Dr. Tawnya Means is the Assistant Dean for Educational Innovation in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She leads a unit focused on developing and implementing innovative ideas, technologies, and approaches across the College's educational portfolio. Before this role, Tawnya served in leadership roles in teaching and learning support, providing faculty development programs and resources for instructional innovation and adopting pedagogical best practices. With 20+ years of experience in higher education, course design, and educational consulting, Tawnya has also taught courses in entrepreneurship, strategy, technology, and leadership in remote teams. Tawnya received her B.S. in Education, M.S. in Educational Technology, and Ph.D. in Information Science and Learning Technologies with an emphasis on learning systems design, all from the University of Missouri. She completed the AACSB Post-doctoral bridge program in Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida and a graduate certificate in Leadership and Strategy from the University of Illinois. Her research interests are in online and blended learning, active learning, learning space design, technology for teaching, access to digital learning resources, generative AI for education, and faculty preparation to teach. She has long been a leader in campus initiatives and committees and actively presents at conferences and other institutions and organizations on technology-enhanced learning.