Our Staff
Stu Crair
Director & Founder
Stu Crair is the Director & Founder of the Digital Workshop Center (DWC). In 2006, after many years in technology and higher education, Stu began DWC by offering private, customized training. Though DWC has grown immensely, Stu remains focused on providing the same customer service and personalized attention to all students.
Stu has a degree in Information Systems from the University of Maryland at College Park and has over 20 years of experience in higher education and technology. Since 2014, he has also taught as an adjunct Instructor at Colorado State University’s College of Business. Stu is passionate about helping others to succeed and enjoys mentoring DWC instructors. Stu loves to see our students leave with a spring in their step, armed with new skills to find a new job or advance in their career.
In his free time, Stu enjoys cooking, yoga, hiking, and plays drums with several local bands.
Ally Biernat
Admissions Director
Ally is a Colorado native who decided to make Fort Collins her home after graduating from Colorado State University with a BS in Nutrition and Food Science. She has experience working in a variety of industries and thrives on making genuine connections in her community. She is passionate about helping others and facilitating learning and professional development.
She is always looking for her next creative challenge whether it is out in the mountains, in her kitchen, or at the office. In her free time you will find her out in her garden, exploring a new rock climbing route, or paddle boarding with her pup, Wilder.
Brittany Lieske
Student Affairs Manager
Brittany grew up in Illinois outside of Chicago and moved out to Fort Collins six years ago for a change in scenery and to pursue a Communications degree at CSU. She has been loving Colorado ever since.
She has a passion for working closely with others and helping people better themselves both personally and professionally. For all these reasons, Brittany is excited about being a part of the DWC team.
Outside of work you can find her somewhere in the mountains, by a river, at a concert, or in the kitchen trying out a new recipe. Whether it be alone, or with friends, Brittany is always finding happiness being out in nature.
Savannah Nickerson
Communications Assistant
Savannah grew up in New England and spent time in New Hampshire before moving out to Colorado back in 2020. After settling in Denver, she entered into the Writing, Rhetoric, & Social Change Master’s program at CSU and made the move up to Fort Collins. She recently graduated after completing a thesis project in designing an alternative writing curriculum that focuses on teaching students how to write for and communicate with online audiences.
When not writing or creating content, Savannah is on a mission to find the best secluded hikes and trail runs of Colorado and surrounding areas. She can always be found on the trails, at the next indie rock concert, and in Old Town serving up Blue Agave tacos.
Yogi
Security Guard
Instructors
Alan Peters is an illustrator and graphic artist who believes in community building, agile practices, and rapid development in creative learning. Learn more about Alan here!
Amanda has spent the last 13 years working in higher education, helping students achieve their career goals with practical and applicable skills. Learn more about Amanda here!
Benjamin Kepner has 10 years of experience in global sales, technology, public speaking, training, blogging, partnership marketing, G Suite, SEO, Google Ads, WordPress, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Spanish for 100 brands and 100 events across 40 industries. Learn more about Benjamin here!
Betsy loves working with people and is passionate about helping others with their training needs and loves seeing their breakthroughs with the materials they are working on. Learn more about Betsy here!Bryan is an avid web designer and developer that has been in the industry for over 10 years, and hasn't stopped loving it! Learn more about Bryan here!
With over 25 years of experience in design, tech, business, and entrepreneurship, Chris knows how to connect with a multitude of audiences and weave his endearing style of mindful communication into engaging and inspiring talks, lectures, and workshops. Learn more about Chris here!
With nearly 15 years of experience spanning from project management, business analysis and software development to teaching, facilitation and leading process improvement initiatives, Chris is driven to continuously learn new things and connect with others with similar interests. Learn more about Chris here!Christie has a unique ability to reach beginners and challenge the more advanced by connecting their interests via relatable analogies and hands-on projects. Learn more about Christie here!
Dan is a Los Angeles-born designer and developer currently living north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Learn more here!
Dana has a passion to help people and businesses succeed. She loves sharing her broad base of experience and technical skills with students in all steps of their journey. Learn more about Dana here! 
Heather has been a data scientist for over a decade, currently working in healthcare specializing in deep learning models for pathology. Learn more about Heather here!
Jake Van Newkirk is a creative director and graphic designer with almost 20 years of experience in creative direction, branding, graphic design, marketing, product design, product development, and retail / tradeshow space design. Learn more about Jake here!
James was raised in Aurora, Colorado with a love for drawing, comic books, and gaming. His passions led him pursue and earn Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Colorado. Learn more about James here!
Jenny has 20 years of experience as a creative professional under her belt, with experience ranging from publication production and management, to digital marketing strategy. Learn more about Jenny here!
Joanna has 17 years of career experience spanning multiple industries including journalism, technology, and higher education. Learn more about Joanna here!Over the past five years, John has been an integral part of a highly skilled team of painters at Disneyland, contributing to iconic rides and lands such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Toontown, Nemo, Fantasyland, Radiator Springs, Jungle Cruise, and STAR WARS: Galaxy's Edge. Learn more about John here!
Jose has always been passionate about teaching and found ways to do so in his professional career while traveling the world. Learn more about Jose here!
Kate holds a master's degree in education and advanced certification as a Certified Equity Practitioner from the National Diversity Council, and carries a SHRM-CP. Learn more about Kate here!Kelvin Huntley, a native of Greensboro, NC comes to DWC with a plethora of government and teaching experience. Learn more about Kelvin here!Kimberly has over 15 years of experience in course design, development, and delivery, and specializes in applying the principles of Universal Design for Learning to the creation of highly engaging, accessible online learning experiences. Learn more about Kimberly here!
Lisa Ullery began her career in digital marketing at an agency in El Segundo, CA in 2010 and now works for an international B2B events company where she creates and implements digital strategy for their North American trade shows. Learn more about Lisa here!
Mark T. Williams II is a Houston-born, life-long visual artist who has been a Career & Technical Educator in New Orleans for 6 years, training high school, college, and career artists in Digital Media, Digital Literacy, Career Readiness, and Branding. Learn more about Mark here!
Mel Wolverson has over 20 years of experience teaching creative technical course and several years of experience in the field: working on graphics, photos, and video for university departments, supporting non-profit community organizations, and teaching state agencies. Learn more about Mel here!
Phillip Broste is an artist and filmmaker with over 15 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Learn more about Phil here!
Teresa has been a data scientist for many years specializing in predictive modeling, machine learning, and data analytics. Learn more about Teresa here!
Todd has been a professional creative person for over thirty years, starting as a graphic designer and then moving into positions of leadership as creative director and company founder. Learn more about Todd here!
Xavier Harrison is a seasoned digital marketing professional with a strong passion for community service and education. Learn more about Xavier here!