2026 Badge Summit: Full Schedule

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

1:30pm MDT

Designing for Skills Visibility Across Learning Pathways

Monday July 13, 2026 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT

Limited Capacity seats available

How might we help learners show what they know—and have it recognized—as they move between school, work, and training? Join Colin and Meghan for a rapid design sprint tackling the translation gap: learners have skills, but can't prove them in ways employers and educators trust. Through hands-on facilitation, you'll prototype practical solutions using real scenarios. Leave with tools and peer connections to advance skills recognition in your context.

Speakers

Meghan Raferty

Education Designer, Education Design Lab

Meghan brings expertise in project management, stakeholder engagement, durable skills, and performance assessment to Education Design Lab as an Education Designer working on the XCredit team. She’s responsible for leading the improvement and expansion of our skills validation tools, establishing a new suite of skills validation services, and supporting the work of the Skills Validation Network.Prior to joining the Lab, Meghan served as a freelance educator, specializ... Read More →

Colin Reynolds

Senior Director, Strategy & Impact, Education Design Lab

Colin Reynolds brings over 15 years experience as a classroom teacher, instructor, administrator, and consultant to Education Design Lab as a Strategic Impact Director. Colin’s projects include Experience You, Last Mile to Hire, and advises on projects related to learning an... Read More →

Monday July 13, 2026 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT
UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

T3, In Person

3:45pm MDT

Help! I'm not a nerd! (but I think I want to do an LER)

Monday July 13, 2026 3:45pm - 5:45pm MDT

Glen Miller Ball Room

The world of LERs and digital credentialing can feel overwhelmingly technical. However, in reality, the people best positioned to implement them are probably not tech experts - nor should they need to be. This session will guide people who are LER curious toward resources they can leverage to get started and navigate the technical aspects in an approachable way.

Speakers

Madelyn Rahn

Network Director, SkillsFWD

Madelyn Rahn is a strategist, consultant, and convener working at the intersection of workforce development and technology, with a focus on building policies and systems that create pathways to economic success. Her work focuses on translating complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives... Read More →

Monday July 13, 2026 3:45pm - 5:45pm MDT
Glen Miller Ball Room

T3, In Person

11:30am MDT

Considerations for Digital Credentialing in Higher Education: Guidance and Emerging Best Practices in Support of Learner Mobility

Tuesday July 14, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm MDT

UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

Session explores the emerging best practices for considerations of Digital credentialing in higher education. The goal is to ensure comprehensive consideration of the technologies, policies, processes, standards and organizational and cultural factors that will determine the success of a credentialing initiative at an institution of higher education. Examples derived from implementations associated with the Learner Mobility project will be highlighted.

Speakers

Dale Allen

President & Co-founder, DXtera Institute

Dr. Dale Allen leads strategic direction to remove digital integration barriers and develop open source solutions for education and workforce institutions, and international consortium members. He is an innovator who has a unique ability to lead dynamic collaboratives to transform... Read More →

Jon Furr

SR Vice President, Strada Education Foundation

As senior vice president and chief data ecosystem officer, Jon Furr leads Strada’s initiatives focused on ensuring all stakeholders have access to the data and insights they need to make informed choices about postsecondary education and training programs.Furr’s career has focused... Read More →

Jeff Merriman

CTO & Co-Founder, DXtera Institute

An internationally recognized leader in educational technology, DXtera’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Jeff Merriman brings over thirty-five years of rich experience in educational innovation and collaborative leadership to the DXtera Institute. In his role as CTO, Jeff... Read More →

Nate Otto

Founder, Skybridge Skills

Nate Otto is the founder of Skybridge Skills, a digital credentials technology vendor offering hosted solutions including ORCA, the Open Recognition Community App. Previously, he was the creator of Badgr, a leading Open Badges issuing platform. Nate has contributed to open standards... Read More →

Tuesday July 14, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm MDT
UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

T3, In Person

12:00pm MDT

Tuesday Luncheon | T3 Innovation Network Mid-Year Meeting

Tuesday July 14, 2026 12:00pm - 2:00pm MDT

Glen Miller Ball Room

Speakers

Robert Bajor

Founder, Microcredential Multiverse

Robert Bajor is a nationally recognized leader in digital credentialing and skills-based workforce systems, with over 15 years of experience designing interoperable, learner-centered credential ecosystems. As the founder of Micro-credential Multiverse, he brings a practitioner’s... Read More →

