Faculty

Berkeley Changemaker faculty

Mark Brilliant - Associate Professor Margaret Byrne Chair in American History

Mark Brilliant is an Associate Professor and Margaret Byrne Chair in American History. He is contributing faculty for the Openness to Opposing Views course.

Oliver O'Reilly - Vice Provost, Undergraduate Education

Oliver M. O’Reilly is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. He received his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). Subsequently, he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University. At Cornell, he studied under Phil Holmes and Frank Moon. After spending two years as a postdoc at the Institut für Mechanik at ETH-Zürich under Jürg Dual, he joined the faculty in Mechanical Engineering at Cal.

Lisa Armstrong - Faculty, Asst. Professor

Lisa Armstrong is an award-winning journalist with credits in The Intercept, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, The New Yorker, and other outlets. She has reported from several countries, including Sierra Leone, Kenya, and the Philippines.

Maggie Sokolik - Program Director, College Writing Programs

Maggie Sokolik has a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from UCLA. She has taught writing and technical communication on the Berkeley campus since 1992.

Andrew Reddie - Associate Research Professor of Public Policy

Andrew Reddie is an Associate Research Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. He works on projects related to cybersecurity, nuclear weapons policy, wargaming, and emerging military technologies. He is also the founder and faculty director for the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab.

Ron Hassner - Chancellor's Professor of Political Science and Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies

Ron Hassner teaches international conflict and religion. He is a recipient of the Berkeley Undergraduate Political Science Association’s “Distinguished Teaching Award”, the Berkeley Division of Social Sciences’ “Distinguished Teaching Award”, Berkeley’s campus-wide “Distinguished Teaching Award”, and the American Political Science Association’s “Outstanding Teaching in Political Science Award”. He is a faculty director of the Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies. He holds the Helen Diller Family Chair in Israel Studies at U.C. Berkeley.

Christyna Serrano - Lecturer, Education

Christyna Serrano has over ten years of teaching, curriculum, and program design experience. Christyna has collaborated with, developed, and managed faculty, technical experts, thought leaders, and content partners to produce dynamic, interactive, and transformative learning experiences and educational solutions (in-person and online) -- most recently as Director, Faculty Engagement at Singularity University, and now as Strategic Content Partner Lead at Udacity

Carol Christ - 11th Chancellor (Emerita)

Carol Christ began her term as the 11th chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley on July 1, 2017. A celebrated scholar of Victorian literature, Christ is also well known as an advocate for quality, accessible public higher education, a proponent of the value of a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences, and a champion of women’s issues and diversity on college campuses.

Will Rosenzweig - Faculty Director, Sustainable Food Initiative at the Haas School of Business

Will Rosenzweig recently retired as managing partner of Physic Ventures, the first venture capital firm dedicated to investing in health, well-being and sustainable living. Over the past 30 years, he has been involved in leading and growing more than 30 entrepreneurial ventures.

Laura Paxton Hassner - Strategic Advisor to the Chancellor | Professional Faculty, Management of Organizations at Berkeley Haas | Executive Director, Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Executive Director, Berkeley Changemaker

Laura Hassner is the Strategic Advisor to the Chancellor of UC Berkeley. She is also the Executive Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley and the Berkeley Changemaker academic program. Hassner co-created and co-leads the Berkeley Changemaker® academic program. Berkeley Changemaker’s identity-making curriculum activates students’ passions and helps them develop a sharper sense of who they want to be and how to make that happen. In its first 5 years, over 8,500 students have become Berkeley Changemakers.