management system, and coaching/support model. Partnering in lockstep with academic leaders and university operational teams to innovate the operational processes, technical frameworks and UX necessary to scale direct-assessment programs, Lacey helped to lay the foundation to support thousands of adult students.
Emily Scheines
Senior Director of Skills Systems
Emily is a seasoned initiative leader and program builder with deep roots in education and a dedication to the recognition of all forms of learning, all kinds of learners, and a common language of learning.
Before joining C-BEN, Emily led credit for prior learning for Guild Education, building and implementing programs that collectively saved thousands of hours and millions of tuition dollars in redundant coursework for working adult learners.
Throughout her career, Emily has worked closely with C-Suite executives, University leadership, and Governments of all levels to solve problems at scale, envision more equitable and efficient systems of education, and overcome the inertia of old paradigms. From political campaign organizing to non-profit policy advocacy, Emily brings a wealth of experience managing people, projects, and capital to their greatest potential.
Emily is also an alumna of Teach for America, where she served as a high school social studies teacher and grade level chair. Emily holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Cornell University and Masters in Public Policy from UCLA.
Ryan Specht-Boardman
Senior Director of Higher Education Solutions
The thread tying Ryan’s whole career together is a single question: How can we make postsecondary education work better for those untold millions of would-be learners who are shut out from success in our current system?
Ryan’s passion for answering that question drives him to seek out creative solutions to enduring problems. An adept project manager, adviser, and facilitator, he seamlessly interweaves a strategic vision with the tactical steps necessary to achieve it. At C-BEN, Ryan leads our higher education services, working with colleges and universities to build and scale innovative competency-based programs.
Prior to joining C-BEN, Ryan managed the University of Wisconsin Flexible Option, one of the nation’s leading portfolios of competency-based education programs. He has also supported efforts in microcredentials, boot camps, and online innovation. Ryan co-edited the book, New Models of Higher Education: Unbundled, Rebundled, Customized, & DIY, which won the 2023 Phillip E. Frandson Award for Literature, the top national literature award in the field of continuing, professional, and online education. Ryan, a sixth-generation Midwesterner, is a proud alum of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Iowa.
Yedid Minjares
Director of Consulting Operations
A sociologist with a love of international travel, languages and food, Yedid pays attention to the details big and small that create the hallmark culture of the C-BEN community. In the same way that she can scratch cook with spices from around the world, Yedid goes above and beyond to create a place where stakeholders can shape the CBE movement from diverse perspectives, locations, and practices to create more access and success for marginalized communities. Prior to joining C-BEN, Yedid was the Office and Budget Manager in the College of Professional Studies at Lipscomb University, a founding C-BEN member. Yedid has competencies in project management, budget management, events, and liaison with consulting clients, vendors, and sponsoring organizations. Yedid has also served as a technical writer and has experience teaching, including serving as an English language teacher in Japan. C-BEN is fortunate to have Yedid bridging communications and processes for our members and partners. While Yedid is the core of C-BEN’s operations, be sure to ask her about her year studying Zapotec as it will give you better insight into her ability to keep people at the center of all we do.
Brenda Young
Director of Community Engagement
Brenda’s passion for service to her community started at a young age. Having grown up in a family where volunteering and being active in community were core values, Brenda is most inspired when individuals become community around a common cause. Her career has included membership management and fundraising for museums and later as program director for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Brenda has witnessed time and again the power of community to change the lives of people and has driven her decades long career in nonprofit leadership.
This passion for community is also fueled by understanding peoples’ stories. Her family vacations involved a lot of museum trips and stops at Midwest antique malls, giving her windows into the past and prompting her to think critically about the future. Brenda uses her unique degrees in public history and nonprofit administration to help organizations understand the past in order to better prepare for the future. Even if this means wearing a historical costume for special events to fundraise, a skill that will be put to use at a future CBExchange!
Brenda is excited to engage as a cheerleader and community builder for the CBE movement and looks forward to talking with you about membership and sponsorships, as well as opportunities for C-BEN to amplify communications about your work.
Elise Henley
Director of Events
Elise leads the planning and execution of the organization’s conferences, meetings, and special events. She has been part of the C-BEN community for several years, helping plan CBExchange since 2023. If you remember the tie-dyed CBExchange t-shirts from 2023, rumor has it that her hands are still stained to prove it! Prior to joining C-BEN full-time, she built her career in event management with Maritz Global Events and The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where she specialized in creating exceptional meeting and conference experiences. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Samford University.
