Hi, I’m Dr. John Ennis, co-founder of Aigora and host of AigoraCast. This episode I enjoyed speaking with Dr. Maria Keckler, co-founder of the EmpathyRx Lab at San Diego State University. Maria is very easy to talk to, and I really enjoyed her ideas on the importance of human skills in the age of AI. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, and remember to subscribe to AigoraCast to hear more conversations like this one in the future!

Guest: Dr. Maria Keckler, EmpathyRx Lab, SDSU
Dr. Maria Keckler is a keynote speaker, executive advisor, and strategist, known for her expertise in leadership development amidst the rise of AI. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University, where she focused on the interplay of neuroscience, education, and behavior change. Dr. Keckler excels at bridging academic research with practical applications, empowering leaders to leverage human strengths.
Her commitment to empathetic leadership is evident in her roles as co-founder of the Healthcare EmpathyRX Lab at SDSU and editor of The Structural Skills Project. Dr. Keckler is also the author of "Bridge Builders: How Superb Communicators Get What They Want" and has been honored as one of San Diego's 50 Most Influential Latino Leaders.

Links

Research: Empathyrx.sdsu.edu
Website: DrMariaKeckler.com
Newsletter: JustOnePivot.com
Publication: The Structural Skills Project

Dave Lundahl is passionate about applying consumer insights to create a cleaner, healthier, and happier world through innovation. In 2003, he founded InsightsNow with a vision to apply behavioral science to advance product innovation. This led to the publication of Breakthrough Food Product Innovation Through Emotions Research (2011), receiving the Disruptive Innovation Award from NextGen Marketing Research (2017), securing a U.S. patent for measuring implicit reactions (2024), and now being honored with the 2025 IFT Lifetime Achievement Award for Sensory and Consumer Science. He gives back as a member of the Advisory Boards for the Department of Food Science & Technology and the Marketing Programs in the College of Business at Oregon State University.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-lundahl-a6bb45/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/insightsnow/about/

https://insightsnow.com/

Dr. Andreea Botezatu earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in Oenology and Agricultural Management in Romania before working as a commercial winemaker in Europe and Canada. She later obtained her PhD in Oenology from Brock University in Canada, where she also completed a postdoctoral position.

Currently an Associate Professor and Extension Enology Specialist at Texas A&M University, Dr. Botezatu's research focuses on wine aroma, fault remediation, and overall quality, utilizing both chemical and sensory analysis. She also investigates Texas wine consumer attitudes and is exploring the application of emerging technologies like blockchain and LLMs in the wine and sensory fields.

Dr. Andreea Botezatu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreeabotezatu/
Visit the Texas Viticulture & Enology Facebook Page
Enology Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Oo5L0jMLR57IuUb0XmBxQ

To learn more about Aigora, please visit www.aigora.com