Founder & Chief Facilitator

Educator | Writer | Kentuckian | Dad

Dr. Rob Collins Jr., Ed.D., is an educator, facilitator, and leader who believes in transforming everyday classroom learning to prioritize joy, community connection, and deep inquiry that leads to meaningful action.

Over the past decade, Rob has dedicated his career to education innovation across Kentucky and beyond. He has founded and led statewide initiatives including the Local Laboratories of Learning (L3) project, the Kentucky Innovative Learning Network (KY ILN), the Kentucky Portrait of a Learner, and the Kentucky Innovative Teacher Fellowship. Believing that student transformation begins with teacher transformation, Rob founded CIP Learning to reimagine professional learning for educators—building joyful, competency-based experiences that connect teachers nationwide.

CIP Learning leverages competency-based education (CBE) models and community-centered structures to support educators as they design, implement, document, reflect on, and defend authentic classroom projects. Rob’s philosophy rests on the symmetry of adult and student learning—that the same principles driving vibrant student learning should shape how educators learn and grow.

Beyond education, Rob has also founded and led initiatives to strengthen civic engagement, cultural wealth, and democratic renewal, including the Appalachian Futures Institute—a think-and-do tank devoted to research and activism aimed at building a brighter, more equitable future for Appalachia.

Rob is an alumnus of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence Teacher Fellowship, BRIGHT Leadership Kentucky, and Teach For America Appalachia’s Central Appalachia Leadership Lab (CALL), as well as the Obama Leaders USA Program. He also serves on the ACLU-KY Board of Directors, continuing his lifelong commitment to public service, human dignity, and community transformation.