Technology and innovation leader, professor, author, geospatial researcher, and former paramedic. Dr. Fisher works across AI adoption, instructional technology, emergency management, remote sensing, and institutional strategy.
Dr. Blaine Fisher works where technology has consequences. His professional record spans enterprise AI adoption, instructional technology, emergency management, geospatial science, consulting, and teaching. The common thread is practical judgment inside complex systems. He helps people use new tools without losing sight of ethics, context, or the humans who have to live with the result.
At Tulane University, he serves as Senior Instructional Technology Manager in the Innovative Learning Center. Since October 2012, he has worked across platform adoption, AI strategy, faculty development, and learning infrastructure for a 13,000-student institution. He administers Canvas across academic units, leads AI-focused faculty capability work, and founded WAVE, Tulane's AI Visionaries and Educators Network.
His faculty work extends across Tulane's School of Professional Advancement and the School of Science and Engineering. He teaches information technology, emergency management, GIS, and remote sensing, with courses that range from AI in Modern Society to Health and Medical Issues in Emergency Management. His research life moves into the field: the Birdsfoot Delta through MissDelta, and Classic Maya defensive landscapes at Dos Aguadas, Guatemala.
Dr. Fisher is the author of The AI Human: Navigating a Transformed World, the Pracademics Editor and Editorial Board Member at Homeland Security Today, and founder of Sparkfish Consulting, LLC. Before his academic technology career, he worked as a paramedic in the New Orleans region. That background still shows. He teaches and advises like someone who has seen plans meet weather, pressure, scarcity, and time.
Career log
Experience
October 2012-present
Senior Instructional Technology Manager
Tulane University, Innovative Learning Center
Leads enterprise academic technology work across AI adoption, Canvas administration, faculty development, and learning infrastructure. Current work includes the W.A.V.E. Workshop Series, Preflight Bootcamp, WAVE network, and three generations of Tulane internal training platforms.
January 2022-present and December 2014-present
Professor, Information Technology and Emergency Management
Tulane University School of Professional Advancement
Teaches applied technology, AI, UI/UX, enterprise applications, emergency management, and health and medical issues. Courses serve undergraduate and graduate audiences with an emphasis on practice, ethics, and decisions under pressure.
Current
Instructor, GIS and Remote Sensing
Tulane School of Science and Engineering
Teaches geospatial and remote sensing material through Earth and Coastal Sciences and Engineering, including spatial data in restoration planning.
TODO: Confirm exact title, course list, and start date for this role.
January 2024-present
Remote Sensing and Geospatial Scientist
MissDelta, Mississippi River Delta Transition Initiative
Works on a $22M, five-year National Academies funded consortium focused on the Birdsfoot Delta. The project includes 14 institutions and uses remote sensing, GIS, LiDAR, multispectral, thermal, and photogrammetric methods.
2020-present
Pracademics Editor and Editorial Board Member
Homeland Security Today
Leads the Pracademic Affairs section, a peer-reviewed journal space connecting scholarly research with frontline homeland security and emergency management practice.
Current
Founder and Principal
Sparkfish Consulting, LLC
Runs an independent advisory practice serving executive, university, and international clients on AI adoption, AI curriculum design, enterprise technology strategy, and faculty capability building.
Major Initiatives
W.A.V.E. Workshop Series, biweekly AI workshops for Tulane faculty and staff.
WAVE, AI Visionaries and Educators Network, connecting Tulane faculty and staff on AI integration.
Training Wave, TUlearn, and WaveWorks, three generations of Tulane compliance and training LMS work culminating in Oracle Learn implementation.
Classroom Experience Assistant, a hybrid-era classroom technology support program that trained over 100 student workers.
TODO: Confirm whether Tulane Environmental Health and Safety compliance work should be listed as a standalone role or ILC responsibility.
Teaching interface
Teaching
Dr. Fisher teaches applied technology and emergency management through practical work, ethical framing, and the habits people need when tools change faster than institutions.
Tulane SoPA Information Technology
AI in Modern Society, graduate and undergraduate. Covers how AI systems shape work, learning, governance, and human agency.
AI in Action. Applies AI tools to real workflows, with attention to prompting, review, evaluation, and ethics.
Applied Artificial Intelligence. Focuses on practical AI use, institutional adoption, and responsible implementation.
The Ethics of Technology Through Science Fiction, undergraduate. Uses speculative fiction to examine responsibility, risk, design, and power.
UI/UX Design Fundamentals, undergraduate. Introduces user research, interface structure, accessibility, and design judgment.
Health and Medical Issues in Emergency Management, graduate and undergraduate. Connects public health, medical operations, and emergency management practice.
Emergency Management Training and Exercises, undergraduate. Covers planning, training design, exercise structure, and operational readiness.
School of Science and Engineering
Geospatial Science and GIS Applications. Covers geospatial methods, spatial thinking, and applied analysis.
River and Stream Restoration, graduate, co-professor. Module: The Use of Spatial Data in Restoration Planning.
TODO: Confirm exact public course titles and role language.
Bootcamps and Faculty Development
AI Fundamentals.
AI for Research.
AI as a Second Brain.
Applied AI.
AI-enhanced course design.
9 to 5 AI for productivity.
Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence bootcamp.
Data Data Everywhere: Fundamentals of Data Science bootcamp.
The research portfolio connects coastal fieldwork, drone-based sensing, GIS analysis, and archaeology. The scale changes. The question stays grounded in terrain.
2024-2029
MissDelta
Mississippi River Delta Transition Initiative
MissDelta is a $22M, five-year initiative funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The consortium includes 14 institutions and focuses on the Birdsfoot Delta. Dr. Fisher contributes remote sensing and geospatial science work using LiDAR, multispectral, thermal, and photogrammetric systems.
