School of Integrative Studies

GCI Catalyst Project aims to tackle human rights issues with help of AI

Katarina Benson — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:45:10 +0000

GCI Catalyst Project aims to tackle human rights issues with help of AI Katarina Benson Thu, 09/10/2026 - 13:45

Cher Weixia Chen hopes being mindful of human rights will one day be just as automatic as looking both ways before crossing the street.

The 91�� professor is spearheading an innovative project she hopes will give educators and students, along with NGOs, government, technological, and business leaders, the tools to better approach human rights issues.

Cher Weixia Chen. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Chen, a professor in the School of Integrative Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, serves as the principal investigator of one of seven George Mason Grand Challenge Initiative (GCI) catalyst research projects: “AI-Powered Human Rights Education for All: Toward a Better World.” Collaborating with faculty from the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and the Costello College of Business, her team is creating an AI‑driven virtual human rights classroom prototype that will provide access to practical, personalized tools to learn and apply human rights principles in daily life.

“If someday this concept could be so with us, that whenever we make a decision that affects another person, our first instinct is to ask, ‘Is this respectful of their dignity and rights?’ Then we could at least inch closer to a better world,” said Chen, who is the founder of the George Mason Human Rights and Global Justice Initiative and was recently named the 2026 Faculty Member of the Year by the 91�� Alumni Association. “So that is the idea, and I feel like the emergence of AI makes this possible.”

The 18-month project began this summer with the team recruiting a graduate student and two undergraduate students through the Office of Creative Student Activities and Research (OSCAR).

Using a built-in Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) toolkit, users of the classroom will explore interactive scenarios and receive personalized guidance to help them navigate real‑world dilemmas and assess the impact of human rights decisions, policies, and technologies.

Helping with the project’s design is a trio of professors from CEC: Ziwei Zhu and Antonios Anastasopoulos from the Department of Computer Science and Sungsoo Ray Hong in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology. CEC faculty will provide expertise in artificial intelligence, natural language processing, trustworthy AI, and human-AI interaction.

“Together, we will help develop a platform that is technically robust, reliable, culturally responsive, and easy for both students and educators to use,” Zhu said. “The project could make high-quality human rights education more accessible, personalized, and engaging for learners well beyond a traditional classroom. Over time, it can help people better understand how decisions in technology, business, government, and other sectors affect human rights, supporting more informed and responsible decision-making.”

Lei Gao, an associate professor of finance in Costello, believes human rights are impacted just as much by the decisions made in boardrooms and financial markets—through supply chains, investment choices, labor practices, and the design of new technologies.

Gao will pilot the HRIA toolkit prototype with students in his finance courses, FNAN 444 Socially Responsible Finance and FNAN 483/MSF 683 Ethical and Professional Standards in Finance. He said targeting students is key as they represent “future analysts, managers, and entrepreneurs who will actually be making these decisions.

“Some of the most consequential decisions affecting human rights are made in boardrooms and financial markets,” Gao said. “This project helps the next generation of business leaders treat human rights as part of sound decision-making, not an afterthought—and gives them a practical tool to do it.”

Also contributing input in a consulting role will be renowned human rights educator Felisa Tibbitts, who served as co-editor with Chen on the book, Disciplinary Frontier of Human Rights in Higher Education. Tibbitts is currently the UNESCO Chair in Human Rights and Higher Education at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and will serve as consultant on the project.

In addition to reaching higher education audiences, the toolkit can also apply to educators and students at the K-12 school levels. Chen said she aspires to work with the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in CHSS to translate the toolkit for other languages. The team is looking beyond the business and technological industries, hoping to later reach international organizations, NGOs, nonprofits, and government and private sectors.

“Using human rights education as a tool, and now with the help of this, new technology—AI—it seems possible and plausible to make human rights reach as wide an audience as possible around the world,” Chen said. “This project essentially highlights the transformative power of these three factors: human rights, education, and AI. For all of us, this is something new and I think it’s worth trying. And for me, the most exciting part of this is it’s doable, it’s scalable, and it’s adaptable.”

This initiative supports the Advancing 21st-Century Education for All solution of George Mason's Grand Challenge Initiative

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School of Integrative Studies

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Costello College of Business

College of Engineering and Computing

Smithsonian-Mason REU helps aspiring conservation scientists find their path

ckearney — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 18:19:59 +0000

Smithsonian-Mason REU helps aspiring conservation scientists find their path ckearney Tue, 09/08/2026 - 14:19

For Olivia “Liv” Laurie, one of the defining moments of her summer research experience came while holding a baby bird in her hands.

Laurie, a student at Mount Holyoke University, spent 10 weeks this summer working with American kestrels, North America’s smallest raptor, at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) in Front Royal, Virginia. She helped monitor cameras in nearly 70 nest boxes, band kestrel nestlings, and analyze GPS and camera data to better understand how the birds move across the landscape and what prey they bring back to their nests.

“The fieldwork was one of my favorite parts,” she said. “It’s an awe-inspiring experience to be able to hold this raptor that’s so important for our environment.”

Liv Laurie, a student at Mount Holyoke University, spent 10 weeks this summer working with American kestrels, North America’s smallest raptor, at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) in Front Royal, Virginia. Photo by Robert Barrett/SMSC

Laurie was one of just 10 undergraduates selected from nearly 800 applicants for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) funded by the National Science Foundation. The students came from around the country to spend the summer immersed in field- and laboratory-based conservation research at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s 3,200-acre campus.

At SMSC, a partnership between 91�� and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute designed to educate the next generation of conservation leaders, students work alongside Smithsonian scientists and conservation practitioners while conducting hands-on research focused on endangered species and biodiversity. George Mason is one of the few universities to partner with the Smithsonian Institution in this way.

For the students, the experience offered something that cannot be easily replicated in a classroom: the chance to find out what doing conservation science actually looks—and feels—like. That was exactly the kind of experience Laurie was looking for. “One of my goals coming into this program was to explore research as a career and see if it was something I was interested in,” she said.

The REU gave her a much broader view of the possibilities. “There are tons of different fields in conservation that I didn’t even know existed before I came here,” she said.

