With a background in software development and educational innovation, Bethany is a Teaching Professor and the Assistant Dean of Computer Programs at Northeastern University’s Vancouver and Seattle campuses. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Rutgers University where she researched Reinforcement Learning. Dr. Edmunds is passionate about using technology to allow for more diverse work environments and making the tech community more inclusive.
Media
Presentations
- “How AI can Build a Better World, Responsible Use of AI” Crossover:AI 2021, January 12, 2021
Interviews
- “Making Sense of AI – Part 1: Exploring Advancements and Ethical Considerations with Bethany Edmunds” Nicola Wealth Podcast, July 27, 2023
- “Don’t be surprised by AI chatbots creating fake citations” Marketplace Tech, Apr 13, 2023
- “The ABCs of AI, algorithms and machine learning” Marketplace Tech, July 20, 2022
- “Why is technology the great social equalizer?” Conversations That Matter, March 21, 2019
- ” Educating Tech Workers” On the Coast, CBC starts at 3:12, May 15, 2018
- STEM POWER: Bethany Edmunds” BC Business, March 20, 2018
- “Teachers here in Van are getting ready for the school year, by learning how to teach coding” The Lynda Steele Show at 2:12, August 21, 2017
Panels
- “Women’s Workforce Empowerment United We Learn “, April 6 ,2022
- “Transition to Tech” AInBC, June 28, 2021
- “Women Leadership in AI” Women Who Code, March 24, 2021
- “Examining Algorithmic Injustice“, December 8, 2020
- “Ethical AI Adoption around the Globe” CascadAI 2020, November 25, 2020
- “The AI Revolution” BC Tech Summit 2018, May 16, 2018
Awards
Khoury College Award for Broadening Participation in Computing 2023
YWCA Metro Vancouver Women of Distinction Education, Training, and Development 2019
Business in Vancouver’s Top Forty under 40 2018
BC’s Most Influential Women – 2018 BC Business Magazine 2018
Brian Thom Advancing Teaching Excellence Award 2016
National Science Foundation’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training Fellowship 2006-2008
Publications
(under Bethany R. Leffler)
Research Focus: Generalized reinforcement learning for mobile robotics
“Provably Efficient Learning with Typed Parametric Models”, Emily Brunskill, Bethany R. Leffler, Lihong Li, Michael L. Littman, and Nicholas Roy. Journal of Machine Learning Research, 2009.
“The Adaptive K-Meteorologists Problem and Its Application to Structure Learning and Feature Selection in Reinforcement Learning”, Carlos Diuk, Lihong Li, and Bethany R. Leffler. Proceedings of the International Conference on Machine Learning, 2009.
“Efficient Learning of Dynamics Models using Terrain Classification”, Bethany R. Leffler, Chris R. Mansley, and Michael L. Littman. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Evolutionary and Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Robot Systems, 2008.
“CORL: A Continuous-State Offset-Dynamics Reinforcement Learner”, Emma Brunskill, Bethany R. Leffler, Lihong Li, Michael L. Littman, and Nicholas Roy. Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence. 2008.
“Efficient Reinforcement Learning with Relocatable Action Models”, Bethany R. Leffler, Michael L. Littman, and Timothy Edmunds. Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2007.
“Efficient Exploration with Latent Structure”, Bethany R. Leffler, Michael L. Littman, Alexander L. Strehl, and Thomas Walsh. Proceedings of Robotics: Science and Systems, 2005.