2024 Rising Star Award Recipient

Leslie Mojeiko

Senior Instructional Designer, University of Florida

For her exceptional service leadership, dedication to student success, and impactful contributions to higher education technology; for driving innovation in instructional design and AI integration; for her commitment to advancing the field and supporting the EDUCAUSE community with passion and expertise.

The 2024 Rising Star Award is presented to Leslie Mojeiko for her service leadership, commitment to student success, and extensive contributions to higher education technology and instructional design communities.

Over the past fifteen years, Leslie has held multiple roles in higher education. She began her career at the University of South Florida, where she served as an Academic Advisor and Instructor. Since joining the University of Florida Information Technology (UFIT) Center for Instructional Technology and Training in 2016, Leslie has advanced to the role of Senior Instructional Designer. She has led several high-impact technology initiatives, including implementing flipped advising services, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning, and developing innovative workshops to promote the broad use of technology.

Leslie has kept students at the center of her work throughout her career. In 2017, she proposed and successfully implemented a new UFIT service that provides instructional support for advisors to create pedagogically sound flipped advising courses. Since its launch, over fifty flipped advising courses have been developed, impacting more than 50,000 students. Leslie received the Superior Accomplishment Award at the university for this important work.

Leslie nurtures a holistic view of student success that spans diverse populations. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she assisted local K–12 schools to help teachers change modalities so students could continue learning. At UF, she coordinated faculty cohorts and instruction to support online teaching and developed leadership and internship programs for students.

In a time of uncertainty around AI in teaching and learning, Leslie helped develop resources and training to help faculty, staff, and students use AI responsibly. She co-led the development and coordination of Tech Bytes, a popular workshop series that attracts hundreds of faculty and staff. She is the co-author of the AI Prompt Cookbook, which includes AI prompts for teaching and learning. She has also facilitated multiple AI workshops and served on the inaugural GenAI Committee at UF.

Leslie is committed to service and leadership within EDUCAUSE. She has served on the EDUCAUSE Young Professionals Advisory Committee since 2022 and currently serves as the committee’s chair. She previously served as the social media chair. Leslie has contributed to several EDUCAUSE presentations and publications and has served the EDUCAUSE community through a variety of roles, including proposal reviewer and mentor. Leslie has been recognized with multiple awards for her work, including UF’s Going the Extra Mile Award, Online Course Excellence Award, Superior Accomplishment Award, and Exceptional Course Development Award, among others. Her dedication to student success and commitment to ongoing innovation in instructional design and emerging technologies have distinguished Leslie as a rising star in the higher education community.

This EDUCAUSE Award is sponsored by Moran Technology Consulting, Mission Partner.