2019 Leadership Conference

The CUNY SPS Student Association invites you to attend the 2nd Annual Student Leadership Conference: Leadership in the Digital Age.

April 12, 2019 
8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. 
119 West 31st Street, Fl. 4
Breakfast, lunch, snack and refreshments will be served!

In person attendance is now closed for this conference. Please rsvp to attend individual conference sessions via webinar below.

Keynote Speaker:

Honey Berk, Managing Director, CUNY Building Performance Lab

Honey Berk is a LEED AP O&M and a Certified Measurement & Verification Professional (CMVP) with a background in data analysis, technology and communications. As the Managing Director of the Building Performance Lab (BPL) of the CUNY Institute for Urban Systems (CIUS), Honey manages the organization’s core contract with the NYC Department of Administrative Services, and oversees a number of applied research programs, primarily focused around energy data analysis, measurement and verification (M&V) and building automation systems. Further, she directs the Energy Data Lab (EDL), a program that trains student interns from the CUNY campuses in energy data analysis and M&V protocols; and heads up BPL’s Field Equipment Lending Library, a public resource funded by DCAS that is stocked with a full range of equipment for testing, measuring and diagnosing building system operations to facilitate retro-commissioning, Building Re-tuning and retrofit projects.

Honey’s introduction to sustainability came in 2000, when she was retained by the Battery Park City Authority to help chronicle of the development of the first LEED-certified high-rise residential building in the U.S. Since then, she has worked with other sustainable organizations, including Urban Green Council, Green Schools Alliance and Green Depot, and has amassed expertise in energy data analysis, building efficiency methods and sustainable building materials. Honey has an M.S. in Data Analytics from the CUNY School of Professional Studies and a B.A. in Psychology from New York University.

The keynote address and opening remarks will be offered by webinar from 9:45-11:45 am. 

Concurring Conference Sessions:

Connecting Ethical Leaders: Building Analog and Digital Futures

In this presentation, Dr. Elizabeth Bishop will share a range of examples around youth and intergenerational leadership as it related to digital learning spaces. Dr. Bishop will present on cutting edge theory, policy and practice around cultivating leadership in the digital age. 

Presenter: Dr. Elizabeth Bishop is a researcher, educator and youth advocate. She is Director of Curriculum and Outcomes Evaluation at Global Kids, Faculty of Youth Studies at CUNY School of Professional Studies and faculty of Teacher Education at CUNY York College. Bishop also directs the Drop Knowledge Project, where she conducts ongoing research exploring the intersections of literacy, civic engagement, global education, cultural studies and youth organizing. She holds a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, MST from Pace University, an MA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a BS from Ithaca College. She is the author of two books: “Becoming Activist: Critical Literacy and Youth Organizing” and “Embodying Theory: Epistemology, Aesthetics and Resistance.” She’s online @DrBishopDigital.  

This session will be offered by webinar from 1:00-2:00 pm. 

Data Visualization and Presentation as Leadership

Accepted norms of what constitutes good leadership qualities have changed significantly in the digital age. In this workshop we will focus on how participants can demonstrate leadership through the visualization of data.

In data rich digital environments we communicate using graphs, charts, maps, and memes. How can traditional leadership qualities be translated through these mediums? In f2f settings presentations are a discrete moment in which leaders have the opportunity to engage an audience for a limited time. Visualizations appear and vanish. In digital environments this moment is continuous. The possibilities to communicate through data analysis and visualization are multiplied.

In this workshop you will explore some data visualization tools and think through how you might use them to demonstrate leadership in digital environments.

Presenter: Bradley Gardener received his PhD in Human Geography from the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York, NY. He is passionate about creating learning environments that engage students and teaching a diverse array of topics that range from computational problem solving and data analysis/visualization to migration and media. 

When Bradley isn’t teaching you can find him mixing 90’s Hip Hop, getting nerdy about maps, training Muay Thai, and traveling the world.

Bradley previously has taught in the Information Systems program, and currently teaches in the Communication and Media and General Education programs here at CUNY SPS.

For today’s presentation, use the following links:

• ​Tutorial for Fusion Tables (in Google Docs)
• Google Sheets Data
• Google Fusion Table
• Google Doc for Part III

This session will be offered by webinar from 1:00-2:00 pm. 

Real Careers in Blockchain

Blockchain is a rapidly emerging technology presenting new career opportunities for a large number of disciplines, including developers, dev ops, data scientists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, marketing experts and more. In this seminar we will explore what the real career opportunities are and evaluate where potential pitfalls may exist. This talk is ideal for entrepreneurs and individuals looking to transition from their current careers into the blockchain space.

Presenter: Jamiel Sheikh is CEO of Chainhaus, an advisory, software development, application studio and education company focused on blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Jamiel has over 15 years of experience in technology, capital markets, real estate and management working for organizations like Lehman Brothers, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Sun Microsystems, SONY and Citigroup. Jamiel is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, NYU and CUNY teaching graduate-level blockchain, AI and data science subjects. 

He is currently authoring a book on Corda with O’Reilly and runs one of the largest blockchain, AI and data science Meetups in NYC. Jamiel is a licensed real estate agent in New York and New Jersey with Douglas Elliman. 

Jamiel holds an MBA from Columbia University and BBA from Baruch College and is completing his second Masters in Artificial Intelligence from Georgia Institute of Technology. Jamiel enjoys coding in over 8 languages, travel and the elegant nuances of MMA.

Jamiel currently teaches in the Data Science program here at CUNY SPS

This session will be offered by webinar from 1:00-2:00 pm.

Conference Agenda

8:30 am             Room 407: Registration and Breakfast
9:45 am             CUNY SPS Student Association
10:00 am           CUNY SPS Dean John Mogulescu
10:15 am           CUNY SPS Associate Dean for Administration and Finance and Director of Information
                          Technology Washington R. Hernandez
10:30 am           Introduction for Keynote
10:45 am           Keynote Speaker: Honey Berk
11:30 am           Q&A with the Keynote
12:00 pm           Lunch
1:00 pm             Breakout Session One

Room 403:        Connecting Ethical Leaders: Building Analog and Digital Futures, Dr. Elizabeth Bishop
Room 414:        Data Visualization and Presentation as Leadership, Bradley Gardener
Room 416:        Real Careers in Blockchain, Jamiel Sheikh

1:45 pm             Break
2:15 pm             Breakout Session Two

Room 403:        Connecting Ethical Leaders: Building Analog and Digital Futures, Dr. Elizabeth Bishop

Room 414:        Data Visualization and Presentation as Leadership, Bradley Gardener
Room 416:        Real Careers in Blockchain, Jamiel Sheikh

3:00 pm             Room 407: Networking Advertisements