From founding the L&D function to handing it off under regulatory cutover.

Founding hire. CEA had leased course outlines from the Academy of Art in San Francisco and not much else: no instructor bench, no progression framework, no academic policy, no delivery system. Launch date set. 100 learners incoming.

I kept the course names and the licensed shell, threw out the rest, and rebuilt everything underneath: program architecture, delivery frameworks, academic policies, progression and assessment models. Sourced and onboarded 15+ instructors under launch pressure. Designed the quality standards the institution would later scale on.

Mid-tenure, the pandemic forced a full shift to online delivery. The cohort didn't lose a day.

• What I builtProgram architecture, delivery frameworks, academic policies, progression and assessment models, instructor onboarding and quality standards.
• Cohort size100 learners at launch, scaled beyond during tenure.
• Instructor bench15+ sourced, recruited, and onboarded under compressed timelines.
• Major shift ledFull transition to online operating model.

Founding a function means designing it to run without its founder.

Scope doubled on short notice. I took ownership of academic operations across both Visual Effects and Animation: roughly 300 concurrent learners, 13–17 direct reports per term, plus a mentor network.

The work was stabilization through a leadership transition: rebuilding instructional capacity, holding delivery standards consistent across two programs, and keeping quality from drifting while the org around me shifted.

One quiet signal that the system was working: multiple graduates returned to teach. By Act Two, several of our own alumni were on the instructional bench as TAs. That's a feedback loop you only get when graduates believe in what they came through.

• Learners owned~300 concurrent across VFX and Animation programs.
• Programs ownedTwo flagship creative-technical portfolios under direct academic operations leadership.
• Direct reports13–17 per term: TAs, full-time and part-time instructors, plus mentor network.
• What stabilizedRole expectations, progression criteria, readiness indicators, cross-program coordination, instructor performance management.

When scope doubles, I hold quality without slowing delivery.

This is the part of the story I get asked about most.

CEA needed to migrate its public-private partnership from Langara College to Kwantlen Polytechnic University under provincial PTIB (now PTIRU) oversight. Industry-typical timeline: 8 to 12 months. We had three. Inside that window: 500+ learners across five programs, a fully international student body on study permits, all dependent on continuous DLI status for post-graduation work permit eligibility.

If continuity broke at any point (funding, accreditation, instructor contracts, regulatory filing), students didn't just lose a semester. They lost the right to stay and work in Canada after graduation.

I co-led the operational side as senior advisor to executive leadership, partnering closely with Compliance, Operations, and the receiving institution's academic team. Change management, regulatory translation, workforce implications, and risk mitigation, all in scope, all at once.

Cutover completed on schedule. Zero service disruption. Zero funding loss. Every cohort continued. PGWP eligibility preserved.

In parallel, I scoped multi-location expansion across the Americas: established a Calgary partnership that's still operating today, and scoped a Bogotá partnership in-country, working on-site with Universidad del Rosario. Proof that the operating system was portable.

• Cutover timeline3 months vs. typical 8–12 months.
• Scope at risk500+ international learners across 5 programs. DLI status and PGWP eligibility for the entire cohort.
• OutcomeZero service disruption, zero funding loss, regulatory transition cleared.
• Parallel workCalgary partnership established (still operating); Bogotá scoped on-site with Universidad del Rosario.

I move complex systems through high-stakes transitions without breaking them.