A.J. Merlino

About

A.J.
Merlino

I design learning experiences that connect creative practice with real career opportunity.

Read the bio

Biography

Work that
moves people.

I build learning experiences for the point where an idea has to become useful. My work connects creative practice, education, and employment through courses, programs, digital tools, and partnerships that give learners a real next move.

I have led academic portfolios, workforce initiatives, and learning product teams across higher education and industry. That work ranges from hands-on learning models and competency pathways to systems that help learners make sense of feedback, skill evidence, and career choices.

I treat creativity as a working skill: a way to frame a problem, test an option, and make a decision with other people.

Practice

How I
work.

The tree on the home page is a visual map of how I work. The roots are the relationships, constraints, and questions I begin with. The trunk and branches are the prototype, program, or experience a team builds together. I test it with the people it is for, then reshape it around what I learn. The nest is the support built into a learning experience: guidance, feedback, and room to practice. The birds are the learners. I want them to leave with evidence of what they can do and a next step they can act on.

01

Prepare the ground.

Before I build anything, I get specific about the problem worth solving. I use research and conversations with users to see what people are trying to do, where the current experience asks too much of them, and what is getting in the way. Then I bring together people who see the problem from different angles and can help make a better answer.

02

Let ideas take shape.

Once the problem is clear, I want the team to bring their own references, skills, and histories into the room. Good ideas rarely arrive fully formed. They grow when people build on each other’s half-finished thoughts and give one another permission to try something unexpected. I help give that energy a direction, then we make it real.

03

Test what grows.

The nest and eggs on the home page mark the point where an idea is ready to be tested, but not yet ready to stand on its own. I put early versions in front of the people they are meant for and watch what happens. Their response tells me what has enough strength to carry forward, what needs reworking, and what should be left behind.

04

Make a place to land.

On the home page, the birds take flight only after the nest has done its work. A launch has the same quality: the work moves beyond the team, into people’s hands, where we can learn from the life it takes on. When it needs more time, we stay with it, revising what testing has exposed, until it is ready.

Selected experience

My path in
learning.

My work has moved between program leadership, workforce development, learning innovation, and music education. Each role has focused on making learning more connected to practice.

  1. 2025 - present

    Associate Dean of Academic Programs

    Western Governors University

    I lead program strategy, personalized learning design, and hands-on assessment for a business portfolio.

    Academic leadership and learning systems

  2. 2024 - 2025

    Executive Director, Learning Innovation and Workforce Solutions

    Thinking Through AI

    I co-designed learning platforms and credential pathways with workforce partners, connecting skill development to employer needs.

    Product, partnerships, and workforce learning

  3. 2022 - 2024

    Associate Vice President and Associate Professor

    Harrisburg University of Science and Technology

    I led experiential learning and student professional development while building applied learning opportunities with employers.

    Experiential learning at scale

  4. 2019 - 2022

    Associate Dean, Director, and Professor

    Albright College

    I led career development, music industry studies, and creative programs, with a focus on student outcomes and industry partnerships.

    Creative education and career development

  5. Earlier career

    Experience Designer

    Entertainment Plus Productions

    I created live experiences tailored to each client and their audience. I used research to shape the idea, then turned the brief into something people could take part in and remember.

    Live experience design and production

A second practice

Music stays
in my work.

I am also a performing musician, writer, and arranger. Years spent making records and working in the music industry shaped how I think about rehearsal, collaboration, craft, and the gap between a first attempt and a finished piece.

That experience stays present in my learning design: people need room to try, useful feedback, and a reason to return to the work.

View selected music credits

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