Dr. Frazier A. Smith

Current roles

• July 2025 – present
  Department Chair, Network Management, Cybersecurity, and Cloud & Virtualization

  Central Piedmont Community College

  Program areas: Cybersecurity · Cloud & Networking · IT Support
• March 2023 – present
  Instructor, Network Management, Cybersecurity, and Cloud & Virtualization

  Central Piedmont Community College
• October 2025 – present
  Associate Graduate Faculty

  UNC Charlotte — School of Data Science & College of Computing and Informatics
• January 2026 – present
  Adjunct Instructor, Honors Program

  Wingate University

Research focus

The application of artificial intelligence in career-development programs, and the effectiveness of post-secondary career and technical education in preparing students for industry — specifically, how generative AI is reshaping entry-level IT roles, and what community-college curriculum must change in response.

Sponsored research

• July 2025 – July 2028
  Co-Principal Investigator, Generating AI Talent (GAIT)

  NSF Advanced Technological Education · Award #2500901 · $454,000 · PI: Dr. Carl Arrington, Central Piedmont Community College

  Coordinates faculty development, leads course redesign for the core AI curriculum, and directs community AI outreach. Building one of NC’s first associate-degree AI programs.

Grants under review

• Under review
  Principal Investigator, ASPIRE-IT

  NSF S-STEM · Track 1 · $2,000,000 requested

Education

• May 2025
  Ed.D., Education, Concentration in Instructional Design and Technology

  South College

  Summa Cum Laude · GPA 4.00
• November 2024
  Ed.S., Instructional Design and Technology

  South College
• March 2023
  M.S., Information Technology Management

  Western Governors University
• August 2018
  M.Ed., Instructional Systems Technology, Training and Development

  UNC Charlotte
• May 2014
  B.M.E., Music Education

  Wingate University

Certifications

• CISSP — Certified Information Systems Security Professional (ISC²)
• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
• Nutanix Certified Professional
• VMware Certified Cloud Infrastructure Administrator 2024
• Double VCP — Data Center Virtualization & Network Virtualization
• VMware Carbon Black Endpoint Protection 2020
• Fortinet FortiGate 7.4 Operator
• CompTIA Network+ ce

Skills

• AI & machine learning LLM, RAG & agentic system design · AI curriculum development (Azure AI-102-aligned) · prompt engineering instruction · machine learning fundamentals · AI ethics & responsible-use education
• Cloud & virtualization AWS · Microsoft Azure · Google Cloud · VMware vSphere & NSX · Nutanix · cloud-native data pipelines
• Infrastructure & security Linux/UNIX administration · data center design, operations & troubleshooting · networking · security operations & endpoint protection (CISSP)
• Software & data Python (introductory through advanced) · software requirements, architecture & testing · IT project management · xAPI & learning analytics
• Learning design ADDIE & Agile course development · certification-aligned curriculum design · asynchronous/online course design · OER authoring · training & technology needs analysis
• Program leadership curriculum governance & accreditation alignment (SACSCOC/NCCCS) · degree program design & launch · NSF grant writing & project management · employer advisory boards & industry partnerships · faculty development

Career history

• 2023 – present
  Instructor → Department Chair, Network Management, Cybersecurity, and Cloud & Virtualization

  Central Piedmont Community College
• 2024–2025
  Senior Manager of Solutions Engineering

  Fast Lane US

  • Built and integrated a Jira Service Desk with the team's CRM — replaced an email-driven request cycle with a trackable, streamlined workflow.
  • Designed customized technical training solutions directly with customers, Sales, and Services teams.
• 2023–2024
  Leader, Content Development — VMware vSphere Foundation & Cloud Director

  Broadcom
• 2022–2023
  Senior Manager, Technical Content Development

  VMware

  • Owned 16 courses across vSphere, VMware Cloud, and HCX — $40M in customer revenue in 2022.
  • Led a 12-person instructional design and content development team.
  • Modernized the team's process from ADDIE to an Agile, SAM-based approach for SaaS-speed development.
• 2021–2022
  Technical Content Development Manager — vSphere / VMware Cloud / HCX / SD-WAN

  VMware

  • Oversaw the same 16-course vSphere/VMware Cloud/HCX portfolio — $30M in customer revenue in 2021.
  • Planned the team's shift from instructor-led training to modular eLearning and bespoke learning paths.
• 2020–2021
  Senior Technical Instructor — Carbon Black & VMware on AWS Lead

  VMware

  • Delivered courses globally with a 4.95+ instructor rating.
  • Spearheaded curriculum updates for Carbon Black and VMware Cloud on AWS.
  • Introduced SOPs and metrics for demand scheduling and class cost/utilization.
• 2019–2020
  Technical Trainer

  Anomali

  • Converted product training videos into interactive simulations and walkthroughs with a UK-based team.
  • Trained international clients on threat intelligence and the Anomali Altitude platform, in the US and India.
• 2018–2019
  HR Training & Communications Manager

