Current position & academic appointment
2025 - Present: Associate Director of The Center for Teaching and Learning, LaGuardia Community College
2020 - Present: Adjunct Lecturer, Education & Language Acquisition Department, LaGuardia Community College
Highlights
Faculty professional development seminars for the 2025-26 academic year that I co-design and co-lead. For more information about these seminars, click here.
Student Engagement and the Asynchronous Classroom
Campus service:
Lead trainer for campus-wide migration to new LMS, D2L Brightspace
Lead Instructional Designer for COIL Initiative
Member of Online Learning Senate Committee
Member of Information Technology Senate Committee
External service:
Faculty Reviewer, International Journal of ePortfolio
Faculty Mentor, Institute on ePortfolios, American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
Certifications:
Data Analytics. Google, March 2024.
Instructional Design Foundations and Applications. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, February 2024.
Designing Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) Courses to Support Multimodal Learning Environments. EDUCAUSE, February 2024.
Project Management Certificate. Google, October 2023.
Education
Ed.D. In progress, Higher & Postsecondary Education. Teachers College, Columbia University.
Dissertation: Beyond the Equation: Adjunct Faculty and the Motivation to Teach Developmental Education Courses in Mathematics at Community Colleges.
Advisor: Anna Neumann, Ph.D.
M.A. 2015, Educational Psychology. Hunter College, The City University of New York.
B.A. 2011, Psychology. Hunter College, The City University of New York.
A.A. 2009, Liberal Arts Social Science and Humanities. LaGuardia Community College, The City University of New York.
Invited Talks, Presentations & Workshops
New York City College of Technology, Brooklyn, New York. Digital Badging and Institutional Impact for Career Success. May 2, 2025. Co-Presenter with Dr. Jessica Perez, Director of Career Office.
Monroe Community College, Rochester, New York. LaGuardia’s ePortfolio Journey. June 15, 2023. Presenter.
Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix, Arizona. Understanding the value of digital portfolios. January 10, 2023. Presenter.
American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), Washington D.C. Embracing the Identity of Showcase and Learning Portfolios. January 24, 2022. Plenary Session Speaker Presentation at the 2022 Virtual Forum on Open Learning and ePortfolios.
San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico. ePortfolio: A hands-on Approach. February 26, 2021. Workshop Facilitator.
Selected Conference Presentations
The 13th European Conference in Education (ECE2025), July 10th – July 15th, 2025, London, United Kingdom [Remote] – Building a Foundation for Change: HIPs and Social Justice in an American Teacher Preparation Program. Co-presented with Michele de Goeas-Malone (LaGuardia) and Caterina Almendral (LaGuardia).
Conference on Learning and Student Success (CLASS), AAC&U – 2025 Forum on Digital Innovation, April 4th and 5th, 2025, San Juan, Puerto Rico – ePortfolio as a Catalyst for Identity Discovery and Digital Citizenship Among Education Students at LaGuardia. Co-presented with Michele de Goeas-Malone (LaGuardia) and Caterina Almendral (LaGuardia).
Conference on Learning and Student Success (CLASS), AAC&U – 2025 Forum on Digital Innovation, April 4th and 5th, 2025, San Juan, Puerto Rico – Insights from Student Advocates in ePortfolio Practice. Panel of Students with Helen Chen (Stanford University), Megan Mize (Old Dominion University), and Christina Mayes (Dominican University).
Conference on learning and Student Success (CLASS), AAC&U – 2025 Forum on Digital Innovation, April 4th and 5th, 2025, San Juan, Puerto Rico – ePortfolios for Career Success. Co-presented with Kristina Graham (LaGuardia).
Reclaiming Liberal Education, AAC&U – 2023 Virtual Forum on Open Learning and ePortfolios, January 23, 2023, Virtual – Capitalizing the Use of ePortfolios to Foster Integrative Learning, Digital Communication, and Identity Development across Program Curriculum for Education Majors at LaGuardia Community College (CUNY). Presented along with Michele De Goeas-malone (LaGuardia) and Caterina Almendral (LaGuardia).
The Future of Education – International Conference 12th Edition, July 1, 2022, Firenze, Italy – Leveraging the Integration of HIPs to Foster an Equity-centered Reflective Practice Among Entering Education Major Students. Presented along with Michele De Goeas-malone (LaGuardia) and Caterina Almendral (LaGuardia).
Revolutionizing Higher Education after COVID-19, AAC&U – 2021 Virtual Forum on Open Learning and ePortfolios, January 21, 2021, Virtual – Towards Supporting Vulnerable Students and Faculty during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Panelist with Jarett D. Haley (University of Michigan), Karla I. Loya (University of Hartford), H. Kenny Nienhusser (University of Connecticut), Omar Romandia (University of Connecticut), Kiara Ruesta (University of Connecticut) and Dominique Zino (LaGuardia Community College). Moderator: Jessica O. Mitchel (University of Michigan).
Revolutionizing Higher Education after COVID-19 2021 Virtual Conference – 12th Annual Forum on Digital Learning and ePortfolios AAC&U, January 22, 2021, Virtual – How to Ensure Success: Launching, sustaining, and Growing an ePortfolio Program, Panelist with Renee Houston (University of Puget Sound), Amy Anne Powell (IUPUI), and Leeann Waddington (Kwantlen Polytechnic University). Moderator: C. Edward Watson (AAC&U).
2020 NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) Annual Conference, December 8, 2020, Virtual – Beyond the College Transcript: Live Briefing, Panelist with Heidi Leming (College System of Tennessee) and Jonathan Poon (University of South Carolina). Moderator: Pam Powers (University of South Carolina).
Publications
Almendral, C., Avila, P., & de Goeas-Malone, M. (2022). Leveraging the integration of HIPs to foster an equity-centered reflective practice among entering Education major students. In Pixel (Eds), Conference Proceedings: 12th International: The Future of Education (Hybrid Edition, 30 June-1 July 2022, Florence, Italy) (pp. 442-445). Filodiritto Editore. ISBN 979-12-80225-23-8; ISSN 2384-9509; DOI 10.26352/F701_2384-9509 (Please note this was accepted for both a conference presentation, and a peer-reviewed journal publication.)
Campbell, C. M., Chadi, D., & Avila, P. (2020). Who, Where, and in What Contexts? Applications of Teaching Practices espoused by the Learning Sciences to Higher Education. Chapter 5. New Directions of Teaching and Learning.
Avila, P. & Eynon, B. (2020). Who Am I? Who Am I Becoming? Transcending the Transcript at LaGuardia Community College. In Bowers, P. (Ed). Beyond the College Transcript: Innovative Strategies for Assessing and Documenting Student Learning. NASPA Publications.