Meet Our Team
Catherine Sybrant is the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). In this role, Catherine collaborates with diverse stakeholders across the university to advance program excellence. Central to this role is the design and delivery of faculty development opportunities that support instructors to explore and advance their teaching practice.
In addition, Catherine oversees the implementation of academic partnerships with HPU's online service providers (Evidence in Motion, 2U, Beacon Education, Boundless Education, etc.) and facilitates the successful operational launch of new hybrid and online programs. She works collaboratively with academic deans, program leads, admissions, registrar, marketing, financial aid, student support services, business office, and other university offices, to ensure that new degree programs and academic partnerships accomplish stated goals and are successfully executed and maintained.
With over 25 years' experience in teaching, learning, and development roles in vocational, corporate, and higher education environments leading diverse stakeholder project teams, Catherine respects the work that every person contributes to an organization's success and seeks to create opportunities for individual personal and professional growth. At HPU, CTL’s focus is faculty success, which indirectly benefits student success.
Catherine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from Hawaii Pacific University, a Master of Arts degree in Adult Education and Training from University of Phoenix Online, and certifications in human resources and Quality Matters.
Shayna Katz is an Instructional Designer with HPU’s Center or Teaching and Learning (CTL) team. As a member of CTL, she works to design and develop online and hybrid learning, including collaborating with faculty in planning courses and facilitating faculty course-creation processes. Additionally, she assists in program evaluation and quality assurance, working with her team to organize and implement data-driven strategies for ongoing program fidelity.
Shayna has worked in education since 2008 with experience in teaching, designing learning experiences, researching, providing professional development and project management. Through her experiences, she has found that setting the groundwork to promote student self-determinacy and classroom community is essential to enhance learning in face-to-face, hybrid and online classrooms.
She holds an MA in Spanish and Latin American Literature and Culture with a focus on pedagogy at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Second Language Studies in Spanish Applied Linguistics, and a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. As a lifelong learner herself, she is currently a PhD student in Learning Design and Technology.
Han Nee Chong is an Assistant Professor at the School of Education and program chair for the Master of Education in Educational Leadership (MEDEL). She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Studies from the University of Hertfordshire, a Master of Arts degree in Communication from Hawaii Pacific University, and a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California.
Han Nee is an instructional designer skilled in curriculum development, assessment and teaching in the higher education industry. Before becoming an Assistant Professor, she was the HPU instructional designer and continues to collaborate with the CTL team. She has designed multiple, successful online courses in collaboration with faculty teams, and was named a winner of the Blackboard Catalyst Award for Exemplary Course for 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017. This award recognizes faculty and course designers who develop exciting and innovative courses that represent the very best in technology and learning. Her research interest in innovative technology for education stems from a firm belief that while technology is a tool, which in and of itself, does not promote learning, it can be integrated purposefully into instruction to help students achieve student learning outcomes and learn in ways that are most meaningful to them. Han Nee teaches courses in educational leadership, instructional design, and training and development.