  SnapAV

  • Implemented the company's first learning management system and built training modules in Captivate.
  • Revamped a five-week Customer Care program and built a management mastery track for new/promoted managers.
• 2015–2018
  Mid-Level Manager, Instructional Design

  CPI Security

  • Developed 40+ training modules, including the Bluetooth-beacon xAPI module that won DevLearn Best in Show.
  • Built a custom-coded feedback portal supporting manager performance discussions.
• 2014–2015
  Program Manager, eLearning

  Belk

  • Managed a custom LMS (Oracle 11g, SQL, ASP.NET) integrating PeopleSoft and SuccessFactors data.
  • Launched a gamification pilot for store employees and built a training-insights tracking database.
• 2011–2013
  Educational Technology Specialist

  Wingate University

  • Built an iPad training program to help professors integrate tablets into lecture-based instruction.
  • Ran professional development sessions and provided one-on-one classroom technology support.

Teaching

Curriculum development

• Five IT degree concentrations Effective Fall 2026

  Redesigned and launched Cybersecurity, Cloud & Networking Technologies, Data Analytics, Software Engineering, and IT Support. Produced degree information sheets, advisor guides, and student-facing materials for each.

• NOS 220 · Linux/UNIX Administration II

  Designed as an asynchronous course aligned to Red Hat RH134 objectives.

• CSC 214 · Artificial Intelligence II

  Designed and aligned to Microsoft Azure AI-102 certification objectives.

• Digital Wellness & AI

  Honors course designed for Wingate University.

• “Would You Pull the Lever?”

  AI ethics workshop developed under NSF ATE award #2500901.

• xAPI learning-record system

  Built and deployed to support hands-on cybersecurity lab instruction.

Published curriculum materials

• Introduction to Web Development Course Author · Sophia Learning

  sophia.org/online-courses — Introduction to Web Development

• Introduction to Networking Assessment Author · Sophia Learning

  sophia.org/online-courses — Introduction to Networking

• Introduction to Cybersecurity Course Author · Sophia Learning · Upcoming
• CSC 214 · Artificial Intelligence II Course Author · OER

  Open educational resource published under NSF ATE award #2500901. View the OER →

• VMware Cloud on AWS 2024 Virtual instructor-led training

  40-hour on-demand video training course.

• VMware HCX 2024 Virtual instructor-led training

  40-hour training course.

• VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage v8 Content Manager
• VMware vSphere: Operate, Scale, Secure v8 Content Manager

Speaking topics

Eight talks regularly delivered in keynote, panel, and workshop formats. See /speaking for full abstracts.

• Building one of NC's first associate-degree AI programs — Higher Ed · CTE
• What AI is doing to the entry-level IT job — and what to teach instead — Workforce · Research
• Would You Pull the Lever? Ethical dilemmas in the age of AINSF — Ethics · AI · Workshop
• LLMs, RAG, and agentic development as instructional-design tools — Instructional Design
• Modernizing technical training: ADDIE to Agile at the speed of SaaS — L&D · Industry
• Industry partnerships that actually serve students — Partnerships · CTE
• xAPI and learning analytics for technical training programs — Analytics · L&D
• From the music classroom to the server room: an instructional design career through-line — Career · Pedagogy

Recent talks

• Aug 2026
  AI Tools for Curriculum and Instruction Workshop

  Highland School of Technology — Professional Development Day · Gastonia, NC
• Jun 2026
  AI Revolution: Shaping the Future of Business + Talent in Charlotte Panel

  Charlotte AI Summit · Charlotte, NC
• Apr 2026
  Jobs, AI, and Gaston County: A 2026–2036 outlook, and integration approaches for the area Keynote

  Highland School of Technology — Advisory Board · Gastonia, NC
• Oct 2025
  AI in Education Panel Panel

  Building Bridges Convening · Greensboro, NC

Writing

• What a music-education degree actually transferred to IT leadership (and what it didn't) — Teaching, May 2026
• What I learned standing up an xAPI lab system for a CC cybersecurity program — Instructional Design, May 2026
• Why a 1967 thought experiment is still the right tool for AI ethics — Research, May 2026
• The case for teaching cloud through real infrastructure, not labs — Teaching, Apr 2026
• ADDIE is not the enemy. Pretending you're still doing ADDIE is. — Instructional Design, Mar 2026

Honors & awards

• Worldwide Training Delivery Impact Award
• Worldwide Sales and Strategy Acceleration Quarterly Award — Accelerator
• Team Member Excellence Award
• Best of Show — DevLearn DemoFest (2016)

Service

• 2025 – 2028
  Faculty Senator, Central Piedmont Community College
• July 2026 – present
  Chair, Curriculum Committee, Central Piedmont Community College — member since 2025; authored the Curriculum Management and Program Review Committee charter, its RACI model, and program evaluation instruments aligned to SACSCOC and NC Community College System standards.
• 2026 – 2027
  Faculty Readiness Chair, Canvas Implementation Taskforce, Central Piedmont Community College
• 2017 – present
  Advisory Board member, Highland School of Technology (Gastonia, NC) — eight years of service.