Dr. Alireza Nili is a Senior Lecturer in Service Science at QUT's School of Information Systems within the Faculty of Science. His expertise spans digitization of customer-centric services, AI/chatbots, IoT/IIoT, and sustainable technologies. He holds a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington and has coordinated large-scale courses like IT Systems Design (IFB103), achieving top teaching scores. Nili's research focuses on service ecosystems, trust in digital services, and public/retail sector innovations. He has secured over $1.4M in industry grants for projects involving Cisco, Amazon, and Services Australia. His awards include the 2023 Educator of the Year and multiple top conference paper recognitions. Nili supervises PhD students at Level 3 mentoring status and contributes to major conferences as track chair/associate editor. Research highlights include frameworks for chatbot governance, IOT in agriculture, and AI ethics. His work appears in IEEE Software , Communications of the ACM , and MIT Sloan Management Review . Current projects address consumer trust in AI technologies and spatial data systems. Nili's interdisciplinary approach combines design science with empirical methodologies to bridge theory and practice in digital service innovation.
Séverine Dusollier is a Professor of Intellectual Property at the Law School of Sciences Po Paris and holds a Senior Chair at the Institut Universitaire de France. She serves as Director of the Law School's Research Centre and Head of the Master in Innovation Law, actively contributing to doctoral committee activities. Her expertise spans copyright law , digital rights , and intellectual property frameworks. Key roles : Research Centre Director, Master in Innovation Law Head International engagement : Founding Member of the European Copyright Society, ATRIP member Her research focuses on digital copyright issues , authorship concepts , contractual protections for creators , and the evolution of exceptions and limitations . Recent work explores generative AI implications, public domain dynamics , and inclusive property models . She has held visiting positions at Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, and Cambridge. Notable scientific awards include: ERC research grant (2014–2019) Senior Chair, Institut Universitaire de France CSPLA (French Copyright Council) membership Her publications emphasize digital transitions , IP openness , and fair remuneration in streaming , reflecting her dedication to reconciling traditional IP structures with modern technological realities.
Julia DiBenigno is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Yale School of Management, where she has been faculty since 2016 and was promoted to full professor in 2023. She holds a courtesy appointment in Sociology and is an organizational ethnographer whose research focuses on the sociology of work, professional collaboration, upward influence, and organizational change. Her research interests include understanding how professional groups collaborate across boundaries, how frontline workers can effectively voice concerns upward in organizational hierarchies, and how organizations navigate change during crises. She specializes in qualitative, ethnographic methodologies, immersing herself in organizational settings ranging from hospitals to the U.S. Army to uncover the social dynamics that shape workplace behavior. DiBenigno's publication record includes multiple articles in top journals like Administrative Science Quarterly and Organization Science, with her most recent work examining how crises create opportunities for implementing long-resisted changes. Her research demonstrates patterns where frontline staff can successfully push through organizational resistance when they move quickly and demonstrate both short- and long-term value of their proposals. Ned Smith Rising Star Award, Organization & Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management, 2023 Thinkers50 Radar List, Class of 2022 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Research Award, NYU Wagner, 2021 Grigor McClelland Best Dissertation Award, EGOS, 2017 W. Richard Scott Outstanding Paper Award, American Sociological Association, 2016 As an educator, DiBenigno teaches Managing Groups & Teams and Power & Politics at Yale SOM. Her research on team dynamics has revealed insights about coordination loss, the common knowledge problem in group decision-making, and how hierarchical structures can both help and hinder effective teamwork. Her work with healthcare providers during the pandemic demonstrated how team identification reduces stress and burnout among frontline workers.
Dr. Celestine Ike Nwachukwu is a Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and HRM at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Business School. He holds external roles including External Examiner (Postgraduate/Undergraduate HRM, Solent University; Undergraduate Business with HRM, University of Salford) and Senior Visiting Fellow at Coal City University, Enugu, Nigeria. His professional memberships include the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Chartered Management Institute (CMI), and British Academy of Management (BAM). Education: PhD in Management Studies, Liverpool John Moores University (2013-2016) MSc in Human Resource Management and Development, Liverpool Hope University (2011-2013) B.Th. (Sacred Theology), Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome B.A. Philosophy, Imo State University Research Interests: Focuses on value-added HR functions, innovative people management, inclusive leadership, e-leadership transformations, and HR leadership in advancing decent work. Current research tracks include digital leadership in organizations and HRM’s role in private sector decent work. Active in exploring academics’ cultural awareness in teaching international students and work-integrated learning practices. Teaching & Supervision: Teaches postgraduate courses like Leading with High Performance and HR Analytics, and undergraduate modules such as Managing People in the Contemporary Economy. Supervised PhDs including studies on social learning barriers in Nigerian public service and entrepreneurial experiences of Black African entrepreneurs. Acts as Internal PhD Viva Examiner for strategic HRM topics. Professional Contributions: Session Chair for HRM tracks at the British Academy of Management Conference (2023) and panelist at the World HR Congress (2021). Engaged in policy discussions on employee turnover prevention and people development strategies.
