Lisa Young

Dr. Lisa Young has spent more than three decades working to expand access, equity, and innovation through open education. During her time with the Maricopa Community Colleges, she helped launch and guide the Maricopa Millions initiative and later supported the development of Open Maricopa, collaborative efforts that made high-quality open resources more widely available and significantly reduced costs for students.

She served as Co-President of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) and Vice Chair of the Open Education Global (OEGlobal) Board of Directors. Her current work focuses on connecting open educational resources, open pedagogy, and microcredentials to create more transparent and learner-centered systems.

As Founder and Principal of EDUEssentials Consulting, LLC, Dr. Young supports colleges and organizations in developing sustainable open education practices, recognition frameworks, and workforce-aligned learning pathways. She holds certifications in Creative Commons, Teaching with AI, Data Privacy & Accessibility, Learner Achievement & Opportunities, and is a QM Master Reviewer.

Dr. Young is honored to have been recognized by colleagues with the Open Education Global President’s Award (2024) and the OERizona Lifetime Achievement Award (2025). She remains deeply committed to collaboration and community as key drivers of meaningful, lasting change in education.