For Laurie, that meant working with Smithsonian researcher Joe Kolowski on a project examining American kestrel movements and feeding behaviors. The findings can help scientists understand how kestrels are using the Virginia landscape—and ultimately provide information that can help protect them.

REU students Maria Cornejo and David Campos worked on reproductive technologies for threatened Przewalski's horses and whooping cranes. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

Maria Cornejo, a junior from Penn State, came to the program already thinking about a career as a wildlife veterinarian. She was initially drawn in by the REU’s title, “Saving Endangered Species and Habitats,” and the prospect of working on such projects.

While working with Smithsonian scientist Budhan Pukazhenthi on reproductive technologies for threatened ungulate conservation, Cornejo had the opportunity to interact with the endangered Przewalski's horses. Seeing the Smithsonian’s veterinarians in action brought clarity to Cornejo’s career goals. “It helped me to see this is what I want to do,” she said.

The experience also helped David Campos of Dominican University hone in on possibilities for graduate studies as well as careers. “You get to experience so many different aspects of conservation, and you're exposed to a lot of different lab techniques, scientists, different career paths,” he said. “[The REU was] definitely a fundamental step in trying to figure out what kind of scientist you want to become.”

Campos, who spent his summer working on a cryo-preservation protocol for whooping crane sperm, also found some of the most valuable lessons came when the research didn’t go as expected, and he appreciated having a mentor there—Nucharin Songsasen, head of the Smithsonian’s Center for Species Survival—to guide him.

“There can be the real setbacks when doing research,” he said. “Being with a mentor that's very open to giving suggestions and guidance was essential. I'm really glad that I had that experience now instead of experiencing it by myself on a larger-scale research project.”

These are the kinds of experiences that Elizabeth Freeman, executive director of SMSC and an associate professor in George Mason's School of Integrative Studies, and Anneke DeLuycker, professor of conservation studies, hope the students will take away.

Biology major Valerie Hernandez of Evergreen State University spent the summer exploring nutritional forage quality and tradeoffs in bird-friendly haying. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

This summer was the first of three SMSC will offer with the NSF REU funding, Freeman said, and its organization was reflective of the experiences offered in the semester-away programs that SMSC offers twice a year. SMSC has hosted students from more than 70 universities and colleges at its semester-away programs

“We try to offer a range of project types—lab-based, field-based, some are even computer-based,” said Freeman, who also served as one of the mentors this summer, sharing her African rhino behavioral research with Henry Reinke of Williams College.

The diversity of subjects extended beyond birds and mammals and included reptiles as well as plants and trees.

The REU began in June with a “bootcamp” covering such topics as how to establish a research project, writing a resume, and best practices for conservation success to get the students up to speed quickly. Then, while the students conducted their research, one day a week was devoted to professional development. On those days, DeLuycker offered lessons on the business side of being a scientist—developing an abstract, creating a poster, and communicating research, all working toward the final presentations the students gave before an audience on their last day of the REU.

Those discussions were followed by an afternoon colloquium series where guest speakers from the Smithsonian and affiliated conservation groups came to talk about various case studies in conservation, emphasizing successes and future directions, as well as highlighting emerging or innovative solutions in conservation.

DeLuycker said she was extremely impressed by the quality of the students’ presentations and the REU cohort overall. “Their talks were polished, highly professional, and insightful,” she said. “This group really bonded. It was lovely to see them relying on each other for advice and sharing exciting, fun moments over meals.”

Environmental biology major Charlie Shivers of DePauw University spent the summer studying forests' long-term responses to climate change. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

One of the challenges, Freeman said, was whittling down the 800 quality applicants to 10 recipients. For the final stage of the process, they provided each mentor with 10 to 12 applicants to evaluate. When reviewing the applicants, Freeman said they prioritized candidates who expressed a desire to engage in scientific research, but had limited access to these types of experiences that an R1 research university like George Mason can provide.

George Mason alumnus and former Board of Visitors Rector Jimmy Hazel established a scholarship to encourage REU participants to continue their academic experience at SMSC. The James W. Hazel Scholarship will provide $10,000 to each REU participant who enrolls in one of the semester-away programs.

The NSF- REU program helps open doors for emerging scientists—creating opportunities for students to discover the challenges of conservation work and the impact they can have in protecting species and ecosystems around the world.

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Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI)

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School of Integrative Studies

George Mason alumna turns a passion for sustainability into a career of service

Katarina Benson — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:22:13 +0000

George Mason alumna turns a passion for sustainability into a career of service Katarina Benson Thu, 07/23/2026 - 15:22

When Hannah Dabney, BA Environmental and Sustainability Studies ’23, arrived at 91��, she planned a career in business. This summer, she has just returned from Samoa where she served as a Peace Corps Ridge to Reef Resilience Promoter Volunteer, helping communities balance environmental protection with local development needs. The path between those two points wasn't linear, and Dabney couldn’t be happier about that.

Dabney is a big believer in taking risks. "Taking risks and doing what scares you can lead you down amazing paths you may have never considered."

Dabney in Samoa. Photo provided

In Samoa, Dabney worked alongside village leaders to develop projects that improve community well-being while protecting natural resources. Sometimes that meant helping secure funding for community initiatives. Other times, Dabney worked to find nature-based solutions to environmental challenges, such as recommending coastal tree plantings as an alternative to seawalls to reduce erosion.

While the work was meaningful, the challenges of the cultural immersion surprised her. "I spent the two years exploring the United States and thought I had an open mind and knew all there was to know about people and how they operate," she said. "I was so wrong."

Living and working within a Samoan village gave her a perspective few visitors ever experience. Through village meetings, community gatherings, and daily life, she gained a deeper appreciation for the richness of another culture and the value of listening before leading. That openness to new experiences has defined Dabney's journey since her days at George Mason.

When she realized her passions lie in sustainability and conservation, she decided to major in environmental and sustainability studies, an interdisciplinary program in the School of Integrative Studies that combines scientific knowledge with policy and ethics, and she headed off to the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation for a semester in Front Royal, Virginia, working alongside Smithsonian scientists.

