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Advisory Board Member:

Philip J.L. Westfall, Ph.D.
Director, Air Technology Network Program Management Office, Air Univeristy, Department of the Air Force

Dr. Philip Westfall is with the Department of the Air Force and is on the staff of Air University where he serves as the director of the Air Technology Network Program Management Office, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.  To meet multiple distance learning requirements for the Air Force, Phil developed the Air Technology Network (ATN), an  interactive television (ITV) network, which reaches over 350 Air Force receive sites (including bases in Eurasia) through a satellite uplink that is terrestrially linked to 16 broadcast studios.  His pioneering efforts and active promotion of ITV within the Federal Government led to the establishment of an interagency ITV network, which he named the Government Education & Training Network (GETN).  From a single uplink at Wright-Patterson AFB in 1992, GETN has grown into a network of 10 uplinks used by 19 government agencies reaching over 2,300 receive sites.

Phil is Chairman Emeritus of the Board and formerly President of the United States Distance Learning Association, and President Elect (and co-founder) of the Federal Government Distance Learning Association.  Phil is also on the Executive Committee of the Government Alliance for Training & Education by Satellite, a league of government program managers that promotes the use of distance learning by satellite and video conferencing within the Federal sector.  He is on the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Distance Education, the Board of Advisors of the Chief Learning Officer magazine, and on the Board of Advisors of Satellite Application Conference & Expo (SATCON).  Phil earned a Ph.D. in Educational Metrics from Ohio State University, a M.A. in Foreign Language Education, and a B.S. in Industrial Technology from Ohio University.