Alycia de Mesa
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Mail code: 1006Campus: Tempe
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Student Information
Graduate StudentHuman and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology
College of Global Futures
Alycia de Mesa's lineage is as a fourth generation of Arizona and a mixed-race American of Mexican, Apache of Chihuahua, MX, Japanese, British-German descent. She is a PhD candidate in Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, a Senior Global Futures Scholar for the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab expert, and Indigenous Education Specialist for the Mellon Foundation funded Firekeeper's Initiative (Firekeepers: Building Archival Data Sovereignty through Indigenous Memory Keeping) through Labriola, National American Indian Data Center at ASU.
Alycia served as faculty instructor of communications & storytelling for ASU School of Sustainability graduate programs in Sustainability Leadership and taught undergraduate courses in core sustainability topics from 2015-2023. Alycia also served as an adjunct professor of marketing and entrepreneurship for business undergraduates at Benedictine University in Mesa from 2015-2019. She served as Associate Director of ASU Project Humanities initiative (2021-2022) and a Research Professional for the NSF funded ASU ADVANCE program, supporting 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 faculty fellows cohorts.
Prior to ASU, her 25-year professional experience focused on brand development, marketing, communications, and storytelling for engaged outcomes. As a national and international brand and marketing advisor, she worked with all sizes of business from Fortune 100 to start-ups as well as nonprofits and social ventures. She is a published business book author and continues to be a public speaker for corporations, non-profit, academic, and community organizations.
Alycia is pursuing her Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology (PhD) doctoral degree from ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society, where she is exploring the ethics and boundaries of Indigenous storytelling and counter mapping in context to emerging technologies and smartphones for traditional ecological knowledge restoration within borderlands Indigenous communities.
- Ph.D. Doctoral Candidate Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology, School for the Future of Innovation In Society, Arizona State University
- B.A. Political Science; minor French Literature, Arizona State University (with full music scholarship for harp performance)
Equitable futures, Indigenous theory, Indigenous research methodologies, emerging technologies, Indigenous data sovereignty, counter mapping, storytelling, community based participatory research, traditional ecological knowledge, Indigenous food sovereignty, sustainable global futures, BIPOC urban resilience, sustainability futures
EarthDiver Lab, College of Global Futures
Journals
de Mesa, A. (2022). From Responsible Innovation to Interrelational Technology Development. 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISTAS55053.2022.10227087
Book Chapters
de Mesa, A. (2025). Indigenous Knowledge Ways: Apache Countermapping of Emory Oak Acorn. In M. K. Nelson (Ed.), Keepers of the Green World: A Research Agenda for Indigenous Environmental Research. [Manuscript in progress for publication]. Elgar Research Agendas.
de Mesa, A. (2024). Waste No More. In J. Eschrich & C. Miller (Eds.), Consent-Based Nuclear Siting (Title Pending) [Manuscript in progress for publication]. Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University.
Business Books
de Mesa, A. 2009. Brand Avatar: Translating Virtual World Branding into Real World Success. Palgrave-Macmillan. London, UK. ISBN: 978-0230201798.
Perry [de Mesa], A. and Wisnom, D. 2003. Before the Brand: Creating the Unique DNA of an Enduring Brand Identity. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN: 978-0071393096.
Video
Nelson, M. K., Smith, B., Gazing Wolf, J., de Mesa, A., & Diaz-Reyes, T. (2022). Indigenizing Science: Listening to Native Graduate Students at ASU. Vimeo. [Documentary] Graduate student researcher and interviewee.