Joseph Davis

Director Communications, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Jim Goodell

Jeanne Kitchens

CTSO, Credential Engine

Jeanne Kitchens serves as the Chief Technology Services Officer, overseeing all technological programs, policies, and advancements across all facets of Credential Engine’s work.Previously, she served as the Associate Director for the Southern Illinois University Center for Workforce... Read More →

Nate Otto

Founder, Skybridge Skills

Nate Otto is a digital credentialing technology leader and founder of Skybridge Skills, where he develops standards-based tools that support open recognition and interoperable credential ecosystems. He brings deep technical expertise from leading development of digital credentialing... Read More →

Karen Passmore

CEO, Predictive UX

Karen Passmore is the founder and CEO of Predictive UX, a strategy and implementation consultancy specializing in Learning and Employment Records (LERs). She advises organizations on implementing LER technologies, driving organizational change, increasing adoption, and establishing... Read More →

Madelyn Rahn

Network Director, SkillsFWD

Colin Reynolds

Senior Director, Strategy & Impact, Education Design Lab

Amanda Winters

Executive Director Workforce, US Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Tuesday July 14, 2026 12:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
Glen Miller Ball Room

3:15pm MDT

Early Outcomes Leveraging the Trusted Career Profile to Facilitate Employer Adoption

Tuesday July 14, 2026 3:15pm - 4:00pm MDT

UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

The Trusted Career Profile (TCP) is an emerging standard designed to support employer adoption of Learning and Employment Records (LERs by enabling connections with existing HR systems. This session introduces the TCP and a demonstration project focused on hiring use cases, shares early employer feedback and outcomes, and explores how this approach may influence broader LER adoption and what comes next.

Speakers

Madelyn Rahn

Network Director, SkillsFWD

Tuesday July 14, 2026 3:15pm - 4:00pm MDT
UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

T3, In Person

10:25am MDT

Evaluating the Technical Foundations of Badge and LER Systems: A Ready-to-Use Self-Assessment Tool

Wednesday July 15, 2026 10:25am - 10:55am MDT

UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

This session introduces a ready-to-use, self-guided technical assessment tool designed to evaluate the quality and interoperability of digital badge and credentialing systems. Evolved from the SkillsFWD project and funded by Walmart, the tool focuses on credential design, metadata completeness, standards alignment, evidence structures, and system interoperability. During the session, participants will be guided through the assessment framework and invited to evaluate the tool itself, its structure, assumptions, and practical utility, using real-world credentialing challenges as a basis. This is not a conceptual exploration, but a hands-on review of a production-ready self-assessment instrument.

Speakers

Robert Bajor

Founder, Microcredential Multiverse

Nate Otto

Founder, Skybridge Skills

Wednesday July 15, 2026 10:25am - 10:55am MDT
UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

T3, In Person

11:25am MDT

Skills based hiring for employers

Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:25am - 11:55am MDT

UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

The LER ecosystem has mastered issuing—but employers are still stuck asking “How do I verify and use this?” In this session, I’ll demo the open-source LER Skills Verifier, an employer-facing tool that makes LERs actionable for skills-based hiring. See how to verify credentials, evaluate trust, align skills to jobs, and give employers a tangible way to use LERs today. An open source T3 Network project from the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Speakers

Nate Otto

Founder, Skybridge Skills

Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:25am - 11:55am MDT
UMC 285+287 (Aspen)

T3, In Person

TBA

[ENCORE ON DEMAND] Tuesday Luncheon | T3 Innovation Network Mid-Year Meeting

Tuesday August 4, 2026 TBA

VIRTUAL

PART 1:
https://vimeo.com/1214052302

PART 2:
https://vimeo.com/1214052301

PART 3:
https://vimeo.com/1214052300

PART 4:
https://vimeo.com/1214052299

Speakers

1:30pm MDT

3:45pm MDT

11:30am MDT

12:00pm MDT

3:15pm MDT

10:25am MDT

11:25am MDT

TBA

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