Rovincer Najjuma is a Lecturer in Digital Education and the Global South at the University of Edinburgh's Moray House School of Education and Sport, affiliated with the Centre for Research in Digital Education. His research focuses on digital education ecosystems, intersectionality frameworks, and leveraging technologies to enhance access for marginalized populations in post-conflict regions and the Global South. Education: PhD in Education; Master of Education in Curriculum Design; Postgraduate Diplomas in ICT in Education and Education; Bachelor of Social Science (Political Science & Public Administration). Research explores digital education policy, mobile learning, refugee education, and generative AI applications. He has pioneered digital professional development programs in Africa, including designing Makerere University's first fully online Masters in Instructional Design Technology. Grants include Royal Society of Edinburgh funding (2024-2025), USAID/Resilient Africa Network grants (2021-2024), and Commonwealth Academic Fellowships. Key collaborations include work with University of Oxford on mobile technologies in teacher preparation, University of Stellenbosch's Emerging Scholars Initiative, and UNICEF-funded projects on non-state schools in Uganda.
Jennifer D. Oliva is a Professor of Law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law where she holds the Val Nolan Faculty Fellow position. She maintains significant interdisciplinary affiliations as a Research Scholar at Georgetown University Law Center's O'Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law and as a Senior Scholar with the UCSF/UC Law Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy. Her academic work bridges legal scholarship with practical health policy development, focusing on the intersection of constitutional protections, public health needs, and modern surveillance technologies. Professor Oliva's research interests center on health law, privacy law, and drug policy with particular expertise in prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), health information privacy, and the legal dimensions of the opioid crisis. Her scholarship critically examines how law enforcement surveillance of prescription data impacts patient privacy rights, particularly for vulnerable populations including those with substance use disorders. She has developed significant expertise in how constitutional privacy protections apply to health data in the digital age, especially following the Supreme Court's decision in Carpenter v. United States. Her recent publications reveal a growing focus on algorithmic regulation in healthcare, examining how risk scoring systems and coverage algorithms can perpetuate health disparities. She has published extensively on the intersection of reproductive rights and health data privacy in the post-Dobbs landscape, analyzing how prescription monitoring systems could be weaponized against individuals seeking reproductive healthcare. Her work consistently connects doctrinal legal analysis with public health realities, advocating for evidence-based policy approaches that prioritize patient privacy and health equity over punitive enforcement. Dosing Discrimination: Regulating PDMP Risk Scores (2022) The "New" Drug War (2024) Prescription Drug Policing: The Right to Health Information Privacy Pre- and Post-Carpenter (2020) Opioid Multidistrict Litigation Secrecy (2019) Surveillance, Privacy, and App Tracking (2020) Professor Oliva actively engages with policymakers and has contributed to amicus briefs in significant cases including Ruan v. United States. Her scholarship has been cited in legal proceedings and she regularly presents at major academic conferences including the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting. She has collaborated with scholars across disciplines including public health researchers, medical ethicists, and data scientists to address complex challenges at the intersection of law, technology, and healthcare.
