Advisory Board

Thomas Ashbrook

Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Bridgepoint Education

Under his direction, the Business Technology Services (BTS) Department is dedicated to accelerating Bridgepoint by aligning its technology deployment strategy with its business strategy. Prior to joining Bridgepoint, Mr. Ashbrook was the Divisional Information Officer/Vice President at Fremont Investment and Loan. There, he oversaw major projects and budgets for several company divisions while providing tactical advice for technological structure and growth. Mr. Ashbrook also rebuilt the company’s legacy IT organization by facilitating the modernization of technological architecture and practices, to ensure they met current standards. Prior to Fremont Investment and Loan, he held such positions as Senior Vice President of Technology Solutions for Fidelity National Financial and Executive Director of Information Technology for Edison Enterprises. He has also worked as a database architect, technical lead, database engineer, and systems engineer at such organizations as the Central Intelligence Agency. Bridgepoint Education is dedicated to social responsibility and its corporate culture embodies that sentiment. Mr. Ashbrook currently serves on the board of the Tijeras Creek Little League and After-School All-Stars. Mr. Ashbrook holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University in Long Beach, California and a Master of Business Administration from Ashford University. In his spare time, he coaches youth sports in his local community.

 

Dr. Fred Stielow

Associate Vice President, Dean of Libraries and Educational Materials, American Public University System

Dr. Fred Stielow is one of the innovators in Online Higher Education and Dean of Libraries at the American Public University System. Dr. Stielow previously served as director of the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, the Walter Reuther Labor Library at Wayne State University, and Mid-Hudson Public Library System. In addition, he has held full-time professorial appointments at the University of Maryland and Catholic University. His involvement in automation dates to Vietnam-era military training as a Systems Analyst-as well as subsequent development teams for the first DOS-based hypertext program and Sirs-Mandarin M-3 Integrated Library System. At APUS, Stielow is redefining classroom information delivery through a cost-effective three-part strategy-one that melds library materials, electronic textbooks, and a new university press. Externally, Stielow serves as a University accrediter for the Higher Learning Commission, founding editor of the forthcoming Policy and Strategy in Online Education, and a committee co-chair within IMSGlobal's Common Cartridge LMS standards group. He sits on advisory boards for Books 24/7, Ebrary, Magnifi Group, and the University of Rhode Island's Harrington School of Communications.  An early adopter of the Web, Stielow contributed to over 100 Web sites, managed ISP operations, chaired the American Library Association's Web Advisory Committee, and was selected as a 1999 "Cybrarian of the Year" by MCI. Other awards include a Fulbright Scholarship in Italy, the Jameson Fellowship of the Library of Congress, 2008 Etter Award for Creativity and Innovation, and 2010 URI Library School alumnus of the year. He has written or edited over 100 scholarly articles and 10 books, including Creating Virtual Libraries, Building Digital Archives, and the forthcoming Reinventing the Academic Library for the Web.