Conference Chair

In July 2011, Diana Rhoten became the Senior Vice President for Strategy in the new Education Division at News Corp. Prior to this role, Diana cofounded and codirected Startl, which is a social enterprise dedicated to accelerating startups in the education technology and digital learning markets. By recruiting young entrepreneurs, immersing them in a rigorous product design and development process, and helping them to build socially responsible and fiscally sustainable new ventures, Startl seeks to build products and companies that are both learning-rich and market-smart. Diana was also the founder of the New Youth City Learning Network, which helps youth-serving institutions across New York City (e.g., New York Public Library, American Museum of Natural History, Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, YMCA) design new technologies and develop digital experiences that connect in-school education and out-of-school learning.

Previously, Diana founded and directed the Knowledge Institutions Program at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), where her research and consulting focused on the transformation of organizations engaged in the production and dissemination of scientific and cultural knowledge. Her portfolio of work including projects that addressed the mounting fiscal challenges to public higher education; evaluated and designed new models for scientific education, innovation and collaboration; and, created and implemented international partnerships across governmental and non-governmental agencies. While in her role at the SSRC, Diana was recruited by the National Science Foundation to serve a two-year appointment in the newly formed Office of Cyberinfrastructure as director of the Virtual Organizations and the Cyberlearning programs.

Diana has published in numerous academic journals, including Science, Minerva, Thesis Eleven, and The Annual Review of Law and Social Science. She has also co-authored several manuscripts, including Knowledge Matters: The Transformation of Public Research University (Columbia University) and Digital Media and Technology in Afterschool Programs, Libraries and Museums (MIT Press). At the same time, her work has been featured in more popular venues such as The New York Times, Nature, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, and the PBS special Digital Media - New Learners Of The 21st Century. For both her theoretical contributions and practical applications in the area of organizational design and innovation, Diana was named a Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer (2005 - 2007), an award that honors individuals at the leading edge of science. Diana lives in Brooklyn with her husband, the author and journalist John Heilemann. Prior to coming to New York, she was the cofounder and research director of the Hybrid Vigor Institute in San Francisco, an assistant professor at Stanford University School of Education, and a policy analyst and advisor for former Massachusetts Governor William Weld. She has a Ph.D. in education and policy and an M.A. in sociology from Stanford University, as well as an M.Ed. from Harvard University and a B.A. from Brown University. Diana has lived, studied, worked, and traveled extensively in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.