Welcome to the

Future Readiness Academy

Karen Alexander

Director, XRconnectED

Karen Alexander, PhD, is a seasoned spatial computing professional with ​specializations in XR for higher education and in Governance, Risk, and Compliance ​(GRC) for XR startups. She is co-founder and Executive Director of XR Women, a ​global community that serves as a catalyst for the success of women in the field. ​After 11 years at Rutgers University, Dr. Alexander leapt enthusiastically into the ​field of immersive technologies in 2016 and has remained there ever since. Her ​current work includes serving as a consultant for higher education institutions ​seeking to adopt XR (virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and 360-degree ​video) for learning. She is a member of the Immersive Learning Research Network ​(iLRN) and has served on the expert panel for iLRN’s State of XR and Immersive ​Learning Report since 2020. She is an expert advisor for the BFI Vienna University ​of Applied Sciences Virtual Worlds in Higher Education (VIWO) Project.

Dr. Alexander curated and hosted the day-long WebXR Education Summit, featuring ​54 academic and XR industry experts and with more than 550 registrants, on July ​21, 2022. She has given dozens of talks on XR technologies and their applications ​across education and industry. Dr. Alexander also serves as Immersive Learning ​Consultant and Director of Compliance for MetaVRse, a Toronto-based XR startup, ​where she has had direct experience working with enterprise clients to develop 3D-​on-web experiences. This includes developing training for service technicians to ​maintain complex medical machinery.

As part of the Virtual Dance Exchange Project (VDEP), in 2021 Dr. Alexander helped ​3 choreographers conceptualize dance for 360-degree video and subsequently film ​site-specific 360 performances in the Pittsburgh area. Prior to the onset of the ​pandemic, Dr. Alexander worked with a number of community organizations in ​Pittsburgh to help children and youth learn to create with XR tools and to provide ​local residents with the opportunity to experience virtual and augmented reality for ​free.

Dr. Alexander earned her PhD in English Literature from University College London ​and holds Master’s Degrees in English, Philosophy, and Issues in Modern Culture. ​She received her Certification in Cybersecurity from ISC2 in December 2023.

Victoria Alexander

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Practitioner

Victoria Alexander is a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion practitioner whose passions are ​rooted in anti-racist pedagogy, critical consciousness building, and experiences of ​Black students in predominately white institutions. The aim of her work is to ​challenge the myths regarding the historical and present-day distributions of power, ​investigate the role of racism and anti-racism in social, professional, and ​educational spaces, and empower people to analyze their own social identities and ​positions within systems of power.

Victoria Alexander is currently a PhD student at the University of Maryland College ​of Education, studying Higher Education.

Rich Breymeyer

CEO/Founder, Flashpoint Digital Marketing

Richard John Breymeier is the CEO and Founder of Flashpoint Digital Marketing, a ​company specializing in outsourced marketing management services. With over 10 ​years of experience in sales and marketing, Rich has a deep understanding of what ​businesses need to succeed in today's rapidly changing marketplace. He is a ​graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh, ​where he earned degrees in international business, marketing, and Asian cultural ​studies.

With a passion for learning and a drive to find efficient ways to create prosperity, ​Richard is always seeking new knowledge and perspectives. This is reflected in his ​fluency in Japanese and Russian, and his love for creating processes that lead to ​success.

Richard founded Flashpoint 7 years ago with the goal of giving businesses their ​time back to focus on what they do best. He recognized that many organizations ​don't have the infrastructure to support marketing efforts and often struggle to fit it ​in where they can. With Flashpoint, Rich and his team act as a full-service marketing ​department, taking care of a company's marketing needs so they can focus on what ​they do best.

Flashpoint Digital Marketing is dedicated to putting prospects on a path to ​conversions and maximizing financial outcomes for clients. The company's ​services include social media marketing management, LinkedIn lead generation, ​PPC advertising, foundational SEO services, and more. With a focus on igniting the ​successful customer journey, Richard and his team are committed to being the ​flashpoint that ignites the successful customer journey and enables businesses to ​reach their full potential.

Shirley Campbell

Instructional Designer, Penn State New Kensington

Dr. Shirley Campbell is the instructional designer for the Penn State New ​Kensington Campus as well as the project lead on the Future Readiness Faculty ​Academy 4-year project. Shirley has a passion for identifying connections among ​ideas and bringing new possibilities to fruition. She seeks out and implements new ​technologies for use in education and the professional learning and is committed to ​using technology to change and improve the way learning happens. As a forerunner ​in the educational technology arena for 20+ years, she has proven her ability to ​identify new and exciting ways to solve problems. Her experience includes driving ​technological innovation forward in collaboration with global teams of cross-​functional professionals. Her strong leadership abilities have been demonstrated ​through multiple successful projects and track record of organizing educational ​technology conferences and seminars and other experiential learning forums.

