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Stefan Agamanolis
Let's start at the beginning... I was born in Cleveland, Ohio and my family then moved to Akron when I was 5, where I stayed until graduating from Copley High School. I went to Oberlin College where I received a BA in Computer Science and minors in Philosophy and Film Studies. I then moved on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where I earned a Masters and PhD in Media Arts and Sciences while working as a Research Assistant in the MIT Media Laboratory. Upon graduating I was fortunate to have the opportunity to join Media Lab Europe, the sister lab of the MIT Media Lab located in Dublin, Ireland, where I became a Principal Research Scientist. There, I led a design-oriented research group (Human Connectedness) that was the birthplace of several award-winning product concepts pertaining to the future of human relationships as mediated by technology. Following the sudden closure of Media Lab Europe, I was given an opportunity to continue many of the same research themes in the beautiful Highlands and Islands of Scotland. I developed and became the founding chief executive and research director of Distance Lab, an initiative that developed digitally-enabled product and service concepts to address healthcare, education, and other challenges in rural and remote areas of the world. In 2010, this lab became part of the Glasgow School of Art, a renown educational institution in Europe. I was then presented with the opportunity to return home and join Akron Children's Hospital, one of the largest pediatric health systems in the United States. I began as an Associate Director of the Rebecca D. Considine Research Institute and later became Senior Director of Patient Experience. Currently I serve as Chief Innovation Officer, a role in which I am developing a new Innovation Center and team to serve as an organization-wide resource to enhance creative thinking, support prototyping and experimentation, and accelerate promising new ideas toward positive impact on the health of children. Among other things, this Center oversees activities involving inventions and intellectual property, commercialization, and co-development partnerships with outside entities. I am proud to be a member of the editorial board of the Patient Experience Journal (PXJ), published by The Beryl Institute. From 2010 to 2017, I also served as a Visiting Associate Professor of Engineering at New York University Abu Dhabi where I led an intensive learning experience in design and innovation for first-year students during the January term. Along my journey so far, beyond my family, there have been many people that have opened doors or otherwise made a big difference: Garold Garrett, Rhys Price Jones, Rich Salter, Bob Geitz, Michael Bove, Glorianna Davenport, Calum Davidson, Laura Dingwall, Ramesh Jagannathan, Sunil Kumar, Mark Watson... Thank you for believing in me. And of course I would not have acheived what I have so far were it not for my mother, father, sister, grandparents, wife, kids, and the rest of my extended family who have supported me throughout.
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