Recognized as a Catalyst in Open Education, Jennryn Wetzler oversees Creative Commons training programs, including the Creative Commons Certificate program, which has served over 65 countries. Jennryn manages CC’s Open Education Platform, a community group of open education advocates around the world. She also manages CC’s Open Journalism efforts, and consulting work. Jennryn enjoys focusing on projects that increase equitable access to information, believing that journalism and education are pillars of any democracy, and essential human rights.
Prior to Creative Commons, Jennryn worked at the U.S. Department of State, engaging in public diplomacy strategy and programming for nearly 300 U.S. Embassies and Consulates. She has a Masters in Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs from American University. Jennryn was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, a Boren fellow in Thailand, and a Critical Language Scholar in Egypt.
She was most influenced by education efforts for homeless children in Thailand, as well as under-resourced farming communities in Niger. Seeing the extreme obstacles learners faced in education impelled Jennryn to work toward opening access to knowledge. Nowadays, Jennryn enjoys time with her kids and husband, and feeding her more daring friends cooking experiments.
Photo credit: Priscilla C. Scott, CC BY