Short Bio
Brandon Muramatsu builds connections at the intersection of learning, technology, innovation and scale. He is a strategy, ecosystem, operations and product leader with more than three decades of experience conceiving, building and scaling technology-enabled learning initiatives across higher education, K-12 education, nonprofit organizations, foundations, governments and the private sector. He has developed and sustained international ecosystems involving universities, ministries of education, schools, foundations, nonprofits and technology organizations spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. A recognized builder of collaborative networks and institutions, Brandon has supported universities and organizations in adopting open learning, digital credentialing, educational digital libraries and educational technology innovations. His experience spans product leadership, operational management, governance design, community development and strategic partnership cultivation.
Most recently, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he directed multi-year education innovation portfolios spanning curricular content, engineering and software development, faculty enablement, evaluation, governance, budgeting, risk management and stakeholder alignment. Key achievements including helping to found the Itz’at STEAM Academy in Belize, leadership in the UNESCO award winning Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) in India and the development of the open-source OpenCourseWare to Go and Learner Credential Wallet apps.
Brandon holds a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a Certificate in Management of Technology from the University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering and Haas School of Business.
Extended Bio
Prior to MIT, Brandon co-founded the Center for Open and Sustainable Learning at Utah State University, where he helped expand the global open education movement through eduCommons open-source software, the Open Education Conference and the OpenCourseWare Consortium. Earlier, he co-led development of the NEEDS and SMETE.ORG digital libraries at the University of California, Berkeley, including convening a federation of more than 30 organizations dedicated to sharing educational resources and advancing online learning. He also served as Director of Alliances for MERLOT within the California State University system, building strategic partnerships and advancing interoperability among educational digital libraries.
Beyond his institutional leadership, Brandon has contributed to standards development and community-building efforts in education and learning technology. His service includes advisory roles with national and international organizations; participation in IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee and contributions to three international standards; and contributions to the W3C Verifiable Credentials for Education community, including co-authoring the Learner Credential Wallet specification.
Personal Interests
I am fortunate to be able to travel quite a bit through my work and have gotten to visit a wide range of places. While traveling I dabble in photography and use my photos on my annual holiday cards. When I get the chance (who am I kidding?), I also enjoy outdoor activities including cycling, hiking, rock-climbing and skiing. (I’m not nearly as good, dedicated, nor crazy as some of my friends are at these activities!) However, most of the time you can find me playing World of Warcraft or Diablo III. I’m still undergoing withdrawals from game night with the guys from COSL.