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AI Faculty Innovators-In-Residence Strategy Team
We are thrilled to introduce ourselves as the Faculty Innovators-in-Residence Strategy Team (FIRST): a group of passionate academic leaders working hand-in-hand with the California Education Learning Lab to revolutionize the use of AI in higher education. Our mission is to harness the potential of generative AI to enhance teaching, learning, and policy development, ensuring our institutions stay at the forefront of innovation.
AI FIRST Team
Fabiola Torres
Fabiola Torres is an enthusiastic online Ethnic Studies professor at Glendale Community College, passionate about creating inclusive online classrooms that resonate with everyone. Her approach to teaching is shaped by her M.A. in Chicana/o Studies from California State University, Northridge, and Learning Technology from Pepperdine’s School of Education and Psychology.
Fabiola has shared her innovative strategies for humanizing online education at InstructureCon 2019 and was recognized by the Online Learning Consortium in 2020 for her efforts in diversity and inclusion. In 2023, she was celebrated as one of the top 30 Ed Tech leaders by Ed Tech Magazine. She also played a pivotal role in establishing the Ethnic Studies Department at GCC, honored with an exemplary program award by the California CC Board of Governors in early 2024.
Recently, she has broadened her horizons at MIT’s Professional School of Applied Generative AI for Digital Transformations and earned a microcredential from the Graduate School of Education at Relay College in AI Tool Design and Prompt Engineering for Educators. Additionally, Fabiola is spearheading the development of an AR/VR/XR Learning Lab for Ethnic Studies at Glendale Community College in partnership with Dreamscape Learn, enhancing the immersive learning experiences for students.
Fabiola aims to blend the creativity of Edna Mode, the brilliance of Shuri, and the warmth of Selena Quintanilla into her work, inspiring students and colleagues alike.
Yingjie Liu
Dr. Yingjie Liu is the Lead Instructional Designer at San Jose State University. Holding a PhD in Cognition, Instruction, and Learning Technology, she has over a decade of experience in instructional design and educational technology, empowering faculty through innovative course development and technology integration. Dr. Liu leads various emerging technology initiatives, including the AI+XR Learning Institute and campus-wide AI initiatives. Additionally, she is a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on several National Science Foundation grant projects, which focus on leveraging emerging technologies to transform educational practices and significantly elevate learning outcomes. Dr. Liu was appointed to SJSU's AI Advisory Committee, where she contributes to the strategic integration, development, and ethical implementation of AI technologies to enhance SJSU’s competitive advantage and advance students’ career readiness in AI-related fields. Furthermore, she is a member of the California Education Learning Lab's AI Faculty-Innovators-in-Residence Strategy Team, collaboratively developing AI resources and programming to support teaching and learning across public higher education in California.
Alex Bower
Alex Bower is an educational developer, researcher, and cognitive scientist at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where he earned his PhD in Psychology. His work tackles a range of topics, from predicting how and when we experience “aha!” moments of insight to understanding how we judge other people’s knowledge based on the words they use.
Most relevant to FIRST’s mission, he explores human biases toward AI systems and how to optimize human-computer interaction. As an inaugural Fellow in the UC Noyce Initiative, he collaborated with UC leaders to advance research in AI and address its implications for law, ethics, and society.
Alex co-leads FIRST’s coordination and its “Working Groups" stream. His primary goal in this initiative is to share policy guidance which narrows AI literacy gaps, promotes equitable digital practices, and prepares students and faculty to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by AI.
Alex currently serves as the Educational Development Specialist for Graduate Students and Postdocs at UCI’s Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation. He leads many of UCI’s most impactful pedagogy courses and programs, including its annual campus-wide TA training. Alex’s teaching philosophy centers equity, mentorship, and collaborative learning.
Outside of academia, Alex is a retro video game aficionado and Partnered Twitch streamer. He has over a decade of experience performing and teaching sketch and improv comedy, including as a house team member of The Second City, Hollywood, and The Pack Theater. In his free time, he enjoys watching anime and horror movies with his wife, tabby cat, and two pug-mix dogs.
Narges Norouzi
Dr. Narges Norouzi is an Assistant Teaching Professor at UC Berkeley's Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences department. She received her MS and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2014 and 2017, respectively. Her interdisciplinary research blends Machine Learning and personalized learning tools to reshape computing curricula to engage a diverse student cohort. Her CS education research centers around leveraging AI to bridge classroom equity gaps and spearheading student-centered initiatives fostering equitable access. Her pursuits also extend into biomedical image and signal processing applications. Dr. Norouzi's work is supported by NSF, DARPA, and industry leaders like Google and Microsoft.
Chesa Caparas
Chesa Caparas (she/they) teaches English, Asian American and Asian Studies, and Women’s Studies at De Anza College. Originally from the Washington, DC area, Chesa attended boarding school in Switzerland before moving to California in 1999. She earned a BA and MA in Modern Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been a Stanford Human Rights Education Initiative (SHREI) Fellow and one of the recipients of the League for Innovation’s “Innovation of the Year” Award. From 2018-2022, Chesa served as Faculty Coordinator of De Anza’s Women, Gender, and Sexuality Center. In 2022 she was a Fulbright Scholar to the Philippines studying media and information literacy during the 2022 election and currently serves as a Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassador. Chesa hosts workshops on ethical and equitable applications of AI in education and is currently pursuing a Masters in Information and Knowledge Strategy at Columbia University.