Decoding the Past Speaker Announcement!

 The Paul Gray Personal Computing Museum is proud to announce Dr. Valérie Morignat as the next guest in our popular speaker series Decoding the Past: Conversations with PC Innovators.   

"Getting AI Right: the Balance Between Innovation and Social Responsibility"

April 4th | 12:00 - 1:00 PST | Online

Register Here

Dr. Valérie Morignat

Dr. Valérie Morignat is a renowned expert in AI strategy and governance, helping government agencies, corporations, and higher education institutions develop responsible AI practices. As the CEO of Intelligent Story, a San Francisco-based consulting firm, she provides guidance on ethical AI product design, AI risk and opportunity analysis, and the development of cultural and educational programs centered on responsible AI innovation. Additionally, as AI Ethics Advisor at The Cantellus Group and a Visiting Professor of AI Strategy and Responsible Design at Aivancity School for Technology, Business & Society, she is actively shaping the future of AI governance.

Prior to founding Intelligent Story, Dr. Morignat led design teams in the healthcare sector, launching over 300 digital products for leading pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotech brands. She also served as a Tenured Associate Professor of Cinema and Interactive Arts at the University of Montpellier III and a Teaching and Research Attaché at the University of Paris 1, Panthéon Sorbonne, where she taught extensively on the cinematic arts, emerging technology arts, AI, and cyberculture.

Dr. Morignat received a Ph.D. in Art and Arts Sciences from the University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, with highest honors and distinctions. She is certified in Machine Learning (MIT), AI and Business Strategy (MIT Sloan), and Virtual and Augmented Reality design (IDF).

The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Barbara Usher.

Dr. Barbara Usher is a technology leader with over 20 years of experience managing technology programs for several Fortune 100 companies in the Silicon Valley area.  She has a successful track record of driving and delivering strategic initiatives,  programs, and enterprise products from inception to delivery in a wide range of industries and domains. 

She earned her PhD 1n 2010 from the CGU Center for Information Systems and Technology (CISAT), served on the Drucker Industry Advisory Board, and was an adjunct professor for CISAT. She is a Leadership and Career Coach who is passionate about sharing her knowledge and expertise to support the growth, development, and well-being of others.

Decoding the Past Speaker Announcement!

The Paul Gray Personal Computing Museum is proud to announce Gregg Pascal Zachary as the next guest in our popular speaker series Decoding the Past: Conversations with PC Innovators.   

"The Future of Democracy in the Digital Age"

Online - February 15, 12:00 - 1:00 PST

G. Pascal Zachary is a writer and educator, concentrating on the history of technological change; the social and human dimensions of computing and software; non-fiction writing and literature; and the globalization of identity, culture, and political economy. Zachary is the author of Endless Frontier: Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century (1997), and editor of The Essential Writings of  Vannevar Bush (2022).

Born in Brooklyn, Zachary lives in northern California with his wife, Chizo Okon, of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Zachary taught at Arizona State University (2010-2020), Stanford University (2007-9), and the University of California at Berkeley (2001-2). He consulted on technology and development for the Gates foundation (2007-2009) and other foundations and made 50 research visits to sub-Saharan Africa in the first decade of the 21st century. The National Science Foundation awarded him a grant to study the emergence of computer science as an academic discipline in East Africa. Max Fisher, a previous writer for The Atlantic, described Zachary as “one of the most insightful and creative thinkers on Africa” in the West. Zachary is the author of Hotel Africa: the politics of escape (2012) and Married to Africa: a love story (2009). His journalism has appeared in The Wall Street Journal (where he served as a senior writer from 1989-2002 and chief writer on Silicon Valley from 1989-1995), The New York Times, The Atlantic, Technology Review, Wired, and Spectrum magazine. His book Showstopper (1994), on the making of a software program at Microsoft, is considered a classic work on the everyday life of coders. For the PBS network, he co-wrote Code Rush (2000) on the rise and fall of Netscape.

The Conversation will be moderated by Karen Wickre. 

Karen Wickre is a veteran connector, editor, and communicator based out of Silicon Valley. As a corporate writer, Karen has developed stories, styles, and cadence for Google, Twitter, and many startups. More recently, she has served as an advisor for a range of companies, developing strategies for their messaging and the content they produce. A strong supporter of journalists and journalism, Karen serves on the boards of The John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford and the News Literacy Project, and in 2018 she published Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide to Making Connections that Count (Simon & Schuster).

FREE REGISTRATION HERE

New Online Exhibit!

The Paul Gray Personal Computing Museum presents Covering PCs: Harry McCracken’s Cover Collection, a virtual showcase of influential magazine covers from 1982 to 2018. Intended to catch your eye and inspire curiosity, magazine covers are often representative of their time. Explore major headlines from the point of view of veteran technology journalist and former editor of TIME, PC World, and Technologizer, Harry McCracken. Highlighting significant moments, trends, and changes in the technology industry, McCracken’s selection includes the best-selling issue of PC World, a how-to guide on connecting to the internet, and what an NBA superstar does to lower technology's impact on our lives. 

Check out Covering PCs: Harry McCracken's Cover Collection HERE!

Fall 2022 Message and Update

 

 

Dear Members of the Paul Gray Personal Computing Museum Community:

Happy Fall! I am pleased to share news of the Paul Gray Personal Computing Museum’s ongoing and expanded programming.

