About Us
We believe in one thing above all else:
Make learning that matters.
Your Instructional Designer is a learning and development agency that specializes in digital social learning solutions for distributed teams (remote, hybrid). Our mission is to make learning that matters—for our clients and their people.
We love working with organizations in times of transition and growth. This is the time that learning and development can have the biggest impact on an organization’s ability to thrive in the marketplace.
The Your ID Advantage
Experts in Social Learning
We practice, research, and study social learning. Unlike our eLearning development friends, it's not just something we dabble in. It is what we do-- all we do. Every team member, from intern to PhD-level strategist, participates in constant feedback sessions and professional development to be at the top of our game in social learning design and strategy.
We believe that when people connect with other people and feel truly like they belong, they are more likely to be kind (the research supports it) and thus make the world a better place. Focusing on people and giving those people the best possible experience is our way of doing that. That's why we always aim to provide exceptional service.
Proven Frameworks
Working with over 100 organizations over the past 7 years in industries ranging from Aviation to Fashion to Health Tech and a whole lot in between , we've learned what works and what doesn't. We've used those experiences to define a set of frameworks that power impactful social learning--- the kind that leads to higher performing teams, reduced incidents on the job, and improved employee experience.
How It Started & How It's Going
Your Instructional Designer started in 2017 as a “we’ll build you anything” learning design brand. In working on hundreds of learning projects over the years, for clients such as Netflix, Allegiant, Amplified Life Network, SKS Consulting, and New Road Media, we found that blended learning experiences that leverage collaborative or peer to peer learning are most effective. The power of social learning was evident.
Social learning experiences build bonds that aid retention and support an improved talent experience. They allow organizations to be agile and to tap into organic forms of knowledge sharing that minimize training costs. So we’ve focused our effort and energy into building our expertise in social learning because we believe these are the solutions that will have the greatest impact in our clients’ organizations.
Today, we’re a team of client-focused professionals with a large network of reliable specialist and partners. We're proud to have an outstanding reputation in our field as social learning experts, and we're even prouder of the fantastic relationships we've built with our clients.
Meet Our Team
Founder & CEO | Learning Strategist
Nicole Papaioannou Lugara, PhD
I'm Nicole Papaioannou Lugara, founder of Your Instructional Designer-- a learning strategist, instructional designer, and entrepreneur. I chose to start Your Instructional Designer because I wanted to build a learning and people development agency that was truly committed not only building meaningful learning products-- ones that create positive business impact-- but also to providing an exceptional customer experience for those who work with us.
My whole professional career has been focused on empowering others to achieve their personal and professional goals through learning- whether that's professional development, hands-on training, coursework, community-building, or one-on-one mentoring. There are over 500,000 users currently taking courses that I have designed or were designed under my leadership. My work has been recognized by Brandon Hall, Chief Learning Officer Magazine, and the New York State Assembly in partnership with Philo4Thought.
I am not only an agency owner but a co-founder with experience running startups. I am one of the original six investors in Recovery Education and Applied Learning, a platform for parents whose children are experiencing stigmatized illnesses, such as substance use disorder, and served two years as Chief Learning Officer. I am also the co-founder of Learn Getaway, workcations for women entrepreneurs.
My Ph.D. is in English from St. John's University (Queens, NY). My academic research focuses on student engagement, transfer of learning, and writing across the curriculum.
I look forward to working with you to transform your organization.
Junior Project Manager
Rocio Granela
I’m Rocio Granela, a junior project manager at Your Instructional Designer. In my role, I support the Your Instructional Designer team in delivering projects that are on time, on budget, and within scope. I also monitor performance and build and maintain relationships with clients and contractors.
After spending five years as an educator in NYC and then 4 years as an office manager, I realized that what I enjoyed about those roles was the planning, execution, and completion of projects. Most of my professional career has involved guiding others, whether it was students, employees, or a business, to reach their full potential.
I obtained my undergraduate degree from the University of Florida (Go Gators). I hold a Master of Science in Education from the City College of New York and am currently working on obtaining a Master of Science in Management from the University of North Florida.
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Instructional Designer
Katie Hynes, PhD
I’m Katie Hynes, an instructional designer at Your Instructional Designer. I’m thrilled to work at an agency dedicated to creating meaningful learning experiences that are grounded in the field’s best practices, clients’ business goals, and employees’ needs. Social learning, including story and knowledge sharing, is not only a scalable solution but a people-centered one. And in all my professional roles to date, I’ve seen the impact of putting audiences first: results!
Before shifting to corporate instructional design, I worked as an adult education instructor, editor, writer, and writing consultant. My career has taken me from the world of magazines to higher ed, a think tank, and the nonprofit sector. The contexts have changed over the years, but many questions I ask myself throughout the workday haven’t—like, What problem are we trying to solve? Who’s the audience? What do they care about?
Speaking of caring, I’m especially interested in how emotions shape learning and life at work. For my dissertation, I conducted arts-based qualitative research to learn about the emotional labor college writing instructors invested when providing feedback on students’ personal writing. I have a PhD in English (Composition) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a certificate in e-learning instructional design from UW Professional and Continuing Education.
Learning Design Intern
Diego Diaz
I’m Diego Diaz, a Learning Design Intern at Your Instructional Designer. I am a rising Junior at Fairleigh Dickinson University working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design with a minor in Digital Marketing. Along with school, I am a D1 athlete on the Men’s Volleyball team; an executive member for both FDU and the Northeast Conference’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committees; and a freelance social media manager and graphic designer.
As a student-athlete, I have a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, and a love for learning. Being part of a collegiate team has taught me the importance of being a teamplayer which is essential when it comes to helping your team find solutions that yield the best results. Along with athletics, my prior experience being part of the FDU SAAC team as the social media manager taught me the importance of unity, community, and building connections. I learned that positivity and change is possible when there is a united community working to achieve a common goal. I am excited to work with Your ID team, continuing to create learning experiences and build connections that spread kindness and positivity.