Dr. Fisher's dissertation examined Classic Maya defensive earthworks at Dos Aguadas through LiDAR and GIS. The work uses remote sensing, photogrammetry, spatial analysis, population estimation, least-cost path analysis, and volumetric labor investment analysis.
Writing on this site includes the book, newsletters, blog work, editorial leadership, dissertation research, and peer review service.
Blaine S. FisherThe AI HumanNavigating a Transformed World2025
2025, ISBN 979-8993144207
The AI Human: Navigating a Transformed World
The book frames AI adoption as a promotion where human value shifts from execution to stewardship. It gives educators and leaders frameworks for agency, ethics, and critical thinking in an automated world.
Biweekly articles on instructional technology for Tulane faculty and staff.
Editorial and Peer Review
Pracademics Editor and Editorial Board Member at Homeland Security Today. Invited peer reviewer for Advances in Archaeological Practice, Cambridge University Press and Society for American Archaeology, 2026.
New Orleans. The Evolution of Education: From Push to Pull in an AI World.
AI Skills for the Future, Futures Abroad
Dubai, UAE. Four-day AI Certified Workshop at Jumeirah College.
CELT Workshop, Creating Innovative Classroom Learning Experiences Using AI
Tulane. Co-presented with Kay McLennan.
2024
South-Central Conference on Mesoamerica
Baton Rouge. Strategic Fortifications and Warfare: Dos Aguadas.
Professional Development Day
New Orleans. 9-5 AI: Using Artificial Intelligence for Day-to-Day Productivity.
Tech Day Panel Moderator
New Orleans. AI Panel: Future Predictions and Ethical Considerations.
2023
Top Hat on Campus Fireside Chat
Tulane. The Nexus of Technology, Pedagogy, and Equitable Learning with Dr. Bradley Cohen.
TCC Federal Reserve Bank Keynote
New Orleans. AI Decoded: From Neural Networks to Tomorrow's Intelligence. Roughly 100 in-person attendees and live-streamed to over 2,000 across multiple banks.
5th Annual Sparking Success
New Orleans. Field Guide: Using Virtual Reality to Stage Immersive Learning Activities.
CELT Workshop, Using AI to Create your Course
Tulane workshop on applying AI to course design.
CELT-ILC AI Series, AI 101
Tulane. Co-presented with Eunice Ofori.
Professional Development Day
New Orleans. Universal Design for Learning.
2022 and earlier
Professional Development Day
New Orleans. Hybrid Learning and Lessons Learned.
Tech Day Co-Presenter
New Orleans. LiDAR Technology and Maya Archaeology.
4th Annual Sparking Success
Using Virtual Reality Simulations in Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Activities.
CELT Workshop, Canvas 2.0 Increasing Efficiency
Tulane workshop on Canvas workflow efficiency.
DevLearn, Las Vegas
Leadership in Online Education.
DevLearn, Las Vegas
Standardizing Online Courses: A Programmatic Approach to Curriculum Cohesion.
DevLearn, Las Vegas
Creating and Managing Asynchronous Internal Training Programs.
Sparkfish Consulting, LLC is Dr. Fisher's independent advisory practice for AI adoption, curriculum design, executive technology strategy, and geospatial consulting.
Service Areas
Enterprise AI adoption strategy.
AI curriculum design and bootcamp delivery.
Executive technology advisory.
Faculty capability building for higher education.
AI ethics consulting.
GIS and remote sensing consulting for coastal and environmental research.
International Reach
Recent engagements include executive workshops in Dubai with Futures Abroad and the Command Z Future Tech Lab at Mayo College in Ajmer, India with Big Red Education.
TODO: Add Command Z promo video URL when provided.
Workshops
AI Fundamentals, AI for Research, AI as a Second Brain, Applied AI, AI-enhanced course design, 9 to 5 AI for productivity, data science foundations, and executive AI workshops.
Dr. Blaine Fisher is a technology and innovation leader, professor, author, geospatial researcher, and former paramedic. He leads AI and instructional technology work at Tulane, teaches across technology and emergency management, studies remote sensing and Maya archaeology, and advises institutions through Sparkfish Consulting.
Medium Bio, 150 Words
Dr. Blaine Fisher is a technology and innovation leader, professor, author, geospatial researcher, editorial leader, and former paramedic based in New Orleans. At Tulane University, he serves as Senior Instructional Technology Manager in the Innovative Learning Center and teaches Information Technology and Emergency Management through the School of Professional Advancement. His work includes enterprise AI adoption, Canvas administration, faculty development, and AI workshops for faculty and staff. He is a remote sensing and geospatial scientist with MissDelta, a $22M National Academies funded Mississippi River Delta research initiative, and his LSU doctoral research examined Classic Maya defensive earthworks at Dos Aguadas, Guatemala through LiDAR and GIS. He is the author of The AI Human: Navigating a Transformed World, Pracademics Editor and Editorial Board Member at Homeland Security Today, and founder of Sparkfish Consulting, LLC.
TODO: Add long bio, high-res headshot, speaker one-sheet, and media kit when approved assets are provided.
Louisiana State University. Dissertation: Strategic Fortifications and Warfare: Analyzing Defensive Earthworks at Dos Aguadas, Guatemala through LiDAR and GIS.
Post-Graduate Certificate, Geographic Information Systems
Tulane University.
Master's, Liberal Arts
Tulane University. Concentration in anthropology and emergency management.
Master of Science, Health Care Management
University of New Orleans.
Bachelor of General Studies
Southeastern Louisiana University. Minors in Health Education and Promotion, and History.
Paramedic, Emergency Medical Technology
National EMS Academy.
John Percy Dyer Award for Teaching Excellence
May 2017, Tulane School of Professional Advancement.