2026 Badge Summit

2026 Badge Summit

2026 Badge Summit @ CU Boulder
In-person July 13-15 | Online August 4

Grace Whiteaker

Colorado Community College System

Director of Learning Design

Denver, Colorado

Find me on

TBA

Collaborative Session Notes!

9:00am MDT

Open Badges Then and Now: A Badge Summit Pre-Conference Hosted by Learning Economy Foundation with support from Mozilla Foundation Glen Miller Ball RoomTaylor Kendal Registration | Pre-Conference Workshops Glen Miller Ball Room

1:30pm MDT

How Do We Center Learner Voice and Experience in Designing Credentialing Ecosystems? UMC 384+386Tania Curry

2:20pm MDT

2:40pm MDT

Gaining Employer Buy-In: What’s working, what’s not, and how we'll fill existing gaps UMC 247Greg Watkins

Let's Talk Decoupling: A Functional Design Challenge UMC 415+417Courtney Lang

3:30pm MDT

3:45pm MDT

10. Getting Started with Metadata Glen Miller Ball RoomTomas Mindlin • Jim Vernon 15. Mapping Competencies for Career Programs: Driving LER Adoption with Credential Engine Glen Miller Ball RoomTim Hathaway 4. An Inclusive Future; building skills-based ecosystems based on guidance from skills practitioners, ontologists, and technologists. Glen Miller Ball RoomEmily Scheines

9:30am MDT

10:00am MDT

From Prototype to Practice: Applications of DCC Technology and Tools UMC 415+417Kerri Lemoie

10:30am MDT

10:45am MDT

Banking on Skills: A Cross-Sector Model for Workforce-Aligned Microcredential Pathway UMC 247Sasha Flores • Lisa Young Democratizing Durable Skills: A National OER Initiative UMC 415+417Tara Laughlin

11:15am MDT

11:30am MDT

Credentialing the Credential Builders: Lessons from managing a national credential portfolio UMC 384+386Patrick Flanigan • Melissa Peraino

3:15pm MDT

Making Learning Count: Wallets and the Future of Trusted Credentials UMC 415+417Wendy Grier • Manny Washington • Erica Von Lohr

8:00am MDT

Wednesday Breakfast + Badgesplaining Glen Miller Ball RoomKelsey Draper • Thania Guardino • Jeremy McQuigge

9:40am MDT

Making Badges Stick: Practical Steps for Policy, Access, and Lifelong Learning UMC 384+386Dr. Sarah Korpi

10:10am MDT

10:25am MDT

When Badges Fail and When They Work: Governance, Faculty, and the Power Behind Credentials UMC 384+386Keith Look • Nicole Westrick Where Skills Really Get Assessed: Mapping the Signals That Shape Opportunity CASE E422Nishita Chheda • Meghan Raftery

11:25am MDT

The Learning Outcomes to Skills to Competencies Process—How can we make it work better? And how can we make it part of our college culture? UMC 384+386Christine Hubbard Understanding Federal and State Requirements for Skill and Credential Portability UMC 247Rob Coyle

11:55am MDT

TBA

[ENCORE ON DEMAND] Breakfast Keynote featuring Keisha Katz VIRTUAL [ENCORE ON DEMAND] Tuesday Luncheon | T3 Innovation Network Mid-Year Meeting VIRTUALNate Otto • Robert Bajor • Colin Reynolds • Madelyn Rahn • Joseph Davis • Amanda Winters • Jeanne Kitchens • Karen Passmore • Jim Goodell BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND] | Beyond Microcredentials: Using AI to Translate Experience into Academic CreditGeeta Verma BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND] | Can Micro-Credentialing and Learning Employment Records (LERs) be used to create equitable career mobility for frontline staff in higher education?Kelsey Draper BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND] | Experiments in Credential FraudAlan Heppenstall BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND] | How to Explain LERs to Your GrandmaThania Guardino BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND] | Make Contributions Visible: The Work-Based Learning Number System TaxonomyJeremy McQuigge BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND] | Microcredentials, Major Shrug: What Are We Really Signaling?Cate Tolnai, MAT BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND] | My Teacher is a Clone: What 18 Months of Running a University in the Metaverse Has Taught UsKonrad Sowa BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND] | Your Badge Is Not a StickerKeith Look BADGESPLAINING [ON-DEMAND]| Civic Participation as Experiential Learning: Making Democracy a Credentialed SkillChris Newlon