Alicia Willis, MA Ed., is a Senior Instructional Design Specialist at the Center on Education and Training for Employment. She designs and develops instructional programs, provides curriculum recommendations, and consults on curriculum and instructional design projects.

With more than 20 years of experience, Willis began her Instructional Design work by developing and delivering on-the-job training to her peers. Later, she designed online-learning programs for career-technical education courses, including the creation of project-based learning assessments, learning engagement, animations, videos, and interactive games. Recently, she developed dozens of online learning modules, including three modules within the Center’s Go Digital Training Collection and six modules within a comprehensive Competency-based Learning Virtual Institute. Alicia also develops presentations, podcast episodes, videos, and animations to share her knowledge and skills with other learning and development professionals.

Since 2015, Willis has led the Center’s Instructional Design Cohort. This cohort has expanded to include 32 Instructional Designers across 16 colleges and departments within The Ohio State University and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Willis also serves as a member of CETE’s Steering Team for the Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Movement. REDI is designed to increase members of the CETE community’s knowledge and skills relevant to the posture and practice of cultural humility; identify and establish anti-racist norms, practices, and policies at CETE; and contribute to the dismantling of institutional racism within CETE’s spheres of influence. In line with the REDI movement, Willis prioritizes her own professional development on accessible, equitable, and inclusive instructional practices to ensure programs and products meet the needs of all learners.

Originally from Northwest Ohio, Willis moved to Columbus to attain a Bachelor of Arts in English at The Ohio State University. She went on to acquire a Master of Arts in Education, with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction, from the University of Phoenix.

Willis spends her personal time reading, hiking, and playing board games with family.

Research Interests

• Instructional Design
  • Accessibility
  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Learning Design
  • Learning Technologies
  • User Experience Design
• Adult Learning
  • Learning Experience
  • Professional Development Design
• Adult Literacy
• Career and Technical Education
• Workforce Development and Education