Spotlight on One IT: Pilar Abuin

Originally published in the December 2025 issue of the Inside Your Yale newsletter.

Our spotlight series highlights the innovative thinkers and collaborative leaders across One IT who advance Yale’s mission through their daily work. Each edition features a Q&A that offers insight into how IT professionals contribute to teaching, learning, research, and operations across the university.

Question:

In what ways does Pilar demonstrate high standards of service or improve the quality and reliability of the work her team delivers?

Answer:

One defining way Pilar improves the quality and reliability of her team’s work is through her commitment to reflection. She regularly creates space for her team to step back and examine their work. She asks whether the team can remove barriers, ease pain points, or consider whether decisions might have unfolded differently had they taken a different path.

This habit of reflection ties directly to Pilar’s curiosity and high personal standards. She learns from every experience and intentionally channels that learning into continuous improvement for her team and the broader organization.

I am consistently impressed when I work with Pilar’s team at the Poorvu Center. There is no question that each team member brings strong individual talent. I also see Pilar’s leadership fingerprints on their continued professional growth over the years. It is a powerful combination, and one we are fortunate to have.
 

Question:

How does Pilar support the growth of others—through mentoring, sharing knowledge, or helping colleagues develop their skills?

Answer:

Pilar supports the growth of others by grounding her relationships in trust and transparency. Her team members know they can approach her whether they need advice on a challenging issue or feedback on their professional development. She maintains open, two-way communication that makes those conversations possible.

I have also seen two other meaningful examples of her commitment to developing others:

• Creating learning opportunities: When schedules allow, Pilar includes team members in meetings where they may play a small or supporting role. These moments expose them to new contexts and prepare them to lead similar conversations in the future.

• Encouraging ownership and learning through experience: Pilar entrusts her team with meaningful responsibilities, even as they continue to build confidence. She stands behind them, ready to guide, and allows them to learn by doing. Her approach is deeply selfless. She prioritizes the growth of her team above any recognition she might receive.
   

Question:

Can you share an example of Pilar anticipating a challenge or opportunity and helping the team stay prepared for what’s ahead?

Answer:

A clear example is Pilar’s approach to artificial intelligence, which became an unavoidable topic in educational technology almost overnight. Pilar immersed herself in learning about AI and encouraged her team to do the same. As a result, she and her team can distinguish between genuinely useful AI-enabled tools and products that amount to little more than marketing claims.

More importantly, Pilar remains anchored in our principles around data security and effective teaching practices as they relate to AI. She helps the team avoid chasing every new “shiny” idea and instead focus on tools and approaches that align with Yale’s mission. Thanks in large part to her leadership, a wide range of thoughtful, mission-driven AI teaching experiments now continue to emerge across campus.
 

Question:

From your perspective, what makes Pilar’s contributions especially meaningful to Yale and the One IT community?

Answer:

In her role as an educational technology leader, Pilar directly influences how teaching and learning unfold at Yale. Teaching and learning stand at the core of the university’s mission. Few roles connect as closely to the heart of what Yale is here to do. Her work strengthens that mission, supports faculty and learners, and helps ensure that technology enables, rather than distracts from, the educational experience.

Her contributions are meaningful not only because of what she accomplishes, but also because of the integrity, care, and thoughtfulness she brings to every aspect of her work.

The Poorvu Center’s Educational & Engagement Technology team manages and supports Canvas, the University’s learning management system, all external applications that integrate with Canvas, as well as Yale Connect, the campus engagement platform for the University. The team partners with Yale’s Information Technology Services (ITS), the University Registrar’s Office, professional school registrars, the University Library, Office of the General Counsel, University Life, Yale College Student Affairs, Yale’s cultural centers, and a network of over 200 distributed support staff and administrators from across the University. We provide consultations, workshops, and just-in-time support for faculty, staff, and students to support the use of our teaching, learning and engaging technologies.