Erica Estrada-Liou

Role on campus Director of Curriculum & Experiential Learning in the Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

What I do at Maryland: Collaborate with fellow educators to experiment with creative new ways of learning and teaching

Also I: Put wheels on furniture and say “what if….!” and reimagine the future of higher education

For Carillon, I teach IDEA101 for students in: Once & Future Planet

Why do you teach IDEA101? Our world has some increasingly complex issues; our students are the creative ones that will do something about them!

What excites you about design thinking? Every time I teach design thinking, I’ll say “oh, THIS is my favorite part of design thinking.” So, my students know by now that ALL parts of design thinking are my favorite part! What excites me most, though, is that moment when you’re collaborating with a team, and a wild idea that seems completely not possible at first, quickly starts to actually seem feasible. Then, it’s time for my other favorite part -- building a prototype so that we can get it in other people’s hands as quickly as possible. 

What is special to you about Carillon Communities? Carillon is special to me because it’s a community of radical collaborators -- first year students from all over the world, IDEA101 instructors from all over campus and I-Series faculty from various departments -- coming together to address Big Questions and also look out for one another.

If we held a talent show, what would be your act? Either dancing ballet folklórico (sort of) or playing drums on the video game rock band (hello 2007!).

Where are you from? I grew up in Texas, spent 12 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and for the past 5 years have called Maryland home!

You can ask me about: biking, all the time I spent needfinding as a product designer in rural villages in India and homemade Halloween costumes for my kids.