Biography

A first-in-family college graduate turned scientist-educator, Dr. Jennie Sanders combines rigor and empathy to reimagine learning systems that expand access, completion, and opportunity at scale. As Vice President of Product and Technology at Western Governors University (WGU), she leads outcome-focused technology innovations across the student lifecycle that impact 3,000+ faculty and nearly 200,000 students nationwide. 

Beyond large-scale transformation, Jennie is passionate about the micro-moments that shape student success. A firm believer that meaningful learning is both personal and collective, she created WGU’s ICF-accredited coaching certification program to cultivate transformative conversations – amplifying the human connection at the heart of the WGU experience. 

Over the past decade, Jennie has built human-centered, tech-enabled systems that deliver measurable impact for adult learners—work that blends her Cornell Ph.D. training in biochemistry, love of innovation, and relentless drive for a more equitable future. She is especially interested in how humans and machines can collaborate to create learning ecosystems that are not only more efficient, but also more inspiring and just. 

When she’s not experimenting with AI or designing decision intelligence interventions with her team, Jennie is exploring new ways to spark curiosity and connection—conversations she looks forward to continuing with fellow educators and innovators at this conference.