Ford Rasmussen

Instructional Designer

Utah State University Extension

April

Ford Rasmussen is an Instructional Designer at Utah State University Extension, where he blends creativity, strategy, and emerging tech to build impactful learning experiences. Over nearly four years, he has developed 30+ online courses that expand outreach across Utah’s diverse communities.

An early adopter of AI in education, Ford designed and taught a hands-on course that introduces students to emerging technologies and their instructional uses, limitations, and ethical implications. The course continues to run annually and has been adopted by full-time faculty. He also supports his team by sharing weekly AI updates and delivered a well-attended internal webinar on AI tools.

Ford played a key role in building *Mejore Su Salud*, a Spanish-language version of an online health education course for SNAP-Ed audiences. He led course design and media production efforts, incorporating culturally relevant content and accessible delivery formats tailored to Spanish-speaking learners. The project earned a state-level Excellence in Teamwork Award from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

In his spare time, he creates educational stargazing and astronomy videos on YouTube, reflecting his passion for accessible and engaging learning.https://www.youtube.com/@FordRasmussen

Kara Wight Burton

Director of Learning and Performance Management

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

May

Kara Wight Burton is a learning and development leader with experience spanning the private sector, higher education, and now the nonprofit space. She currently serves as Director of Learning and Performance Management at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, where she is building out a learning program focused on helping teams do their best work.

Ismael "Izzy" Zarate

Learning & Development Intern

Stadler

June

Ismael "Izzy" Zarate discovered a passion for learning and development during a college internship with Maverik Inc., which led to a full-time role as a Learning and Development Coordinator. There, he collaborated with instructional designers to create business-focused learning solutions. After earning his bachelor’s in Human Experience Design and Interaction from Utah State University, He joined Stadler US as an L&D intern.

Stadler’s US branch, though part of a global company, is still growing, with over 500 employees and evolving infrastructure. This has allowed him to take on meaningful projects, including leading a company-wide learning analysis to identify development gaps and design tailored learning paths that support our mission to create trains people love and want to ride.

He is passionate about employee engagement and have developed onboarding materials, a healthcare education series, and safety training in partnership with HR. He is honored to be the ATD Rising Star Nominee for June 2025 and remain committed to enhancing the employee experience through impactful L&D work.