Skip to main content

Our Team

We come from radically different disciplines — psychology, public policy, information science, engineering, social design, AI coding — but use design as the through line to break out of disciplinary silos. We design learning experiences that often include pen and paper, sticky notes, pom poms and googly eyes, or even AI chat bots. We know how to pick the perfect playlist — or song — for any workshop or class. We know each team member's favorite coffee or tea order in our sleep. We collaborate with people across campus to creatively tackle challenges and experiment with new ways of doing things. We have the advantage of being a small (but mighty!) core team, so we make tend to both make decisions as a collective AND all roll up ourselves when The Loft needs a good cleaning. However, if you're looking for the Lead AIE'er, that would be Erica Estrada-Liou!

Portrait of Brooke Smith

Brooke Smith

Assistant Program Director & Learning Experience Catalyst
Portrait of Christina Hnatov

Christina Hnatov

Learning Experience Catalyst
Portrait of Diana Rivera

Diana Rivera

Assistant Designer
Portrait of Erica Estrada-Liou

Erica Estrada-Liou

Director
Portrait of Mira Azarm

Mira Azarm

Innovation Instigator & Learning Experience Catalyst
Portrait of Nick Ocasio

Nick Ocasio

Community Manager
Portrait of Ofie

Ofie

Virtual Academy Assistant & the Academy's Favorite Bot

Advisors to AIE

The Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship intentionally operates out of the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost for Academic Affairs. We serve all 12 colleges and schools, while also collaborating across divisions. Erica Estrada-Liou serves as the administrative head of AIE, and reports to a cross-divisional set of advisors in order to better serve our whole campus.

Portrait of Betsy Beise

Betsy Beise

Office of the Provost
Portrait of Dean Chang

Dean Chang

Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Co-founder, Division of Research
Back to Top