Nicole Papaioannou Lugara, PhD, is an L&D strategist and the founder of Your Instructional Designer, a learning and people development agency specializing in social learning and digital strategy.

An academic gone rogue, Lugara began her career teaching writing to college students as an adjunct faculty member and writing center consultant. She transitioned to corporate instructional design in 2014, designing personalized adaptive learning experiences and managing a learning design department, before embracing entrepreneurship. As a freelancer and agency owner, Lugara has enjoyed working with clients ranging from Fortune 100 organizations to solopreneurs in a variety of fields, such as aviation, medical and behavioral health, fashion, and consulting. Her work has translated into real transformations: reduction of costly incidents, improved product sales, better earning potential, engaged employees, and happier clients. Her mission is always to make learning that matters—to her clients and their people.