Hiosik Johnson, M., Parker, C.T., Chiago-Jones, C. (2021) She Still Walks Among Us. [Documentary Film] Kia-Ha walk participant. https://aiff47.eventive.org/films/632ddb27be472e0045c99862
Firekeepers Initiative: Building Archival Data Sovereignty through Indigenous Memory Keeping with Labriola, National American Indian Data Center. This project transforms traditional archival work through a community participatory approach rooted in Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies. Nada nukuthdam (fire keepers/protectors), from an O’odham perspective, refers to how initiated community members must tend to a fire when stories and songs are being shared in a Traditional Knowledge setting. By listening to and learning from Indigenous Peoples, this project produces archival resources and frameworks that seek to support Indigenous ownership and stewardship of stories and data, relevant to future work with Tribal communities in Arizona and the southwest region. This project affirms long standing community approaches to memory keeping and uncover past resources that support current cultural reclamation efforts. Once identified, these resources, and the protocols and frameworks that govern them, will inform libraries on how they can implement access and restriction measures that support archival data sovereignty. We believe this community-based participatory approach will provide Tribal communities the tools to communicate with ASU partners about which Traditional Knowledges, stories, and memories are suitable for public knowledge and which are culturally sensitive and need to be restricted to initiated community members. (Summer 2023-2026)
Immersive, Interdisciplinary, Identity-based Team Science Experience (IIITSE) for Indigenous Food Sovereignty in Bay Area, CA. National Science Foundation funded grant through ASU Earth System Science for the Anthropocene (ESSA) Graduate Scholars network for research and land-based field work focused on Indigenous renewal and food sharing in the San Francisco Bay area. Graduate scholar participating in Summer 2023 to research and support the emerging, Indigenous-led regional food hub centered around food sovereignty and Indigenous practices of health based in Indigenous worldviews and practices. (Summer, 2023)
Chi'chil Countermapping Project, Decolonial and Indigenous research approaches to digital storytelling and counter mapping of Emory Oak acorn (chi'chil in Western Apache); Funded by ASU Humanities Lab Mini-Amplifier grant, Beyond The Lab, Seize the Moment grant (Spring 2022, Spring 2023)
ASU ADVANCE Fellowship, researcher and contributor to faculty wellness and wellbeing resources at ASU; NSF funded grant through College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2022)
Amplifying Latina Voices: Street Designs for Livability, community based participatory research (CBPR) approach to imagining community futures in West Mesa, Arizona. Funded by ASU Changemaker Challenge Grant (2021)
ASU ADVANCE Fellowship, researcher and contributor to mentoring best practices for women and underrepresented faculty; NSF funded grant through College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2021)
Invited Talks & Presentations:
- Indigenous Knowledge Sovereignty through Digital Storytelling and Counter Mapping Practices, IndigiData, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, Presenter, June 2024
- Indigenous Digital Countermapping for STEM, Collaborative Leading in Indigenous Communities (CLIC) Conference, ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Tempe, AZ, Presenter, May 2024
- The Critical Nature of Indigenous Pre-Research, ASU ESSA (Earth Systems Science for the Anthropocene, ESSA Symposium 2023, Presenter, Tempe, AZ, Nov 2023
- Effects of Climate Change on Indigenous Cultures and Ways, AISES (American Indian Science & Engineering Society) National Conference, Spokane, Washington, Panelist, Moderated by Dr. Geraldine Richmond, Under Secretary for Science & Innovation at the Department of Energy (DOE), Oct 2023
- Chi’chil Countermapping Project, San Carlos Unified School District, Parent-Educator Event Series, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Guest Speaker, Sept-Oct 2023
- Cultivating Intergenerational Resilience in Urban Communities, Keynote Speaker, May 2023, International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) Mini Conference at ASU, Tempe, AZ
- Cultivating a Deeper Relationship with Arizona Landscapes - Stories of Food Resilience and What We Can Learn from Them, Guest Speaker, Apr 2022, Desert Mountain Club, Scottsdale, AZ
- An Introduction to Indigenous Environmental Justice: As Long As Grass Grows by Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Guest Speaker, Mar 2023, CleanAIRE NC Book Club, Virtual
- Chi’chil Countermapping Project, Speaker, Nov 2022, Indigenous Mapping Collective Conference, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- From Responsible Innovation to Interrelational Technology Development, Conference Paper Presenter, IEEE International Symposium on Technology & Society (ISTAS) 2022, Hong Kong
- A Roundtable on the Politics and Relationality of Knowledge Integration, Session Speaker, Oct 2022, Toronto Conference on Earth Systems Governance, University of Toronto, CA
- Rights of Nature, Moderator, Aug 2022, Project Humanities, Tempe, AZ
- Leadership Development: Storytelling & Presenting, Guest Speaker, Jul 2022, Okland Construction, Tempe, AZ
- Learning Lab: Sustainability & ESG, Panelist, Jul 2022, HNI Furnishings, Virtual
- Women & Storytelling, Guest Speaker, Jul 2022, Okland Construction, Tempe, AZ
- Chi’chil Counter Mapping Project, Presenter, Apr 2022, ASU Humanities Lab Earth Week, Tempe, AZ
- MMIWG2S: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two Spirit, Moderator, Apr 2022, Project Humanities, Tempe, AZ
- Harnessing Sustainability & Storytelling, Guest Speaker, Apr 2022, AllSteel
- Black & Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Farming as Resistance, Moderator, Mar 2022, Project Humanities
- Enhancing Inclusive Knowledge & Participatory Design Approaches, Speaker, ASU Public Interest Technologies (PIT) Colloquium
- Sustainable Tech Insight Talk, Moderator, Dec 2021, Hub.Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
- Power of Storytelling, Guest Speaker, Oct 2021, ASU Work +
- Storytelling for 3D Digital Applications, Guest Facilitator and Speaker, Apr 2021, StrongTIES, STEAM & Global Citizenship Mentoring Program for Black & Brown high school girls nationwide
Coded Bias Film Discussion, Panel Facilitator and Speaker, Mar 2021, Project Humanities
Indigenous Storytelling for Social Change in the Technological Age, Jan 2021, EYDI/Indigenous Pedagogy Virtual Academy - Innovation Policy & AI Careers for People of Color, Nov 2020, ASU
- Environmental Justice: Indigenous Communities, Panel Speaker, Nov 2020, ASU Project Humanities
- Power of Storytelling & Cross Cultural Communication, Jun 2020, Intel Corp.
