Open Ed, Open Ped and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 

In this episode of Open Ed Mic, host Dr. Michael Mills is joined by co-hosts Kevin Corcoran and Zach Klebaugh to welcome special guest Shinta Hernandez, Dean of MC Online and Academic Support at Montgomery College and recent OE Global Individual Leader of the Year award recipient. Shinta shares her origin story in open education, rooted in confronting inequities she witnessed firsthand in her sociology classrooms. Her pursuit of textbook affordability eventually led her to Montgomery College’s OER and Z-Degree initiatives, where open education is framed not just as a cost-saving measure but as a commitment to social justice, student empowerment, and high-quality instructional design.

The conversation explores how Montgomery College has expanded its MC Open initiative, how open pedagogy fosters agency among learners, and why interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration is essential for solving global challenges. Shinta and Mike discuss the creation and rapid international growth of the UNSDG Open Pedagogy Faculty Fellowship, now spanning multiple continents and institutional partners. They highlight the program’s unique model, which pairs faculty across disciplines—and even across countries—to design renewable assignments aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Shinta shares memorable successes from the fellowship, including student projects that gained community impact and even inspired career changes.

The episode concludes with a look toward the future, examining the emerging intersection of OER and artificial intelligence, the need for continued professional development, and the importance of collaborative communities of practice prepared to navigate an evolving digital landscape.

Podcast (opened-mic): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:29 — 34.6MB) | Embed

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About our Guest

Dr. Shinta Hernandez is the Dean of MC Online and Academic Support at Montgomery College, providing leadership in online education, open education, and the Digital Learning Center. Shinta leads efforts to advance work in open education and open pedagogy, social justice and equity, inclusive curriculum, faculty professional development, international collaborations, online education, and the social science disciplines. She leads the UNSDG Open Pedagogy Faculty Fellowship that has grown into an international collaboration across the United States and Canada. Recent partnerships have included schools in the Caribbean and in Asia.

Shinta H. Hernandez, Ph.D

Dean of MC Online and Academic Support
Montgomery College, Rockville, MD

Meet Your Hosts

Your hosts—Kevin Corcoran, Zach Claybaugh, Brittany Dudek, and Dr. Michael A. Mills—bring decades of combined expertise as prominent thought leaders in open educational resources (OER) within higher education. With extensive backgrounds spanning digital learning, library science, student success initiatives, and strategic leadership at state and national levels, they have collectively shaped policies, driven impactful initiatives, and advocated passionately for increased access to education. Their collaborative approach highlights their deep commitment to advancing open education practices, ensuring quality, affordability, and accessibility for learners everywhere.