Jennifer Southard

Jennifer (Jen) Southard, J.D., M.Ed., is a Course Developer for the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University.

Jen’s strong commitment to education and the holistic development of students began in 2012 when she became a volunteer tutor to academically struggling students in local elementary schools.  In this capacity, she was assigned a third grader who detested multiplication, but was a wicked card player.  After a quick purchase of a deck of cards, coupled with some even quicker thinking, Jen began to appreciate the value of effective instructional design as she crafted card games that incorporated multiplication into their rules.  Soon, that same reluctant student not only remembered his times tables, but also was able to apply them such that he won game after game.

This experience inspired Jen to make a career pivot into curriculum design and she began teaching writing classes at colleges on and around Long Island. Alongside her work at Columbia, Jen also serves as an Instructional Designer, Adjunct Professor, and Clinical Educator in the Learning Resource Program at Adelphi University.