2019 TechLearn Faculty Conference

We are pleased to announce our opening keynote speaker, Michael Cohen, The Tech Rabbi, is a designer, educator, and creativity instigator.  His mission is to help educators around the world reveal their own creative abilities so they can empower students to solve interesting problems and become positive contributors to our global society.  He is the author of the book Educated By Design, which outlines his principles for revealing and nurturing our innate creative courage and capacity.  He is a national keynote speaker, advisor, and trainer.  When he isn't traveling the world sharing his message, he serves as the director of innovation for Yeshiva University of Los Angeles Boys School (YULA) and is the founder of the Schlesinger STEAM and Entrepreneurship Center.

Adriana Sanford is an award-winning Chilean American global privacy law and cyber law expert, educator, keynote, and international television commentator, who appears regularly as a CNN Español analyst to 49 million households in the United States and Latin America.

She has taught over 7,300 students in the United States and abroad including, among others, business ethics and business law at Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.  Teaching 1,500 to 1,800 students annually, at Arizona State University she was at the forefront when some of the classes that she taught developed into online and hybrid versions.  Dr. Sanford developed new ways to incorporate technology (e.g., interactive online review sessions that were also recorded) to increase access for her students.

She recently received the "2019 Cybersecurity Woman Law & Privacy Professional of the Year Award" which celebrates female cybersecurity leaders changing the world.

Dr. Sharla Berry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Cal Lutheran University.  Her research explores technology in K-12 and higher education.  Topics of interest include technology and college access and online learning in postsecondary environments. Dr. Berry teaches a number of research methods classes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weina Chen is a Visiting Instructor, Education Division.  Weina teaches in the MA in TESOL and MS in Learning Technology programs at GSEP. She has extensive experience in bilingual education, online learning, and technology integration.  Weina regularly presents her research and conducts practitioner workshops to educators at statewide and international conferences.  She has developed multiple language programs for local schools and universities, and is the founder, advisor, and past president of CABE Mandarin.  Her research interests include world language education, educational technology, and internationalization of higher education. 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Kerri Cissna is finishing a Ph.D. in Global Leadership and Change and is an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine.  She has served as the Assistant Vice-Chancellor at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and Director of Housing & Residence Life and Leadership Development Coordinator at Seaver College.  While at Pepperdine, Dr. Cissna founded Project LEAD, the graduate assistantship program in Student Affairs and was a founding member of the sophomore experience task force, the Center for Women in Leadership, the Digital Women's Project at Pepperdine (research on women in leadership and work-family integration), and the Lifelong Learning Lecture Series for Women.  In her free time, she is committed to nonprofits that empower children as a board member of Kiwanis of Santa Monica and Cause for Celebration, and she attends Saddleback Southbay.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Sarah Fischbach is a Visiting Assistant Professor.  Sarah received her PhD from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 2013 and her research focuses on marketing ethics and pedagogy. She has presented pedagogical techniques at national conferences including Society of Marketing Advances, Marketing Educators Association Conference, and National Conference for Sales Professionals, she has also published articles on the ethics and the use of graphic novels as training tools in the Journal of Business Ethics and Journal of Consumer Research. She has co-authored several articles on pedagogical techniques in the classroom.  Her recent work on the ethics of native advertising and sponsored content has been widely accepted in the academic community.  Her professional experience includes holding positions in professional sales and marketing for small, large, profit, non-profit and government organizations.  She is an award winning Fortune 500 sales professional receiving national business development manager and account manager in 2005.  Dr. Fischbach is the President-Elect of the Marketing Educators Association (MEA) Conference http://www.marketingeducators.org where theories and ideas are communicated across campuses and across borders.  She is a long-time member of the American Marketing Association and continues to build community relationships to improve professional and academic success in the classroom. 

Dr. Veronica Guerreo is the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Professor at Cal Lutheran University.  Veronica has more than 15 years of Marketing Communications experience in the technology industry.  Her professional background in the private sector included developing and implementing marketing programs in support of strategic partnerships between both small and large organizations.  She has worked for BBDO, 3Com, GRC International, and KPMG Consulting.

As a Marketing Director for KPMG Consulting, Veronica was responsible for strategic marketing initiatives with over 40 external alliance organizations including Oracle, SAP, Microsoft and Cisco Systems and served on the marketing leadership team during the re-branding of the consulting organization.  She has provided consulting to entrepreneurs regarding brand position and strategic marketing plans.

Dr. Christopher Heard, Associate Professor of Religion and Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Seaver College.  Chris Heard joined the Seaver College Religion Division faculty in 2003 and was named Director of Seaver's Center for Teaching Excellence in 2017.  As a biblical scholar, Chris focuses on the use, influence, and impact of the Bible (especially the book of Genesis) in Western culture, especially pop culture.  When he delivered his closing talk, he had recently published a chapter on the Bible in animated films, and had a chapter on divine and human creativity in sci-fi films and a study of Bible-themed board games in press.  As a budding scholar of teaching and learning, Chris focuses on gameful learning and was soon to publish a chapter on teaching religion with technology that describes a largely unsuccessful experiment with interactive fiction.

