1. Nominations for the 2025–26 BruinTech Board!
Are you ready to grow your leadership skills and make a meaningful impact in the BruinTech community? Serving on the BruinTech Board is a fantastic opportunity to expand your professional toolkit, collaborate with colleagues across campus, and help shape the future of tech at UCLA.
Nominations are still open for the following elected positions:
VP for Special Projects
VP for Marketing Communications
VP for Content Strategy
You can nominate a colleague—or yourself—using this form.
For details on each role, check out our By-Laws, and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at bruintech@g.ucla.edu.
2. Thank you for celebrating Ice Cream Social with BruinTech.
It was so wonderful to see our community come together in person! We hope you had a chance to reconnect with colleagues and meet new faces from across campus.
A special thank you to Alex Alonzo, our 2023-24 TMP Scholarship winner, for sharing his inspiring experience attending the Technical Management Program.
We also appreciate our UCLA Extension $1,000 Scholarship recipients for sharing insights into the courses they took:
Scott Gruber, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Colombene Gorton, Strategic Communications
Eric Levenstein, DTS
Nicole Lim, UCLA Extension
And of course, huge kudos to Saffron and Rose for the delicious ice cream—an absolutely perfect treat for the summer weather!
Thank you again for helping us wrap up the academic year with joy, connection, and celebration. We’re excited for what’s ahead!
3. "Designing the Overlap: AR Storytelling Tools” with Heather Dunaway Smith
The XRI Design Subcommittee is excited to welcome visionary XR artist Heather Dunaway Smith for a compelling exploration of AR storytelling, as part of their XRI Design Speaker Series.
The overlap of the real world and the digital realm offers a powerful space for crafting meaningful stories and experiences. Discover storytelling techniques that harness AR’s unique capabilities and navigate its constraints, while gaining insights into the latest AR technologies and tools.
When: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 from 2:00-3:00 pm PT
Join Zoom Meeting: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/99851225411?pwd=RQCL16wGaJ3bsF0mymfoIaiwjipnfl.1
Meeting ID: 998 5122 5411
Passcode: 582161
Bio:
Heather Dunaway Smith is an award-winning XR artist and interdisciplinary creative whose work brings together storytelling, interaction design, and emerging technology to create immersive art experiences. Over a long and diverse career, she has worked with Fortune 100 companies, start-ups, and cultural organizations to craft meaningful digital projects that engage and delight audiences. Her AR and VR artworks have been shown internationally, and her collaborations with Adobe and Snap—including curating the AR gallery at Adobe MAX 2022—reflect her ongoing leadership at the forefront of immersive storytelling.
4. EDUCAUSE Annual Conference 2025
Join the largest gathering of higher education IT professionals at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, taking place October 27–30 in Nashville, TN, with an online experience to follow on November 12–13. Take advantage of early bird rates through August 12 and secure your spot for insightful sessions, networking opportunities, and access to cutting-edge technology solutions. Whether attending in person or online, this is your chance to connect, learn, and lead in the future of higher ed tech.
