Reach out to @Clint Carlson (he/him), Director of Education Technology Innovations at University of Colorado for the past 2.5 years. Discover his extensive expertise in the field and his unwavering passion for advancing education technology. We're excited to highlight his valuable contributions this month! Let’s learn more about this month's #MemberSpotlight
If you’re viewing this Member Spotlight as a non-member of the community, won’t you consider joining us?
Why do you think engaging in the AAMC Virtual Community is important?
Despite university competitiveness, I believe we are all on the same team as educators. How we share and learn from each other is EVERYTHING!
Do you have a professional skill or area of expertise that might be of particular interest to your peers in this community?
I'm building Social-Emotional Avatars for learning and growing from simulation conversations across all areas of communication - https://xr.cuanschutz.edu/ I am the lead and developer of these simulations and I believe they can be used very well in nearly any setting.
What should people in the virtual community contact you about?
I focus on the power of technical education capacity-building reflects on others exponentially and is amplified by my digital humanitarianism – helping those who help others to provide exponential, lasting good.
What was the best book you most recently read (or TV show/movie) that you watched?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90590134-the-coming-wave
What’s the best piece of professional advice you have ever received?
We can't always control what we have to react to, but we can always control how we react to it.
What’s the worst piece of professional advice you have ever received?
If you stay at a school long enough, you can have any position you want.
What do you think is the best, most challenging, or most unique thing about working in academic medicine (or your field or specialty specifically)?
The pace. I often wonder how working for a start-up would help my passion for social impact via emerging technology. Academic medicine is a biggggggg boat, and it often feels like it.
What do you hope to gain from this online community?
Friendship! Peer support! Collaboration!
Did you have an unusual path to your current career?
Haha, check out my LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/clintcarlson/
I've been:
Film editor and special effects artist in Hollywood
Second-hand store owner in Puerto Rico
Capacity builder for large 3Dprinting companies in Hong Kong and Israel
Online Communication Manager for the WHO based in New Delhi, India where I worked with 11 Asian country offices.
International Education Leader in New Delhi, India and Istanbul, Turkey
38 years later, I'm back in Colorado where I was born pushing this groundbreaking work into higher ed :)
Thinking about all the conferences, workshops, webinars you have attended in the last few years, was there a speaker or session topic that stands out as your favorite? Who? Why?
Shawn O'Neill gave an incredible presentation at the latest AAMC IT conference focused on AI in medicine, education, and the future. I felt he really opened a lot of eyes about the potential of AI and our need to rise to the challenge. It impacted the entire audience as I hope to when I present.
How do you prefer to start your day?
Meditation and a dog walk. Starting each day with a quiet inspected life sets the tone I need for the rest of the day.
How do you prefer to end your day?
This time of the year it's catching up on WNBA games and watching Jeopardy with my family.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about your position?
Very important to me for people to understand that while highly technical, my position is not an IT role. Rather than fix a printer, I'm here to innovate, collaborate, and build capacity for those doing good to do more of it. :)
You’re throwing a dinner party and can invite 3 people (alive or dead). Who do you invite?
Friends who are no longer with us:
Aunt Joan
Michael Perry
and... Eddie Vedder :)
How did you maintain your wellness and resilience during the pandemic? Any tips to share with others?
Keeping my physical and mental health on track as it was before the pandemic. Meditation, working out, camping, kayaking, hiking... all keys to my well-being with or without a pandemic.
You live/work in Colorado What’s your favorite restaurant there? Is there something special we should check out next time we visit?
Oh my have I found the lack of interesting food in Denver to be one of the hardest parts of moving back to the United States. Let's pretend it's 2019 and I'm in Istanbul so I can take you to Aske Café down by the Bosporus Straight where we can watch dolphins, ships and have the most amazing spread of Turkish breakfast you can imagine. I named my dog "Simit" after a Turkish bagel!
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Dinosaur!
What do you do to turn things around when you’re having a bad day?
Mindfulness Moment, Cuddle with the dog, venting to a friend
If you could only have three apps on your smartphone, which would you pick?
Google Maps
Email
SMS
What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?
Too many to list or identify. Living in India was such a tasty experience eating foods that are difficult to describe. You had to be there!
Do you have pets? Please be unashamed in showing us a photo of your adorable pet(s)
Say "Hello" to Clint here in the community Feel free to post any questions you have for him in this blog post, or direct messages via the community are also a great way to connect.
If you’d like to be featured in a future Member Spotlight post, reach fill out this form. Curious about what a community champion is? Read more here.
And, if you’re viewing this Member Spotlight as a non-member of the community, won’t you consider joining us?
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