The Speakers

Keynote

Amanda Licastro

Bio

Amanda Licastro (she/her) is the Digital Scholarship Librarian and lecturer in English at Swarthmore College, where she supports the use of emerging technologies in research and teaching. Her scholarship explores the intersection of technology and writing, including book history, dystopian literature, and digital humanities, with a focus on digital publishing and immersive realities. The grant-funded project on integrating Virtual Reality across the curriculum that Amanda developed and executed at Stevenson University was awarded the Paul Fortier Prize at the 2017 Digital Humanities conference, and since then she has gone on to support immersive reality initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College, where she focuses on the ethical use of extended reality (XR) for accessibility.That work informed her publications on XR, including in The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, Reviews in Digital Humanities, The Digital Library Pedagogy Toolkit, and forthcoming in Digital Literacies and Human Connection.

Abstract

Embracing the Glitch” examines how emerging technology is being used to cultivate community and interdisciplinarity in ethical and accessible ways. With a focus on scholarship, Dr. Amanda Licastro will demonstrate play-based methods of creating interest in the immersive world of Extended Reality.

Presenters

Danny Snelson

Assistant Professor of English and Design Media Arts

Daniel Scott Snelson is a writer, editor, and archivist working as an Assistant Professor in the Departments of English and Design Media Arts at UCLA, where he also serves as faculty for the Digital Humanities Program, the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies, and The Game Lab. His research focuses on media poetics, video games, internet cultures, and emerging genres. See also: https://dss-edit.com

Yara Feghali

Lecturer at UCLA's Department of Architecture and Urban Design

Yara is a French Lebanese architectural designer working at the intersection of architecture pedagogy, transmedia, and immersive technologies. She is a Design Faculty at UCLA AUD and the creative director of Folly Feast Lab co-founded with Viviane El Kmati based in Santa Monica, California.

Shawn Grover

VP of Operational Excellence at Trigger XR

With 14+ years at Trigger XR, Shawn Grover is a key member of the senior leadership team as VP of Operational Excellence, driving initiatives to maximize outcomes across the mixed reality agency. He maintains a pulse on all facets of the organization by identifying and tracking priorities and industry trends. As the connective tissue bridging various efforts to Trigger XR's overarching strategy, Shawn is instrumental in propelling impactful transformations throughout the company, spearheading strategic initiatives that drive systematic cultural and operational improvements for Trigger XR.

Shawn’s expertise is further enriched as an Executive MBA candidate at UCLA Anderson. His credentials encompass overseeing hundreds of XR projects previously as VP of Production, as well as holding Project Management Professional and Certified ScrumMaster certifications. Shawn has received numerous honors for his contributions to XR campaigns, including The Webby Awards, The Clio Awards, Niantic Lightship, SXSW Interactive Awards, and Apple's "Best New App" and "App of the Day" distinctions.

Michael Karanicolas

Executive Director

Institute for Technology, Law & Policy

Michael Karanicolas is the Executive Director of the UCLA Institute for Technology Law & Policy, a collaboration between the School of Law and the School of Engineering. Before joining UCLA, he was the Wikimedia Fellow at Yale Information Society Project, where he remains an affiliated fellow. Prior to his academic career, Michael spent a decade as a human rights advocate, where he worked on projects to develop frameworks supporting freedom of expression and online privacy, especially among emerging democracies. His current research revolves around the application of human rights standards in novel technological contexts.