 

Don’t Miss Decoding the Past! | October 26th, 12:00 - 1:00 PST

Serious Fun: Representation and Popularity In Early PC Gaming is an opportunity to join a conversation with Benj Edwards, tech historian, veteran technology journalist, and current AI and Machine Learning reporter for Ars Technica. As a journalist, Edwards broke stories about the importance of software preservation, early video game history, the first computer art, minority and female tech pioneers, and online service archeology. A collector of vintage computers and video games, Edwards shares his expertise on his blog Vintage Computing and Gaming (VC&G) and is a regular contributor to the Retronauts podcast.

Harry McCracken, technology journalist and current editor for Fast Company, will moderate the conversation.

Register for this free event HERE!

 

Serious Fun: Representation and Popularity In Early PC Gaming

 

You're Invited!

Decoding the Past: Conversations with PC Innovators

Wednesday, October 26th 

This session, Serious Fun: Representation and Popularity In Early PC Gaming, is an opportunity to join a conversation with Benj Edwards, tech historian, veteran technology journalist, and current AI and Machine Learning Reporter for Ars Technica. As a journalist, Edwards broke stories about the importance of software preservation, early video game history, the first computer art, minority and female tech pioneers, and online service archeology. A collector of vintage computers and video games, Edwards shares his expertise on his blog Vintage Computing and Gaming (VC&G) and is a regular contributor to the Retronauts podcast.

Harry McCracken, technology journalist and current editor for Fast Company, will moderate the conversation.

REGISTER HERE

Sound Bytes with Harry McCracken

Our video archive featuring the speakers in our Decoding the Past series continues to grow! On April 19, we hosted a conversation with Harry McCracken, veteran technology journalist and current editor for Fast Company. In case you missed it, you can watch a recording of the event here!

After our conversation, Harry stuck around to reflect upon his earliest and most memorable experiences with personal computing. Check out our third installment of the Sound Bytes series with Harry McCracken here: 

Summer 2022 Message and Update

Thanks to the partnership between CISAT and School of Arts and Humanities, the Paul Gray PC Museum selects a Museum Studies student to serve as Executive Director during their coursework at Claremont Graduate University (CGU). Not only is this innovative model a boon for the museum, but it offers graduate students the remarkable opportunity to run all operations of a museum, and the freedom to develop initiatives suited to their experience and career goals, all with the safety net of highly active and supportive board of directors. I am excited to share the accomplishments of our past and present directors, and announce our new Executive Director, Bailey Westerhoff!

Kiera Peacock, founding Executive Director of the Paul Gray PC Museum, currently works at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives at Stanford University. As an exhibitions team member, Kiera supports the development, coordination, and promotion of physical and digital exhibitions. Prior to working at Stanford, Kiera has worked at several cultural heritage organizations in Southern California. During her time as the Executive Director of the Paul Gray PC Museum, Kiera curated two exhibitions, conserved artifacts from the collection, and initiated a successful fundraising campaign for the museum. She currently serves on the board of the museum. Kiera holds an MA in Cultural Studies from CGU. 

Allison Koehler graduated from CGU in May with an MA in Cultural Studies, thus concluding her term as the second Executive Director of the Paul Gray PC Museum. The primary focus of her tenure was to develop education and public programming initiatives for the museum. Allison helped launch the museum’s ongoing speaker series, Decoding the Past: Conversations with PC Innovators, and created a classroom curriculum, available on our website here, to help students and educators engage with the museum’s collection. Allison currently works as an Educator for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, designing and implementing programming for students, teachers, and families. Allison also holds an MA in Education from Antioch University.

New Executive Director, Bailey Westerhoff is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Cultural Studies with a focus in Museum Studies and Art Management at CGU. Studying in Florence, she earned her MA in Museum Studies from Marist College in conjunction with the Institution Lorenzo de’ Medici. Bailey has experience working with museums of all sizes and subjects, with past projects focusing on visitor accessibility, education, and new museum construction. Recently Bailey has concentrated her attention on garnering skills in nonprofit development and fundraising. As the new Executive Director of the Paul Gray PC Museum, Bailey is excited to continue growing the museums audience while ensuring the organizations financial and educational legacy.

On behalf of the museum, I want to thank you all for your support and donations that have made this Executive Director position possible. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish during my tenure, and I can’t wait to see where Bailey takes the museum in the future!   -Allison Koehler

A Note From Our Board

We are in a season of transitions at the Paul Gray Personal Computing Museum.  We weathered the past few years of the pandemic by strengthening our programming, by expanding our audience and by confirming the great value of our leadership model.  The last item, our leadership team, led by MA student and now alumna, Allison Koehler, and now arriving new Executive Director, PhD student Bailey Westerhoff, has given all of us a great deal of pride in the work of the past and confidence in the future.  This leadership model, born of a unique partnership between the Center for Information Systems and Technology and the School of Art and Humanities’ Museum Studies program, will now weather a different transition, the retirement of Professor Lorne Olfman, a colleague and protégé of Paul Gray, a long-time and beloved leader of CISAT, a founding board member of the PGPCM and a dear colleague of mine.  Lorne’s dedication to the museum and his hope for its continued and on-going success serve as a profound injunction to shepherd the museum forward.  Please consider paying homage to Lorne and his devotion, care and collaborative fervor by helping us honor this meaningful and productive past by securing the museum’s future with an essential donation.  The museum is funded entirely by donations from its supporters.  Strong support for the museum will guarantee that these transitions will only add to our continued success. Please click here to donate now! 

Joshua Goode

Associate Professor of History and Cultural Studies and Director of the Museum Studies Program at CGU