Michael Potashnik
President and CEO
E-Learning Associates, LLC

Michael Potashnik is President and CEO of E-Learning Associates, LLC a new international research and consulting group located in McLean, Virginia, and dedicated to bridging the digital divide through e-learning and knowledge sharing. Prior to this venture, Mr. Potashnik served as Director of the Development Gateway at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. He led a core team of 30 technology specialists and knowledge workers in building an online portal on development knowledge at the global level and a network of some 50 country gateways worldwide. In his position, Mr. Potashnik also advised on the World Bank's global knowledge and information technology initiatives.

Prior to that assignment, Mr. Potashnik served as the World Bank's Sr. Internet Advisor and Lead Specialist on Education and Technology. In this position he was responsible for the World Bank's Internet strategy, the development of new Internet-based information and knowledge sharing applications, training and skill development. He also headed a multi-disciplinary team of specialists who provide technical support for World Bank lending operations in education and training around the world.

Mr. Potashnik has been deeply engaged in efforts to advance the use of the Internet in teaching and learning in the developing world and in building web-based applications for knowledge sharing. Under his leadership, the World Bank initiated a widely acclaimed technical notes series on education and technology, and a new global distance education network to develop and disseminate knowledge on distance learning over the Internet. He is author of numerous World Bank technical papers and journal articles on distance education and the role of computers in teaching and learning.

Mr. Potashnik serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the new United States Open University, established by of the Open University of the UK, a member of the Planning Board of the Arab Open University, and the Centre for Research in Distance and Adult Learning (CRIDAL) of the University of Hong Kong. He also served as a member of a research committee on knowledge at Motorola University and as advisor to the Harvard Graduate School of Education on the development of a graduate degree program in technology and education. He is currently a member of the editorial board of a new journal, Education, Communication, and Information.

Dr. Potashnik began his career with the Social Science Research Council in New York where he led internal scholarly research programs in the social sciences funded by the Ford Foundation. He subsequently joined the United Nations Development Program in New York and served in several positions including Sr. Specialists in the Division of Global and Interregional Programs.

Dr. Potashnik received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate at the University of California, Los Angeles in Latin American History. He has been visiting fellow in educational technology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Stanford Research International (SRI) in Palo Alto.

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