Instructional Design Team

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Mariza Hernandez
Assistant Director, Instructional Design & Accessibility

Mariza is the Assistant Director of Instructional Design and Accessibility at ATS and has worked on campus since 2007. She received a BS in 3D Computer Animation, BA in Media Arts from Chico State University, and an MS in Instructional Design and Technology from CSU Fullerton

Mariza is enthusiastic about and actively involved in applying innovative technology that enhances learners’ involvement through dynamic and interactive experiences. Before joining the ATS team, Mariza worked with students with disabilities, where her passion for accessibility and equal access to digital content and technology grew. She loves developing and learning about new e-learning technologies and developing learning environments that are appealing to the varied needs of adult learners. She is a member of the CSU Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) Steering Committee and is committed to creating a culture of inclusive learning and working environment.

When Mariza is not working, she enjoys traveling and learning about new cultures. She appreciates trying unusual foods and has often been labeled as an adrenaline junkie by friends and family. When she is not traveling, you can find her at the park having a picnic and people watching with her Shih Tzu, Lucille.

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Afifa Alawi

Afifa Alawi has been in the field of education technology for the past 20 years and at CSULB for the past 6 years. She started her career at El Camino College as an educational technologist. She has also tutored students in different levels of mathematical concepts. She has a BS in Business Finance and an MA in Educational Technology and Media Leadership, both from CSULB. She is a lifelong learner and eager to learn new and upcoming educational technology trends. Afifa’s passion is to support faculty and the campus community with their technological needs.

In her spare time, Afifa enjoys reading and spending time with her husband, daughter, and son.

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Courtney Engle

Courtney began her journey as an educational expert at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles as a Health Educator and transitioned to K-12 where she taught science and health. As a product of the California State University System, Courtney holds a BS in Health Sciences with an option in Health Education and a BA in Spanish from CSU Chico! Further, Courtney received her Master's in Education with an emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction from CSU Dominguez Hills! Courtney’s goal as an instructional designer is to maximize the learning experience for all students. The 21st Century Skills (critical thinking, communication, creativity, collaboration) drive Courtney’s pedagogy philosophy to make every learner a Global Digital Citizen. Embracing every challenge with a growth mindset, Courtney believes learning is meant to be a lifelong passion, therefore designing courses must persist to be user-friendly and engaging!

When Courtney is not working, she enjoys getting active in yoga or fitness, spending time at the beach, and of course, traveling. Courtney has visited 13 countries and will encourage anyone to just book the flight!

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Joel Miskiel

Joel holds a MS degree from California State University, Fullerton in Educational Technology and has been in the education field for three years. Joel started off doing technical and A/V support in higher ed and K-12, but now has made the jump to instructional design. Joel’s passion as an instructional designer is to empower educators by teaching them the intricacies of the video creation process and helping them harness technology to achieve their teaching goals while maximizing student engagement.
 
In his free time, Joel enjoys reading fiction and informative nonfiction, video games, programming, working on various creative projects, and all things tech.

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Angel Pablico-Kobayashi

Angel Pablico-Kobayashi holds a Master of Science degree in Instructional Design and Technology (MSIDT) from CSU Fullerton and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from CSU Los Angeles. She has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at CSULA, Cal Poly Pomona, and various community colleges in the Los Angeles metro for over 18 years. Angel has taught courses in different modalities, including online asynchronous/synchronous, hyflex, hybrid, and in-person.  Her research interests include gamification of learning and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Her career passion is to support faculty in designing and developing equitable and engaging courses in all types of learning environments. 

In her free time, Angel enjoys traveling, camping, and cheering for her kids as they play basketball and soccer.  

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Roger Strang

Roger is passionate about educational values like critical thinking and self-directed learning. He studied education at Boston College in the Donovan Urban Teaching Scholars Program and taught 6th grade in Massachusetts before becoming interested in multimedia and technology for learning. His next stop was Carnegie Mellon University where he earned an MS in Educational Technology and Applied Learning Science. After working at an educational technology company for a couple of years, he joined the CSULB Instructional Design team and couldn’t be happier. Roger loves working with instructors and being a part of an educational institution.

One of his favorite projects has been co-creating a faculty spotlight with his colleagues and several professors. He takes pride in facilitating enjoyable faculty development sessions. For fun, Roger likes to stay in shape, practice improv, and listen to music.

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Joanna Zendejas

Joanna Zendejas is an alumna of Cal State Long Beach where she received her bachelor’s in art education and single-subject teaching credential in 2012. Throughout her nine years teaching at public, charter, and magnet schools she was able to sharpen her pedagogy and guided colleagues on how to merge technology with their teaching strategies and curriculum. By the end of 2022 Joanna finished her MA in Educational Technology Leadership at CSULA and spoke at the California Art Education Association conference on an interactive lecture titled “Community Transformation: Student Public Art Proposals”. Her background in education paved the way for her instructional design career with the goal of empowering educators to cultivate learning in a way that caters to them and ultimately students of all abilities and backgrounds.
 
If the instructional design hat is hung up for the day, she’s probably cooking up something creative, laughing at her spouse’s dad jokes, or playing on the family Nintendo Switch with her favorite people on earth.