PANEL: The City of Los Angeles and Immersive Innovation

This panel gathers several key thought leaders representing the Mayor’s Office of The City of L.A, LA-based Arizona State University and LA Trade Tech College to discuss immersive XR projects happening around town. The discussion will be led by Kathleen Cohen, Tech Humanist and XR Strategist who has brought these brilliant minds together to reflect the current perspectives of local programs.

The City of L.A. uses innovative technologies to address a wide variety of real-world challenges. Dawn Comer and Rachel Kornak from the Mayor’s Office of Finance, Operations and Innovation will discuss several initiatives that focus on providing equitable access to City services, reducing the digital divide, supporting small businesses, training youth for jobs of the future and advancing digital transformation of government services. 

Ryat Yezbick of LA-based Arizona State University Narrative and Emerging Media program (NEM), directed by Nonny de la Peña, is launching several city-wide initiatives that seek to harness the power of immersive media through co-creative strategies with local residents across Los Angeles. NEM initiatives will provide skills and jobs training for participants in immersive XR technologies while helping residents restore blighted spaces in their neighborhoods, connect across political divides, and build greater platforms for inclusion through XR and haptics technologies. 

With over 30 years of dedication, Professor Marcela Oliva has revolutionized LATTC's Architectural and Environmental Design program. She developed the nation's largest Digital Twin/Virtualization BIM/GIS System, aligned with National Intelligence Standards. Her expertise in Omniverse/Metaverse/Digital twins and their impact on social mobility is widely recognized, establishing her as a trailblazer in her field and AIA Presidential Award Educator of the year 2023. Marcela was also honored as the Los Angeles Business Journal DEI Non-Profit Organization of the Year, making significant contributions to various fields in LA.