Jenebah Lewis is a licensed clinical social worker with experience in direct clinical practice, program development and integrated behavioral health. Prior to USC, Professor Lewis spent her time working in community mental health providing clinical services to adults experiencing mild to severe mental illness in underserved communities. While serving as a mental health practitioner, she supervised an interdisciplinary team of therapists, case managers, nurses and peer providers, in addition to participating in research that aimed to improve mental health care services and outcomes.
Professor Lewis worked as part of an interdisciplinary team in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, developing integrated care programs for patients with complex care needs by using a community health worker model. She also provided training and supervision for community health workers who were providing patient navigation, case management and health education to patients across six patient-centered medical homes in Los Angeles County.
She teaches integrative seminar courses and serves as a liaison. She also serves as a co-advisor for the Unchained Scholars Student Caucus, a student-led organization addressing stigma and barriers for students who are impacted by the carceral system.
Course: SOWK 310 Technology for Social Justice and Sustainability
University: TBD
Jennifer Parga transitioned from managing college access programs and community organizing in San Diego to full-time USC employee in 2012. She shifted to practicum faculty in 2015. In addition to teaching, from 2016-2018 she served as a course lead for all practicum liaisons assisting students nationwide. Since 2019, Professor Parga has led practicum and seminar course conversions, while supporting course instructors. Currently, she collaboratively manages virtual practicum, an evidence-based training opportunity where students can implement newly learned skills on a simulated client and receive feedback in real time.
As faculty member in the Virtual Academic Center, and based in San Diego, Professor Parga is acutely aware of the unique needs and opportunities which exist in creating virtual communities and integrating technology in social work education and social work practice. As current leadership on the Grand Challenge for Social Work: Harness Technology for Social Good, she hopes to identify and create pathways for MSW students to learn more about the benefits and ethical uses of technology in social work.
Course: SOWK 310 Technology for Social Justice and Sustainability
University: TBD
Gisele Ragusa is a professor at the University of Southern California (USC) in the Viterbi School of Engineering’s Division of Engineering Education. She co-chairs and directs USC’s STEM Education Consortium. She serves in the School of Engineering’s Division of Engineering Education and is also on the University’s Academic Senate (faculty governance) as chair as the University’s Library Committee. She has led the Viterbi School of Engineering Dean’s Engaged Learning Initiative for three years. Her research interests and areas of expertise include: STEM and in particular engineering education, engineering innovation and global preparedness, college access for first generation college students and students from diverse backgrounds, STEM PK-12 education and teacher education, STEM literacy education, as well as assessment and measurement in STEM. She teaches courses in applied research design, measurement theory, advanced statistical analyses, critical pedagogy in STEM and courses in learning and instructional theory. Dr. Ragusa extensive expertise in multimodal research design, assessment, psychometrics, advanced quantitative analyses, and impact focused pedagogy in STEM. She is active in many professional associations in the engineering and science education, teacher education, distance learning, program evaluation and special education fields. She has been principal investigator on more than 30 federal grants through the US Department of Education, the National Institute of Health, and the National Science Foundation. She has greater than 100 publications of varying types.
Course: ENGR 270 Ethics in Global Engineering and Scientific Innovation
University Partner(s): TBD
Paul Lu has over 40 years of experience in the aviation industry working in the global arena. His last industry position was Director Advanced Aircraft Programs at Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. He also served a five-year term as Director Customer Support Asia and was stationed in Hong Kong responsible for customer support in the Asia region. Dr. Lu worked for the Mobil Oil Corporation in the 1990s and served a four-year term in Kazakhstan where he established and managed a Flight Operations team supporting a multi-national offshore seismic operation in the Caspian Sea. Prior to joining Mobil Oil, Lu worked at Citibank and supported a fleet of corporate jets and traveled extensively in North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Dr. Lu holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University and a Master of Aeronautical Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has been a Project Management Professional (PMP) since 1999. He recently authored three textbooks – the first is on Product Development, the second is on Project Management, and the third is on Operations Management.
Course: ISE 545 Principles and Practices of Global Innovation
University Partner(s): The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Dawn Stoppiello is a conceptual artist whose primary material is the human body in action. As co-founder of the media-performance ensemble Troika Ranch, she is most recognized for her 25+ years of choreography for bodies interfaced to computers through sensory systems and dancing in synchrony with projected images.
Troika Ranch’s international reputation has brought honors such as a Bessie Award and a prize from Prix Ars Electronica. The company has received major support from The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The MAP Fund, The Arts Council England and The Jerome Foundation, among many others.
Stoppiello has performed, taught and lectured extensively throughout Europe, Australia, Canada and the U.S. Her writings have been published by many journals and books focused on media and art practices. She began her career at the Jefferson High School for the Performing Arts (Portland, OR) and received a BFA in Dance from California Institute of the Arts and an MFA in Dance from George Washington University. She has received multiple honors from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, including a 2004 Statue Award for continued excellence in her field. She performed with Jazz Tap Ensemble as a teenager and was a member of the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company in the early 1990s.
Course: Dance and New Media
University Partner(s): TBD
