years of operations leadership
Instructional Design & L&D Leadership
Shawna Stushnoff
Instructional designer. L&D leader. Former operations manager. Lifelong student of how people actually learn.
25+ years of operations leadership. A master's in learning design. A track record of building programs from scratch that actually stick.
The Hiring Case
I don't just design learning — I build programs, lead initiatives, and connect learning outcomes to organizational goals.
I'm a Senior Instructional Designer and L&D leader with an unusual combination: deep instructional design expertise built on a foundation of 25+ years running operations, managing teams, and solving problems under pressure.
Above all I care deeply about whether learners walk away with something useful.
faculty developed across disciplines
programs in the O&A pipeline
Quality Matters aligned courses since 2023
What I Bring
Learning strategy with business instincts.
Experience doesn't come from one place. It comes from education, operational complexity, cultural navigation, and learning to identify what's actually broken before proposing a fix.
Outcomes Focus
Every design decision connects back to measurable performance goals — not just content coverage.
Brain-Centric Design
Spaced practice, scenario-based learning, and gamification grounded in how memory actually works.
Operational Thinking
25+ years of business experience means I speak ROI, efficiency, and stakeholder priorities fluently.
Strategic Wins
Programs built from scratch. Problems identified and solved. Systems still running.
Built with intention. Designed to actually function.
Built an Outcomes & Assessment Program from Zero
Designed and launched NMSU Global Campus's O&A initiative from scratch — developing faculty workshop curriculum, assessment mapping tools, data collection infrastructure, and reporting dashboards that translate raw outcomes data into actionable insights for 150+ faculty across disciplines.
Explore the O&A WorkshopLed AI Integration Before It Was Mandatory
AI Innovation Leader within NMSU's instructional design group — proactively exploring, piloting, and documenting AI tools and workflows to accelerate course design, faculty development, and content production across the Global Campus.
See AI in ActionRedesigned Operations Infrastructure That Scaled
Transitioned O&A program tracking from Excel to Quickbase — building relational tables, automated notifications, formula fields, and leadership dashboards that turned a manually managed process into a scalable, reportable system.
Operations leadership before L&DProject Overview
Selected work. Clear problems. Measurable learning solutions.
Every project here tells a story: a challenge faced, a collaboration formed, and a solution designed.
Faculty Development / Assessment Infrastructure
O&A Faculty Workshop
A flexible faculty development experience for Program Learning Outcomes & Assessment; valuable because faculty leave with revised PLOs, written mastery definitions, and at least one mapped assessment.
AI Adoption / VILT The BottegaA Virtual Instructor Led Guide; valuable because it teaches AI skills while repositioning faculty as experts — not novices.
Storyline / Scenario-Based Learning Developmental Diagnostics: Level 1 – TheoriesAn interactive learning experience that transforms passive theory memorization into active skill-building.
Rise / Leadership Development Leading Remote TeamsA work sample in Articulate Rise; valuable because many concepts carry more impact in a remote environment.
AI Collaboration / Performance Support PAGE, the Practice Activity Generator ExperienceAn interactive tool crafted with Shawna's Brain + Claude's Neurons + Code; valuable because it supports Subject Matter Experts with choosing active learning activities.
Game-Based Learning / Bloom's Taxonomy The Jazz AcademyA Genially breakout game; valuable because it closes the gap between knowing a framework and feeling how it works.
Virtual Delivery / Change Under Pressure STOP Supervisor Safety TrainingA rapid transition of 6-week Supervisor Safety Training from classroom to Zoom delivery; valuable because it supported facilities management supervisors unfamiliar with online learning technology.
Technical Training / Adult Learning The Surplus Property AdventureAn interactive online module and gamified assessment; valuable because it transforms dense policy and software workflows into bite-sized, engaging, and actually useful learning.
Agentic AI / Cybersecurity Awareness Escape The BreachAn interactive HTML5 game; valuable because wrong answers cost time, not progress, keeping the stakes real while preserving the instructional moment.
Resume Snapshot
Career experiences, learning opportunities, strengths & growth.
The through-line across all of it: If it's in my wheelhouse, I don't wait to be asked. I see the gap, design the solution, I review with stakeholders, and upon go ahead I build the thing.
DOWNLOAD FULL RESUME (PDF)Current Learning Path
- Quality Matters Master Reviewer Certification – December 2024
- Anthropic Academy — AI Fluency & Claude Platform Training (In Progress, 2026). Free certification courses via Anthropic's official learning platform
- Sententia Master Craftsman Certification – In Progress — playtesting & iteration phase
Education
- M.A., Learning Design & Technology / Instructional Design & Adult Learning — University of Colorado Denver, December 2020
- B.A., Communications/Advertising / Minors: Business Administration, Scandinavian Studies, Library Science — Concordia College
Clifton Strengths Top 5
Learner / Achiever / Relator / Futuristic / Self Assurance
CONTACT ME
Whether you're looking for an L&D leader, exploring a collaboration, or just want to talk shop — I'd love to hear from you.
I'm currently open to new opportunities and conversations. Good work starts with good conversation.