Keynote Speaker

Chris Camacho  

Chris Camacho serves as president & CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), one of the longest-standing public-private partnerships for economic development across the country. As chief executive, Chris leads the development and execution of the region’s strategic economic strategy, oversees domestic and international business development, and ensures the market position remains competitive through coordination with partner organizations, private sector leaders, and municipal and state leadership. He has led the attraction of more than 460 companies during his tenure, creating nearly 85,000 jobs and $24 billion in capital investment. Some notable projects include TSMC, Apple, Silicon Valley Bank, Microsoft, GoDaddy, Yelp, Amazon, Garmin, General Motors, ElectraMeccanica, Zoom, HelloFresh, and headquarters including Benchmark Electronics, Carlisle Companies and Rogers Corporation. In October 2021, Chris led GPEC to being recognized as the top economic development organization globally by the International Economic Development Council a year after being named the top EDO in the U.S. in 2020.

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Presenters

Daniel Barajas 

Daniel Barajas serves as the Chief Office for Workforce & Economic Development Strategy for the Maricopa County Community Colleges District, Phoenix, Arizona.

Daniel has over twenty five years of experience working in post-secondary education within the community college system.  He has held many positions within both the academic and student affairs areas, with years of service as Dean of Academics and Career and Technical Education, prior to his current role.

With a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University, Daniel has a passion for marrying educational opportunity and solutions to industry and community need.  Daniel has served on many councils and boards during his career.  This is exemplified in his past role as the President for the Arizona Occupational Administrators Council, and current roles as Board member for the Phoenix Business & Workforce Board and Arizona Chamber of Commerce: Arizona Manufacturing Council Member, among his many engagements. 

Daniel has enjoyed representing education to many industry partners during his time in education developing academic products and services to meet industry needs.

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Jay Burris

Jay Burris is an Academic Program Manager for the OpenVINO™ Toolkit. Jay Burris has been working in the embedded, automotive and Internet of Things industry for 22 years. He is passionate about advocating for academics (students and faculty) with use of Intel Technologies such as the Intel®️ Distribution of OpenVINO™️ toolkit using Intel® Architecture based equipment and resources such as teaching kits and instructional Jupyter Notebooks. Jay often hosts workshops and facilitates coding competitions for students and developers. Jay hold a bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Arizona.

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Lisha Dunlap

Lisha Dunlap is the PR marketing manager at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. She began her education at a community college in Kansas, earning an A.A. in Business from Cowley County Community College. She then transferred to Washburn University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Military Studies. Dunlap is an experienced public relations professional, marketer, writer, editor, social media expert, communications specialist, photographer, reputation manager, and passionate storyteller.

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Miguel Fernandez

Miguel Fernandez is Composition and Literature residential faculty at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. He has graduate degrees in Comparative Literature, and National Security and Intelligence Studies. He teaches ENG101 and ENG102 for Cybersecurity, Applied A.I. and Drone Fields of Interest. Fernandez is a co-author of “Elementary…the Art and Science of Finding Information: Knowledge Advantage through OSINT” (2020) and was an Aspen Institute Greater Phoenix Workforce Fellow 2021-2022.

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Jenna Kahl 

Jenna Kahl is the Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and has over 15 years of experience in higher education. Mrs. Kahl approaches her work through the lens of connection and partnership striving to leverage creative approaches that benefit students and the communities that we serve. In her role she also oversees teams that amplify the stories, successes and vision of the college through marketing, institutional research, government affairs, community relations and philanthropy.

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Dr. Paula Livingston

Dr. Paula Livingston holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University and currently serves as the Dean of Instruction and Workforce Development at Estrella Mountain Community College where she provides collaborative visionary leadership and support for 15 academic and occupational/CTE divisions and programs. Additionally, Paula leads the work out of the Center for Workforce and Experiential Learning and the EMCC Makerspace in supporting critical workforce initiatives and project-based learning opportunities for students and our communities. In her work, Dr. Livingston develops and fosters relationships with business/industry, education partners and community organizations to further EMCC’s mission of student success. Paula has collaborated with faculty in developing and expanding educational offerings to support the socio-economic mobility and educational advancement of students. Her focus has been on promoting teaching excellence, fostering an environment of inclusivity and teamwork, and championing innovation across the college. She has worked closely with faculty and provided academic leadership for expansion of the Nursing program, the successful partnership and launch of the first Microsoft Datacenter Academy in Arizona, and the development of the first 2-year Artificial Intelligence program in the United States. Additionally, Paula has been integral in garnering millions in grant funding and donations to support teaching and learning, student scholarships, and workforce development programming.

