Note: This news is a long time coming to this website, but as you can imagine, I have been busy. So thrilled to begin this new chapter!
Learning Forte has announced Kyle Oliver as a new Principal and Chief Product Officer.
Kyle brings a wealth of skills and knowledge to Learning Forte with experience leading media-rich learning activities, facilitating effective online and hybrid courses, and planning and executing communications initiatives at a variety of faith-based organizations.
He has taught or co-taught courses for Virginia Theological Seminary, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Teachers College at Columbia University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Vibrant Faith Catalyst. An Episcopal priest, he has also served congregations in the Dioceses of Washington, New York, and California.
He describes his passion as researching and practicing what it means to make meaning by making media. His dissertation work has focused on co-designing communal digital storytelling experiences with young people and their mentors in faith-adjacent settings. He is a doctoral candidate in educational media at Teachers College, Columbia University; former lead developer of the eFormation Learning Community; and former lead producer and co-host of The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry.
“Kyle and I have been collaborators on a dozen or so teaching, research, and ministry projects since we met in 2014,” said Learning Forte founder and Chief Executive Officer Stacy Williams-Duncan.
“In that time, I’ve seen him serve as a thoughtful, responsive, action-oriented conversation partner to countless leaders and initiatives. Kyle’s depth of experience makes any project better, and I’m thrilled that our team, our clients, and our learning partners will get to benefit from his creative presence.”
Kyle served as lead curator of Digital Learning @ Teachers College, an exhibition of innovative teaching and learning projects at the first and largest graduate school of education in the U.S.
Kyle is eager to share his expertise and grow with the Learning Forte community.
“The exciting and life-giving vocation I have fallen into is standing at the boundaries of different disciplines and different communities and trusting that God has called us all to learn from each other in order to serve more faithfully and effectively,” he said.
“Being the oddball priest in the Media and Social Change Lab, the dorky but caring media educator hanging out in day camps and mentoring programs, the nuclear engineer turned Christian formation podcast producer—I love seeing what happens in unexpected mashups, and then guiding projects from ‘intriguing idea’ to ‘genuinely impacting people’s stories.’”