“BIG Words Demystified: Fil-Am Authors on A.I. and Sustainability” will be held at the Echo Park Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library at 5:30 p.m on Monday, November 25.
Organized by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles (UPAAGLA), the presenters are prominent alumni Dr. Cris Liban, Executive Officer at LA Metro and Elzar “Dodjie” Simon, Global Infrastructure at NYU. The presentation will be moderated by Miguel Sangalang, Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation for the City of Los Angeles.
This is a showcase of two Filipino American authors on two current and relevant big topics: Artificial Intelligence and sustainability. Expect a deeper dive on: What should you know, why should they matter to you, and how does understanding and embracing these fields can help countries, like the Philippines, be an emerging market.
Registration and reception begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the presentation at 6 p.m., then networking and a book signing. This event is FREE but you must register to attend at www.bigwords-upaagla.eventbrite.com.
Dr. Cris B. Liban, P.E. is LA Metro’s Executive Officer, Environmental Compliance and Sustainability. Cris oversees LA Metro’s internationally recognized Environmental, Sustainability, and Energy initiatives. His main charge is to make LA Metro’s $140B capital program and infrastructure climate safe.
A published author and international speaker, he is actively involved with transportation and environmental industry and research activities particularly as Chair of several American Public Transportation Association sub-committees. He has also Chaired several National Academies of Science research panels on social equity and climate, climate change impacts, greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies, life-cycle and cost framework, and sustainable transport funding and financing.
This event is also the official Los Angeles book launching of Elzar Simon’s book “A.I. Hacked,” which was tagged on June 29 by Amazon as #1 New Release in Robotics. Books will be available for purchase and signing. A portion of books sold will be donated to the UPAAGLA Endowment Fund.
Simon is an IT leader, strategist, and visionary with over 30 years of experience at global and regional levels. He currently works as Senior IT Director in charge of the entire global IT infrastructure for one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the Northeast of the United States. He is also known in the Philippines as Dodjie Simon, a multi-awarded songwriter, music producer, and music publisher.
Moderator Miguel Sangalang serves as the Deputy Mayor for Budget & Innovation for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and coordinates general functions of the city: budget, performance management, sustainability, technology, data and innovation. In this role, he serves as a senior consultant to city departments and the direct policy branches of the Mayor’s Office. Miguel also manages a portfolio of five city departments with over 3,000 personnel. Prior to this role, he served as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Director of Performance Management. Born in the Philippines and raised in Southern California, he graduated from UCLA with a degree in Japanese and public policy and was active on the Men’s Sabre Team.
Alliance is a Gold Sponsor of this event. Sponsorships are still available. Please email at [email protected] for details.
