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Experience
Arizona State University
Company NameArizona State University
Total Duration10 yrs 5 mos
TitleLearning Scientist, Lead Researcher, Educator
Dates EmployedJan 2011 – Present
Employment Duration10 yrs 5 mos
LocationPhoenix, Arizona Area
I operate from the optimistic belief that everyone can and wants to do great things. Innovation isn't a 'technological fix for broken people', and instead serves to augment the natural potential in each of us, with the real innovation coming from within the person.
As a Learning Scientist, my work involves the design, curricula, and research of theoretically-grounded innovations for personal growth and societal impact. I design platforms and game-infused learning to unlock human potential within an ecosystem of supporting ideas, meaningful relationships, digital experiences, and real-world practice. We've cultivated these ideas within our connected growth platform, ThriveCast. The goal is to reshape the future of learning by blending formal and informal learning opportunities, by making growth, relationship and impact available to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
My work has a strong emphasis on collaborating with underrepresented and challenged populations, including human trafficking education, urban teacher recruitment & retention, sobriety & wellness, faith & spirituality, character development, and positive change for youth in juvenile detention. I am inspired by working with at-risk youth, to uncover what drives them, the opportunities they seek, and co-creating growth platform invitations they can engage to create positive pathways in their lives. I am director of the NSF-funded program, STEM Mio, creating college and career STEM pathways for Latino youth, and related series on VME Spanish Public Television. I have also collaborated with Intel to create game-infused learning platforms taking digital literacy experiences to women in African countries to pursue entrepreneurial goals. I am currently working with youth in detention and on probation to create personalized learning trajectories tailored to their risks and needs, within our ThriveCast connected growth platform, to build life skills, socio-emotional growth, and positive future pathways.
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TitleDirector of Quest2Teach, Game-based Curriculum & Research
Dates EmployedAug 2011 – Aug 2017
Employment Duration6 yrs 1 mo
LocationCenter for Games & Impact, Teachers College, ASU
As director of Quest2Teach, (www.Quest2Teach.org), I created a suite of 3D immersive game curricula and community systems for pre-service and in-service teachers with the goal to attract, prepare, support and retain highly effective educators. Quest2Teach immerses pre-service and professional teachers in authentic role-playing narratives, unified over time and experiences by a real-world professional network, which together serve to bridge between educational theory and its practice in the field. In these immersive worlds, learners create their professional avatar, play out roles, solve authentic problems, fail safely, and see the impact of their individual decisions and trajectories, while gaining experience and fluency in these theories-in-action. Players’ endeavors in the game then appear on their network homepage to evolve their real-world identity across semesters and PD, through their achievements, badging, reflections, and extensions into the field, within a supportive community of practice. The program is the first of its kind in teacher education, and we have found significant results in our students’ learning, engagement, fluency, identity as a professional, confidence in their future teaching, and deeper commitment to teaching.
Quest2Teach was selected by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center (Sesame Workshop) to be featured in their documentary series of the top 5 innovations in teacher education. To see Q2T in context, you can watch their short film here:
http://www.gamesandlearning.org/2014/10/14/game-based-approach-to-teacher-education-at-asu-builds-essential-skills
www.quest2teach.org
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V-Must: The Virtual Museum Transnational Network
Expert Advisory Board Member for Education
Company NameV-Must: The Virtual Museum Transnational Network
Dates Employed2010 – Jan 2016
Employment Duration6 yrs
LocationRome, Italy
Quest Atlantis / Atlantis Remixed
Learning Scientist, Game Design & Research
Company NameQuest Atlantis / Atlantis Remixed
Dates Employed2000 – 2011
Employment Duration11 yrs
Designed curricula, research, and implementations for Quest Atlantis and Atlantis Remixed, international learning and teaching projects that use 3D multi-user environments to immerse children, ages 9-16, in educational tasks as part of their teacher-led classroom curricula in Science and Language Arts.
Atlantis Remixed
Atlantis Remixed
Indiana University Bloomington
Educational Psychology, Undergraduate and Graduate School Educator
Company NameIndiana University Bloomington
Dates EmployedAug 1998 – Jan 2003
Employment Duration4 yrs 6 mos
LocationIndiana University
Taught learning theory courses to graduate students, and educational psychology courses to undergraduates in the IU School of Education as part of their graduate school and teacher preparation program.
Education
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington
Degree NameDual Ph.DsField Of Studyin Cognitive Psychology and in Educational Psychology
Dates attended or expected graduation2000 – 2007
Volunteer experience
McDowell Sonoran Conservancy
Equestrian Steward
Company NameMcDowell Sonoran Conservancy
Dates volunteeredMar 2020 – Present Volunteer duration1 yr 3 mos
CauseEnvironment
The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy is dedicated to effecting global preservation efforts through science and research at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and the surrounding Sonoran Desert. This Preserve is the 'backyard' to my ranch, a setting of unparalleled beauty, and a place where I feel a deep connection and affinity.
Here I serve as an equestrian steward, part of a collective of more than 700 trained and certified volunteers who learn, share, patrol, and teach about this amazing Sonoran Desert ecosystem and where we fit into this dynamic as desert dwellers. You'll find me on horseback 3-4 times a week, riding and patroling the 225 miles of trails in the 30,500 acres that make up the Preserve, with an eye to educate, protect, and serve the more than 750,000 visitors each year.
Global Family Philanthrophy
Active Supporter and Volunteer
Company NameGlobal Family Philanthrophy
CauseChildren
Global Family Philanthropy is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping poor families and children, both in Haiti and in the U.S. Through volunteer service and fundraising, we work to empower families, care for the elderly and provide children access to shelter, education, nutrition and a loving community of support. Our work extends from the desert of Arizona to the Caribbean island of Haiti, where we maintain a home and school for children and a home for the elderly run by Catholic Charities. Locally, GFP supports House of Refuge and House of Hope provide housing and education for individuals and families coming out of homelessness, and Sunnyslope Youth Center, an after-school enrichment center for low-income, at risk children in Phoenix, Arizona. |