Staff

Donald Adams, Jr.

Assistant Director of Design Innovation

Donald Adams, Jr., MEd, is the Workforce Development Coordinator, leading the workforce learning and development design team for the Office of Medicaid Innovation at the University of Illinois System. Donald has over 22+ years of instructional design, teaching, training, and learning and development experience, providing and overseeing workforce learning and development solutions for state and not-for-profit agencies.

Donald holds a master’s in education, concentrating in Curriculum and Instruction, from the National College of Education-National-Louis University and an Advanced Certificate in Online Teaching, a nationally recognized Blackboard Exemplary Course Program, from Governors State University.

Dakota Thomas-Wihelm

Training & Development Team Lead

Dakota serves as the Training and Development Team Lead for the Learning, Development, and Design Team at the Office of Medicaid Innovation within the University of Illinois System. Specializing in eLearning design and development, animated video creation, document creation, and project management, Dakota has created a variety of engaging and interactive learning solutions.

Dakota holds a PhD in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics of Second Language Acquisition, and previously worked as a course designer and instructor at the University of Iowa for five and a half years before transitioning into Learning Design and Development.

Email: dakotat@uillinois.edu

Nina Hopkins

Graphic & Instructional Design Specialist

Nina Hopkins is a Learning and Design Specialist and primary graphic designer for the Office of Medicaid Innovation’s Design Innovation team within the University of Illinois System. Specializing in the intersections of education, gamification, technology, and visual design, Nina has created learning solutions for everything from business master’s degrees to high school libraries.

Nina holds a MS in Library and Information Sciences, and applies data and research driven methods to create learning solutions. She is dedicated to bringing information to people in the ways they truly learn.

Email: nhopkin2@uillinois.edu

Heather Vose

Training Program Coordinator

Heather serves as the Training Program Coordinator for the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Learning Management System (LMS) at the Office of Medicaid Innovation within the University of Illinois System. Specializing in managing the large- scale web-based system, the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Learning Center, Heather has developed new strategies to increase workflow effectiveness and the ability to analyze processes and develop plans with procedures for implementation.

Heather holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree and is currently a Master of Social Work Student with a concentration in Leadership and Social Change at the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana campus. Heather has a strong passion and motivation for improving the learning experience of the Office of Medicaid Innovation’s Partnering Units.

Email: hnvose@uillinois.edu