Drawn to C-BEN by the passion and purpose of its people, Elise is excited to create events that foster meaningful connections and advance the organization’s mission. Outside of work, you’ll usually find her in the kitchen trying new recipes, hosting family and friends, or dreaming of writing her own cookbook one day.
Natalia Mejia
Senior Learning Experience Designer
Natalia Mejia is a passionate learning experience design leader who cares about developing effective learning programs for all areas of the organization. In her most recent positions, she has developed a variety of skills-based, workforce-relevant programs for one of the largest online nonprofit universities in the United States serving adult learners. As a well-rounded instructional designer, she has performed all the jobs related to conceptualization, design, build, maintenance, and oversight of online programs, paying special attention to learning science principles and educational frameworks. Natalia has also hired, trained, and coached instructional designers in a variety of positions and has helped them develop their skills to become proficient designers who deliver results. She has also taught adult students at the college and high school levels. Natalia holds a bachelor’s in Communications and a master’s degree in Education and is currently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership.
Jake DeSchuiteneer
Senior Learning Experience Designer
Jake is a dedicated learning experience designer with a passion for making education relevant and effective for learners. Jake has over a decade of experience developing workforce-relevant CBE curriculum, learning experiences, and assessments. He has played an integral role in the conceptualization, design, build, and maintenance of several online CBE programs, including the innovative College for America programs at Southern New Hampshire University.
Jake has also hired, managed, and coached teams of instructional designers, guiding them toward using learning science best practices in their courses and assessments. Before his career in learning experience design, Jake worked as a writer and reporter. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English/Journalism and a master’s in Communications.
Jamie Vandenburgh
CBE Consultant
Jamie is an unapologetic Ravenclaw who firmly believes there are very few things that can’t be improved with a good question, a whiteboard, and a group of people willing to challenge assumptions. She proudly describes herself as a professional learning nerd who loves learning about learning and has built her career helping educators rethink how learning is designed, assessed, and connected to meaningful outcomes. Along the way, she has developed a reputation for respectfully challenging unproductive norms and asking, “Is there a better way?”
Before joining C-BEN, Jamie spent her career turning ambitious ideas into practical reality. Whether redesigning competency-based programs, coaching faculty through change, building employer partnerships, or launching innovative workforce initiatives, she enjoys bringing together the right people to create learning experiences that actually work—for students, educators, and employers alike.
Jamie is currently completing her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, where her research focuses on strengthening employer engagement in academic program development. A frequent national presenter and “professional conference goer,” she is passionate about connecting innovative ideas with practical implementation and believes meaningful change happens when people are willing to learn together.
Outside of work, Jamie enjoys golfing, coaching youth softball, tackling home improvement projects, and planning her next adventure. She’s also a firm believer in the power of a good walk-and-talk. More than one colleague-turned-friend has helped solve a complex problem, debate a new idea, or simply catch up while Jamie wandered the neighborhood wearing headphones. Her muggle neighbors probably assume she’s on important business calls.
Anesha Berry
Bookkeeper
Anesha brings a thoughtful and detail-oriented approach to her work as C-BEN’s Bookkeeper. She supports the organization’s financial operations by maintaining accurate records, reconciling accounts, managing reporting, and assisting with audit preparation. With a background in nonprofit finance and a passion for process improvement, she plays a key role in strengthening C-BEN’s internal systems and helping ensure the team has the tools and data needed to make informed decisions.
Currently completing her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting at the University of Maryland Global Campus, Anesha combines practical experience with academic knowledge. Her commitment to education extends beyond the workplace—she’s also a longtime homeschooling parent who believes deeply in the power of flexible, learner-centered models. That belief is one of the many reasons she was drawn to C-BEN’s mission.
Located just 30 minutes outside our nation’s capital, Anesha enjoys the balance of quiet suburban life with easy access to the vibrant energy of Washington, D.C. Outside of work, she is a proud gamer, a lover of all things Harry Potter and the Wizarding World (she’s a Hufflepuff), and a repeat viewer of her favorite shows Scrubs and Psych. She’s happiest when curled up with a controller, a good show, or her kids—ideally all three at once. Whether navigating a spreadsheet or a fictional universe, she brings curiosity, creativity, and a steady hand to everything she does.
Ryan Thompson
Director of Federal Compliance and Grant Integrity
Far from a traditional college student, or even putting his name and “good student” in the same sentence, Ryan forged a unique path to success through hands-on experience and determination. Straight out of high school, he dove into an apprenticeship program, discovering the power of learning by doing as he honed practical skills in a real-world setting. That foundation grew during 10 years of service in the “ultimate apprenticeship program,” the U.S. Air Force, where he developed discipline, teamwork, and leadership. These experiences shaped his belief in the transformative potential of non-traditional education and inspired a lifelong commitment to creating opportunities for learners outside conventional pathways. His curiosity knows no bounds—most recently seen in his first-ever theatrical play, where he played a dancing (and off-key singing) old woman.