- The Art & Science of Sustainability Storytelling, Feb 2020, Greenbiz Conference, AZ
- Artificial General Intelligence: Normative Values Risks, Dec 2019, ASU
- Artificial General Intelligence: Case Study for STIR Method Research, Dec 2019, ASU
- Social Impact & Storytelling: A Tale of What Could Be, Apr 2019, Navajo Sustainability Symposium, Flagstaff, AZ
- Sustainability Storytelling: Six Year-Old Brain Model, Mar 2019, GreenBiz Conference, AZ
Courses
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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SOS 311 | Future Thinking and Strategies |
SOS 311 | Future Thinking and Strategies |
2022 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
SOS 484 | Internship |
SOS 484 | Internship |
EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
SFS 484 | Internship |
EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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SOS 110 | Sustainable World |
SOS 111 | Sustainable Cities |
SOS 310 | Equity, Justice & Sustainblity |
SOS 310 | Equity, Justice & Sustainblity |
SOS 310 | Equity, Justice & Sustainblity |
SOS 310 | Equity, Justice & Sustainblity |
SOS 484 | Internship |
SOS 110 | Sustainable World |
SOS 111 | Sustainable Cities |
SFS 484 | Internship |
2021 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
EMS 524 | Sustainability Storytelling |
EMS 508 | Immersive Experience |
2020 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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SOS 311 | Future Thinking and Strategies |
SOS 311 | Future Thinking and Strategies |
EMS 513 | Comm & Sustainability III |
EMS 509 | Comm & Sustainability II |
SOS 311 | Future Thinking and Strategies |
SOS 232 | Prof Skills in Sustainability |
2020 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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SOS 110 | Sustainable World |
SOS 110 | Sustainable World |
SOS 110 | Sustainable World |
SOS 311 | Future Thinking and Strategies |
SOS 311 | Future Thinking and Strategies |
SOS 110 | Sustainable World |
2020 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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EMS 504 | Comm & Sustainability I |
EMS 509 | Comm & Sustainability II |
2019 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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EMS 513 | Comm & Sustainability III |
EMS 504 | Comm & Sustainability I |
ASU Humanities Lab “Seize the Moment” Grant Award Winner ($3600), “Chi’chil Counter Mapping Project,” Spring 2023
Cultural Conservancy, Travel award ($2500), November 2022
American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Lighting the Pathway Fellow, 2022-24
ASU Humanities Lab “Beyond The Lab” Grant Award Winner ($3000), “Chi’chil Counter Mapping Project,” Fall 2022
ASU Humanities Lab Mini-Amplifier Grant Award Winner ($1000), “Chi’chil Counter Mapping Project,” Spring 2022
ASU Changemaker Challenge Grant Award Winner ($2500), “Amplifying Latina Voices: Street Designs for Livability in Mesa,” June 2021
ASU Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) Innovation Fellowship Volunteer Award, April 2021
Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Travel Award, October 2020
ASU Sun Award, October 2020
Delegate (2023-2024) & Member, Women’s Council of Indigenous Doctoral Scholars (WCIDS)
Vice President (2022-23) & Member, ASU American Indian Graduate Student Association (AIGSA)
Member, American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
Member, Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
Member, Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA)
Member, Mujeres Activas En Letras Y Cambio Social (MALCS)
Member, (2020-2023) ASU Faculty Women of Color Caucus (FWOCC)
Member, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Hayden Library, Labriola Community Driven Archives Fellowship 2023-2024, Mentor, Spring 2023
School of Sustainability Executive Masters of Sustainability Leadership (EMSL) and Masters of Sustainability Leadership (MSL) program committee (2020-2023)
School of Sustainability Executive Masters of Sustainability Leadership (EMSL) 2018-2021 student capstone mentoring
Planning Committee Member, ASU Indigenous Scholar Symposium, Spring 2024
External Panel Reviewer, ASU Faculty Women Association, Mentoring Pilot Program, Spring 2023
Planning Committee Member, ASU Indigenous Scholar Symposium, Spring 2023
Vice President, American Indian Graduate Student Association, 2022-2023
IEEE Xplore Journal Articles Reviewer, 2022
Non-Tenured Faculty Committee, ASU School of Sustainability, 2021-2022
SOS Strategic Visioning, ASU School of Sustainability, 2021-2022
AISES Chapter 3 Conference Session Moderator, April 2021
Hispanic Community Initiative Working Group, ASU, 2021
EMSL & MSL Program Committee, ASU School of Sustainability, 2020 - present
President Elect, ASU Chicano/Latino Faculty & Staff Association, 2020-2021
Judge, 2020 Arizona Junior Science and Humanities Symposium