Kathryn Kennedy

With one foot in digital and online learning and the other in mental health and wellness, Kathryn has been cultivating her two primary passions 15+ years. On the digital and online learning side, Kathryn serves as founder and principal consultant of Consult4Ed Group, an education consulting firm made up of a variety of researchers, facilitators, instructional designers, curriculum developers, educators, project managers, graphic designers, visual artists, and more. Kathryn’s past roles include Director of the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, the research arm of Michigan Virtual, Director of Research for the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) (now the Aurora Institute), adjunct professor and advisor for the Ed.D. program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, and assistant professor of instructional technology at Georgia Southern University. She is one of the founding editors-in-chief of both the Journal of Online Learning Research and the Handbook of Research on K-12 Online and Blended Learning. She currently serves on the Leadership Team for the National Standards for Quality Online Learning. On the mental health and wellness side, Kathryn combined her work in education and wellness to create Wellness for Educators, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is invested in and passionate about system-wide wellbeing and supporting educators with research-based, trauma- and equity-informed trainings, coaching, and strategies for social, emotional, mental, and physical health and wellbeing. Her team consists of educators, licensed mental health professionals, and certified somatic practitioners. She is author of the forthcoming book The Mind-Body Connection for Educators: Intentional Movement for Wellness (expected publication date: March 28, 2023), which serves as the first in a four-part book series.