About
Organization
The National Center for Competency-Based Learning (NCCBL) is a New Hampshire based 501(c) (3) not-for-profit charitable organization founded in 2013.
Vision
"The World as the Classroom."
Mission
"To institutionalize real world, hands on, learning opportunities for our students by serving as the prime catalyst in harnessing mentors at the local, state, and national levels."
Board Members
Dr.h.c. Fred Bramante
Fred Bramante is a former middle school science teacher and longest-serving member of the New Hampshire State Board of Education in state history. During his tenure as Board Chair (2003-05), Mr. Bramante led the first statewide school redesign effort since 1919, resulting in N.H. becoming the first state to move to a competency-based system. Fred holds a Masters’ Degree in Educational Leadership. In 2020, he was named one of the State’s Top Innovators for his education redesign efforts.
Dr. Nischal Chandra
Nischal has over 25 years of industry experience in Healthcare, Finance, Insurance, IT, and Telecommunications sectors. His expertise has been in delivering multimillion-dollar technology solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI) at the global scale to solve complex problems for millions of users. He has challenged conventional project management methodologies such as Waterfall and Agile and developed a new one called Team Configuration 1 where AI creates ultra-high-performing teams that deliver significantly more efficiency.
In addition to serving as a board member (Technology Chair) at NCCBL, he has worked for several multinational companies, such as Teradyne, IBM, and Oracle. He is currently serving as a Director of Software Engineering at Oracle Health & AI business unit developing innovative solutions.
While pursuing his career in technology, Nischal has simultaneously been pursuing his passion in the education industry. He started out with developing and teaching his first course in Electrical Engineering over 30 years ago at the Educational Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Later, he progressed to teaching IT courses for several colleges and founded/managed a state-licensed professional school offering over 300 online courses in business and technology for nearly 10 years.
In the education domain, Nischal is currently serving as the Chairman of the IT Department, Vice President of Professional Training, and Chief AI Officer at Apollos University. He has created IT certificate programs, Bachelor of Science in IT degree, and AI/IT concentrations for the Doctor of Business Administration degree.
Nischal holds a Doctor of Business Administration, a Master of Science in Quality Assurance, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.
Jacqueline Guillette
Jacqui is a retired school superintendent. During a public education career which spanned 44 years, Jacqui served students as a teacher, an assistant principal, a principal, an assistant superintendent, and finally for 14 years as a superintendent. As well, she became an educational consultant through her own company, Capstone Consulting LLC, in 2011. For 8 years she consulted on behalf of and through the support of Whelen Engineering Company, INC in Charlestown, NH and Chester, CT. Whelen Engineering paid Jacqui to develop partnerships between educational systems and advanced manufacturers throughout New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Jacqui brought the parties together and facilitated their collaboration to help students and their families understand the amazing career opportunities that advanced manufacturing offers for both the non-college bound and the college-bound young people today. Her consulting continues today through participation at the state level in various groups and grants working on future career pathways.
Jacqui has an undergraduate degree from Middlebury College, a Masters Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Vermont, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Administration from the University of New Hampshire.
Nathan Harris
Nathan Harris is a retired Medical Executive. Nathan has 34 years of operations, marketing, sales, and executive management experience in the medical device & military avionics industry. Nathan has held multiple V.P. of Sales and Marketing positions with various medical device companies, including Advanced Circulatory LightLab Imaging, CAS Medical, and Salient Surgical Inc. He spent 13 years with Medtronic Inc. At Medtronic, Before Medtronic, he worked for Guidant Inc. and Honeywell Avionics Division in various leadership and engineering operational capacities.
He earned an Engineering degree from the College of New Jersey, attended the Executive Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, and earned a Masters of Business Administration from St. Thomas University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at the University of New Hampshire. He has served on multiple boards - Variety Club Heart Hospital, Advanced Circulatory, and now Enova Inc. and National Center for Competency-Based Learning.
Dr. Dan Miner
Dr. Dan Miner is a graduate of Johns Hopkins Medical School and has been a radiologist for 30 years. He is currently practicing at the Exeter Hospital, Exeter, NH. He is a board member on the Hurricane Island, Maine Outward Bound. Experiential Learning is in Dan’s DNA as his dad, Josh Miner, started Outward Bound in the United States. Dan is an avid skier and award-winning guitar player.
Joel Olbricht
In addition to serving as the Treasurer of NCCBL, Joel Olbricht is a finance / management leader with 35+ years of experience. As the President & CEO of OSGroup, his professional interests are many and varied. They include leadership, income and estate tax planning, business management and decision-making, strategic planning, building wealth, marketing, and technology planning.
Dr. Robert McLaughlin
In addition to serving as the Chair of NCCBL's board, Bob is co-founder of the National Collaborative for Digital Economy, bringing to this work several decades of experience in education, STEM educational reform, educational policy analysis and innovation, and designing and leading large-scale technical assistance initiatives. He has chaired the Association of Teacher Educators’ National Commission for Technology and the Future of Teacher Education, administered the evaluation and approval of New Hampshire’s educator preparation programs, and for nearly a dozen years conceived and led a nine-state consortium of state and local educational leaders undertaking systemic STEM educational reform and education technology integration at the school and preparation program levels.
Mentor Connect (10,000 Mentors, Re-Launching Q1 2026)
Free for Individuals
Mentor Connect is an innovative mentorship engagement platform accessible worldwide. Anyone 18+ of age can sign-up for free and start connecting with relevant individuals for:
- Jobs
- Internships
- Apprenticeships
- Volunteering
- Networking
- Coaching
Enterprise Edition
For commercial and not-for-profit organizations:
- Dedicated Hosting
- Customized Features
- Unique Workflow
- Administrator Portal
- User Management
- Helpdesk Solution
- Tiered pricing structure
- Non-profit pricing available to 501(c) (3) non-profit organizations, along with assistance with fundraising
Academic Edition
For academic institutions of all levels, the Academic Edition provides:
- All the features of Enterprise Edition
- Oversight for Minors
- Career Credentialing Opportunities for School Credit
Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs)
NHELO Program Design Handbook
The NHELO Program Design Handbook was created, in part, as a resource for the NCCBL.
ELOs/Internships
How are ELOs and Internships getting NH students ready for college and careers?