b'Champion forChangeDriven by a passion for learning and a vision for change, Dr. Christina Amato (DBA 21) is the dean of eLearning at Sinclair Community College. A proponent for innovation, she has dedicated her career to increasing student access, accelerating completion of college credentials, and redefining student experiences using innovative practices where pedagogy and technology intersect.Dr. Christina Amato is a leader who uses her education and experience to make a difference in the lives of others. However, her journey to higher education was not linear. She moved to the Dayton (Ohio) region in 2007 as a military spouse, having lived in various states and working in different fields. Ready to start a family and settle down in one place, she found a job at Sinclair Community College, serving military students and their families at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.Obviously,a space that she knew well.She eventually decided to pursue a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from Franklin University, a choice that was motivated by personal and professional goals. She chose Franklin because of its flexible and supportive online model, its interdisciplinary approach, and its clear pathway to completion. She started in the fall of 2018 and finished in the summer of 2021.I always knew that I was going to get a doctorate. I just didnt know when. I wanted the achievement itself to be about proving something to myself. It was also a gift that I gave back to myself after more than a decade of moving all over the country and supporting my husband as an active-duty military soldier, Christina said.Her dissertation topic was inspired by her experience with competency-based education (CBE), a disruptive and innovative pedagogy that focuses on student mastery of skills and outcomes rather than seat time. Christina was involved in implementing some of the first CBE programs in community colleges through a Department of Labor grant that Sinclair received in 2012.I watched the impact that CBE had on students. Students who needed it could take more time to complete a class 26 Clocktower | Franklin Features'