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 startups. 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.
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, Recovery Education and Applied Learning, and New Road Media, we found that blended learning experiences that leverage collaborative or peer to peer learning are most effective. We call these “social learning.”
Social learning experiences build bonds that create employer loyalty while also supporting 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 small core team of client-focused professionals with a large network of reliable freelance specialist that we call in to support our projects. 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.
Virtual Assistant
Donna Turno
I am Donna Turno. With 9 years of experience in the customer support industry, I have developed a keen ability to provide exceptional service and resolve customer issues effectively. My career path has led me to transition as a virtual assistant, where I utilize my skills to support Your ID with various administrative tasks , marketing initiatives, and design work. As a virtual assistant, I am responsible for creating graphics and video content, managing emails, conducting research, social media moderation, and performing data entry tasks.
In addition to my technical skills, I am committed to continuous learning and development. I bring a positive attitude and a strong work ethic to everything I do, and I am always looking for ways to improve and expand my skill set.