Dr. Macias is the new editor for California English, the journal for the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE). She was also a co-keynote speaker for the 2026 CATE Annual Convention this past March. In addition, Dr. Macias was an award recipient of the 2025-26 CSU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Educational Innovations Challenge from the CSU Chancellor's Office, receiving a $21,650 award for her BeachTeach project, a chatbot designed to support student teachers' pedagogical, emotional, and academic development.