May 6: Innovation Problems: Diversity, Self-Interest, and the Problems We Solve

Innovation Problems: Diversity, Self-Interest, and the Problems We Solve

Friday, May 6, 2016
9:30 AM-2 PM
Namm 225

with

Leah Gilliam, VP, Strategy & Innovation at Girls Who Code
and
Errol King, Student Experience Manager at Google and Creative Director at IQ Bytes, Inc.

Leah Gilliam is the VP of Education, Strategy & Innovation at Girls Who Code. In her almost twenty years in the feld, Gilliam has channeled her life-long fascination with systems and how things work into a diverse career at the intersection of learning and technology. Gilliam has consistently focused on issues of equity, opportunity, and participation—whether launching a game-design laboratory in an NYC public school, lecturing on art and technology as a tenured professor at Bard College, or helping to embed, scale, and spread new tools and practices at Mozilla Foundation. She credits her socially engaged journalist mother and her avant-garde painter father with her early introduction to political thought and creativity.

Previously, Gilliam directed Hive NYC Learning Network, a key part of Mozilla’s global strategy to advance reading, writing, and participation on the web. Prior to that, she was the director of Informal Learning at New York’s Institute of Play, where she worked with city officials, educators, and designers to launch the game-based-learning public school Quest to Learn. Gilliam began her career in academia, working as an associate professor of electronic arts at Bard College and chairing its Arts Division. She holds a master’s degree in Interactive Telecommunications from New York University, an MFA from University of Wisconsin, and a BA in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University.

Errol King is the Student Experience Manager at Google. He is also the Co-Founder / Creative Technologist of Hidden Level Games and Creative Director at IQ Bytes, Inc. which is “a New York based creative technology collective made up of passionate technologists, designers, educators and marketers focused on creating innovative and socially impactful experiences.” Errol is also the Founder, Creative Director of #Team Beta, “a New York based gaming company of techie go-getters on a mission to use gaming to change the world… and have fun while doing it!” See more at http://betathegame.com/#teambeta

Errol describes himself: “I am a creative spirit that has found my voice in tech. I specifically love designing and developing solutions that positively impact the human experience through learning and compassion. I work with both hardware and software. I love python, arduino, linux, raspberry pi, mongo and more. I also really enjoy teaching youth how to develop their ideas into prototypes and businesses.”

The talk will be followed by a luncheon at the Janet Lefler Dining room. It is imperative that you RSVP to save a seat at this event.

[Register for this event by emailing Erin Small at EMSmall@citytech.cuny.edu]

Presentation and luncheon-May 6 2016

Supported by the Department of Education MSEIP grant # P120A150063

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