Learning Systems · Technical Leadership

Zach Ballard

EdTech Strategy • AI Enablement • Operations • Product Innovation

Davidson, NC 865-964-6330 hzballard2494@gmail.com

Learning systems and education leader with 10 years of experience spanning curriculum and learning design, online education, instructional technology, teaching, academic administration, web development, automation, and applied research. Combines an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction and soon to be completed Ed.D. applied research project in Leadership and Innovation with hands-on technical work across software development, systems integration, workflow automation, and generative AI.

Selected AI & Learning Systems Project

~$70K annual software cost avoidance

AI-Assisted Institutional Review Board Review & Process Redesign

Purdue University Global
  • Helped design and build an internally sustainable alternative to specialized IRB management software, creating a new Smartsheet-centered research review process estimated to avoid approximately $70,000 in annual software costs while giving the IRB function greater ownership of its processes and knowledge.
  • Partnered closely with the IRB Chair and committee members to identify which parts of preliminary regulatory review could be meaningfully supported by AI and which determinations needed to remain explicitly within human review.
  • Translated the Chair’s regulatory expertise into a structured three-stage Gemini review framework grounded in the 2018 Common Rule and OHRP decision logic: compliance flags, documentation/content validation, and independent study-type confirmation.
  • Designed AI instructions to evaluate defined regulatory categories, identify supporting evidence, distinguish missing from incomplete documentation, validate training requirements, surface uncertainty, and explain the regulatory basis for analysis.
  • Iteratively tested outputs with the IRB Chair and committee members, refining prompt structure, terminology, evidence requirements, sequencing, and response format to improve consistency, usefulness, and alignment with reviewer needs.
  • Designed and built an automated workflow across Smartsheet, Zapier, Google Gemini, Python, REST API interactions, and document-processing tools, returning a standardized preliminary review artifact to the original Smartsheet record.
  • Implemented a deliberate human-in-the-loop model: AI organizes evidence and surfaces potential issues, while committee members retain responsibility for interpretation, ethical judgment, and final regulatory determination.
  • Created supporting webpages, investigator/reviewer resources, and a consolidated Gemini Notebook knowledge environment to improve retrieval, continuity, autonomy, and maintainability.

Professional Experience

Purdue University Global

Assistant Director, Academic Administration July 2023 – Present
  • Lead the design and continuous improvement of systems supporting Academic Administration and Faculty Operations, translating policy, stakeholder needs, user behavior, and operational requirements into workflows, business rules, structured data, reporting, learning resources, and scalable processes.
  • Prototype, build, and maintain cross-system solutions using Smartsheet, Salesforce-connected workflows, Zapier, Python, Google Apps Script, and REST APIs, applying conditional logic, data normalization, automation, and system integration to complex institutional problems.
  • Approach implementation iteratively: gather requirements, build working solutions, place them in front of users and subject-matter experts, identify edge cases and failure points, and revise the underlying logic as evidence emerges.
  • Develop reporting and decision-support environments that help leaders understand operations, evaluate policy, manage workload, plan resources, and identify opportunities for improvement.
  • Lead cross-functional initiatives from problem definition through design, implementation, documentation, training, troubleshooting, adoption, and ongoing refinement.
  • Serve as a bridge between subject-matter expertise and technical implementation, translating complex requirements into systems that technical and nontechnical stakeholders can understand and use.
Adjunct Professor, School of Multidisciplinary and Professional Studies August 2022 – Present
  • Deliver synchronous and asynchronous instruction in a fully online university environment, using feedback, communication, structured activities, and individualized support to promote student engagement and success.
  • Translate institutional learning outcomes and curriculum into learner-facing experiences while adapting instruction and support in response to learner questions, performance, and demonstrated needs.
  • Bring direct learner experience into administrative and systems work, providing firsthand insight into how technology, communication, structure, policy, and support decisions affect learners.
Faculty Operations & Instructional Technology Specialist January 2022 – June 2023
  • Designed project, workflow, and information systems supporting faculty development, academic operations, and continuous improvement.
  • Developed faculty-facing learning resources and training across LMS, web, email, video, and virtual-event environments.
  • Partnered with academic administrators, faculty, subject-matter experts, and technical teams to translate learning and operational needs into practical digital solutions.
  • Built reporting and communication systems that helped leadership evaluate processes, make decisions, and identify areas requiring additional support or intervention.
eLearning & Development Specialist June 2021 – January 2022
  • Designed and authored digital compliance learning aligned with federal, state, and institutional requirements for delivery through Brightspace/D2L.
  • Collaborated with subject-matter experts, project managers, faculty, and administrators to transform complex source material into structured learning experiences and digital resources.
  • Led improvements to digital environments supporting the Academic Success Center, Student Life, and Faculty Operations with emphasis on accessibility, usability, information architecture, and user experience.
  • Supported learning and professional-development initiatives across LMS, web, email, video, webinars, and other digital channels.

Second Mile

Web Developer & Strategist, Part-Time February 2023 – February 2025
Web Developer, Contract August 2022 – February 2023
  • Translated business objectives and user needs into requirements, prototypes, implementation plans, and working digital experiences across WordPress and HubSpot environments.
  • Built and modified web products using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and tested new technologies, features, interfaces, and implementation approaches.
  • Identified usability and technical problems through testing and user interaction, then refined content structure, features, workflows, and system behavior.
  • Managed concurrent work across multidisciplinary teams and guided clients through implementation, adoption, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.

Jefferson County High School

Educator | District LMS Expert | Professional Development Leader August 2016 – July 2021
  • Designed inquiry-based, blended, and technology-supported learning experiences and collaborated on district-wide curriculum, standards alignment, common assessments, and instructional improvement.
  • Used student performance data, feedback, and observed learning behavior to revise instruction and curriculum rather than treating initial designs as fixed.
  • Led district-wide LMS adoption during a rapid transition to online and asynchronous learning, helping educators rethink how curriculum, communication, assessment, and learner support needed to function when teacher and learner were separated by time and place.
  • Onboarded and coached instructors in organizing, building, and delivering online curriculum while identifying where platform training alone was insufficient to create effective learning experiences.
  • Designed and delivered district-wide professional development on online learning, blended instruction, LMS implementation, instructional technology, and inquiry-based teaching.
  • Translated research and emerging educational practice into concrete approaches instructors could test and adapt in their own classrooms.

Applied Research

Leadership Support and Employee Readiness for a Four-Day Work Week in Remote Higher Education Settings

  • Designed and conducted a quantitative correlational study examining organizational readiness for change among employees in remote higher education.
  • Developed an original survey instrument and refined it through expert review, pilot testing, and reliability analysis.
  • Analyzed data in IBM SPSS using composite measures, descriptive statistics, correlation, subgroup comparisons, assumption testing, and effect-size interpretation.
  • Applied a research mindset centered on distinguishing assumptions from evidence, testing whether measures represent the intended construct, and adjusting interpretation when results do not support the expected relationship.