Meet the Learning Design & Technology (LD&T) Team

Will Davis

Manager, Learning Design & Technology

As the manager of the Learning Design and Technology (LD&T) team, Will oversees a talented group of team members that maintain an active pace providing instructional design, content development, learning management, and technical training expertise to the University. Will received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in Instructional Technology and has worked in corporate, non-profit, and academic settings as an Instructional Systems Designer, Adjunct Professor, Project Manager, and Consultant. 

Fun Fact: Will has coached numerous sports including lacrosse, wrestling, cross-country, and various martial arts.

Meganne Jeter

Workday Learning Supervisor

Meganne is responsible for identifying, defining, and articulating opportunities to adapt and leverage Workday Learning to meet organizational goals. Meganne utilizes her instructional design background to consult on functions, features, limitations, and practical applications of Workday Learning to support learning and talent development solutions across Grounds. Meganne completed her graduate degree in Adult Education/Human Resource Development from James Madison University and earned her Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) credential from the Associate for Talent Development (ATD).

Fun Fact: Meganne previously worked at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia and had the privilege of working the 93rd PGA Championship in 2010.

Carrie Payne

Workday Learning Specialist

Carrie (she/her) is people-focused, she serves as the primary point of contact for inquiries escalated to the LD&T team. Carrie has extensive knowledge of Workday Learning and supports, designs, develops, implements, delivers, and maintains content, and other resources to make it accessible to our employees and UVA community.

Fun Fact: Carrie and her family have fostered over 100 puppies (and sometimes moms) from the ASPCA.

Charlotte Russell

Workday Learning Specialist

Charlotte (she/her) uses her values of continuous learning and collaboration to lead her work on the LD&T team. She has extensive experience with Workday and has worked in UVA HR since 2018. Charlotte is responsible for Workday Learning inquiries and maintaining, reviewing, and developing content.

Fun Fact: Charlotte grew up on a farm and helped raise over 200 goats!

Christopher Birkl

Instructional Designer

With over a decade of experience designing learning solutions, Christopher has embraced the role that technology plays in making learning more accessible. He enjoys working with subject matter experts to find ways to create or adapt training to meet the needs of a changing workforce with increasing digital fluency.

Christopher’s always looking for ways to simplify and streamline the Instructional Design process; working smarter, not harder, to meet the learning needs of the UVA Community.

Fun Fact: Christopher once fronted a punk band.

Francis Duncan

Instructional Designer

Francis (she/her) uses her M.S.Ed. from JMU to build learning that works for the adult learner, first and foremost. She builds eLearning and a variety of training materials, consults on adult learning principles and instructional design tools. Much of her focus is on UVA Health, compliance training, and simplifying processes. All work has the goal of providing learners a  better experience and tracking if the training met its goals for UVA.

Fun Fact: Francis has seen over 200 concerts. 

Ty Ferrell

Instructional Media Designer/Developer

Ty believes, at its core, instructional design is about achieving results. To achieve results, he identifies what success looks like and starts with the end in mind. He believes instructional design and visual design are equally essential to the success of his projects. Ty is also highly organized in thought and action and is a great problem solver. He organizes and prioritizes what problems are most important and takes a systematic process so that an effective root cause can properly be identified.

Fun Fact: Ty enjoys listening to Taylor Swift.

Sue Simpkins

HR Specialist, Workday and Technical Training

Sue uses her 33 years of UVa experience to offer digital solutions to the UVA Community so they can facilitate successful transactions within Workday, via Job Aids, short videos, or Workday Digital Assist. 

Fun Fact: Sue made over 4,000 masks and gave them away during the pandemic.