Nicole Cingolani

Media Commons, Maker Commons, and the Immersive Experiences ​Lab at The Pennsylvania State University

Nicole Cingolani leads the Media Commons, Maker Commons, and the Immersive ​Experiences Lab at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. She holds a ​MA in Anthropology and a BS in Biology and extends her making expertise as an ​affiliate instructor in College of Education's Learning, Design, and Technology ​program. She consults with faculty and students on multimedia projects and ​assignments, directs innovative workshops, and manages 3D printing class ​initiatives. Her professional background is enriched by IT and specialty printing, ​paralleled by her passions for photography, global cultures, and active pursuits ​including volleyball, kickboxing. An enthusiast of humanitarian engineering and ​social entrepreneurship, Nicole thrives on transforming imaginative and creative ​concepts into reality with her two children.

Jon Doctorick

Director of STEM Outreach, Carnegie Science Center

Jon has over 15 years of experience at Carnegie Science Center in program ​development and delivery, professional development, business operations, and ​logistics. He possesses his MSEd from Duquesne University. A native of Pittsburgh, ​he is an avid fiction reader, a policy wonk, and is an amateur astrophotographer.

Brad Factor

Founder and CEO, EKTO VR

Brad Factor is the Founder and CEO of EKTO VR, a Pittsburgh-based tech startup ​building wearable robotics to offer a new way to experience virtual reality, avoiding ​the motion sickness and disorientation associated with current VR locomotion ​techniques, and making it easy for beginners to feel comfortable during their stay in ​the virtual world.

Brad has over 20 years of robotics experience in ground, air, and sea-based ​applications. At Cornell University, he advanced the hardware infrastructure design ​of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. During his 8 years at Honeywell Aerospace, ​he served as a subject matter expert for the Boeing 787 and Comac C919 Flight ​Controls Systems programs, with a primary focus on system architecture and ​safety monitoring. At Carnegie Mellon University, he focused on VR technology and ​content development, autonomous robot collaboration, and classic, modern, ​optimization-based, and biomechanical control theory. His entrepreneurial ​experience includes the NSF I-Corps program, Project Olympus incubator, AlphaLab ​Gear hardware accelerator, CMU VentureBridge program, and founding EKTO VR in ​May of 2018.

Brad holds a Master of Science in Robotic Systems Development from Carnegie ​Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering ​from Cornell University.

Suzanne Gloekler

STEM Coordinator, BotsIQ

I work to develop, design and implement innovative educational programs that ​educate students and educators. By blending academic insights with real-world ​applications, she strives to inspire a commitment to STEM education, workforce ​development and robotics. She works directly with students and teachers ​participating in BotsIQ’s program, RoboRecharge, which closes the gap between ​manufacturing, business and robotics. With a passion for STEM education, I strive ​to educate students and organizations with the knowledge and skills needed to ​take the next steps in their career paths.

Ammar Hattab

Mechanical Engineering Major, Penn State Behrend

Ammar is a rising sophomore at Penn State Behrend, majoring in Mechanical ​Engineering. His academic interests include electrochemistry, AI, as well as many ​applications of VR in professional settings. Outside of school he tries to tackle ​different projects involving the subjects stated above. Hobbies include videogames, ​hiking, crocheting, and any thrilling activity.

Steve Leonard

Operations and Program Manager, Digital Foundry at New Kensington

Steve has been a practicing industrial designer and innovator for over 30 years and ​has worked in a variety of industries including industrial/commercial products, ​materials, aerospace, defense, children’s toys, medical/surgical equipment, ​consumer electronics and fast-moving consumer products. He is the Founder and ​Managing Director for GrayMatterz™, a business, design and innovation consulting ​firm that provides business model innovation and strategy consulting to startups ​and established organizations. He has led productivity improvement projects that ​have yielded cost savings in excess of $10 million. Steve is currently an adjunct ​professor for Carnegie Mellon University's Integrated Innovation Institute Master of ​Integrated Innovation in Products and Services program. Steve holds a bachelor's ​degree in industrial design from Syracuse University and a Master of Science ​degree in new product development from Northwestern University.

Steve Luciano

Fab Lab Technical and Education Manager, Carnegie Science Center

Steve Has worked with Fab Lab CSC in various capacities since 2015, reigniting a ​childhood love of making and myth-busting. Steve believes passionately that ​everyone is a maker, and that making is for everyone, putting it into practice himself ​by using CNC equipment to make furniture, kitchen accessories, and tabletop RPG ​pieces. Steve’s educational background is in biology and anthropology, with ​degrees in both from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Abigail McCune

STEM Instructor, Carnegie Science Center

Abigail started her journey in the world of digital fabrication as an Americorps ​Maker Fellow VISTA for Fab Lab CSC. She served 2 years of capacity building for ​the lab's various educational outreach programs before becoming a full-time STEM ​Instructor. With a background in Graphic Design and Early Childhood Development, ​Abigail has found her place in the Fab Lab as a maker and educator. She strives to ​integrate art education and compassion into every STEM class she teaches, ​working to bridge the socio-economic gap in STEM education.