As Director of Federal Compliance and Grant Integrity at C-BEN, Ryan ensures Federal funding meets the highest standards of accountability. He oversees procurement, contracting, and financial reporting systems, ensuring every dollar advances C-BEN’s mission to expand competency-based education and strengthen the national apprenticeship system.
With over a decade of experience in federal grant management—including with the U.S. Department of Labor—Ryan has a proven record of implementing risk-based monitoring and compliance strategies that safeguarded millions in federal funds. His expertise in 2 CFR Part 200 and the public workforce system, combined with a Bachelor’s in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University, equips him to navigate complex regulatory landscapes. Ryan brings both technical expertise and a personal commitment to C-BEN’s vision of transforming lives through apprenticeship and competency-based learning.
Roslynn Hyneman
Industry Sector Liaison
Like an architect constructing a beautiful bridge, Roslynn is a connector, educator, and advocate committed to creating pathways to opportunity.
A native Ohioan now rooted in Los Angeles, Roslynn began her journey in TRIO programs and multicultural recruitment, building a career in higher education recruitment, access, and student support. She has managed statewide recruitment strategies and fostered community partnerships that advanced enrollment practices centered on diversity and inclusion.
A sought-after speaker and facilitator, Roslynn has presented at regional and national conferences on topics ranging from liberatory design thinking and asset mapping to microaggressions, college knowledge, and apprenticeship models.
Roslynn holds a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Maryville University. She previously directed the ECEPTs-sponsored Early Educator Apprenticeship Program at the YMCA of the East Bay, working with partners, colleges, and families to expand access to education and career advancement through multi-million-dollar blended funding that strengthened California’s early education workforce.
Throughout her career, Roslynn has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to connecting education and workforce systems, ensuring students and apprentices—particularly those from historically underserved backgrounds—are equipped with the tools and opportunities to thrive.
Zachary Miller
Apprenticeship Project Manager - Central
Zach began his career as a case manager helping disconnected youth in Alaska complete high school, develop skills, earn credentials, and enter the workforce. Since then, he has gained 20+ years of experience across America’s workforce development system, studying programs, building capacity, and providing technical assistance to public, private, and nonprofit clients. His expertise includes managing federal contracts, evaluation, cross-functional collaboration, system assessment, and initiative implementation. He is also a Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
Before joining C-BEN, Zach managed labor and workforce-related technical assistance and evaluation initiatives at American Institutes for Research (AIR), including U.S. Department of Labor projects in apprenticeship, policy, and Job Corps, as well as international work in Mexico. His earlier roles included evaluation at the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) and Community Science, and positions at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Zach holds a B.A. in History from Eastern Nazarene College, where he was a musician and NCAA Division III two-sport athlete, and an MPA in Nonprofit Management from The George Washington University. An AmeriCorps VISTA alumnus and past chair of the YMCA Youth & Family Services Community Advisory Board, he enjoys hiking with family and friends, coaching baseball and soccer, collecting oral histories for the Veterans History Project, and studying Spanish.
Layli Whyte-Oliver
Industry Sector Liaison
Layli’s career trajectory has been a winding one, but one through which she has made use of her love of writing and her desire to be a force of good in the lives of others. Along the way, she has built and refined a set of competencies that have helped her land here at C-BEN.
After receiving a bachelor’s in English from Rutgers University, Layli worked as a newspaper reporter, taught English in the Czech Republic, and volunteered for a summer in Uganda, before beginning her work in the government space as a communications director for a state legislative office in New Jersey. She has since earned a master’s degree in legal studies from Washington University in St. Louis to help her deepen her understanding of policy development and implementation. As part of her studies, she focused on building legal research and writing skills, and has done some work as a paralegal for an attorney in the New York Family Court system.
Since 2012, Layli has been in the workforce space, specifically in apprenticeship since 2015. She finds it immensely rewarding to help people find economic stability in in-demand occupations. Layli has managed projects and developed technical assistance and training for state, federal, and community-based organizations seeking to support apprenticeships, and is a subject matter expert on the federal Equal Employment Opportunity regulations for apprenticeship programs.
Layli is an avid quilter and crafter, a mom of two, and someone who believes that growth and progress are always an option.
BUILD OR ENHANCE A CBE PROGRAM
