Keynote Announcement: Dr. Sian Proctor

The Open Education Conference is delighted to announce that Dr. Sian Proctor will be the opening keynote at #OpenEd26, taking place virtually on October 27–29, 2026.

Dr. Sian Proctor is a geoscientist, artist, astronaut, and educator best known as the pilot of the historic all-civilian Inspiration4 space mission. A former professor with the Maricopa Community Colleges, she spent more than 25 years teaching geology, sustainability, and planetary science while championing innovation in education. Dr. Proctor also served as the district’s Open Educational Resources (OER) Coordinator, helping expand access to affordable, high-quality learning materials and advancing initiatives that promoted equity, creativity, and student success through open education.

Dr. Proctor will explore this year's theme “The Space Between” drawing on a career that has navigated some genuinely unusual distances — from community college classrooms to Earth’s orbit — to ask what open education makes possible.

Register now to join us virtually for #OpenEd26 on October 27-29, 2026!