ANTHOLOGY EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER

Kara Eldersveld

Impact Area Lead
Director of Strategic Consulting for Online Program Experience

As director of strategic consulting for online program experience at Anthology, Eldersveld specializes in developing transparent, mutually beneficial partnerships with colleges and universities that focus on prioritized growth opportunities. Every institution has a unique recipe for growth and Eldersveld has a proven track record of assembling complex and strategic solutions that leverage expertise across academic program strategy, marketing, enrollment, and course design/development.

Prior to Anthology, Eldersveld was the director of marketing and enrollment strategy at Rice University. During her time there, she worked closely with university leadership to develop a university-wide program portfolio strategy that included more than 300 non-credit and certificate programs. She also developed an in-house workflow around market research, program performance, governance, instructional design, marketing, advertising, enrollment, admissions, and student services. Prior to Rice University, Eldersveld worked as the head of strategy and accounts at two award-winning advertising firms, serving a variety of clients in K-12, higher education, nonprofit, entertainment, and hospitality.

Her Fortune 500 and higher education experience give her a unique perspective on how to solve the complexities of building successful strategic online program portfolios from the ground up.

Eldersveld holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Miami University.

Laura Dermody, Ph.D.

Impact Area Associate Lead
Senior Director for Marketing and Enrollment Delivery

Laura Dermody, Ph.D., serves as Anthology’s senior director for marketing and enrollment delivery and has extensive experience in higher education, adult and online learning, and digital transformation. She is deeply passionate about delivering high-quality educational experiences to learners to meet their academic and career needs. Prior to joining Anthology, Dermody served as the senior director for program strategy at 2U and as an academic strategist for Pearson Online Learning Services, where she partnered with faculty and university administrators to design and execute high-quality online offerings ranging from alternative credentials to graduate degrees.

Dermody has a decade of experience working directly as an educator and academic administrator. At Vanderbilt University, Dermody served as the director of assessment and special projects for the dean of students, where she managed a portfolio of assessment, strategic planning, program evaluation, project management, communication, accreditation, student engagement, and strategic operations. In addition to her work in student affairs, Dermody supported academic units at The Ohio State University in both the College of Nursing and the College of Education and Human Ecology. Dermody has also taught in the K-12 environment as a high school English teacher with Teach for America.

Dermody has presented at numerous academic conferences and served on the directorate of the American College Personnel Association’s (ACPA) Commission for Assessment and Evaluation as well as ACPA’s Convention Planning Teams. Dermody has a doctoral degree in human development from The Ohio State University’s College of Education and Human Ecology, a master’s degree in teaching from Marian University, and a bachelor’s degree in both public administration and history from Miami University.