2022 NOW Conference Presenters

Gert Reynaert

Gert joined UC Berkeley and the Technology Program Office in September 2020. For the previous 20 years, Gert was based in Massachusetts where he worked in both software startups and consulting companies, primarily as a Project, Program and Change Manager.

Gert's areas of expertise include managing software development and implementation projects, as well as leading change management and organizational design initiatives. He has cross-industry experience, most recently in financial services, biomedical research, and pharmaceuticals....

Heidi Church (she/her)

Heidi Church (she/her) brings a human-centered design lens to her role as the Instructional Design Lead on the L&S Sophomore Outreach and Engagement team. Equal parts College Adviser, Communications Strategist, and Learning Experience Designer, she’s building a more easeful and connected learning experience for students in the online Sophomore Rising Summer Program. She uses her creative superpowers to transform complex information into simple, concise language and produce online content that supports students in navigating their academic journey at Cal. As the Social...

Isela Pena-Rager (she/her/ella)

Isela Peña-Rager (she/her/ella) has been working in higher ed in a variety of capacities since 2003 and most recently became an assistant director and the inaugural DEIB consultant at L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising. She has degrees and certifications in art, applied linguistics, organizational leadership, educational leadership, and TESOL. Her involvement in professional organizations spans from leadership and membership positions in the ...

James Kato (he/him)

James Kato (he/him) is the Assistant Director for the Center for Support and Intervention, where he coordinates support for students in crisis and oversees the amazing staff driving the Center’s violence prevention and addiction recovery work. Prior to joining his current department, James worked in residential life, new student orientation, and social justice education at UC Berkeley and multiple other institutions. James is experienced in Intergroup Dialogue and social justice education facilitation and program development, served as a campus facilitator in the Multicultural...

Jason Joyce (he/him)

Originally from Wyoming, Jason Joyce, M.B.A. is a thought leader and change agent in Higher Education, with a special focus on leadership development and emotional intelligence. He has designed programs and coursework at Columbia University and Loyola Marymount University and is currently working with the MBA Program at UC Berkeley Haas. Jason is concurrently a social impact and environmental sustainability consultant, leading projects for clients like the Golden State Warriors, LiveNation, The Rolling Stones and U2. He is a publishing writer and award-winning filmmaker,...

Jeannine Wonderling (she/her)

Jeannine Wonderling (she, her, hers) is currently Assistant Manager for Penn State World Campus Education Alliance Programs. She provides leadership in building and maintaining strong relationships with Penn State's Education Alliance Partners and assists in engaging these corporate partners with the University.

Jeannine has also held the positions of Associate Director of Continuing Education and Assistant Director of Penn State Corporate Learning, providing workforce development to companies and organizations and assisting with non-credit...

Jeffrey Williams (he/him)

As an experienced system administrator and software developer, Jeffrey has developed the skills, habits and practices to solve difficult problems in IT as well as some areas of design and UX. He has focused on Google Developer technologies, email servers, Linux, and programming in Python, Perl, Javascript, etc.

Jeffrey has been called a technology hipster, a great teacher, and a rock star.

Beyond IT, Jeffrey has developed skills in public speaking, leadership, and community organizing. Demonstrating that he has...

Jennifer Mora

Jennifer Mora began her career in higher education advancement at UC Berkeley with the Cal Alumni Association (CAA) in 2007. During her 11 years at CAA, she launched new programs and initiatives, including implementing a multi-channel annual giving program and leading their scholarship stewardship program. As the inaugural Senior Director, Alumni Scholarships and Major Gifts she partnered with alumni and friends on philanthropic opportunities to advance the university’s vision for student access and success. While on UC Berkeley’s Student Experience and Diversity team,...

Jessica De Anda (she/her/ella)

Jessica De Anda (She/her/ella) grew up in an immigrant household in Southern California both food and housing insecure. Her experiences as a first generation Latina student in higher education studying Biology, Chicanx Studies and Education drove her to become the culturally affirming staff member she never had. Jessica earned her B.A. in Chicanx Studies from University of California Riverside and her M.A. in Education from Claremont Graduate University.

Jessica currently works as the Program Manager for the Evening and Weekend MBA Program...

Jolie Lam (she/her)

Jolie Lam, MBA, PhD, is the Surgical Robotics / Digital Health Program Manager in the CITRIS and the Banatao Institute. She was a Programmatic Officer for the Foundations of Machine Learning at EECS; and she previously worked as an Academic Officer for the Guizhou-Berkeley Big Data Innovation Research Center at the School of Social Welfare.

Jolie was from Hong Kong and had worked in Mainland China for multinational companies as well as startups. Previously industries which she had worked in included financial publishing, investment banking,...