Lauren G. Kilroy-Ewbank is an Associate Professor of Art History at Pepperdine University.  Her MA and PhD are from the University of California, Los Angeles.  Prior to joining Pepperdine faculty in 2015, she taught at Brooklyn College (CUNY), the Graduate Century (also CUNY), the University of Oregon, and UCLA.  Her research primarily focuses on the visual culture of Spain and Latin America between 1400 and 1800, considering issues of colonialism, gender, censorship, and globalization.  She teaches and publishes broadly on subjects as far-ranging as the ancient and medieval worlds (including the ancient Americas), the global Renaissance, viceregal and modern Latin America, Native American and First Nation art, pedagogy, and the digital humanities/digital art history.  Some of her current research interests include the intersection of the body, emotions, and religion in the early modern world; ways in which to introduce students to digital visuality, public art history, and metadata; art made by and for nuns, and art made after the Jesuit diaspora.  She is also a board member, content editor, and author for the not-for-profit Smarthistory.org, an open educational resource that aims to make art history accessible and open for anyone with an internet connection.

Jordan Lott is the Manager of IT Training team that focuses on improving digital literacy at Pepperdine using University-wide technologies.  Jordan joined Pepperdine IT in 2011 as a member of the AV Technologies team, specializing in sound production and installing classroom AV technology.  He then moved to IT Communication to focus on communication and storytelling around technology using the skills and techniques acquired while completing a Master of Fine Art in Cinematic Media Production from Pepperdine.  After leading the change management program for the Gmail rollout in 2016 and piloting the various Google training options for Google Workspace in subsequent years, Jordan took over the newly created IT Training team in 2018, gaining new expertise in Instructional Design and acquiring a Google Workspace Certification.

Dr. Mark Mallinger is an Emeritus Professor of Applied Behavioral Science and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence.  As a consultant, Dr. Mallinger specializes in management development and organizational change specifically related to corporate culture.  An experienced educator in the fields of organizational behavior, management theory, and human relations, Dr. Mallinger previously taught at Pepperdine's Seaver College, where he was awarded the Harriet and Charles Luckman Distinguished Teaching Fellow Award in 1993.

Mallinger currently serves as director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence.  The Center aims to advance the School's understanding of marketplace dynamics affecting working professionals given current and future economic challenges, while also enhancing teaching effectiveness in delivering business education that has relevant and practical value and affirms a higher purpose for business practice.

He also served as an Irvine Foundation Fellow in the area of multicultural training and a Sears-Roebuck Fellow integrating non-western perspectives into academic disciplines.  His research has been published in several journals including the Journal of Organizational Change Management, the Advanced Management Journal, and the Organizational Behavior Teaching Review.

Regina Meister is the Associate Director of Writing Support for GSEP and has co-designed and instructed the course "Critical Thinking and Communication" for GSEP's Master of Science program in Education.  She enjoys exploring inventive approaches to teaching writing and loves learning from other educators. 

 

 

 

 

Jacob Michael is a Visiting Instructor of Media Production.  Jacob earned his MFA in Writing for the Screen and for Television from the University of Southern California. He earned his MA in English from Oakland University and his BA in Youth and Family Ministry from Abilene Christian University.  He has taught graduate and undergraduate classes in screenwriting, directing, producing, narrative production, video editing, composition, and literature. As a professional video editor, he has edited promotional material for properties such as: The Simpsons, CSI: Miami, The Hurt Locker, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  He was the grand prize winner of the CoWrite Screenwriting Contest, and a short film he co-wrote was the winner of the Special Jury Award at the USA Film Festival.  He has also presented at the Conference on Christianity and Literature on "Unlocking Film Genre: Using Film's Story Patterns to Connect Faith and Learning."  When he's not teaching, you can find him hanging out with his family, refereeing or playing soccer, watching movies, writing movies or TV pilots, or playing Starcraft II.

Dr. Jennifer Miyake-Trapp is an Assistant Professor of Education.  Jennifer has over a decade of experience in K-12 public schools.  She has taught middle school and continuation high school in both urban and suburban settings, coached new teachers, and designed professional development workshops focused on meeting the needs of linguistically and ethnically diverse learners.  Her primary interests center on teacher preparation for urban contexts, culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy, elementary and secondary curriculum and instruction, project-based learning, and teacher reflection.  Other areas of interest include second language acquisition and online learning.

Lynda Palmer is a Practitioner Instructor of Marketing and the E2B Assistant Director Lynda is the founder and president of Equus Marketing which specializes in developing and implementing strategic and tactical marketing plans to boost client's growth and profitability.  Ms. Palmer has vast industry experience and has worked with emerging businesses as well as major organizations such as Toyota, Lexus, Union Bank, Mattel, SAIC, Honda and Acura.

She has been a member of the Pepperdine University faculty since 1993 and has since served as a case development manager of the acclaimed Education to Business (E2B) program since its inception.  Ms. Palmer delivers frequent professional presentations about sales and marketing, and dedicates a great deal of her time to enhancing her community.  Ms. Palmer received her MBA from Pepperdine University and a B.A. in economics from University of Washington.

Dr. Paul Sparks is an Associate Professor and leads technology courses in the doctoral and master's programs at Pepperdine.  Previously, he was director of training at Epoch Internet where he developed its curriculum.  Dr. Sparks was also an educational technologist and information systems specialist for Rockwell International. He was previously a high school and adult education instructor in the Whittier Union High School District. 

 

 

 

Anna Speth is the librarian for emerging technology and digital projects at Payson Library and co-director of the Genesis Lab.  She holds a master's degree in library and information science. Anna previously worked with the Dig@Lab at Duke University, using emerging technology to look for new interpretations of humanities disciplines, and with the User Research Center at Harvard University, performing usability testing on archival discovery software.