Dr. Larrondo-Petrie is a professor of Computer Engineering at Florida Atlantic University, serves pro-bono as executive director of the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI), and directs the Organization of American States’ OAS Center of Excellence of Engineering for the Americas. She has been inducted into the Pan-American Academy of Engineering and received the Global Engineering Deans Council and the International Federation of Engineering Education Duncan Fraser International Engineering Education Award, the Society of Women Engineers’ Outstanding Women in Engineering. Her research interests focus on global engineering education, designing next-generation learning systems, modeling complex systems, and designing for security.

Dr. Araceli Martinez Ortiz is the Microsoft President’s Endowed Professor of Engineering Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she serves as Director of the Engineering Education Graduate Program and Executive Director of the university’s Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP). She leads initiatives that expand access to STEM education and strengthen community-engaged engineering pathways.
Her work reflects a global perspective shaped by engineering and leadership roles in industry and academia. Before entering higher education, Dr. Martinez Ortiz worked with General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Microsoft, building expertise in international collaboration, manufacturing, technology, and workforce development. Today, she collaborates with educators and scholars worldwide on engineering education, STEM pathways, challenge-based learning, global communication competencies, and artificial intelligence in education.
Before joining UT San Antonio, Araceli served as a director at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and as Executive Director of the LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research at Texas State University. She has led initiatives supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation and holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Kettering University, Michigan State University, and Tufts University. Araceli has also completed executive education programs at Yale University, UC Berkeley, and the HACU Leadership Academy.

Dora Smith directs the future workforce strategy for Siemens Digital Industries Software. She leads strategic education and workforce development initiatives that empower a global ecosystem of thousands of enterprises, institutions and learners. Her strategic work provides access to recognized credentials, industrial strength software and industry leading resources designed to cultivate the digital mindsets and practical skills vital for future manufacturing innovation. Representing Siemens, a pioneer in industrial digitalization, Dora's efforts are instrumental in shaping the next generation of engineers and technologists. In her academic-industry advisory roles with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) and Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC), she actively champions frameworks for enhanced collaboration between educational organizations and industry, particularly in the realm of digital skills development.

Dr. Jamie Gurganus is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Engineering and Computing Education Program within the College of Engineering and Information Technology and Director of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), as well as a Faculty Fellow with the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. Her work focuses on developing engineers, educators, and communities from P12 through post-graduate levels, with scholarship and teaching centered on engineering identity development, global and entrepreneurial competencies, failure culture, and inclusive pathways into engineering. She designs high-impact, student-centered learning experiences across the engineering curriculum including first-year courses, human-centered design, work-integrated learning, and multidisciplinary capstone projects; connecting students with real-world challenges and community partners.