July 23, 2019 – 3pm EST – New Developments in Online Quality Assurance – Dr. Julie Porosky Hamlin and Dr. Lori Williams. Dr. Williams will address recent developments in accreditation and regulation, and Dr. Porosky Hamlin will address new developments and new players in the external validator community.
Julie Porosky Hamlin, Ph.D. is the director of MarylandOnline, a 20-institution consortium that is the creator and parent of Quality Matters™ and other projects to promote excellence in online education. Previously, she was senior vice president of University of Maryland University College (UMUC). 
She has served on a number of boards, commissions, and accreditation and other evaluation teams and has been an occasional online instructor since 2003. She is the recipient of the 2012 Nofflet Williams Annual Service Award of the National University Technology Network. Her professional and scholarly work has been in quality assurance and non-traditional higher education.
In a highly competitive selection process, Lori Williams, Ph.D. was recently appointed Executive Director of NC-SARA, the second person to hold that position since NC-SARA was formed. Lori currently serves as Vice President at the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and has over 25 years’ experience in education. Prior to this role, she served as provost at Ashford University in San Diego. Previous positions include vice provost of curriculum development and innovation at Kaplan University, vice president of product strategy and development at Laureate Education, executive director of the center for student success at Walden University, and administrative roles at Saint Michael’s College and Middlebury College. 
Throughout her career, Lori has also spoken at national and international conferences about adult and online learning, and taught extensively, serving as a professor, thesis advisor, and mentor.
Lori enjoys spending time outdoors hiking with her husband and dog, as well as gardening, yoga, and movies.
Lori holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Education Leadership from Union Institute & University, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Saint Michael’s College, and a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University.
