Jacqueline S. Stephen is an accomplished instructional designer, educator, and scholar-practitioner with more than 20 years of national and international experience in higher education. She holds an Ed.D. in Instruction and Curricular Leadership with a concentration in Instructional Design and Technology from The University of Memphis, an M.S. in Instructional Technology, and a B.S. in Elementary Education from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. She serves as Assistant Professor of Instructional Design and Director of Instructional and Learning Design in the College of Professional Advancement at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.Her research advances quality and equity in online education, with a focus on instructor and learner readiness, high-impact practices in learner-centered course design, online learner persistence, and the alignment of employability skills with academic coursework. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes and received the American Educational Research Association’s 2021 Distinguished Research Paper Award on Mentorship and Mentoring Practices. Dr. Stephen is the co-editor of Global Perspectives on Higher Education: From Crisis to Opportunity (2023), featuring contributions from scholars across 20 countries, and the author of Academic Success in Online Programs: A Resource for College Students (2024), a practical guide to supporting persistence and success in online learning. Her global engagement includes a Fulbright U.S. Scholar (2023) award to teach in Azerbaijan and a Fulbright Specialist (2023) award supporting the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice in Timor-Leste.