Those lessons continue to guide her today. “Nearly every class related to my major has helped to prepare me for what I encountered in the field, office, and lab,” she said. “Policy writing and the practical field skills have been a constant across all of my jobs. Skills I learned in my lab classes have been beneficial for the occasional field lab work I have done.”

She said her overarching takeaway from her education is that research is a tool used to help influence decisions and policy. “Each side can exist without the other, but to be effective, there must be cohesion and collaboration.”

Dabney’s George Mason experience was defined as much by what happened outside the classroom as inside it. She completed three internships that exposed her to vastly different aspects of sustainability work. One involved corporate sustainability planning at a mid-sized multinational company. “The internship had a massive learning curve, but I managed to write more than 15 new sustainability plans based on the United Nations Sustainability Goals, as well as help program a tracking system.”

Another had her climbing a 200-foot atmospheric monitoring tower every Monday. A third took her to New Mexico with a Bureau of Land Management assessment and monitoring crew.

That final internship almost didn't happen. Needing one last internship credit to graduate, Dabney decided that if she had to take on another position, she might as well go somewhere completely new.

The decision proved transformative.

The New Mexico experience led to a position with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington state, which in turn helped prepare her for the Peace Corps. Looking back, Dabney sees a clear pattern: Every major opportunity in her career emerged from a willingness to step into uncertainty.

Even joining George Mason's rowing team as a freshman required a leap of faith. Walking onto a Division I team was intimidating, but it led to lifelong friendships, professional connections, and opportunities she never could have predicted. "Having a little wanderlust and spirit of adventure can lead to incredible opportunities with fantastic people," she said.

As she moves forward in her career, Dabney continues to follow the philosophy that has shaped her from the beginning: Growth rarely happens inside your comfort zone.

Explore the Smithsonian-Mason Schoool of Conservation

Learn more about internships at George Mason

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Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

School of Integrative Studies

Bringing up Baby Linh Mai: George Mason alum shares a behind-the-scenes peek at the National Zoo’s new addition

Katarina Benson — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:21:31 +0000

Bringing up Baby Linh Mai: George Mason alum shares a behind-the-scenes peek at the National Zoo’s new addition Katarina Benson Thu, 04/23/2026 - 11:21

There’s a lot to do when a newborn is on the way, from doctor appointments to nursery set-up and more. But when that baby is 308 pounds and 21 months in the making, preparations rise to a new level. Born in February, Linh Mai is the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s first Asian elephant calf in nearly 25 years, and George Mason alumna Ashley Fortner, BS Integrative Studies ’17, has been there every rambunctious step of the way.

An Elephant Trails keeper with the National Zoo since 2019, she’s formed close bonds with the herd of now seven elephants, but she’d never worked with a calf. “It still doesn’t feel real,” she said. “Linh Mai is perfect.”

Fortner has been an Elephant Trails keeper at the National Zoo since 2019. Photo by Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Like any newborn, Linh Mai requires around-the-clock care, including a bottle every two hours. Fortner and other keepers rotate through three 10-hour shifts each day. And every day is different. “She just learned how to trumpet,” Fortner said. “I think she surprised herself when she did it.”

The birth of a baby elephant is a notable event for more than just sheer cuteness. Fortner explained that most female elephants in the United States are past the age for bearing a calf. “They typically only have one [calf] at a time… so it's a very long involved process for hopefully one single payout for an entire species.”

Fortner and the rest of the team started preparing long in advance, but challenges along the way forced them to be nimble and adapt. When first-time mother Nhi Linh and grandmother Trong Nhi did not immediately accept Linh Mai, herd mate Swarna stepped in and formed a close bond with the baby. Fortner said neither situation was part of their playbook and keepers had to quickly switch gears.

“You write a whole plan and then the moment comes and everything goes differently,” Fortner said. “We were very adaptable because we had to work with where Nhi Linh’s willingness was and where she was in her pregnancy.”

Baby Linh Mai. Photo by Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Fortner’s journey to her current role shows her perseverance and an openness to curiosity. She arrived at George Mason in 2013 and immediately felt right at home.

“[George Mason has] so many little pockets of different things that you can investigate and find out where you fit, like specialized programs and all the learning communities. It just felt like a different college experience, and I really liked that.”

She also benefited from the specialized learning style she found within the School of Integrative Studies. “That classroom style of big discussions and papers worked really well for me.”

But the one-time journalism major was unsure about her future career path. A chance sighting of a flyer for the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) gave her the answer. “There's nothing like waking up in the middle of a conservation biology institute…. I got the opportunity to do practicum experiences where you get to work in the field with researchers to kind of get your feet wet and see what you like to do.”

SMSC made such an impact on Fortner that she ended up spending two semesters at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, home of the SMSC. “I didn’t know if I would go the keeper route or if I wanted to be a researcher,” she said. Through her practicums, she gained hands-on experience in both.

But she was hungry for more. “I was just looking to continue doing cool projects and get involved,” Fortner says.

Baby Linh Mai and Swarna. Photo by Smithsonian’s National Zoo

She connected with Associate Professor Elizabeth Freeman, PhD Environmental Science and Public Policy '05, now also SMSC’s interim executive director, and began helping on a project to monitor red panda behavior. “She’s been a really pivotal player in my career, has always been a big supporter,” Fortner said of Freeman.

As Fortner neared graduation, she took on internships working with rhinos in Florida, hoofstock in Texas, and then—fatefully—elephants in Dallas. When an opportunity came to work at the National Zoo, Fortner was ready. “I like to think that elephants chose me. Everything lined up so perfectly, and I can’t imagine working with anything else.”

Fortner has continued engaging with SMSC, mentoring students and working with them on research projects and data analysis that can directly influence elephant care. “There’s just endless questions and research that we could do to help better take care of the elephants every day. We can offer that [research] experience and it’s mutually beneficial…for students, but for us, too.”

SMSC agrees. In fall 2025, their faculty awarded Fortner their first-ever alumni PEACE (Passion, Engagement, and Achievement in Conservation and Ecology) prize. In their citation, faculty noted that “Fortner’s passion and energy and commitment to conservation have been consistent as long as she's been connected with our programs, and it's an inspiration to see her sharing those with the newer cohorts of students.”

