17 People to Follow in Customer Education

When it comes to customer education, there are a few books you can read on the subject.

But the best way to learn? From people in the trenches, doing the thing (or who’ve been there and done that).

We’ve pulled together a list of folks to follow to build your knowledge around customer education:

1. Joe Ryan

You can’t have a list of folks in customer education without including Joe. Each week Joe publishes Customer Education Weekly—a roundup of recently published content for folks in the industry. This incredibly value resource delivers top articles and events to your inbox every Sunday.

2. Dan Braithwaite

As Director of Product Training, Dan is practicing the craft at Mediaocean. He also pays it forward by writing articles for Training Industry about topics like measuring training outcomes. 

3. Adam Avramescu

Another can’t-miss follow, Adam literally wrote the book on customer education. He’s also the co-host of one of the only customer education-focused podcasts, CELab, and VP of Customer Education at Personio.

4. Dave Derington

The other co-host of CELab, Dave constantly shares helpful information and resources on customer education. He also hosts regular Customer Education Strategy Workshops. As a previous attendee, I highly recommend these for hands-on learning and actionable insights!

5. Sana Farooq

Sana has been sharing her experience building robust Customer Success teams—including education and enablement—across podcasts, blogs, and in the Customer Education Slack Community.

6. Debbie Smith

You’d be hard-pressed to be in customer education and not know Debbie. She serves as the President of CEdMA (a customer education association), the Senior Director of Visier University, and a moderator in the Customer Education Slack. Debbie has a strong background in education—including instructional design, customer education, credentials, and certifications. 

7. Courtney Sembler 

Most customer education practitioners look to HubSpot Academy as a kind of holy grail of customer education. Courtney currently serves as Director of HubSpot Academy and has been on the HubSpot Academy team since 2017. You’ll find her on webinars, speaking at INBOUND, and judging for the Awesomeness in Customer Education (ACE) Awards throughout the year.

8. Jaclyn Anku

I like to say that where Jaclyn Anku has taken Gusto Academy is where most of us dream of taking our education programs. Jaclyn serves as the Director of Education and Community at Gusto, a payroll and employee benefits platform. She and her team launched Gusto Academy (the 2023 ACE Program of the Year winner) in record time—showcasing astonishing results. (You can watch a profile of the Making of Gusto Academy here).

9. Tiffany Taylor

Tiffany is the Senior Director of EDU Success & Education at Handshake, a job connection platform for college students and grads. Each week, Tiffany posts a video tip about education and onboarding.

10. John Leh 

John is our only crossover from a list of L&D people to follow. He’s the founder of Talented Learning, a learning tech analyst company. His background spans both LMS sales and education, giving him a unique perspective on the market.

11. Brian Childs

Founder of Learning Outcomes and host of LoCon (the unconference for customer education professionals), Brian is doing a lot to lift up and support the customer education community. 

12. Lila Meyer

Lila is the Director of Education Services at Gainsight and regularly shares her insights on all things customer education, customer success, and related subjects. 

13. Kristine Kukich

Following Kristine on LinkedIn, you’ll see a mix of job postings, articles, and events related to customer education and training. Kristine also serves with CEdMA (Customer Education Management Association) and co-hosts Mixology, a video series on the intersection of customer marketing and customer education. 

14. Donna Weber

Donna Weber is the author of Onboarding Matters and a Top 25 Customer Success Influencer. As a customer onboarding expert, Donna champions the value of customer education not just during onboarding and implementation, but throughout the entire customer journey. 

15. Shannon Howard 

Forgive me, as I’m pretty sure it’s bad form to include yourself in a lineup like this, but Andy and Laurel both said I should so…. here I am. I write and talk about customer education and customer marketing on LinkedIn, here at Intellum through blogs and our monthly webinar series, in the Customer Education Slack, on Mixology with Kristine, and basically anywhere else people give me a chance to. I also love to connect people in the field with other people and relevant resources, so let me know how I can help!

16. Said Saddouk

Coined the “Facilitainer”, Said is all about making learning and facilitation fun and engaging. He posts GIFs and videos about how to use Miro, an online collaboration tool. Follow for creative inspiration and ideas!

17. Steve Cornwell

Now the SVP of Customer Education at Gainsight, Steve brings a decade of experience in the customer education industry to the table. As part of the Gainsight team, he’s now talking about how customer education supports customer experience and customer success at scale.

Of course, Intellum is here to help you on your customer education journey as well. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to get a recap of recent articles and podcasts on running successful education programs—and follow us on LinkedIn for regular insights and content.