Wesley (Wes) Best joined the Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning (EELL) team in 2021 as Director of Education Technologies & Digital Programs. In his role he helps plan, design and build EELL’s digital programs, including open and custom digital programs, in addition to managing the technology that brings these programs to life. He shares more about what he loves about his job and why organizations should partner with Darden for their lifelong learning needs.
Can you share your career journey and what led you to Darden?
I started my career working in the educational technology sector supporting classroom engagement and polling software for colleges and universities. Then I officially transitioned to working directly in academia at the University of Maryland College Park where I managed instructional technologies and media production as part of the Division of Information Technology. In that role, I had the privilege of working with faculty and staff directly to design, implement and support classroom technologies, along with creating instructional resources and videos to enhance teaching and learning. My role evolved to focus on the design and support of mobile and digital learning environments and technology, and that’s what brought me to Darden.
When I joined in 2021, I had an interest to continue to focus in on designing digital learning experiences while remaining connected to higher education and organizations, to design experiences using technology. I felt that Darden’s reputation, values and excellence in teaching seemed like a natural transition to me based on my background and interests.
What’s been your favorite part of your role?
Working with our team, organizations and faculty to strategically solve problems and support the goals and initiatives of organizations by leveraging the best practices for teaching and learning combined with technology. It’s fulfilling to help learners and organizations achieve their goals and reach their full potential. My favorite part of what I do is putting a puzzle together by figuring out how everything fits in learning and development. My role allows me to be involved in the process in terms of creating transformational and impactful learning experiences. I love getting to see the full picture and how everything comes together.
If an organization is exploring partnership for their lifelong learning needs, what are some reasons they should choose Darden?
I would say our approach with learning and development at Darden. It’s both highly customized and backed by research and proven results. When you partner with us, you get access to everything within Darden – the world-class enterprise, the network, the faculty – it’s very focused, personalized and supportive. The environment at Darden fosters learning and development through a highly customized approach that’s very client centric and drives meaningful results.
Speaking of driving results, do you have a memorable moment of impact to share from your Darden experience?
There are a lot of them, so let me consolidate them into an encompassing perspective. It’s where we’ve designed several blended learning experiences for organizations and in doing that, watching everything play out. We have seen the real, tangible results that our world-class learning experiences have on organizations. We’ve crafted them with faculty, staff and organizations, and it’s making a positive impact for learners and organizations. When you hear about the impact your programs are making, directly from clients and learners, it means we’re making a difference.
Why is lifelong learning important to you?
It’s important because in today’s rapidly changing world, lifelong learning plays a significant role for me in helping learners and organizations thrive. By continuously investing in my own learning and development, I can better understand and meet the needs of those learners and organizations. I have to lead by example and be a lifelong learner myself – that’s what it comes down to and why it’s important to me. I try to bring my best self to Darden every day, and the way I can do that is by focusing on continuous growth and learning.
