Leadership Team
Bill Goodwyn
CEO, Discovery Education,
President, Global Distribution, Discovery CommunicationsA 26-year veteran of Discovery Communications, Bill Goodwyn serves as President and CEO of Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital textbooks and curriculum-based digital content in U.S. schools.
As a global leader in educational transformation, Discovery Education reaches over half of all K12 classrooms, one million educators, 35 million students in the U.S., as well as 50 countries around the world. Discovery Education transforms teaching and learning by partnering with Districts throughout the country to support educators with digital technology, high-quality multimedia content, professional development, assessment services, and common core solutions that drive student achievement.
Since taking the helm in 2007, Goodwyn has transformed Discovery Education into the fastest-growing division of the company. Goodwyn has expanded into new services that make Discovery Education a leader in educational transformation, most recently with the launch of the Discovery Education Techbook series in 2010. Designed to replace traditional textbooks as a core instructional resource and to provide interactive, experiential learning, Discovery Education's Techbooks in K-8 Science became the first all-digital solutions to be adopted in multiple U.S. states' textbook review processes. Techbook has been honored with numerous industry awards for innovation, including being named EdTech Digest's 2013 outstanding solution in the digital textbook category. Under Goodwyn's leadership, Discovery Education has revolutionized the digital textbook space and now offers a full suite of Techbooks, including all grades in K-8 Science, four high school science subjects, three Middle School Social Studies subjects, and will expand to include a series of Mathematics Techbooks in 2014.
Goodwyn has also spearheaded the development of Discovery Education’s public-private partnerships, delivering needed resources to educators, students and parents at no cost, including the award-winning Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, the 3M Young Scientist Challenge and other programs that support educators in enhancing their curriculum in traditionally-underfunded academic areas such as STEM, environmental education, financial literacy, health & wellness, and college & workforce readiness.
EdTech Digest recognized Goodwyn with their 2013 Leadership Award, acknowledging him for his passion and commitment to excellence in education, and for setting trends in the educational industry through innovative uses of technology. Under Goodwyn’s leadership, Discovery Education has been recognized with a number of prestigious industry honors, including awards from the Association of Educational publishers, Software & Information Industry Association, ComputED Learning Lab, Ed Tech Digest, Learning Magazine and Tech & Learning Magazine. Discovery Education is a 2012 Edison Award Finalist and has been named by Fast Company as one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in Education.
Prior to his role as President & CEO of Discovery Education, Goodwyn oversaw all content distribution, sales and marketing in North America for Discovery's portfolio of networks, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and Science Channel. Goodwyn was subsequently promoted to President of Global Distribution where he was responsible for content distribution for Discovery's more than 100 networks in more than 180 countries and territories around the world.
In recognition of his career achievements, Goodwyn has been awarded the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's Vanguard Award, the highest honor for Young Leadership, and was inducted into the Cable Center's Cable TV Pioneer Hall of Fame and CableFAX Daily's Sales Hall of Fame. His industry and civic commitments have included board positions with the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), CTAM's Educational Foundation, the T. Howard Foundation (diversity in media), the Alexander Youth Network and the UNC-Chapel Hill Journalism and Communications School Board of Advisors.
Goodwyn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and lives with his wife, Leigh, and their two children in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Scott Kinney
Senior Vice President
An acknowledged thought leader and powerful voice in support of educational technology, Scott Kinney has more than 20 years of experience in the education industry. As senior vice president for Discovery Education, Kinney cultivates deep partnerships with school districts across the country, working closely with educators and administrators to develop customized solutions that support their strategic goals and empower them to make the systematic transition from print to digital. Under his leadership, Discovery Education services are transforming teaching and learning in more than half of U.S. schools and 35 countries around the world.
In addition to partnering with school districts, Kinney consults with high-level education officials, governors from across the US, and foreign ministries of education, including work in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America and the Middle East. He also oversees the Discovery Educator Network (DEN), one of the largest, most active international learning communities dedicated to supporting educators from around the world as they embed technology into their daily classroom instruction.
Kinney has testified before Congress on the Future of Learning, spoken at countless education conferences, keynoted numerous administrator events and contributed to various national education publications.