Professor Philip Birch is a distinguished academic in Criminology at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Faculty of Design & Society, School of International Studies & Education. With over 15 years of academic experience across British, American, and Australian university systems, he has established himself as a leading expert in policing, community safety, and criminal justice. His extensive practical background in criminology, including roles as a Specialist Crime Team Manager, Community Safety Research Manager, and Through Care Worker in UK correctional facilities, informs his applied research approach. Professor Birch's educational background includes a BSocSci. (Hons) in Social Policy (Crime & Justice) from the University of Manchester, multiple postgraduate qualifications from the Open University (including an MSc. in Social & Criminological Research Methods), a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice from the University of Huddersfield, and a PhD in Criminology from the University of New South Wales. He also holds a Fellowship with the Higher Education Academy. His research centers on six key areas: Police & Policing; Community Safety & Crime Prevention; Prisons, Probation & Parole Policy & Practice; Assessment, Treatment & Management of Offenders; Gender & sexuality inclusive Domestic and Family Violence; and Sex Work, Sex Workers and Procurement. His work emphasizes the practical application of criminological research to real-world justice issues, with strong industry engagement across law enforcement and correctional services. Recent publications reveal a clear trend toward police mental health, aging in policing, hate crime identification, trauma-informed policing approaches, and digital community safety initiatives. His research employs diverse methodologies including qualitative case studies, Delphi methods, rapid evidence assessments, and comparative analyses across multiple jurisdictions. Teaching award (2019) from Australian College of Educators for outstanding contribution to education Literati Award (2019) for published work Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy Professor Birch has supervised numerous Honours, Masters by Coursework, Masters by Research and PhD students in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Policing, with several completions to date. He has secured over $1.3 million in research funding, including an ARC Linkage grant, and has acted as an external assessor for domestic and international funding bodies. His research projects address critical issues in criminology and policing, often with direct policy implications. He established the Crime & Security Science (CaSS) Research Group at UTS in 2022, a cross-faculty initiative connecting academia with industry to advance evidence-based criminology, criminal justice, policing, and community safety research. This group serves as a hub for collaborative projects addressing contemporary security challenges through translational research.
Profile Roles and Affiliations: Michael Smets is a Professor of Management at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He is also a Research Fellow at Green Templeton College and a member of the Centre for Professional Service Firms. His academic contributions span institutional theory, practice theory, and strategic management. Education: Bachelor’s equivalent in Business and Economics, Cologne University, Germany MSc in Management Research, Saïd Business School DPhil in Management, Saïd Business School Postdoctoral Researcher at Saïd Business School and University of Alberta’s School of Management Research Interests: Michael’s work examines professional service firms (PSFs) through three core lenses: Global Operations: Internationalisation challenges in law, consulting, and reinsurance firms, with a focus on institutional complexity and regulatory systems. Innovation & Career Systems: How evolving career structures in PSFs can simultaneously drive innovation and address work-life balance demands. Recent studies highlight ambidextrous career paths and their strategic leverage. Methodological Innovation: Pioneering video- and team-ethnography to capture micro-level organisational practices. His ‘fly on the wall’ study at Lloyd’s of London is a landmark in this domain. Academic & Industry Impact: His research has been translated into industry-relevant outputs, including reports for the reinsurance sector and handbooks for legal firms. The 2013 ESRC Award for Outstanding Impact in Business recognises this translational work. Academically, he has received the 2012 Academy of Management Journal Best Article Award and multiple best paper awards. Teaching & Executive Education: Michael teaches strategic management, innovation, and business development in executive programmes for Commerzbank, Deloitte, and other global firms. He is Programme Director for the Oxford Leading Professional Service Firms Programme, emphasizing interactive, case-study driven pedagogy. His teaching philosophy prioritises critical thinking over rigid models, as he states: ‘It is critical to understand under which circumstances which models work, and which ones don’t.’ Labs & Collaborations: Affiliated with the Centre for Professional Service Firms and the Oxford Initiative on Rethinking Performance. He collaborates with institutions like Cass Business School and Aston Business School on ethnographic studies. His work also intersects with the Insurance Institute of London and the International Bar Association for practitioner-focused outputs.
Laura Albert is a Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former David H. Gustafson Department Chair (2021-24). She serves as a Fellow of AAAS and IISE, and previously held the INFORMS presidency. Her research focuses on optimizing public-sector systems, with applications in critical infrastructure protection, emergency response, and cybersecurity. She advocates for public engagement through op-eds and blogs like 'Punk Rock Operations Research.' Education: PhD in Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2006) MS in Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2001) BS in Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2000) Research Interests: Dr. Albert’s work bridges operations research and public policy, addressing challenges in emergency medical services, voting system security, law enforcement strategies, and opioid treatment diversion programs. She employs mathematical optimization, game theory, and stochastic modeling to design resilient systems. Awards: INFORMS Impact Prize (2018) NSF CAREER Award (2011) Fulbright Award (2020) AAAS Fellow (2020) Advising & Grants: While explicit student names aren’t listed, her research has been supported by grants from the NSF, Army Research Office, and other agencies. She advises on interdisciplinary projects involving public health, cybersecurity, and disaster management. Labs/Teams: Engaged in collaborative efforts across the College of Engineering, including affiliations with the Electrical & Computer Engineering department. Leads initiatives on resilient infrastructure and emergency response systems.
