ABOUT ME
I am an educator with a breadth of knowledge across different education sectors. I am a detail-oriented professional with extensive senior level management experience. I am adept at assimilating new technology to help solve problems. I have a genuine interest in students and helping others learn.
EDUCATION
2006 • Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, CA
Ed.D, Educational Technology
1995 • University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
MS, Instructional Technology
1993 • Mount St Mary’s College, Los Angeles, CA
BA, Psychology
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2018-present
Adjunct Assistant Professor (online)
UMUC, Maryland
Courses Taught:
DETT 621-Online Learning in the Workplace
OMDE 601- Foundations of Distance Learning
Nov. 2006- Nov. 2018
Associate Online Faculty
Ashford University, San Diego, CA
Course Taught: EDU 651-Collaboration and Learning in a Virtual Environment
Oct. 2006- June 2007
Instructor (online)
Course Taught: CISC 101-Introduction to Computers
Northampton Community College, Bethlehem, PA
January- April 2001
Instructor (hybrid)
University of California, Irvine, CA Course Taught: Business Systems
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014-2015 Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development
Core to College Alignment Director, Salem, OR
- Managed the last year of a three-year, 720,000 grant from the Gates and Lumina foundations
Developed a policy to streamline students into college-level courses without additional placement testing that was adopted by both community colleges and public universities
Collaborated with several educational sectors and private institutions to develop a college and career readiness research agenda
Developed college and career readiness materials for students
Served as state higher education delegate to the state testing consortium Coordinated writing and math curriculum alignment projects with outside project managers and colleges
2003-2014
Oregon University System
Director of Educational Technology and Policy Initiatives, Portland, OR (2009-20014)
- Assisted universities in obtaining approval to offer distance education courses in other states and provided support related to policy issues by serving as SAN (State Authorization Network) coordinated through WICHE
- Assisted in developing a policy framework for using the Smarter Balanced assessment for placement in postsecondary coursework
- Served on a statewide data governance committee to inform policies and procedures surrounding data warehouses and exchange of information between education sectors
- Provided input on the development of policy option packages that were submitted to the Oregon legislature
- Created a mechanism to send student transcript data from data warehouses to Oregon public universities at no cost to K-12 users
Educational Technology Project Manager 2006-2009
- Developed a prototype to send electronic transcripts from K-12 to postsecondary institutions which resulted in an additional $1.5M in funding by the Oregon legislature
Recommended software and technologies for project staff
- Presented research findings and project updates at conferences
- Developed statewide transfer articulation project aimed at optimizing credits for students and decreasing time to degree
Web Training Designer 2003-2005
- Developed an online training program that trained approximately 400 teachers statewide
- Developed a mechanism to store student portfolios for scoring Facilitated workshops on proficiency-based scoring
- Developed a custom student information system to track training results Built learning modules using Adobe Flash and Dreamweaver
PROFESSIONAL AND SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS
Rosselli,H., Morgan, A., Sipe, H, & Mentz,L. (March, 2013). Connecting Proficiency and College Entrance in Oregon: Myth and Truth. Panel discussion presented at the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA) conference, Portland, Oregon.
Holliday,J., Cheyne, L. & Mentz, L., (May, 2012). Towards an Integrated P-20 Oregon Education System. Invited oral presentation at the Oregon Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Bend, Oregon.
Mentz,L., & Endsley, M. (September, 2008). Integrated Data Transfer System: Using electronic transcripts to promote college access and success. Invited oral presentation at the National College Access Network Annual (NCAN) Conference, Houston, Texas.
Mentz,L. & Caro, C. (June, 2008). Knowledge management in action. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Knowledge Generation, Communication and Management, Orlando, Florida.
Mentz,L., Caro, C., and Quinn, J. (April, 2007). A case study on positive group dynamics in an online environment. Paper presented at the 18th Annual Conference on Teaching and Learning, Jacksonville, Florida.
Mentz,L. (April, 2006). Learning in an online environment: The effect of presence in multi-user environments and its impact on learning a second language. Paper presented at the 17th Annual Conference on Teaching and Learning, Jacksonville, Florida.
Mentz,L., & Endsley, M. (March, 2003). The Digital Learning Environment: Teacher professional development. Paper presented at the NASH (National Association of System Heads) Conference, Chicago, Illinois.
Mentz, L. (2003, December). The Digital Learning Environment: Teacher professional development. Poster presented at the FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education), Conference, Denver, Colorado.
Jorth, C., & Mentz, L. (March, 2002). Multi-user virtual environments and second language learning. Paper presented at the CALICO (Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium), UC Davis, California.