Cohort 5

Ghazal Foroutan - Assistant Professor, Graphic Design 

Ghazal Foroutan's Innovation Fellows project, "Playable Systems: Reimagining Games as Tools for Social Engagement", transforms the traditional game of backgammon into an interactive experience that encourages reflection on identity, access, and social inequality. Developed through collaboration with students and faculty, the project explores how game design can foster dialogue and learning.

Ghazal Foroutan is an Iranian designer, educator, and Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at California State University San Marcos. Her interdisciplinary practice spans graphic design, typography, publication design, and socially engaged design, with a focus on identity, cultural narratives, and the experiences of women from the Middle East. Through research, teaching, and making, she explores how design can foster dialogue, challenge systems, and create meaningful community engagement. In 2024, she was recognized by Print magazine as one of its 15 New Visual Artists, honoring outstanding designers under 30.

Dr. Zahra Gharibi - Assistant Professor, Business Analytics 

As a 2026–2027 Faculty Innovation Fellow, Dr. Gharibi will lead the AI Ready Workforce and Curriculum Innovation Lab, a student-centered and community-connected initiative focused on the changing skill demands of an AI-driven workforce. Student teams will analyze labor-market and employer data to identify emerging occupations, skill gaps, and connections between academic preparation and career expectations, with input from faculty, employers, alumni, the CSUSM Career Center, and community partners. The project will produce an AI-ready career-pathway dashboard, skill-gap map, student portfolio guide, and faculty curriculum-innovation guide designed to strengthen student success, applied learning, and workforce readiness.

Dr. Zahra Gharibi is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at California State University San Marcos and holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Southern Methodist University (SMU). Her research applies artificial intelligence, optimization, and predictive analytics to consequential healthcare problems, particularly organ transplantation and health-related decision-making. She has published peer-reviewed research, developed machine learning and AI-driven tools for healthcare applications, and created new undergraduate and graduate analytics courses.