José R. Lizárraga, PhD

I’m an award-winning content creator, artist, researcher, and educator.

Born in California’s Salinas Valley, I was raised by Mexican immigrant parents from Jalisco and Sinaloa who worked as farm laborers in the region’s fertile fields. From an early age, my parents instilled in me and my younger sister a deep appreciation for creativity, play, and community care—all rooted in a broader vision of social justice. They also nurtured my love of languages and the visual arts; passions that continue to inform my work today.

As a scholar in information studies and the learning sciences, I use ethnographic, video-based, data analytic, and multimodal research methods to examine how AI, social media, television, and other digital technologies shape learning, identity, and transformation, particularly for non-dominant communities.

As a public pedagogue, I’ve designed award-winning campaigns and social media strategies, earning two consecutive Webby Awards. I also create and teach acclaimed online and hybrid undergraduate courses. I hold a BFA with Distinction from California College of the Arts, an MA in Education from Stanford University, and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.