Alicia Mara

Lecturer

Alicia Mara (she/her) is a lecturer in Information Studies for IS262A: Data Management and Practice. A museum and data professional, she works at the intersection of collections, technology, and access, with experience at the Wende Museum, LACMA, the Hammer Museum, and the Fowler Museum. Before earning her MLIS at UCLA, she co-founded and ran a digital marketing company for over a decade, working with global clients on analytics-informed content strategy. That experience shaped her focus on how systems of visibility are constructed through data, whether in search engines, social platforms, or cultural heritage databases. Her work bridges informatics, archival practice, and digital humanities.

Titles and Positions

  • Lecturer, Department of Information Studies, UCLA, IS262A: Data Management & Practice

Education

  • MLIS. Specialization in Archival Studies, Certificate in Digital Humanities -University of California, Los Angeles (2025)
  • B.A. Music and International Studies (Double Major), Minor in Mandarin Chinese – State University of New York at Buffalo (2013)

Select Publications

  • Mara, Alicia. “Commodifying Users: A Marxist and Fuchs Examination of Instagram’s Algorithmic Feed and its Societal Implications.” InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies (forthcoming, Fall 2025).