Jordan Mroziak

Faculty & Senior Community Engagement Specialist, Center for Shared Prosperity, Carnegie Mellon University

Jordan Mroziak is a boundary spanning learning designer, facilitator, and ​community engagement specialist. Having earned his doctorate in Instructional ​Technology with an emphasis on creative applications of learning technologies and ​critical aesthetic pedagogy, his work emphasizes the thoughtful reimagining of ​learning in order to best build habits around curiosity, empathy, community, equity, ​and joy.

Most recently, his work for Carnegie Mellon University has deepened his passion for ​fostering community through relationships oriented towards dreaming a more just ​and equitable future into existence. Jordan is inspired by scholar-practitioners as ​divergent as Paulo Freire, Fred Rogers, Maxine Greene, and Adrienne Maree Brown.

In his consulting work, he has provided the successful design and integration of ​teaching and learning solutions for national and international non-and-for profit ​sector entities.

Selected projects include designing globally available STEAM maker kits for young ​children, coaching higher education faculty regarding instructional design/delivery, ​creating computer science and artificial intelligence lessons for schools in the ​Middle East, authoring K-12 curricula aligned to state/national standards, ​evaluating government grants for arts and education programs, and developing art ​making solutions for youth in long-term hospital residency.

Chris Shelton

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, Penn State Behrend

Chris is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Penn State Behrend. As ​part of his research and service endeavors, he founded and serves as the Director ​of the Virtual/Augmented Reality Lab. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology ​from the University of Wyoming in 2018, prior to which he, completed his ​undergraduate and graduate schooling, and spent two years working as a research ​assistant at the Center for the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault. His ​research interests include immersive technologies, digital mental health and ​internet-based interventions, and ADHD. Outside of academia, Chris enjoys keeping ​up with the latest computer/tech news, working with horses, and trying new ​recreational hobbies such as skydiving. He and his wife Lauren have a 3.5-year-old ​(Everly) and two fur babies (Riley and Rosie).

Nick Smerker

Creative Learning Initiatives, Penn State University

Nick Smerker works at Penn State University where he supports faculty and ​students through Creative Learning Initiatives, a service of University Libraries' ​Teaching and Learning with Technology group. His work focuses on storytelling ​through media assignments, exploration via immersive technologies and design via ​making tools. Nick has worked in instructional technology for twenty years both at ​Penn State as well as Washington College.

Dr. Kevin Snider

Chancellor, Penn State New Kensington

Dr. Kevin Snider has proudly served as Chancellor of Penn State New Kensington, a ​Commonwealth Campus of the Pennsylvania State University, since 2008. Under his ​leadership, the campus has become known for embracing innovation, creating a ​student-centered environment, engaging the local community and continuing its ​history of excellence. Putting the University’s land-grant mission at the forefront, the ​New Kensington campus has been the driver of major initiatives in K-12 education, ​economic development and entrepreneurship by leveraging partnerships and ​enhancing community revitalization, while also creating exciting and meaningful ​learning opportunities for students. Currently, Penn State New Kensington is at the ​forefront of creating a transferable model to prepare a Rust Belt community for the ​rapidly changing world, known by some as the fourth industrial revolution or Digital ​Age. Through the development of Nextovation™, an inclusive and collaborative ​initiative focused on real change and revitalization of the city of New Kensington in ​the new digital economy, Dr. Snider has engaged more than 30 corporate, ​government, educational, foundation and community partners. The goal of ​Nextovation™ is to build future sustainability by embracing and fostering innovation ​in every sector of business, education level, government and throughout the entire ​community.

Dr. Snider’s rise in administration and higher education began at American ​University where he was an adjunct faculty member and institutional research ​analyst. He then moved to Indiana State University where he served in multiple roles ​including director of institutional research and testing, assistant vice president of ​institutional research and assessment, and interim associate vice president for ​enrollment management before becoming chief of staff and executive assistant to ​the president for strategic planning, institutional research and effectiveness. 

Dr. Snider received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in international relations from ​San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in political science from American ​University.

Michael Wentzel

Owner, Trademark Threads

Incorporated in 2012, Trademark Threads - a printing and embroidery business - ​and owner Michael Wentzel found their way to New Kensington, Pennsylvania. ​Wentzel had his eye on the city for a while, a classified HUBZone, or historically ​underutilized business zone. The program has specific requirements to be certified ​that revolve around the community the business is located in. Since opening, ​Trademark Threads has built an effective small order, fast turn business model, ​with local talent and values at the forefront of its business practices.

This program was prepared by SWPA New Economy Collaborative using Federal funds under award 01-79-15316 URI 121596 from U.S. Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.