Monica Arés Email & Phone Number

California, United States

London, Gb

Shaping the Future of Education: Where Technology and Human Potential Converge🔹 Visionary Leadership: Set and steer the overarching vision, development, and execution for the IDEA Lab as a global leader in business, education, and technology. 🔹 Strategic Digital and Experiential Learning: Architect and pioneer innovative learning solutions including the integration of Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality, setting the stage for the future of personalized, adaptive learning experiences. 🔹 Team Management, Investment Oversight, and Partnerships: Manage a high-caliber team responsible for a multifaceted portfolio of digital projects and initiatives. Supervise the allocation of resources across platforms, products, and programs. Forge strategic cross-functional collaboration with internal and external stakeholders and cultivate partnerships with tech firms to accelerate digital and experiential innovation within the Lab and for the learning industry.🔹 Global Ambassadorship: Regularly serve as a keynote speaker at international forums, amplifying the IDEA Lab's thought leadership in AI, XR, and experiential learning, while influencing best practices across the industry.

Driving collaboration, innovation, and strategic solutions for the future of learning. Actively engaging with diverse sectors to foster a holistic approach to innovation🔹Entrepreneurship • Fractional CIO Illumia Labs: Developing AI+XR solutions for training. $75M in revenue through strategic initiatives. Supporting expansion into new markets. • Stealth Mode Project: Developing groundbreaking initiative at the intersection of tech and human-powered learning 🔹Consulting: Developing AI+XR learning solutions, including a specialized XR innovation strategy for Northeastern🔹Public Speaking: Regularly invited to speak at industry conferences for thought leadership on the future of learning Keynotes & Panels•AWE: AI+XR, The Game Changing Fusion for Learning 2023, Transformative Powers of VR 2019•Forbes Global Alliance: Future of Learning •CES: The Metaverse is Here to Stay •IGS: Building an Ecosystem for Immersive Learning•ASU+GSV: Transformative Powers of VR for Education 2019, Bringing the Metaverse to Higher Ed 2023•Nexus Nairobi: Educating for Generations •Women of the Future: AI-Powered Learning•SXSW: VR: Beyond Virtual Field Trips to Building Empathy•Additional Appearances: VR/AR Association, UNESCO, Grace Hopper Celebration, VR Days, DES, CHIEF, BETT, Smithsonian, Women of Blockchain, Remix Summit, Tech Crunch University Lectures •NYU, Stanford, Harvard, West Coast UPodcasts•Edtech Insiders: Building the Learning Metaverse•Innovation Valley: Immersive Tech and the Future of Learning •Silver Lining for Learning, Harvard: Life and Learning in the Metaverse •Additional Appearances: She Leads, Digital2Learn, VR in Education, Edulearn Press•Week in EdTech: Monica Arés on ChatGPT•Forbes: Intelligent Automation•Fast Company: The Smithsonian and Meta are teaming up to let you experience the moon in VR•Talespin: What experts are saying about the Metaverse •EdSurge: With Money From Meta, 10 Colleges Turn Their Campuses into Metaversities

Menlo Park, Ca, Us

Drive vision and execution for the Immersive Learning initiative, building an ecosystem to develop the next generation of metaverse creators and increase access to learning through technology. Influence and solicit buy-in from high-level executives and cross-functional teams. Identify new partners and opportunities to create sustainable, scalable solutions. Act as external spokesperson, fielding interviews and participating in public speaking engagements. Led cross-functional projects across marketing, policy, partnerships, and product.🔹 Created proposal and secured buy-in from executives including Mark Zuckerberg, obtaining $150M in funding to build a robust ecosystem to support learning in the metaverse. 🔹 Conceptualized, developed, and implemented Spark AR curriculum and certification to help skill, certify, and connect augmented reality creators to monetization opportunities.🔹Delivered high-quality virtual reality (VR) educational experience for Oculus app store by collaborating with 3rd-party developers to produce VR content.🔹 Established Facebook Reality Labs Lending and Research program to boost access to immersive technology for nonprofits and educational institutions, such as Harvard Graduate School of Education, Georgetown, Morehouse College, Peace Literacy Institute, and Unity. 🔹 Grew Unity partnership with a commitment to deliver thousands of devices to help the nonprofit train educators and students on becoming VR developers.🔹 Executive producer for fully immersive lunar VR experience at the Smithsonian as part of their Futures exhibit, stitching together 7,000 archival 2D images from Apollo missions.

As the head of education partnerships at Facebook, I focused on accelerating product growth through strategic partnerships and developer relationships across emerging technology and the education industry.🔹 Managed strategic partnerships managers to help grow, test and find product-market fit for big bet products including Facebook Classes under the Community Incubator.🔹 Produced VR content with 3rd party developers to create high-quality VR educational experiences for the Oculus App Store including: Anne Frank House (VR Days Europe - Gold prize for best VR nonfiction, Bronze for best VR Cinematic, VR Awards London - Nominated for VR Education and Training of the Year and Social Impact award) and Breaking Boundaries in Science (Webby Award Winner - Best in Education) 🔹 Built the Spark AR Curriculum from 0-1 to help skill and certify augmented reality creators and connect them to monetization opportunities https://sparkar.facebookblueprint.com/

Seattle, Wa, Us

Tapped to bring math curriculum online, ensuring accessibility and scalability. Orchestrated mission and vision for learning lab initiative, influencing and securing buy-in from executives and cross-functional stakeholders. Led a multidisciplinary team in the creation of exploration-based labs. Conducted user testing and data analysis to identify product gaps and innovation opportunities.🔹 Composed proposal and solicited executive approval for interactive, inquiry-based learning tools and virtual manipulatives, painting a vision that offered engaging labs and learning journeys. 🔹 Partnered and managed projects across multiple teams via design, creation, testing, and implementation of the new lab-based products.🔹 Developed a comprehensive curriculum, assessments, and instructional design strategies to facilitate differentiated instruction in an online learning environment.

Prior Experience:➤ Dr. William Russell Blake Planetarium – Planetarium Director: Championed comprehensive program transformation and turnaround, growing to a highly valued and thriving program teaching 5,000+ students annually.➤ Boston Latin School - Math Master: Developed new tech-based curriculum for Geometry, Advanced Algebra, and Pre-Algebra courses to be used in the classroom and online as a study aid or teaching tool.➤ Deloitte & Touche - Actuarial Consultant: Created mathematical models and performed data analysis of workers’ compensation, general liability, auto liability, and medical malpractice reserves for public and private sector insurance programs, including reserve analyses and statements of opinion for insurance and reinsurance companies.➤ Shirtsie - Entrepreneur: Founded and scaled a custom children’s apparel business, leveraging digital marketing strategies to drive customer engagement and sales, while managing supply chain logistics for optimized operations

Master Of Education (M.Ed.), Teaching And Curriculum: Mathematics

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Mathematics