"I recall many conversations with Ashley a decade ago about her interests in becoming an elephant keeper at the National Zoo,” said Freeman. “It’s fun seeing her capitalize upon her education to make her dream come true. We are fortunate to have her continued involvement with SMSC where she is creating similar opportunities for our current students." 

Linh Mai made her public debut on April 22. Like any proud family member, Fortner was excited for the moment and aware of the significance. “This might be the only way some people see elephants in their lifetime.”

Learn more about the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation

Power the Possible

Master of Public Health alum builds a career transforming public health across Virginia

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:32:22 +0000

Master of Public Health alum builds a career transforming public health across Virginia Mary Cunningham Mon, 06/02/2025 - 10:32

“I wouldn't be where I am today without a community of folks who have supported me. Mentors, teachers and all of those folks, it started with a conversation.”

Felicia Baez-Smith, MPH ’19. Photo provided.

Felicia Baez-Smith’s, MPH ’19, public health journey began during her undergraduate years at 91��, where she earned a BA in Integrative Studies with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. While working at the Student Support and Advocacy Center, she conducted HIV testing and was encouraged by a mentor to pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH), and she did. The same week she graduated with her MPH from George Mason’s College of Public Health, she started her career at the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

“George Mason is an amazing school. They teach you theory, but I also got the practical skills to transfer to my job. You know, you learn about evaluation metrics, and you learn about a logic model. But what does that mean when you're actually in a job? And how do you actually apply those? So to me, I felt prepared. Even just my writing skills, just the day-to-day sending emails to different stakeholders, whether that's internal leadership folks versus a community member who has never interacted with a public health professional or health department staff.”

At a time when few people had heard of Naloxone, as an opioid outreach coordinator for the Chickahominy Health District, Baez-Smith led efforts to distribute the life-saving medication across rural and urban communities. “I completed over 70 REVIVE! trainings,” she recalls. One of her most impactful initiatives was a partnership with the women's prison in Goochland County, where she trained 70 incarcerated women on how to use Naloxone before their early release. “We heard women's stories, folks who were in recovery. It was powerful. I remember speaking to a woman who saved her 19-year-old daughter when she got out with her Naloxone. It was nice being in that role because you saw the impact you had, and people wanted the help and appreciated that we cared and talked about such a taboo topic.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Baez-Smith transitioned to a full-time health educator with VDH, quickly shifting from community health assessments to providing testing and guidance on masking and traveling.

Following the pandemic, Baez-Smith temporarily joined Hanover County Community Services Board as a behavioral health and wellness specialist, focusing on youth substance use prevention and mental health outreach, especially through local churches—the community gathering places and trusted sources of information. She became a certified mental health first aid instructor and conducted trainings for the community.

Returning to VDH, she built and led a team of community health workers. Together, they launched initiatives such as a car safety program for low-income families and the Healthy Heart Ambassador program, which promoted blood pressure monitoring and communication with health care providers.

Baez-Smith is now the Workforce Collaboration Coordinator at the VDH. When she began the role, it was much more internal and focused on employee engagement. Now she is supporting more than 33 local health districts across the state.

Continually supported as an alum

College of Public Health alum honorees of Forty Under 40 from George Mason's Black Alumni Chapter: Genesis Brown, Aminata Jalloh, Felicia Baez-Smith, and Nkeiruka Ononiwu-Jones. Photo provided.

Even after graduation, Baez-Smith felt supported through George Mason alumni outreach efforts. She participated in mentoring programs that connected alumni with current students to discuss job searching, salary negotiation, and career development. “That one-on-one connection made a huge difference,” she says. “Mason does a great job helping students build networks that last.”

Baez-Smith is also a founding member of Collective 365, a nonprofit that provides seed funding to Black and Brown individuals and organizations. “We wanted to give back in a way that was accessible—whether through money, time, or other support.”

Most recently, Baez-Smith was recognized by 91��’s Black Alumni Chapter on the 2025 Forty Under 40 List for making a positive impact in the community and trailblazing a new path to shape the future.

Advice to students

Her advice to students and recent graduates: “Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. I wouldn't be where I am today without a community of folks who have supported me. Start a conversation—it might change your life. Networking doesn’t have to be intimidating. And remember, no one has it all figured out. We’re all still learning as we go. Trust the process.”

Topics

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Master of Public Health

GCH Alumni

Public Health

School of Integrative Studies

Announcing the recipients of the 2025 Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence

lclarkg — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 14:49:41 +0000

Announcing the recipients of the 2025 Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence lclarkg Mon, 04/14/2025 - 10:49

91�� President Gregory Washington has announced the recipients of the 2025 Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence, honoring 12 George Mason faculty members for their work on behalf of the university, students, and the broader community.

The awards honor faculty with up to six years of service, six to 12 years of service, and more than 12 years of service.

This is the ninth year for the Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence. Recipients are selected by a review committee that includes prior award recipients and senior leaders from relevant areas. They will be honored at a reception May 13.

“Faculty excellence is an undeniable reason why George Mason is consistently ranked as one the country’s top 50 public universities,” President Gregory Washington said. “We honor these faculty members’ scholarship and dedication to help students achieve their highest potential with the university’s highest faculty recognition.”

The John Toups Presidential Medal for Excellence in Teaching is presented to a faculty member whose teaching inspires and stimulates students in the finest tradition of higher education.

The Beck Family Presidential Medal for Excellence in Research recognizes extraordinary contributions by members of the Mason faculty to consequential research of high impact. The award is presented annually to a George Mason faculty member whose research represents groundbreaking advances in their field.

The United Bank Presidential Medal for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion recognizes extraordinary contributions in teaching, research, scholarship, creative works, or service that directly advances diversity and inclusion inside and outside the George Mason community.

The Earle C. Williams Presidential Medal for Excellence in Social Impact is presented to a faculty member in any discipline who makes extraordinary efforts to use their scholarship to solve real-world problems.

The complete list of 2025 honorees is below. See prior recipients for 2017 to 2024.