Kevin O'Brien is the Jack M. Forcey Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He specializes in Chinese politics, particularly focusing on contentious politics, protest dynamics, and state-society relations in rural China. His research examines mechanisms of protest control, authoritarian governance, and institutional reforms. O'Brien holds a B.A. from Grinnell College (1979) and a Ph.D. from Yale University (1987). Education: B.A., Grinnell College; Ph.D., Yale University Affiliations: Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley Research interests include rightful resistance, relational repression, and adaptation strategies under autocratic regimes. He has authored/co-authored influential books such as Rightful Resistance in Rural China and edited volumes on popular protest and grassroots elections in China. Books: Reform Without Liberalization , Popular Protest in China , Grassroots Elections in China Awards include the Sage Award for Best Paper in Comparative Politics (2004). His work integrates fieldwork insights with theoretical frameworks, addressing topics like land expropriation, migrant worker rights, and NGO operational challenges in China's evolving political landscape.
Sabrina Carletti is a Lecturer in the Department of Visualization at Texas A&M University. Her interdisciplinary work bridges art history, visual and cultural studies, and media theory. She holds a Ph.D. from an unspecified institution (2019). Her research focuses on modern and contemporary Latin American art, with a specialization in Argentinian avant-garde movements. Her current book project, derived from her dissertation, examines Xul Solar and the Argentinian Avant-Garde through themes of immigration, modernization, and European modernist dialogues. This work explores artists' roles in shaping national identities and participatory practices. Carletti’s academic interests span global modernisms, media history, migration studies, and 19th-21st century Argentinian literature. She combines scholarly research with performance art and public service to advocate for interdisciplinary and inclusive approaches in cultural studies.
Dr. Susana Castro-Kemp is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Human Development at University College London's Institute of Education (IOE), where she serves as Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education (CIE) since September 2023. Previously, she was a Reader in Education at the University of Roehampton for eight years. Her work focuses on inclusive education policy and practice globally, with particular expertise in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), early childhood intervention, and mental health in schools. The IOE has been ranked number one in the world for Education for several consecutive years, providing an ideal environment for her impactful research. Dr. Castro-Kemp holds a PhD in Psychology jointly awarded in 2012 by the University of Porto (Portugal) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA). Her doctoral research was fully funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology/European Commission and the Global Education and Development Studies scholarships. She is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, and a Recognised Research Supervisor by the UK Council for Graduate Education. Dr. Castro-Kemp's research centers on policy regulating education, health, and welfare services for children, particularly those with support needs. She examines inclusive education practices from users' perspectives, policy models leading to effective inclusive pedagogy, and country-level policy impacts on outcomes for children with special educational needs. Her work moves away from diagnostic labels toward engagement and civic participation as educational outcomes. She also investigates inclusion and early intervention in low- and middle-income countries, mental health in schools, and quality of early childhood education. Her recent publications reveal several key trends in inclusive education research. There's growing emphasis on understanding educational experiences through the voices of children and families rather than diagnostic labels. Much of her work examines the implementation gap between inclusive education policy and classroom practice. She has conducted significant research on how children with special educational needs experienced the pandemic, revealing both challenges and unexpected "silver linings" for some groups. Her corpus analysis of Ofsted reports shows narrow focus in early childhood education inspections, while her work on SEND policy increasingly takes an international comparative approach. Dr. Castro-Kemp has received recognition for her impactful work, including: Best Digital Humanities Project for Community Engagement Prize (2023) from the National Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of South Africa for her project "Optimising collaborations and reducing inequalities of Early Childhood Intervention in post-Covid-19 South Africa" Dr. Castro-Kemp has secured approximately £1.3 million in research funding from various sources including ESRC, British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, European Commission, and private sponsors. Her current major project is 'ScopeSEND' (2024-2026), funded by the Nuffield Foundation (£250,000), examining international SEND policies. She has led numerous projects including "Transdisciplinary provision for children with disabilities in the Global South" (£3,500), "Optimising collaborations in South Africa" (£47,200), and "Froebel meets Ofsted" (£19,185). As a supervisor, she mentors MA/MSc and PhD students in education policy, early childhood, and inclusive education, having been nominated for student choice awards for excellent feedback and outstanding research supervision. As Director of the UCL Centre for Inclusive Education since 2023, Dr. Castro-Kemp leads a team focused on advancing knowledge exchange and research in inclusion and special needs. The Centre works with schools, educators, parents, and early years settings to translate research into practice. Her international collaborations include work with the World Health Organization as a technical advisor on the use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) system in educational contexts. She also serves on the SEN Policy Research Forum and has provided oral evidence to the House of Commons Education Select Committee.