Prior to joining Discovery Education, Kinney spent 15 years in public education serving at both a school district and regional service center. In addition to his K-12 work, Kinney has taught undergraduate and graduate classes for Kent State University and Penn State University. Regularly designing and implementing innovative learning solutions, Kinney also launched a partnership with Wilkes University, through which in-service educators have the opportunity to earn a Master of Science in Instructional Media through an online, fully accredited program.
Kinney holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Instructional Technology from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania.
Lori A. McFarling
Chief Marketing Officer & Corporate Education Partnerships
A seasoned marketer with over 20 years of media, sales strategy and business development expertise, McFarling oversees Discovery Education's corporate partnerships, product marketing, communications, events and public affairs activities worldwide.
In this role, McFarling has driven the expansion of Discovery's partnership business, overseeing the creation of the company's award-winning educational promotion agency. Partnering with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, foundations and trade associations, McFarling's team builds sponsored community engagement programs designed to support student achievement in under-resourced areas such as sustainability, STEM, media literacy, health & wellness, environmental and character education. She has also led the development of the company’s first branded travel program, Discovery Student Adventures, and crafted multifaceted education partnerships with global companies such as 3M, Siemens and Toyota.
Also leading the sales strategy and marketing efforts for Discovery’s U.S. cable networks and new media programming services, McFarling received the cable industry's highest honor, the Vanguard Award, for marketing excellence. She now serves on the National Education Association Foundation's Board of Directors. Prior to joining Discovery Education in 2008, McFarling has held a variety of management posts at Discovery Communications and worked in sales, marketing and education posts at Procter & Gamble and C-SPAN, the cable industry's public affairs network.
Kelli Campbell
Senior Vice President
Kelli Campbell brings more than 20 years of experience in educational product development and executive management to Discovery Education. In her current role as senior vice president, she oversees the Techbook and Assessment lines of business and leads product and content strategy and development, customer support and divisional IT functions. Under her leadership, Discovery Education entered the digital textbook market. Spanning K-12 science and middle school social studies, the Techbooks positively impacted more than 200,000 students and teachers nationwide in the first year of implementation. Discovery Education’s digital Techbooks are designed to replace textbooks as the next generation of core instructional resources for America’s classrooms.
Campbell also leads the development and delivery of the Discovery Education’s streaming service, which is used in more half of U.S. schools and 35 countries around the world, as well as the company’s Assessment services, which includes tools and content to inform instruction and accelerate student achievement. Additionally, she sets Discovery Education’s global product strategy and is directing the creation of a new line of products for the higher education and virtual school environments.
Campbell is an acknowledged thought leader on the development of high quality curriculum-based digital content. She has presented at numerous national and regional education conferences on the subject and has contributed to numerous articles in national publications on the replacement of textbooks by digital resources. She served on the committee that developed the “Digital Textbook Playbook,” the Obama administration’s plan for schools to get digital textbooks in students’ hands within five years. She also has been named a finalist for Women in Technology Leadership Award.
Prior to joining Discovery Education, Campbell served as vice president and general manager for Clearvue & SVE, a Chicago-based educational content company. An early pioneer in using digital content for instruction, she oversaw the creation and launch of the award-winning PowerMediaPlus.com media-on-demand system.
Elisa Freeman
Senior Vice President, Global Business Development & Distribution Operations
Leading global business development and content licensing strategies for Discovery Education, Elisa Freeman is a seasoned executive charged with expanding the company’s educational portfolio in international markets. In her role, Freeman guides global business development deals with Ministries of Education and institutional & consumer product companies.
An 11-year Discovery veteran, Freeman also leads a cross-functional team to identify, prioritize and execute compliance and systems strategies for Discovery’s global distribution efforts. In addition, she oversees the negotiations and compliance of multi-year carriage agreements with key distributors for Discovery’s 13 U.S. Networks, as well as numerous alternative technology carriers.
Prior to joining Discovery in 1999, Freeman worked in consulting for clients including American Express, served as Director of Regulatory Affairs for Oncor Communications, Inc. in Bethesda, MD, and was Manager of Association Services for Association Management Bureau in Washington, DC. She holds a JD from American University Washington College of Law.