Ashley Etemadi is a learning researcher and the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Motiva Education, a machine learning and generative AI firm focused on improving student learning, motivation, engagement, and academic outcomes. Prior to starting Motiva, she was a researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, examining applications of emerging technologies (e.g., AI, VR/XR) for enhancing trainings in human judgment skills such as negotiation, cross-cultural communication, and ethical decision-making. Ashley also spent 8+ years advising Fortune 500 companies, growth-stage enterprises, and social impact ventures on workforce development. Overall, her work seeks to better prepare individuals and organizations for an increasingly diverse and turbulent world.
She holds a Master’s in Human Development & Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Bachelor’s degrees in Operations & Information Management (The Wharton School) and Modern Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
In her free time, Ashley enjoys going to the beach, walking, reading, baking cookies, listening to world music, and traveling to visit friends and family scattered across the world.
Ashley Etemadi
Managing Partner, Learning Sciences Researcher
Articles and Publications
Tassis, A. & Etemadi, A. (2023, August 16). AI Isn’t Coming for us Just Yet: What Humans Bring to the AI Equation. The EvoLLLution. https://evolllution.com/technology/tech-tools-and-resources/ai-isnt-coming-for-us-just-yet-what-humans-bring-to-the-ai-equation
Etemadi, A. & Poonawala, A. (2022, June 9). How extended reality – or ‘XR’ – has transformed workforce training. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/how-vr-has-transformed-workforce-training/
Dede, C. & Etemadi, A. (2022). Between Skills and Success: Developing Workers’ Dispositions for Applying Skills in an Uncertain, Disruptive World. In Practitioner Proceedings of the 8th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network Conference (iLRN2022). https://doi.org/10.56198/A6PFYQSYJ
Dede, C. & Etemadi, A. (2022, March 24). Skills Are Not Enough: Developing Workers’ Dispositions to Succeed in an Uncertain, Disruptive World. The EvoLLLution. https://evolllution.com/revenue-streams/professional_development/skills-are-not-enough-developing-workers-dispositions-to-succeed-in-an-uncertain-disruptive-world/
Etemadi, A. & Dede, C. (2021, December 8). Preparing Students To Augment Artificial Intelligence Rather Than Be Replaced By Machine Learning. Teaching Times. https://www.teachingtimes.com/preparing-students-to-augment-artificial-intelligence-rather-than-be-replaced-by-machine-learning/
Hong, A, Etemadi, A., & Hilliard, A. (November 2021). CREDENTIAL QUALITY IN CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION: Exploring Perkins V’s 5S1 Program Quality Definitions, State Interpretations, and Data Implications. Student Fellows Series, The Project on Workforce at Harvard. https://www.pw.hks.harvard.edu/post/summerfellowsseries#viewer-7b41b
Hong, A, Etemadi, A., & Hilliard, A. (November 2021). CREDENTIALS IN SECONDARY CTE PROGRAMS: Case studies from Delaware, Texas, and Louisiana. Student Fellows Series, The Project on Workforce at Harvard. https://www.pw.hks.harvard.edu/post/summerfellowsseries#viewer-fl5qi
Dede, C., Etemadi, A., & Forshaw, T. (2021). Intelligence augmentation: Upskilling humans to complement AI. The Next Level Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. President and Fellows of Harvard College: Cambridge, MA. https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/websites.harvard.edu/dist/a/108/files/2022/11/nll_brief_5._intelligence_augmentation._july_2021-1.pdf
Dede, C. & Etemadi, A. (2021). Why dispositions matter for the workforce in turbulent, uncertain times. The Next Level Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. President and Fellows of Harvard College: Cambridge, MA. https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/websites.harvard.edu/dist/a/108/files/2022/11/nll_brief_2._dispositions.july_2021-1.pdf
