Online Courses for Teachers

The PDI Team

The Professional Development Institute has been in business for over 27 years and has trained more than 345,000 teachers across the globe. We provide quality and convenient online courses to K-12 teachers. PDI courses focus on the most relevant topics in education and provide practical strategies that can be implemented in the classroom immediately. Every PDI online education course is approved for post-baccalaureate (at the graduate-level) credit through the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Extended Studies. UCSD is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), which is one of six regional associations that accredit public and private colleges and universities in the United States.

All PDI online courses are either developed or edited by the PDI Founder and President, Connie Ryan. Connie has a Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction as well as many years of experience as a teacher, trainer, author, and online instructor.

Meet the other talented members of the PDI team!

Caryn Chavez

PDI's Vice President of Marketing and Outreach, Caryn Chavez, M.S., designs and manages all PDI marketing and outreach campaigns. Caryn has a Master of Science degree in Instructional Design and Technology and has been with PDI for twenty years.

Jenna Nakamura

PDI's Executive Director of HR and Operations, Jenna Nakamura, M.S., manages the administration of all registrations and courses as well as supervises and coordinates all office operations. Jenna also supervises all PDI instructors. Jenna has been with PDI for over nine years. Jenna has a Master of Science degree in Instructional Design and Technology.

Kristin LeBeau

PDI's Editor-in-Chief, Kristin LeBeau, M.A., manages the content of all PDI courses, edits course content, and manages a team of authors. Kristin also leads the content development department as well as the PDI Submission Review Committee. Kristin has over twelve years of classroom teaching experience, a Master of Arts in Teaching, and has been with PDI for over nine years.

Thuong Tran

PDI's Director of Technology, Thuong Tran, M.S., writes and updates all technology course content. Thuong also does all course programming for our learning management system. Thuong has a Master of Science degree in Instructional Design and Technology. Thuong has been with PDI for over seven years.

Samantha Lundberg

PDI's Associate Director of Content Development, Samantha Lundberg, M.A., writes and updates all special education and social-emotional learning course content. Samantha also manages a team of authors. Samantha has a Master of Arts degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis. Sam has been with PDI for over four years.

Madison Humphrey

PDI's Associate Director of Technology, Madison Humphrey, B.A., helps manage all programming in PDI's learning management system as well as at the PDI website. Madison is also responsible for many business-related technology tasks. Madison has been with PDI for over three years.

Shannon Philips

PDI's Registrar, Shannon Philips, B.A., manages PDI participant completion paperwork and makes sure credit forms are submitted to the university in a timely manner. Shannon is also PDI's liaison to UCSD. Shannon has been with PDI for over two years.

Lindsey Maranto

PDI's Program Manager, Lindsey Maranto, M.S., handles incoming registrations and sends out course access instructions and information to PDI participants. Lindsey also teaches the PDI paraprofessional courses. Lindsey has a Master of Science degree in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education. Lindsey has been with PDI for over two years.

Melissa Breazeale

PDI's Program Specialist, Melissa Breazeale, M.S., handles incoming registrations and sends out course access instructions and information to PDI participants. Melissa has a Master of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies.

Kimya Nabavi

PDI's Program Coordinator, Kimya Nabavi, B.A., handles incoming registrations and sends out course access instructions and information to PDI participants.

Sydney Pham

PDI's Director of Marketing, Sydney Pham, M.S., creates and directs PDI's marketing initiatives. Sydney also assists and manages the PDI marketing team in carrying out all campaigns. Sydney has a Master of Science in Marketing with a concentration in Digital Marketing. Sydney has been with PDI for over five years.

Luis Ahumada

PDI's E-Mail Marketing Manager, Luis Ahumada, B.A., is responsible for all e-mail marketing efforts including design and implementation of our e-mail messages to teachers as well as school districts. Luis also oversees our teacher outreach e-mail campaigns.

Payton Thomas

PDI's Marketing Coordinator, Payton Thomas, B.A., is responsible for PDI's customer outreach campaigns, all social media posts, and database updates.