Beth Leeder - President

I was born and raised in West Virginia, and would probably still live there if I had not met and married Steve Leeder, an Army Lieutenant. 33 years later, it remains my best decision. We have two children, Samantha Gilbert, a middle school science teacher in Tucson (mother to our granddaughter Callie) and CPL Christopher Leeder an MP stationed in Korea.

In 1988 I completed my bachelor’s degree in Science Education while we lived at Ft Polk, LA by driving the 1.5 hours daily to Northwestern State University of Louisiana in Natchitoches. I spent the next 18 years moving with Steve and teaching high school math and science in Leesville, Louisiana; Frankfurt, Germany; and finally here in Sierra Vista, AZ where I taught for 11 years at Buena High School. While at Buena I transitioned into teaching math full time and loved working with high school students.I entered federal service in 2006 as part of the Staff and Faculty Development Division (SFDD). I started as database admin and Army Basic Instructor Course (ABIC) instructor; served as course manager for several courses; and created the Advanced Instructional Methods course. I earned a Master’s in Educational Technology from the University of Arizona in 2009. Luckily for me, I had a supervisor who encouraged me to create a niche for myself and I did! In Dec 2010 I became the Chief of SFDD.In September 2013 Training Development Support Directorate merged two separate organizations into one new division…the Teaching, Learning and Technology Division, which I have led since. The other branch I picked up is the Learning Innovation Branch. Staff and Faculty Development Branch teaches the instructors and training developers and the Learning Innovations Branch provides instructional design support and educational technology production…both organizations focused on effective, efficient LEARNING.In June 2018 I will begin work on a second master’s degree through the Army War College Distance Learning Program.