AI and Academic Research SkillPointe Webinar

About the Speakers:

Dr. Kevin Logan

Social Scientist and Business Psychologist works as a Consultant, Human Capital and Professional Development Coach, and Adjunct Professor. His research and publications are grounded in social science and psychology, which emphasizes the basic human needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in remote work and virtual environments in the future of work; with a focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, human: capital, flourishing, thriving, and potential.

Dr. Logan brings extensive experience from diverse industries, including Telecommunications, Networking and Infrastructure, Information Technology, Facilities Maintenance and Management, Law Enforcement, Entrepreneurship, Higher Education, and Organizational Development. His work has significantly impacted each industry and resides at the intersection of entrepreneurship, human capital, innovation, and the future of work.

He is a fervent advocate for entrepreneurship, human development, and business ownership. His active contributions to numerous work, education, community, and organization initiatives that promote entrepreneurship education, learning, and human development through innovation, technology, and growth are inspiring. His unwavering focus on basic human needs, future thinking in innovation, and the future of work is apparent.

Dr. Logan has participated and served in various capacities, including President of Toastmasters International (Lanham, MD), Fellow and Executive Fellow (National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship), inductee and recipient of the Excellence Award (Edward A. Bouchet Honor Society) to name a few.

His more notable presentations occurred at the Association of Faculties for the Advancement of Community College Teaching (AFACCT), the Maryland Male Student of Color Summit, the NAACP Maryland State Conference 72nd Convention, and the Maryland Male Initiative Presidents Roundtable.

Some of his published works include Innovation at its Best (self-published, 2012), Coaching as a Technique of Instruction (Journal of Pedagogical Practices Across Maryland Community Colleges, 2023), Developing a Culture of Innovation (National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship, Winter/Spring 2023).

A native of Washington, D.C., he is a proud attendee of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, holds an Associate’s in Business Management from Prince George's Community College, a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Bowie State University, a Master’s in Business Administration from Central Michigan University, and a PhD in Business Psychology from The Chicago School.

Dr. Gregory A. Buschman 

Dean (Interim) College of Business

Dr. Gregory A. Buschman serves as Acting Dean of the College of Business at St. Petersburg College, where he brings more than 30 years of experience spanning higher education, corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, organizational strategy, quality assurance, and workforce development. A nationally recognized educator and practitioner in creative leadership, organizational development, digital marketing, and generative AI, Dr. Buschman is known for aligning people, processes, and technology to support innovation, institutional effectiveness, and measurable performance improvement.

Before moving into academic leadership, Dr. Buschman held senior leadership roles in sales, marketing, corporate education, global solutions, and business transformation. He worked with multinational organizations to improve business processes, strengthen quality assurance systems, and develop scalable strategies for workforce optimization. His experience includes leading cross-functional initiatives, conducting current-state and future-state organizational analyses, supporting global product and service development, and helping organizations implement standards-based approaches to continuous improvement.

A central theme throughout Dr. Buschman’s career has been the design and leadership of corporate training and professional development programs. In multiple organizational roles, he built and oversaw training programs for sales and marketing professionals, systems analysts, managers, and organizational leaders. His work included contributing to some of the earliest Internet-based corporate training programs, serving more than 10,000 employees, as well as developing and facilitating in-person professional development programs for thousands of employees and leaders.

Dr. Buschman also served on American National Standards Institute committees, including the ANSI Print Properties and Colorimetric Global Standards Committee and the ANSI GRACoL Global Standards Subcommittee, contributing to global quality assurance standards in the publishing and graphic communications industries. His work in this area reflects his long-standing commitment to standards, process excellence, and continuous improvement.

At St. Petersburg College, Dr. Buschman has developed and taught courses in innovation leadership, management, digital marketing, organizational leadership, creativity, and emerging technologies. He has led curriculum development for academic programs and certificates, including digital marketing, business analysis, and continuous improvement, while integrating active learning, authentic assessment, Quality Matters standards, and Bloom’s Taxonomy into course design. Through Strategic Leadership Development, Dr. Buschman and his colleagues serve as consultants to public sector, nonprofit, academic, and corporate organizations, providing leadership development, generational workforce strategy, creative problem-solving, ethical AI adoption, and organizational transformation workshops.

Dr. Buschman holds a Ph.D. in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change, a Master of Science in Marketing, and a Master of Science in Information Systems. He is a certified facilitator in FourSight® Team Collaboration, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, and Creative Problem-Solving, and he is the author of I Think, You Think, We All Think Differently: Leadership Skills for Millennials and Gen Z. He also serves as a dissertation research chair in Creativity and Innovation Leadership doctoral programs at the University of the Virgin Islands and Buffalo State University. A frequent speaker at national conferences, Dr. Buschman presents on creative leadership, team building, workforce strategy, innovation, and generative AI. His leadership reflects a commitment to student success, workforce readiness, academic excellence, and preparing business graduates to lead in complex, rapidly changing organizations.

Marita Diffenbaugh

Marita Diffenbaugh is the Director of Innovation at North Idaho College and co-founder of NIC X-Labs, a dynamic ecosystem where students, faculty, industry partners, and community members collaborate to solve real-world challenges through design thinking, lean startup, and emerging technologies. NIC X-Labs connects industry and education to deliver innovative tools and processes—using AI as a learning and productivity resource to meet educational needs.

Marita’s leadership reflects a continuum of learning and innovation, from 14 years in K-12 classrooms to statewide roles providing professional development on cloud-based tools for superintendents, principals, and educators, and now advancing higher education strategies that foster relevance and innovation. She holds an Ed.S. in Executive Educational Leadership, an M.A. in Teaching with Technology Emphasis, and a B.A. in Elementary Education. Marita is the author of L.E.A.R.N.E.R.: Finding the True, Good, and Beautiful in Education and co-author of a peer-reviewed article in SAGE Journals on competency-based education policy. She has presented nationally and internationally on activating tools, resources, and processes to connect education with industry and community.

Sarah Davis

Sarah Davis is a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at the University of Idaho, specializing in artificial intelligence, robotics, and explainable machine learning. She holds dual master’s degrees in computer science—one focused on cybersecurity from Syracuse University and another in AI and robotics from the University of Idaho—both earned with a 4.0 GPA. A NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium Graduate Fellow and teaching fellow at North Idaho College, she conducts research at the intersection of predictive modeling and knowledge discovery, developing hybrid AI systems that integrate deep learning, genetic algorithms, and qualitative association rule mining for environmental and biomedical applications such as Valley Fever forecasting and fish ladder temperature prediction. Prior to academia, Sarah spent six years as a Software Development Engineer at Microsoft, where she engineered platform-wide media, DRM, and error-handling features for Silverlight and collaborated with P0 customers including Netflix. With experience spanning industry, research, and teaching, she brings strong cross-disciplinary collaboration skills and deep technical expertise in machine learning, robotics, and software engineering.