Bethany Cieslowski

Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award Recipient

Bethany Cieslowski

Chief Innovation Officer for Immersive Technologies and Instructional Associate Professor, School of Nursing

Bethany Cieslowski joined the faculty of the School of Nursing as an instructional faculty member in 2021. She serves as the chief innovation officer for immersive technologies and the bachelor of science in nursing director in the College of Public Health. Since 2017, when she received the Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) certification, she has devoted herself to educating the nursing workforce of the future using simulation and technology. Cieslowski has been a pioneer at George Mason in the use of virtual reality (VR) simulations that immerse students in clinical nursing scenarios. To aid this effort she established the College of Public Health’s VR SIM lab, which is the first lab in the country to receive accreditation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare for the use of immersive technologies in medical scenarios.

Angela Miller

John Toups Presidential Medal for Excellence in Teaching Recipient

Angela Miller

Associate Professor, College of Education and Human Development

Angela Miller is an associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development. Her primary teaching focus is on quantitative research methods. She has taught 13 different courses in her time at George Mason, and she took the lead in redesigning the research methods curriculum for PhD students and developed three new courses to that end. While her own teaching has been focused on the graduate level, she took a lead role in developing, teaching, and now mentoring graduate students and other faculty in an undergraduate statistics course that is part of the Mason Core for Quantitative Reasoning. Miller makes deliberate efforts to tailor her instruction to the unique needs of her students and she consistently receives outstanding evaluations. She has made significant contributions to graduate mentoring, having chaired six dissertation committees, served as the methodologist on an additional 18 dissertation committees, and chaired six MA thesis committees, as well as an additional 16 MA capstone projects. She was also a recipient of the 2017 91�� Teaching Excellence Award.

Weiwen Jiang

Faculty Excellence in Research Award Recipient

Weiwen Jiang

Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

Weiwen Jiang, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computing, received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 and spent two years at the University of Notre Dame as a postdoctoral researcher. Jiang’s research is in the relatively new field of quantum computing, which uses quantum mechanics to enable computers to solve more complicated problems. Jiang’s research has important applications. For example, one of his recent papers combines quantum computational techniques with machine learning to solve problems relating to the discovery of new medicines. Jiang has an impressive research record of top-tier conference presentations and publications, some of which are in the most selective journals in his field (Nature Communications, Nature Electronics, Scientific Reports).

Xuesu Xiao

Faculty Excellence in Research Award Recipient

Xuesu Xiao

Assistant Professor, Computer Science Department

Xuesu Xiao received his PhD in Computer Science in 2019 from Texas A&M University, and after three years in industry as a roboticist with Everyday Robots, an Alphabet/Google company, he joined the Computer Science Department in the College of Engineering and Computing. His research aims to develop intelligent mobile robots that can navigate in challenging terrain with minimal human oversight. His cutting-edge work in the field of social robot navigation seeks to develop robots that can navigate human-occupied public spaces safely while respecting social norms. At George Mason, he established the RobotiXX Lab, in which he works with postdocs, graduate students, and high school students to develop deployable robots. An outstanding researcher, he was awarded the New Generation Star recognition at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Aarthi Narayanan

Faculty Excellence in Research Award Recipient

Aarthi Narayanan

Professor, Biology Department

Aarthi Narayanan joined the George Mason faculty as a tenure-line faculty in 2013 after spending six years at the National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Disease. She is currently a professor in the Biology Department in the College of Science. Her research focuses on the impact of viruses–including SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Dengue, and HIV–on disease progression at the tissue and cell level. Her work has led to important discoveries in vaccine development, drug discovery, and biomarker identification for infectious diseases. Narayanan has an exceptional record of publications and external funding for her research. Moreover, she has been an exemplary citizen of the university and her profession. She has been a dedicated mentor to emerging scientists in academic and industry settings; a leader in mentoring junior faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and students; a vital contributor to curriculum development for undergraduate and graduate programs; and dedicated to outreach to the local community, participating in STEM programs for girls.

Allison Redlich

The Beck Family Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Research Recipient

Allison Redlich

Professor, Criminology, Law and Society Department

Founder and Director, Modeling Decision-Making in the Legal System (MoDiLS) Lab

Allison Redlich is a professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and is the founder and director of George Mason’s Modeling Decision-Making in the Legal System (MoDiLS) Lab. Her research is deeply interdisciplinary. Trained in psychology, she brings insights from that field to address critical issues facing the legal system. For example, she has published influential research about interrogations and confessions in police and military contexts. This scholarship has been widely cited in amicus briefs to states and the Supreme Court, and Redlich herself has provided expert testimony in important cases involving contested confessions. She has produced similarly influential research on topics such as guilty pleas and mental health courts. Her work is credited with transforming scholarly thinking on these topics, and by all accounts is having a significant impact on current practices within the legal system. A prolific scholar and researcher, she has been elected a Fellow to the three most influential organizations in her academic fields: the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Academy of Experimental Criminology. Redlich has also distinguished herself as a mentor and has received mentoring awards from George Mason and from the American Society of Criminology and the American Psychology-Law Society.

Daphne King

Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award Recipient

Daphne King

Assistant Professor, Social Work Department

Daphne King joined the faculty at George Mason’s Department of Social Work in the College of Public Health in 2020 as an assistant professor and also serves as the MSW Online Program director. Prior to arriving at George Mason, she had an impactful career as a social worker working with individuals experiencing mental health challenges, with homeless and incarcerated populations, and in school social work settings. King’s scholarship and national contributions focus on the intersection of social work practice, clinician identity, and pedagogical strategies. Within the Social Work Department at George Mason, she has been proactive in providing leadership in course development, course refresh processes, and faculty training, particularly around online teaching to ensure that there is adequate support for diverse learners in digital and hybrid learning environments.

Janani Umamaheswar

Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award Recipient

Janani Umamaheswar

Associate Professor, Criminology, Law and Society

Janani Umamaheswar joined the Department of Criminology, Law and Society in 2021 as an assistant professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is also an affiliate faculty member in the Women and Gender Studies Program. She is an accomplished scholar whose research addresses issues relating to social inequality, punishment and incarceration, and qualitative research methods. In her teaching she makes a point to include a broad range of perspectives on whatever subject matter she is teaching, and in her course design she creates assessment methods that give students of diverse backgrounds and viewpoints the opportunity to share their learning in different modalities. She has also created experiential co-curricular activities designed to help students grasp issues relating to inequality. For example, she worked with the Douglass Project, the country’s foremost prison visitation program, to take George Mason graduate students for a guided dialogue session in the Washington, D.C., jail. She has been an active member of the mentoring programs run by multiple divisions of the American Society of Criminology.

