Clay believes lifelong learning is integral to any sustainable social system. In his role on the Online Learning team, Clay works with instructors to conceptualize, create and support educational experiences. In addition to adapting his instructional design approach to meet individual pedagogical needs, he also uses inclusive design practices.

Clay received his honors BA in English and Political Science from Rutgers University and his MA from the University of Delaware, where he is currently completing a PhD in English. His doctoral work lives at the intersection of critical race, gender, queer and utopian studies, as he examines the impact technology has on marginalized bodies and discursive identities. He has presented and published scholarship on the significance of afrofuturism in literature, music and critical pedagogy.

Before going to Penn, Clay taught courses on digital rhetoric, American literature and science fiction at the University of Delaware. He appreciates blended and online learning’s transformative potential and advocates for inclusivity in present and future knowledge building communities.