Faculty
Colin Rhinesmith, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director
Digital Equity Action Research Lab
School of Information Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
crhines@illinois.edu
Colin Rhinesmith (he/they) is an associate professor and director of the Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Lab in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Rhinesmith is also a Research Fellow with the Quello Center at Michigan State University and Co-Editor-In-Chief of The Journal of Community Informatics. Rhinesmith studies the social, technical, and policy contexts that shape people’s access to and use of information and communication technologies in local communities. His research contributes to the fields of community informatics, engaged scholarship, and information policy. Rhinesmith has worked with civil society organizations, government agencies, and philanthropic organizations to advance digital equity through community-engaged and participatory research projects.
Previously, Rhinesmith was Founder and Director of the Digital Equity Research Center at the Metropolitan New York Library Council. He has been a Google Policy Fellow and an Adjunct Research Fellow with New America’s Open Technology Institute, Senior Advisor with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Senior Fellow with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, and Faculty Associate with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Dr. Rhinesmith received his Ph.D. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he was a U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services Information in Society Fellow, a Researcher with the Center for People and Infrastructures, and a Research Scholar with the Center for Digital Inclusion.
Ph.D. Students
Adebola Obayemi
Doctoral Student
School of Information Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Adebola is a PhD student whose research focuses on community informatics, information access, the digital divide, and inclusion among marginalized populations. Her work examines how the design of technology can either widen or bridge existing divides, particularly for populations that have been left behind by rapid technological advancements. She has worked with immigrant communities and incarcerated populations, exploring how technology and information systems can be leveraged to promote empowerment, equity, and reintegration. Currently, she is collaborating with the San Francisco Public Library on a project titled Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People. Through this work, she advocates for empowerment by supporting incarcerated individuals in developing digital literacy and the practical skills needed to successfully navigate reentry in today’s highly digitized world.
Armando J. Torres
Doctoral Candidate
Education Policy, Organization & Leadership
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Armando J. Torres (he/him) is a PhD Candidate in the Education Policy, Organization & Leadership department with a Global Studies in Education concentration. Armando has spent the last 5 years engaging communities in problem-solving and justice-oriented transdisciplinary research and practice to critically examine how liberatory pedagogical approaches inform local perspectives on digital literacy and global citizenship to address the global imperative for more democratic digital governance to protect people and planet from unregulated digital development and an underlying digital coloniality among Global Majority countries. Armando’s work integrates knowledge and methods in critical education, community informatics, global and development studies.
Ebubechukwu Uba
Doctoral Student
School of Information Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Ebubechukwu Uba is a Ph.D. student whose research sits at the intersection of education technology, community informatics, AI governance, and critical technology design. Her work explores how digital and Artificial Intelligence tools can be co-designed to support equitable learning in rural and underserved communities, with a particular focus on AI in education. Ebube is the founder of Step-Up Academy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding educational access and digital literacy among marginalized youth through culturally relevant and community-driven learning models. During the summer, she conducted research under the mentorship of Dr. Colin Rhinesmith, focusing on digital equity initiatives and the role of Digital Navigators in bridging digital gaps.
M.S. Students
Elliot Barber
Master’s in Library and Information Studies Student
School of Information Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Elliot Barber (they/them) is a 2nd-year MSLIS student. They currently work as a Graduate Assistant at the iSchool Help Desk where they support the iSchool community’s technical needs as well as leading projects to improve and promote digital accessibility in the iSchool. They are interested in working in public libraries and also interested in programs, community outreach, and accessibility librarianship. Their areas of interest are accessibility, digital accessibility and equity, inclusion, and topics in public and instructional librarianship.
Isabel Braico
Master’s in Library and Information Studies Student
School of Information Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Isabel Braico (she/her) is a second-year MSLIS student. She works as a Graduate Assistant at the Main Library in the Teaching, Learning, and Academic Support unit, where she teaches sessions on information literacy and contributes to programming aimed at promoting holistic student success. Isabel is interested in community outreach and engagement in library spaces, especially related to basic needs and well-being.
Mads Christiansen
Master’s in Library and Information Studies Student
School of Information Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mads Christiansen (Any Pronouns) is currently a 2nd-year MSLIS student. They are currently a Graduate Assistant in McKinley Health Center’s Health Education unit and the Champaign-Urbana Community Fablab. Their focus of their MSLIS is Public Libraries and Makerspaces. Some of the topics that they enjoy focusing on are LGBTQIA+, Neurodiversity, Social Activism, and Building Resources for the Public.