Fellow
Joshua Baron
President and Founder, Baron's EdTech Consulting

- Standing
- Senior Fellow
- Capacity
- Senior Fellow
- Location
United States
In his role as Senior Fellow, Josh Baron provides strategic advising on organizational growth, business development, partnerships, and open governance models. He brings decades of experience in open source software, technology startups, and community-based governance, including serving as Board Chair of both the Sakai and Apereo Foundations. His work focuses on advancing sustainable, transparent, and community-driven initiatives. Josh Baron is the President and Founder of Baron's EdTech Consulting, providing strategic advising on digital education, technology, and business development to non-profits, higher education, edtech companies, and K-12 schools. Prior to starting his own business, Josh served as Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he was responsible for a $30 million grant portfolio focused on Digital Learning Infrastructure (DLI), part of the Foundation's postsecondary success strategy. Previously, Josh was Executive Director for Partnerships at Lumen Learning, an edtech startup focused on developing Open Educational Resource (OER)-based digital courseware to reduce the cost of education while improving student outcomes. Before joining Lumen, Josh spent much of his 30-year career working at colleges and universities, including roles as Assistant Vice President for Digital Education at Marist College, where he served on the President's Cabinet, and Assistant Director for Instructional Technology at Stevens Institute of Technology. While at Marist, Josh also served on the Sakai and Apereo Foundation Boards of Directors, including as Board Chair, and was Principal Investigator for the award-winning Open Academic Analytics Initiative (OAAI), supported by a Next Generation Learning Challenge grant. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and holds an MS in Educational Technology Leadership from The George Washington University through their nationally recognised online degree program.
Notable roles and recognition
- Former Founding Chair, AI Trust Council
- Former Senior Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($30M Digital Learning Infrastructure portfolio)
- Former Executive Director for Partnerships, Lumen Learning
- Former Assistant Vice President for Digital Education, Marist College (President's Cabinet)
- Former Assistant Director for Instructional Technology, Stevens Institute of Technology
- Former Board Chair, Sakai Foundation and Apereo Foundation
- Principal Investigator, Open Academic Analytics Initiative (Next Generation Learning Challenge grant)
- BS Aerospace Engineering, magna cum laude, University of Michigan
- MS Educational Technology Leadership, The George Washington University
Joshua Baron is a Fellow of the AI Trust Council, the independent multi-stakeholder body that governs the Trust Identity Protocol.