About

Mission

Cal State Innovate launched in 2017 to support the CSU Information Technology’s key priority of transformation and innovation in its strategic plan. Situated within Information Technology Services in the California State University Chancellor’s Office, Cal State Innovate plays a vital role in supporting innovation efforts and connecting innovators across the CSU.

In 2023, our team grew and our scope ​expanded from ITS Innovation to Innovation, Digital Experience, and ​Accessibility (IDEA). The CSU’s Accessible Technology Initiative found a new ​home in ITS, and alignment with the skills and values on the IDEA team. ​This new name reflects our goal to explore emerging technologies ​systematically and responsibly, centering user experience and digital ​accessibility and equity. Our team leverages approaches from design ​thinking, user experience design, and universal design principles to ​enhance digital experiences for students, faculty, and staff, with a focus on ​diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Cal State Innovate supports three focus areas:

• Accelerating innovation at the campuses through funding programs and collaborative projects. Campuses are home to innovative projects and initiatives, and Cal State Innovate seeks to accelerate those efforts by providing funding opportunities and connecting collaborators across campuses to learn and build upon efforts underway across the university.
• Fostering a culture of innovation through community building, webinars and events. Cal State Innovate offers programming and events that bring the Cal State innovation community together to foster serendipitous connection and creativity.
• Exploring emerging technology areas to develop communities of practice and to stay on top of trends. Cal State Innovate sponsors collaborative projects and convenes interested stakeholders to explore emerging technologies that could affect IT services and the student experience.

Coordinating work in these areas across campuses, and finding strategies to support “deep dive” pilots with communications to the entire system can help accelerate the speed of innovation, encourage good investments, and help us find out what doesn’t work faster so we don’t waste excess time and effort. Cal State Innovate enables the development and diffusion of new and effective strategies and technology to promote better student outcomes, improve the student experience, and create greater administrative efficiencies.

Meet the IDEA Staff

We’re a team serving our colleagues at the Chancellor’s Office as well as the 23 CSU campuses. With years of combined experience in higher education, we aim to foster innovation, creativity, exploration, and technological advancement within the CSU community.

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Kate Miffitt

Senior Director for Innovation, Digital Experience & Accessibility

Kate Miffitt is Senior Director for Innovation, Digital Experience & Accessibility in Information Technology Services in the CSU Office of the Chancellor. In this role, she researches trends in innovation, implements strategy and programming, and manages resources and communications regarding innovation programs that span the system, focused in IT.

Leon McNaught

Director for Digital Accessibility & Equity

Leon McNaught is the Director of Digital Accessibility and Equity for the California State University (CSU) system. Primarily, this work involves oversight of the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI), a CSU system-wide Capability Maturity Model framework to improve digital accessibility among higher education stakeholders. ATI focuses on three priority areas: web, instructional materials, and procurement. Leon’s previous work involved ATI implementation at the campus level since 2004, most recently at Cal State LA and, prior, at CSU San Bernardino.

Allison Hughes

User Experience Designer

Allison Green supports Cal State Innovate by understanding challenges, developing solutions, integrating relevant design, and researching best practices in UX. Before joining the CSU system, she served as the associate director of student activities at Pepperdine University focusing on event planning and leadership development.

Aniket Patel

Student Assistant- Innovation

Aniket Patel is a second year experienced software engineer who thinks with both left and right brains whether it’s coding or photography. He is currently pursuing a masters degree in computer science at California State University, Long Beach and working as a Student Assistant for the ITS Innovation department at Chancellor’s Office.

Giselle Hernandez

Student Assistant- Design

Gigi Hernandez is pursuing a BFA in Graphic Design at California State University, Long Beach, while also bringing her skills to the role of student assistant for design and digital experience at Cal State Innovate. She previously interned at the American Marketing Association, Agency 241, where she directed a campaign for the Alkmy trading app. With her passion for branding, UX/UI, and web design, she aspires to launch her own web design agency.