Jacqueline McDowell

United Bank Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Recipient

Jacqueline McDowell

Associate Professor, School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management

Assistant Dean for Faculty Success

Jacqueline McDowell is assistant dean for faculty success and associate professor in the School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management in the College of Education and Human Development. A well-respected scholar, her work focuses primarily on diversity and inclusion in organized sports and recreation organizations. She has published widely in this field, particularly on the experiences of women and sport, such as athletic administrators and coaches. One of her articles was awarded the 2017 President’s Award for Article of Distinction at the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. In McDowell’s teaching, issues of inclusion are central. She has also been active in advancing inclusion in her professional service, both here at George Mason and in external professional organizations. For example, she serves on the American Kinesiology Association’s Membership Committee, where she has led efforts to bring more Historically Black Colleges and Universities into the field by developing outreach strategies. Due to the effectiveness of these efforts, she was asked to chair this committee for the American Kinesiology Association.

Margarita Tadevosyan

Faculty Excellence in Social Impact Award Recipient

Margarita Tadevosyan

Research Assistant Professor and Executive Director, Center for Peacemaking Practice, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Margarita Tadevosyan received her PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from 91�� in 2019 and is a research assistant professor and executive director of the Center for Peacemaking Practice at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. She is a scholar-practitioner of conflict resolution and local peacebuilding, with a focus on South Caucasus and other post-Soviet areas. Specifically, she focuses on long-term peacebuilding, local conceptions of peace, local practices to build peace, and ways that international and local peacebuilders can work together respectfully. Tadevosyan’s social impact involves fostering dialogue and cooperation between communities that have experienced long-standing conflicts. She has also brought Carter School students into her work as co-planners, co-facilitators, and co-evaluators of conflict resolution and media literacy programs.

Susan Howard

Faculty Excellence in Social Impact Award Recipient

Susan Howard

Instructional Associate Professor, School of Integrative Studies

Susan Howard joined George Mason as a full-time faculty member in the School of Integrative Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2016. Howard is an educator, behavioral scientist, and entrepreneur-innovator who leverages and humanizes technology for social impact. Her teaching, research, and entrepreneurial focus is broad, ranging from global health to environmental science and design thinking. Her impact beyond the university has come primarily through the free digital gaming platform that her company has produced for an audience of marginalized youth in India and Nepal. The games, which are free to play, are designed to educate youth about the social and public health decisions they face in their own lives. To extend the impact of her work, Howard has formed partnerships with stakeholders in the adolescent health sector, including NGOs, women entrepreneurs, and nonprofits. Howard’s gaming platform, “Games of Choice, Not of Chance,” has received multiple accolades for its work, including the 2024 Innovation Award at the Global Digital Health Summit.

Rebecca Goldin

Earle C. Williams Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Social Impact

Rebecca Goldin

Professor, Mathematical Sciences

Rebecca Goldin is Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematical Sciences in the College of Science. For many years she has served as a driving force behind a global effort aimed at promoting statistical literacy among journalists and connecting the scientific community to the media. In that capacity she has written more than 100 articles, appeared in dozens of high-profile news shows and podcasts (CNN, NPR, ABC News, and PBS), and given a great number of public talks and interviews to audiences at major conferences and mathematics festivals. In addition to her far-reaching communication and outreach efforts, Goldin has done extensive volunteer work locally. Her efforts have been widely recognized by professional organizations in her field. In 2013, she was given the Association for Women in Mathematics Service Award for her contributions to the cause of educating women and girls in mathematics. In 2019, she was named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, an extraordinary honor that goes to only a few mathematics scholars per year, for both her scholarly contributions to the field of differential geometry and for her efforts to promote mathematical and statistical thinking to a wide audience.

About the Presidential Awards for Faculty Excellence

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Transforming Access to Justice: Students Tackle Language Barriers at Fairfax Courthouse

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 15:17:21 +0000

Transforming Access to Justice: Students Tackle Language Barriers at Fairfax Courthouse Andrew J Schappert Tue, 10/22/2024 - 11:17

From left, Schar School Jurisprudence Learning Community students Mohammed Ibrahim Al Zubaidi and Sharanya Maddukuri, a government and international politics major and Honors College student, flank General District Court Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith in her courtroom. Photo provided

Going to a court of law as plaintiff, defendant, witness, juror, or a spectator in the gallery can be stressful and confusing if you don’t know where to go. What floor is the right office on? Which clerk at which window do you need to visit? Which courtroom do you need to be in and when do you need to be there? And which way to the bathroom?

Mohammed Al Zubaidi presents the Court Signage Survey Project to an attorney who advocates at the Fairfax General District Court. Photo provided

The Fairfax General District Court conducts its business at the Fairfax County Courthouse, not far from 91��’s Fairfax Campus near the City of Fairfax. It shares the facility with the Fairfax Circuit Court, the largest trial court in Virginia. Understandably, the hallways of the campus can be confounding even to those who frequent the complex, much less those who have business there only occasionally.

Now imagine you need to visit the General District Court but do not speak English as your native language. All the signage is in English. You can see there might be a problem.

Members of a team of 15 volunteer students from the Jurisprudence Learning Community (JPLC), one of five learning communities in the Schar School of Policy and Government, are spending time in the hallways and offices of the busy court complex conducting a survey project aimed at helping the court understand the accessibility needs of court users.

The students visit the courthouse in shifts each weekday for a month to administer surveys to those who use the court, including judges, attorneys, deputies, bailiffs, and visitors. When the survey period is over, the students will compile the results to gain an understanding of the steps the court should take to increase accessibility for individuals, particularly language and translation accessibility.

“The results of the Court Signage Survey Project will be sent to the District Court for review and ultimately compiled into a larger report that will go to the Virginia Supreme Court,” said Assistant Professor Shea Holman, director of the JPLC.

From left, Sathvika Kolluru, Sharanya Maddukuri, and Abigail Harmon wield survey clipboards in the courthouse hallway. Photo provided

General District Court Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith reached out to Holman for the project.

