Stephanie Ashenfelder
About

Stephanie Ashenfelder is a scholar, educator, and creative practitioner whose work bridges the intersections of art, design, technology, and community engagement. Currently a faculty member at the University of Rochester, Stephanie specializes in new media and design, focusing on projects that address environmental sustainability, social justice, and equity through participatory and human-centered approaches.

 

Stephanie’s teaching centers on fostering inclusive, collaborative learning environments where students thrive as both teachers and learners. Her inventive pedagogy has empowered students to create impactful projects , including a project at the University’s Memorial Art Gallery that secured a 100K grant from the Verizon-NYC Media Lab Museum Initiative. This project focused making augmented reality and digital tools accessible the museum space to schools nationwide.

 

As a researcher, Stephanie leads community-engaged projects which use an arts centered framework that leverages digital tools to archive personal and community art and narrative. Projects like Watershed Movements and ADK Climate Project showcase her commitment to amplifying marginalized voices and using storytelling, art and design to address global and local challenges. Watershed Movements, an environmental art and story project that focuses on watershed health and human wellbeing received a 50K award from the Institute for Human Health and the Environment in 2024.