Dr. Sharon van Wyk is an educator, higher education leader and experienced business executive with a passion for changing lives through education.  Dr. van Wyk has held senior executive positions in companies and universities that include The Princeton Review and Tutor.com, American Public University, American Military University, Intuit, Genworth, GE and Accenture.  She's an accomplished innovator in online learning and providing faculty and student support at scale.  She’s mentored early and mid-stage education technology companies, advised the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on learning curriculum and technology investments, served on Boards of Directors and currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Board to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. 

In addition to wide-ranging leadership experience, Dr. Sharon van Wyk is a certified executive coach and she possesses several process improvement certifications including Master Black Belt and Six Sigma Instructor. She has experience launching Lean, Agile and Scrum.

Dr. Sharon van Wyk holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and a M.S. in Instructional Systems from Florida State University. She earned a B.S. in Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  She was an adjunct faculty member in the University of Connecticut Executive MBA Program and a community based faculty member for University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension.  Her post-doctoral studies include certificates from the GE John F. Welch Leadership Development Center and the Harvard Institute of Education Management.  She has attended the, by invitation only, U.S. War College National Security Seminar.

Sharon and her husband, Jim, are avid sailors and they live in Maryland.