APIPA2025 - Instructor William

William Hunter

William Hunter has served as the Distance Learning Education Coordinator at Northern Marianas College (NMC) since 2017, where he has played a key role in the institution’s transformation in education technology. Having grown up on the island of Saipan, Mr. Hunter is strongly committed to advancing digital learning in the Marianas region.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Hunter taught as an adjunct instructor at NMC, gaining firsthand experience in the classroom that continues to inform his approach to instructional technology and faculty support.

Under his leadership, NMC’s Learning Management System (NMC Online-Moodle) expanded from supporting less than 50 courses to over 220 active courses each semester, including online, virtual, hybrid, and web-enhanced formats. His guidance was instrumental in NMC’s seamless transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic—earning him recognition as NMC’s Overall Employee of the Year in 2021, 2022, and 2024.

Mr. Hunter brings extensive experience in integrating emerging technologies into higher education. He has served as Project Director for multiple federally-funded distance education initiatives, expanded student access to agriculture and food science coursework, and has been an early adopter of tools such as virtual reality (VR) and generative artificial intelligence (AI). He has delivered presentations to government employees, faculty, students, and community members on how AI—particularly large language models (LLMs)—can enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and support data-informed decision-making.

Mr. Hunter holds a Bachelor’s degree in Travel Industry Management from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, where his studies laid the foundation for a career bridging technology, service, and educational access.

Grounded in the experience of island life and driven by innovation, Mr. Hunter remains dedicated to expanding educational access and digital opportunity across the Pacific.

Outside of work, Mr. Hunter enjoys being a proud dad to three amazing daughters: Brianna, now in her third year of law school at Cleveland State University; Brandee, who is wrapping up her degree in Communications and Environmental Science at St. Louis University; and Brissa, who is finishing her Marketing and Economics degree at Simmons University in Boston. He’s also lucky to share his professional journey with his wife, Dr. Barbara Hunter, who currently serves as Interim Department Chair and full-time faculty at Northern Marianas College’s School of Business.

Course Listing

PLENARY

The closing plenary will feature the following presentations:

Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace

This session explores the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in our daily lives and the workplace. The presentation will provide an overview of AI fundamentals, highlight where AI appears in our daily lives, and introduce generative tools such as Large Language Models (LLMs). The session will also cover AI prompting techniques, explore key challenges and issues in the AI landscape, and offer sample prompts that can be used in professional settings.

Strengthening Collaboration for Oversight: SAIs and Stakeholders

This session explores the oversight role of SAIs and how they can work with key stakeholders to hold the government to account.

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