James D. Rodgers
Instructional Designer & Learning Systems Strategist
San Francisco, CA
About
I'm an instructional designer and learning systems strategist whose career has moved across technology, adult education, K-12, and nonprofit organizations, not because of circumstance, but because the work of designing learning that actually changes behavior travels well across contexts.
I've taught music in an underserved suburb of Cincinnati, led a congregation through a pandemic, contributed to the development of Grok at xAI, and built AI-supported learning systems for clinical education and competitive swimming. The through-line isn't the industry. It's the approach: build trust with the people in the room, understand the environment, design for the people in it, and measure whether anything changed.
For the past 15 years, I've designed learning systems that improve performance, strengthen communication, and help people apply what they've learned.
How I Approach the Work
I start by understanding the conditions around the work: the people involved, how communication happens, the constraints teams are operating under, and what's getting in the way of performance. That means listening before designing, asking questions before proposing solutions, and staying curious about what isn't being said as much as what is. Learning design that ignores those conditions rarely sticks.
I see AI as a practical tool that supports human judgment, creativity, and decision-making rather than replacing it. That's the perspective I bring to every AI-integrated learning experience I build: not automation for its own sake, but tools that make people better at what they already do.
I'm most effective working closely with subject matter experts, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams, translating between what people know and what learners need. That translation work requires patience, systems thinking, and the ability to hold complexity without oversimplifying it.
Education & Credentials
Get in Touch
I'm open to conversations about instructional design, AI integration strategy, learning systems architecture, and consulting engagements.