Tonya R. Bennett is Director of Educational Technology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, where she leads educational technology strategy for a curriculum that trains the next generation of veterinarians. She has spent nearly two decades in educational technology leadership at Penn, first at the School of Dental Medicine and now at Penn Vet, which means she has watched clinical education move through several technology eras and has opinions about most of them.
Her current focus is artificial intelligence in health professions education. As a member of the Penn Vet AI Task Force, she works on the practical questions institutions actually face: what tools are approved, what students are already using, and how the gap between those two gets closed responsibly. She brought her earlier career in regulatory compliance at NASDAQ PHLX, eight years of it under SEC and FINRA oversight, into that work, along with a Master of Laws in Technology and Intellectual Property from Penn Carey Law and a certificate in AI Ethics, Policy and Governance in progress.
Tonya is a long-standing EDUCAUSE contributor and a recipient of the EDUCAUSE Rising Star Award. She serves as Co-Lead of the Women in IT Community Group, participates in the Young Professionals Advisory Committee, reviews conference proposals, and serves as faculty for the AI and Instructional Design Program. She speaks regularly at EDUCAUSE, Penn IT conferences, the MOR Leaders Program at Auburn University, and Penn Vet faculty retreats.
Beyond her technology work, Tonya chairs the Penn Professional Staff Assembly, representing more than 5,000 monthly-paid staff members across the University. She is a proud nerd who believes the best educational technology is the kind people forget they are using.
In this episode, host Sophie White is joined by Tonya Bennett, Robyn Wood, and Amy Shaiman, leaders of the Women in IT Community Group, to discuss the importance of community in building and supporting higher education technology careers.
This episode explores how higher education technology professionals can craft an authentic presence that aligns with their values, career goals, and expertise. We discuss the relationship between personal brand and reputation, the value of networking, and strategies for increasing visibility.
Inspiration, motivation, and admiration are all qualities that either help us get to the next step in our career or our personal lives or simply help us get the morning started.
| Status: | Yes, current member |