“She specifically wanted to connect with George Mason students,” Holman said. “We are such a diverse campus and the JPLC is a place where students from many different backgrounds have the opportunity to experience the legal field firsthand. This is an amazing experience for students to interact directly with individuals attempting to navigate our legal system and to spend time in a courthouse setting.”

For Schar School junior Mohammad Ibrahim Al Zubaidi, that’s exactly what has happened.

“The most memorable experience has been engaging with court users directly,” the government and international politics major said. “Listening to their stories about the communication barriers they face in such a crucial setting has been eye-opening. It reinforced the importance of the work we’re doing and the impact this project can have on improving access to justice for everyone.”

Al Zubaidi’s degree program includes a concentration in American Institutions and Processes and a minor in criminology, law, and society. His visits to the courthouse, he said, will help him gain hands-on experience in legal processes, particularly in improving access to justice for underrepresented communities.

“This project allows me to connect my academic knowledge of government and law with real-world applications," Al Zubaidi said. "Balancing classwork and off-campus duties has been a challenge, but it's also helped me develop strong time management and organizational skills. By staying organized and setting clear priorities, I’ve been able to manage both effectively."

Walking the hallways of the bustling courthouse is a new experience for some of the students.

“I haven't spent much time in [a courthouse] up until this point, so it has been interesting to see the innerworkings,” said Abigail Harmon, an integrative studies major with a legal concentration. “I also feel that making the courtroom more accessible to all kinds of people is a really important cause, and I am proud to be helping out with that. I hope that the information collected in the surveys can help with this.”

Among all the court users she’s met, it’s the interpreters who work there that have made a significant impression.

“They are passionate about helping people who don't speak English navigate and understand our legal system,” the Twin Falls, Idaho, native said. “One of the interpreters stressed how important it is to have interpreters, because if you don't speak English and don't utilize one, you might be unable to get the justice you deserve.

“I feel that this was relevant in our survey, because non-English speaking individuals might find it difficult to get around the courtroom, and the courthouse should find ways to fix that. I've had the opportunity to see a couple of the interpreters in action, and without them their clients may have had a different outcome and experience in their case.”

“This project allows me to submerse myself in the exact environment I am striving to be in postgraduation,” said government and international politics senior April Cornelius from Aliso Viejo, California. “The best experience I have had thus far has been surveying people on the third floor, which is the domestic cases. I had a mom with her two daughters fill out a survey, and was nice to connect with her older teenage daughter.

“Nobody likes to be bothered with a survey,” she added, “but it is nice to take someone’s brain off the reason why they are there—most times not for a good reason.”

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Shea M. Holman Kilian

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Craig Zaccaro is January Employee of the Month

sholla4 — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 18:27:43 +0000

Craig Zaccaro is January Employee of the Month sholla4 Wed, 01/17/2024 - 13:27

According to Alecia Bryan, director of advancement communication for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), Craig Zaccaro “will likely be horrified we’ve all banded together in support of him for Employee of the Month. And to that, I say, too bad.”

It’s a funny quip, written in bold, in Bryan’s nomination letter for Zaccaro. But it is a sentiment echoed in all the nominations: Among his many accolades and exceptional qualities, it is Craig Zaccaro’s humility that perhaps best demonstrates why he was named January Employee of the Month.

President Washington with Craig Zaccaro. Photo by Ayman Rashid/Office of University Branding

Zaccaro, associate director of IT and application development for CHSS, likes to say that he’s been at Mason since he was two years old. “I learned to walk in the hallways of the Psychology Department,” he jokes; his father, Stephen Zaccaro, has been a professor of psychology at Mason for more than 30 years. After graduating with his BS in marketing from Mason, he returned for an information technology certificate. He took a part-time job as a web designer for the School of Integrative Studies (SIS), which turned into a full-time role.

“I’ve been at Mason ever since,” he said.

Zaccaro is now in the dean’s office of CHSS. Much of Zaccaro’s work, according to his nominators, is behind the scenes. He is responsible for the college’s web system—CHSSweb—which hosts more than 70 websites representing CHSS departments, programs, and centers, as well as Mason Korea’s site. He oversees new web editor trainings, server maintenance and protection, application development, and more. After the departure of his senior director, Zaccaro has also taken on the technical project management of the CHSSweb visual redesign and serving as supervisor for his two colleagues.

His nominators describe his work as “innovative,” “focused on accessibility and inclusivity,” and a “proactive approach to improvements and maintenance.”

One theme in Zaccaro’s nominations is his admirable focus on finding solutions. When you come to Craig with a question, his nominators explain, he rarely says “no”; instead, he gets to the core of your goal and your purpose to find a solution that both meets your needs and fits within the systems and structures in place.

“He is currently doing double the workload and still makes time to dedicate to your question or problem,” explained Stephanie Sheridan, visual resources curator in the Department of History and Art History. “He never makes you feel rushed for time, or like a burden on his schedule.”

“Beyond his technical skills, Craig’s commitment to helping faculty and staff with software installations and troubleshooting issues was invaluable,” said Fu Zhao, senior budget analyst for SIS. “Throughout his time with us, Craig’s professionalism, expertise, and exceptional support undoubtedly had a positive impact on our department’s overall performance.”

Troy Lowery, academic advisor in the College of Public Health, describes Craig as “one who acknowledges all people as both learners and knowers...he intuitively realizes that every person has something to give to and take away from the conversation.”

That sentiment is clear not only in Zaccaro's nomination, but in his responses to the Employee of the Month interview. When asked about his favorite part of working at Mason, he said, “the opportunity to work with and learn from so many great people. In each role I’ve had at Mason, I’ve learned so much from the people I’ve worked with.”

Zaccaro stands in front of Horizon Hall's Word Wall feature, which he helps maintain. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding.

The feeling is mutual.

“Craig is without a doubt one of the most important individuals in the college. He is extremely talented, knowledgeable in many domains, generous with his time and expertise, and above all else, kind,” wrote Jenna McGwin, director of operations and initiatives for CHSS.

