Dr. Rita Fennelly-Atkinson is a senior executive leader with more than 20 years of experience spanning the military, K–12, postsecondary, and nonprofit sectors. Most recently, she led digital credentialing and pathways initiatives at Digital Promise, advancing research-informed, equity-centered systems to expand learner opportunities and economic mobility. Her leadership focuses on building inclusive, scalable ecosystems that connect education, workforce, and community systems in service of long-term impact.

As a first-generation Latina college graduate, Rita brings a deeply personal commitment to equity, learner agency, and access. She is a published researcher with more than 15 peer-reviewed and practitioner publications focused on micro-credentials, digital credentials, competency-based learning, and accessible instructional design. In 2024, she co-authored The Role of Micro-Credentials in Lifelong Learning and Development, published in English and Spanish, contributing to global conversations on skills recognition across education, workforce, and community-based contexts.

Rita is also an accomplished product and strategy leader known for aligning organizational, programmatic, and technical priorities to drive platform innovation. She played a central role in the development and launch of Badge Engine, Digital Promise’s first open-source product, integrating equity principles, user-centered design, interoperability, and long-term sustainability. She also led major enhancements to competency-based assessment platforms, elevating quality, accessibility, and alignment with standards throughout the full learning and skill-verification lifecycle.

Her leadership extends to national advisory boards and coalitions, including service with the Consortium for School Networking Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Accessibility Committee, the Credential Transparency Description Language Advisory Board, and the 1EdTech Consortium TrustEd Microcredential Coalition. Rita holds a doctorate in instructional systems design and technology from Sam Houston State University and an MBA with a specialization in Business Data Analytics and Entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University.