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Habib Matar

Habib Matar is a professor at Chandler Gilbert Community College in Arizona, United States. He was one of the pioneers bringing Artificial Intelligence to first and second year higher education in the United States. He currently has been teaching for 3 years, but previously he worked at Intel as a Production Leader at the Ocotillo Campus. He has an immense passion for teaching beginner students about the subject of Artificial Intelligence and hopes to make the subject accessible for all.

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Tuan Nguyen

Tuan Nguyen is a tenured faculty at Laney College with 25+ years of teaching in computer science and programming. He gained professional experience with several years of working in the industry. Tuan has participated in professional development with Intel, AWS, WASTC, and others. He has led several curriculum development projects, which include AI/ML. Tuan holds a BS from the University of California at Berkeley and an MS from Stanford University in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is skilled in team building and collaboration.

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Cristina Ortiz 

Cristina Ortiz directs Intel® Digital Readiness Programs in the US, including AI for Workforce, which is delivering critical AI workforce development to America’s community colleges. She has over a decade of experience bringing STEM programs to diverse audiences. During her 20-year career at Intel, Cristina has worked in multiple disciplines including corporate affairs, sales and marketing, and manufacturing. She earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arizona, an M.S. in Engineering from Arizona State University, and is PMP certified. Cristina lives in Arizona with her husband and two teenage kids.

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Tyler Perrino

Tyler Perrino is the Creative Lead at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Arizona. He has nearly a decade of higher education marketing experience, and currently manages CGCC's social media channels and email marketing, as well as produces videos for the college. Prior to moving to Arizona, Tyler was the first dedicated social media manager at the University of Pittsburgh, where he focused on alumni relations and development. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Tyler earned a B.S. in Journalism from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and a M.S. in Digital Audience Strategy from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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Dr. Greg Peterson

As a first-generation community college student, Dr. Greg Peterson has a passion and commitment to the community college and its mission of access and success for all students. Dr. Peterson has served as President of Chandler-Gilbert Community College within the Maricopa Community College District, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), since July 2018. Prior to his time at CGCC, he served as the vice president of student services and/or instruction at three Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) in California which included comprehensive work around student success and assessment. Due to his innovative leadership, he has presented at the White House for both the President’s Domestic Policy Council and the U.S. Department of Education. He also serves on the governing board for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), many local boards in the Phoenix area, and he sits on the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) Commission on Workforce and Economic Development.

 

Dr. Peterson holds a doctorate in Educational Administration with an emphasis in Community College Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s in Postsecondary, Adult and Continuing Education from Portland State University, an MBA from Kaplan University, and a bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University. He was also recently selected as part of the first cohort of the Aspen New President Fellowship and teaches graduate-level courses for Kansas State University.

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Prema Rayappa

Prema Rayappa is the Computer Science/CIS faculty lead at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. She has been teaching at CGCC for more than 8+ years. Prema has a Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and Masters in Computing Studies from Arizona State University. She has 5+ years of experience working as a Programmer Analyst. Areas of teaching include Computer Programming, Databases, and Web Design. She has been involved in the curriculum development for Programming and Systems Analysis, Web Design/Development, and Data Analytics Certificate and Associates program. She is also certified as a lead coach of the Intel for Youth Artificial Intelligence Program as of May, 2020. She is the advisor of the CGCC Coding Club, and is actively involved in community outreach programs. 

My role as a computer science faculty is to bring together my knowledge and experience as a programmer to foster critical thinking and apply the knowledge learned to real-world applications.

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Gabriela Rosu

Gabriela is the Dean of Instruction at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. With over twenty-five years of experience in Higher Education and the IT industry, Gabriela holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Robert Morris University and M.S. in Multimedia from Duquesne University. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree. 

 

As an immigrant to the United States, Gabriela has a passion, influence, and deep commitment to diversity, inclusion, and student access for building the next STEM generation. Gabriela is a transformational leader, and her work on academic and workforce innovation is recognized nationally. 

 

As a girl who dreamed of changing how education shapes women into entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers, and global leaders, Gabriela is a promoter of building strong, sustainable, and equitable educational opportunities.

 

Gabriela is invited to lecture and present at numerous conferences and Oxford Roundtable on topics in Human and Global Cyber Security, Emerging Challenges & Opportunities in AI Market Trends, Our Future with AI Ethics, Workforce Transformation & Impact on Global Economy, and Women’s Leadership.

 

Gabriela and other inspiring women have led to real changes in American education and the workforce, contributing to the progress of how education is practiced, prioritized, and understood, as well as how women can lead effectively for the greater good.