“Craig is one of the kindest, most patient, most humble employees I’ve ever worked with at Mason,” said Holly Mason Badra, associate director of Women and Gender Studies Program.

When not fortifying CHSSweb’s infrastructure and supporting his colleagues through IT challenges, you can find Zaccaro on the golf course, warily eyeing the campus geese, visiting his sister and baby nephew in London, England, or enjoying movies like Moulin Rouge!, which, insiders say, is his favorite.

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September 1, 2026
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Caitlin Horan is May Employee of the Month
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Lifelong learning turns into a bachelor’s degree for this first-year Mason student

sholla4 — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 17:37:41 +0000

Lifelong learning turns into a bachelor’s degree for this first-year Mason student sholla4 Tue, 10/10/2023 - 13:37

James “Jimmy” Stewart has always had a passion for learning.

During his 10 years serving in the U.S. Army, Stewart took classes at various colleges based on where he was stationed. His transcript boasts coursework from universities across Europe and the United States, though he never formalized a degree program. “I was initially focused on technology and law courses that were related to my role in the army—which was doing technology for the Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG), the law firm for the Army,” he said. “But also took a few core courses, like history, just in case.”

Stewart left the military during the dotcom boom of the late 1990s. His experience allowed for a smooth transition to a civilian career in the technology sector, working his way up to senior-level positions at national nonprofits and law firms. “I knew that not having a degree would always be a challenge to get employment,” he said. “With my certifications and the number of years of experience, I was able to get into the sector. But it has been a limiter; I’ve had to look for positions that prioritize hands-on experience as opposed to degree experience.”

When his 11-year-old daughter started showing interest in college, Stewart saw an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of higher education by finally getting his bachelor’s degree.

_{“I used to live across the street from Mason Square, and my wife is a Mason alum, so 91�� was the logical first choice,”}
_{he said. “I want her to see that if her dad can do it, she can do it, too, when it’s time.”}

Stewart enrolled in the Individualized Study Program in the School of Integrative Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), with a concentration in leadership and strategic communications. The Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS) at Mason is designed for nontraditional students who are starting or returning to college after previous careers and life experiences. BIS took Stewart’s career and military experience, as well as his certifications and previous college courses, and converted them into credits that apply toward his degree; he started Mason this fall with 77 credits.

“I was always worried that getting the degree wouldn’t fit into my other responsibilities as a husband, a father, and employee,” he said. “But when I worked with my academic advisor to map out the degree, I thought, ‘Wow this is achievable!’ I only wish I had done it sooner.”

Stewart hopes to keep his daughter engaged by showing her his coursework, talking about his classes, and pointing out Mason wherever they go—like on the Metrobuses. “I want her to keep being excited with the idea of college, keep thinking of college as the next step,” he said. “I want to be a role model for her.”

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Award-winning game helps young girls and women navigate and negotiate life choices

sbrown79 — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 20:48:16 +0000

Award-winning game helps young girls and women navigate and negotiate life choices sbrown79 Wed, 09/27/2023 - 16:48

When Susan Howard’s mother wanted to leave India for the United States in the 1950s, she had some negotiating to do.

“My grandparents were against it,” Howard said of her mom’s request, “but agreed on the condition that my mom be married. So, she compromised and said, ‘how about I get engaged?’”

That real-life scenario inspired the 91�� professor to create Go Nisha Go, an award-winning game that helps girls and young women in India navigate and negotiate life choices.

A poster for Susan Howard's game, Go Nisha Go. Photo provided.

“We're not trying to tell girls what is right or wrong. For some girls, listening to their parents is right for them,” said Howard, who teaches in the School of Integrative Studies. “Our aim with Nisha is to show players that their decisions matter and not to relinquish decisions to the father or their husbands or society even.”

The game, which was launched in June 2022, addresses public health concerns such as nonconsensual sex, reproductive health, relationships, contraception, and the detrimental stigmas that are attached to them, said Howard.

Go Nisha Go, which has more than 250,000 players in India, is a virtual experience that provides players with essential resources in the real world they can access directly from the game. It has 25 in-game partners from social entrepreneurs to private-sector companies and small businesses.

Susan Howard. Photo provided

These partners provide menstrual hygiene products, as well as legal and crisis helplines for women who are being bullied or abused.

“The technology of embedding these links was challenging, but it was really worth it because we felt that it was our responsibility to bridge the in-game experience with real life.”

Howard, who received a PhD in environmental science and policy from Mason in 2020, cited an example of an important app embedded in the game.

“There's a scene where Nisha is talking to her mentor about when she's most at risk for pregnancy and how does she know. The mentor shows her an app that’s called Cycle Beads where you can track your period. In real life, players can download this app to their phones.”

The game was originally only available in three states in India—Rajasthan, Bihar, and Delhi—because that’s where young girls are most at risk for early marriage and pregnancy, Howard said, but it is now available in all 11 Hindi speaking states in India through Google Play.

Go Nisha Go is an interdisciplinary effort, Howard said. College of Science PhD student Chih Hao “Andy” Huang handles the in-game analysis and data security management, Schar School PhD student Patrick Baxter helped design the game’s large-scale randomized control study that is being done among 1,900 girls, and Mason alumna Jeannette Cachan is the knowledge management and monitoring advisor on the project. Mason Board of Visitor member Dolly Oberoi, CEO of C2 Technologies Inc., has been a mentor and guide to Howard since the inception of the idea.

As a game data engineer, Huang ensures the game's structure and the data used are safe and updated.

“One of the features that we used in the game was creating different models and using predictive analytics. During the game, the players will make different decisions and select different answers for questions or situations,” said Huang.

“We use that data, run through different algorithms, and then we get results for personalized messages so players can have a more personalized experience instead of a ‘one game fits all’ kind of experience."

Go Nisha Go was awarded Best Learning Game in 2023 by Games for Change and made the list of 10 Fast Company Innovation by Design honorees in social justice interventions.

“All design begins with people and understanding people,” said Howard. “At the end of the game, you get to see the outcome of all the choices you have made for your character, and how in real life you can be inspired to be your ‘best self.’”

Howard credits the liberal arts and the humanities for her approach of putting people at the center of technological innovations. She is currently working on two additional games: one in Nepal and a game for boys in India.

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