Sae Schatz, Ph.D., serves as the Director of the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, a research and development program under the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Education and Training. Before joining the Government in 2015, Sae worked as an applied human–systems scientist, with an emphasis on human cognition and learning, instructional technologies, adaptive systems, human performance assessment, and modeling and simulation. During that time, she led the authorship and execution of the Marine Corps’ Making Good Instructor Great course and accompanying instructor tool kit. She was also the chief scientist for the award-winning Border Hunter research effort and the Joint Staff J7’s Blended Learning–Training project.

Sae has worked with the Defense training and education community for over 10 years. During that time her efforts frequently focused on ways to enhance individuals’ higher-order cognitive skills (i.e., the mental, emotional, and relational skills associated with “cognitive readiness”). She has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed scholarly publications, led development of 3 military textbooks, and received professional recognition for her publications and research, including best paper awards from the I/ITSEC and MODSIM conferences.

Sae also maintains close ties with her alma mater, the University of Central Florida. She formerly held an assistant professor position with the university, and she previously taught courses in visual design, web design and development, modeling and simulation, and human–systems interaction. Today, she continues to mentor UCF graduate students from the Institute for Simulation and Training, and she serves on the Digital Media Advisory Board.