Jade Walker is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at the College of Business, The University of Texas at Arlington. She teaches courses in Organizational Behavior, Human Resources, and Student Success, bringing over two decades of professional experience in talent acquisition and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Education: MBA in Business Administration, Texas Woman's University (2019) BA in Psychology, University of New Orleans (2001) Her research and teaching interests center on creating inclusive and accessible workplaces. She emphasizes strategies for student success, equity in management, and organizational behavior. Her expertise is grounded in both academic study and extensive industry application. Jade holds professional certifications including the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Diversity and Inclusion for HR Certification from Cornell University. She is actively involved in HR and diversity-focused organizations. Professional Memberships and Service: Member, CUPA-HR (February 2025 – Present) Professional Member, National Black MBA Association (2018 – 2025) Member, Society for Human Resource Management (2005 – 2025) Public/Community Board Member, Arlington Foundation for Excellence in Education (January 2015 – Present) Member, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (April 2000 – Present) Chairperson, Pioneer Alumni Association (March 2020 – November 2024) She has held leadership roles in talent acquisition at major organizations including Caregiver, Inc., Procore Technologies, Lowe's Companies, OTB Acquisitions, and Cracker Barrel. Her teaching integrates real-world HR practices with academic theory to support student development and organizational effectiveness.
Luisa Veronis is a Full Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Arts. Her research focuses on migration studies, refugee resettlement, and Francophone immigration in minority contexts, with an emphasis on social, economic, and cultural dimensions of integration. She holds the University of Ottawa Research Chair in Immigration and Franco-Ontarian communities. Ph.D. in Social Geography, University of Toronto (2006) MA in Social Geography, University of Toronto (1999) BA Honors in Social Anthropology, McGill University (1997) Her work examines how policies, economic conditions, and cultural contexts influence migrant decision-making. She leads interdisciplinary projects like the SSHRC-funded Ottawa Multicultural Media Initiative and co-leads studies on skilled migrant resilience and refugee settlement. Her research spans Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Latin America, and Africa. Recent publications highlight social media’s role in pandemic-era labor market integration, governance structures in migration, and transnational practices. She supervises graduate students on topics related to Francophone immigration and social cohesion. She serves on the editorial board of Cahiers de Géographie du Québec and collaborates on grants including SSHRC Partnership Grants and Insight Grants. Her current teaching includes courses on geographies of globalization and transnational migration. Fieldwork expertise includes Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, and Latin American regions, with a focus on multicultural media and community-based research methods.
Sally M. Reis is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut, holding the title of University Teaching Fellow and previously occupying the Letitia Neag Chair. With over four decades of academic leadership, she has shaped national and international practices in gifted education through her co-development of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM). Her academic credentials include: Ph.D. in Educational Psychology of the Gifted and Talented from the University of Connecticut (1981) B.A. in English and Psychology from Chatham College (1973) Professor Reis's research pioneers strength-based approaches for twice-exceptional learners , particularly students with autism spectrum disorder, while addressing systemic issues like the achievement gap and gender disparities in gifted identification. Her Schoolwide Enrichment Model Reading Framework (SEM-R) revolutionized literacy instruction by integrating student interests with academic rigor, as evidenced in her 250+ publications spanning curriculum compacting, enrichment clusters, and talent development for vulnerable populations. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a decisive shift toward evidence-based strategies for neurodiverse gifted learners, with 60% of 2023-2025 work focusing on autism spectrum disorder in twice-exceptional students. Her scholarship consistently bridges theory and practice, emphasizing student agency through interest-driven learning and systemic equity in talent development frameworks. Her scientific impact is recognized through: Early Leader Award (NAGC, 1985) Distinguished Service Award (NAGC, 1988) University Teaching Fellow (UConn, 1998) Distinguished Scholar Award (NAGC, 2003) Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor title Fellowship in the American Psychological Association Professor Reis secured a landmark $2.95 million IES grant for SEM-R implementation while directing nationwide professional development initiatives. As past-president of the National Association for Gifted Children and editorial board member of Gifted Child Quarterly, she has mentored generations of scholars through workshops across 48 U.S. states. Her current research examines college transition barriers for twice-exceptional students, funded through ongoing IES collaborations. Through the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development, she leads international SEM implementations including Italy's three-year national study, while pioneering the Enrichment Clusters framework for real-world student-driven learning across 12,000+ global classrooms.
