Melda N. Yildiz, Ed.D., is a global scholar, teacher educator, instructional designer, and author. Yildiz teaches in the School for Interdisciplinary Studies and Education at NYIT. Melda served as a Fulbright Scholar in Turkmenistan (2009) and Azerbaijan (2016) teaching and conducting research integrating media education in P16 classrooms. Yildiz co-authored, published, and presented on topics including media and information literacy, instructional technology, multicultural and global education. She received Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Math & Science and Instructional Technology and an M.S. from Southern Connecticut State University in Instructional Technology. She majored in Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Bogazici University, in Turkey.
Minaz Fazal,Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Program at New York Institute of Technology. Fazal is experienced in working and collaborating with K-12 public and charter schools, supporting teachers in developing and implementing differentiated blended and personalized learning strategies. Fazal has worked with principals and teachers in developing instructional vision and professional development plans for effective data-guided blended learning practices, with special emphasis on the role of student agency and competency-based progression. Fazal’s research interests focus on the use of authentic assessment and ePortfolios to demonstrate competency, developing a comprehensive methodology beyond test scores to evaluate the impact of blended and personalized learning, and the role of student agency in advancing learning. Her specific area of strength is in research and assessment, and she is working on several projects that require developing evaluation strategies using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Fazal received her Ph.D. In Educational Psychology and Technology at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Meesuk Ahn, Ph.D., is a global scholar, senior researcher, teacher educator, and curriculum/instruction specialist. Dr. Ahn teaches in the School for Interdisciplinary Studies and Education at NYIT as well as in the Psychology Department at SUNY. She has worked as Evaluation Director at the National Center for Restructuring Schools and Teaching, Teachers College Columbia University; the National Center for Social Work Trauma Education and Workforce Development; the National Center for Schools and Communities; the Children and Families Institute for Research, Support and Training; the New Teacher Academy, Teachers College Columbia University; Institute of Education, University of London; and at the Ministry of Education, South Korea. Dr. Ahn's nearly three decades of experience and skills in large-scale research projects have been honed through funds from major foundations and innovative national demonstration initiatives. Her research focuses on learning, cognition, motivation, personality, trauma education, psychometrics, media literacy, instructional game design and technology, capital theory, research methods (data mining/machine learning), data visualization, program evaluation, and institutional research. Dr. Ahn received her first Ph.D. from Ewha Womans University (Korea) in Evaluation and Assessment (Psychometrics) and her second Ph.D. from University of London, in Curriculum and Instruction (Epistemology).
Robert Feirsen, Ed.D., is the Director of School Leadership and Technology at New York Institute of Technology. Dr. Feirsen has a deep background in P-12 education. As a school leader, Dr. Feirsen served as a principal, deputy superintendent, and superintendent of schools. Dr. Feirsen taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels before moving into supervisory roles. Dr. Feirsen has published articles in several educational journals and magazines and is the co-author of How to Get the Teaching Job You Want, a highly regarded guide to the job search process in education. Dr. Feirsen has also presented at numerous national and regional conferences including ASCD, AERA, the American School Counseling Association (ASCA), and the PDK’s Educators Rising. He currently serves as a facilitator for the Superintendents-College Presidents Partnership, a group dedicated to increasing collaboration between school districts and colleges on Long Island; he previously served as the group’s co-chair. Dr. Feirsen holds degrees from Stony Brook University, Queens College (CUNY), and Fordham University, where he earned his doctorate in school administration and supervision.
Sebnem Ozdemir, Ed.D., is a global scholar, artificial intelligence researcher and data scientist and author. Ozdemir teaches in the Department of Management Information System(MIS) at Istinye University. With the machine learning based model, she built, Dr. Ozdemir was received the “Contribution to Human Development Award” by Koc University UNESCO Chair. She has many published papers, book chapters and patents related to data science and machine learning. Dr. Ozdemir’s main interest fields are artificial intelligence, data science, management information systems, decision making, mathematical modelling. She received her Ph.D. degree from Istanbul University (IU), Istanbul Turkey. She was a visiting researcher in Electronics and Computing Engineering Department (Worcester Polytechnic Institute- WPI) for her postdoc research, Worcester, MA, USA.