As technology reshapes childhood, the need for evidence-based solutions has never been greater. Engage directly with pioneers whose work is shaping how children learn, play, connect, and thrive online, and hear how they are translating research into real-world solutions that can improve the lives of children and families worldwide.
Please note that this event, which is presented by the School of Social Ecology and CERES (Connecting the EdTech Research EcoSystem), begins with a reception from 4-5 p.m. The main program follows immediately.
Panelist bios:
1. Tami Bhaumik, Vice President, Civility & Partnerships
Tami Bhaumik is the Vice President of Civility and Partnerships at Roblox, where she spearheads the platform's digital civility initiative. To establish healthy and safe communities, Tami focuses on providing kids, teens, parents, and caregivers with the skills needed to create positive online experiences, in partnership with leading global safety and industry organizations. With over 25 years of experience, she has successfully fostered supportive communities in a variety of industries by leading the growth of multiple Silicon Valley startups and is on the Boards of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), Technology Coalition, and an advisory board member for the Digital Wellness Lab/Boston Children’s Hospital.
2. Mimi Ito, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Chair in Digital Media and Learning at UC Irvine; Director, Connected Learning Lab
Mizuko (Mimi) Ito is a cultural anthropologist and learning scientist who has studied young people’s engagement with digital technology for 30 years in the United States and Japan. She is Director of the Connected Learning Lab and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Chair in Digital Media and Learning at the University of California, Irvine. She has two Ph.D.s from Stanford University, in Education and Anthropology, and an undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard University. Her work centers on how to tap student interests and digital media to fuel learning that is engaging, relevant, inclusive, and socially connected. Her studies include research on the emergence of children’s edutainment software, the growth of mobile media culture and otaku culture in Japan, social media and network and games in the US, and the worldwide adoption of networked Japanese children’s media such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. More recently, her work has focused on how educators, technologists, and parents can honor young people’s diverse interests and identities, tapping their interests and digital engagements to power learning, support wellbeing, and civic engagement.
For over a decade, she directed research for the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative and led the development of the “connected learning” research and design framework with an international network of scholars, educators, and designers. The connected learning framework offers a youth-centered and equity-oriented approach toward understanding and supporting learning, development, and wellbeing in a digitally connected era. Ito established the Connected Learning Lab at UC Irvine, and an affiliated nonprofit, the Connected Learning Alliance, to continue research, innovation, and social impact projects in technology and learning. She is also co-founder with Katie Salen Tekinbaş, of Connected Camps, an organization that offers social, project-based online learning experience in popular platforms such as Minecraft and Roblox.
3. Michael H. Levine, Ph.D., Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Or Initiative
Michael H. Levine is Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Or Initiative, where he helps guide organizational strategy, partnerships, and field-building work at the intersection of research, practice, and policy. He also serves as a senior adviser and board member at several foundations, start-ups and social impact organizations focused on closing opportunity gaps—particularly in early learning, K-12 education, and more human-centered, ethical technology design. Previously, he was Senior Vice President at Paramount, leading learning and social impact for Noggin, and Founding Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. His career also includes leadership roles at Asia Society, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the New York City Public Schools. He is the author of dozens of reports and briefs and co-author of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens.
Levine earned his Ph.D. in Social Policy at Brandeis University’s Florence Heller School and his B.S. at Cornell University. Outside of Or, Michael is an avid reader, hiker, and writer of silly poems for family celebrations. He’s also a devoted—and happily exhausted—grandparent of five preschoolers, guided by Yogi Berra’s advice: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
4. Michael Preston, Ph.D., Executive Director, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
Michael Preston is the Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, an independent research and innovation lab at Sesame Workshop dedicated to ensuring that digital and AI- powered technologies serve children’s best interests. Named after Sesame Street’s visionary co-founder, the Center conducts research on emerging technologies, translates developmental science into industry practice, and engages policymakers and investors in evidence-based conversations about children’s learning and well-being. By actively involving young people in co-designing the technologies they use, the Center ensures that innovation is grounded in what children want and need.
With 25 years of experience at the intersection of cognitive science, learning technology, and education policy, Michael specializes in child-centered design, responsible AI, and the systemic conditions that turn research into practice. He co-founded CSforALL, the national hub for the Computer Science for All movement and led digital learning initiatives at the NYC Department of Education, Columbia University, and New Visions for Public Schools. Michael holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.A. from Harvard University.
5. Katie Salen Tekinbaş, Professor, Department of Informatics, UC Irvine and Executive Director, Connected Camps
Katie is Professor and Vice Chair for Graduate Affairs in the Department of Informatics at UC Irvine, a member of the Connected Learning Lab, and Executive Director and co-founder of Connected Camps. She has expertise in the design of youth-powered online play communities and has been leading work on designing caring and care(full) online environments that support adolescent mental health and wellbeing. She has collaborated with researchers and commercial platforms to develop innovative approaches to prosocial community design and youth-led moderation.
Katie is founding Executive Director of Institute of Play and a founding member of the Connected Learning Research Network. She led the design of Quest to Learn, an innovative New York City public school. Her books include Affinity Online: How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel Learning, Rules of Play, and The Game Design Reader.
Moderated by: Gillian Hayes, Vice Provost for Academic Personnel at UC Irvine and a Chancellor’s Professor and the Robert A. and Barbara L. Kleist Professor of Informatics in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and in the schools of Education, Medicine, and Social Ecology.
Gillian's research interests are in human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing, assistive and educational technologies, and health informatics. She designs, develops, deploys, and evaluates technologies to empower people to use collected data to address real human needs in sensitive and ethically responsible ways.
