GatherVerse
Women’s AI Summit 2026
September 15-17 & 22-23, 2026 (8:00 AM PST)
Meet the speakers
Aiswarya Venkitesh: Bio
Aiswarya Venkitesh is a Principal Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft Canada, where she leads AI and cloud transformation across an 81-account enterprise territory. Ranked #4 globally in IT & Tech by Favikon with 55,000+ LinkedIn followers, she is a Forbes Technology Council contributor, author of The AI Revenue Playbook newsletter, and the forthcoming book The Agentic AI Playbook (Packt Publishing). Her work focuses on making agentic AI systems responsible, accessible, and production-ready for enterprises of all sizes — championing ethical AI deployment, practical education for technical communities, and inclusive access to the tools shaping the future of work.
Christopher Lafayette: Bio
Christopher Lafayette, an influential emergent technologist, speaker, and humanitarian is making remarkable strides in the metaverse, AI, medtech and applied sciences. Through eco-convergence, He’s currently studying 270+ emerging technologies.
His contributions and influence extend from Silicon Valley to the international stage, as he passionately advocates for a more equitable culture in technology.
He strongly adheres to the principle that everyone, irrespective of color or gender, should have the opportunity to build the fabric of technology.
GatherVerse, a brainchild of Christopher Lafayette, is an inspired response to an age of unprecedented technological growth.
He established Gatherverse to merge technology and human experience, ensuring every digital innovation reflects and caters to the aspirations of its users. He also founded HoloPractice, merging healthcare and technology. Along with Co-Founding Aug Lab, intersecting life sciences with AI and immersive technologies.
Christopher is a highly sought-after brand developer renowned for his exceptional ability to elevate brands to new heights placing specific emphasis on design principles, emerging technologies and humane intersections.
His advisory and keynote speaking roles span prestigious organizations, including Microsoft, Google, Meta, NFL, Mayo Clinic, Merlin Entertainments, CES, Cornell Tech, Juniper Networks, The Linux Foundation, European Commission, Nikko Hotels, Linux Foundation, Cisco, Microsoft, Salesforce, The WICT Network, NCFL, ATD, Summerfest, COABE, IME West, Verizon, Stanford University, Berkeley Haas, Tübingen University, Cal Poly, Lethbridge College, Duke University, San Jose College of Engineering, and UCLA, among others.
Additionally, his influence has reached renowned chefs, musicians, and hundreds of startups.
Lafayette consistently advocates for the integration of humanity in technological progress.
Dr Robin Rise: Bio
🌿 Dr Robin Rise — Psychologist | Executive Coach | Futurist | Author | Founder of Woman Optimized
Dr Robin Rise is a clinical psychologist, executive coach, and visionary entrepreneur devoted to advancing human consciousness, performance, and wellbeing in an age of accelerating technology. With a PhD in Clinical Psychology and deep expertise in neuroscience, organizational behavior, and performance psychology, Dr Robin bridges the worlds of science and spirituality to help leaders, organizations, and women evolve consciously and thrive sustainably.
As founder of Woman Optimized, a humane-tech platform designed by women for women, she champions data sovereignty, feminine intelligence, and the decentralization of power through human-centric innovation. Her work integrates evidence-based neuroscience with divine feminine wisdom to unlock human potential and reimagine success for the next evolution of humanity.
Dr Robin’s upcoming book, Wire Monkey, explores the paradox of modern connection — how technology shapes attachment, empathy, and love in the digital age. Blending neuroscience, psychology, and soulful storytelling, it examines our collective longing for authentic human warmth in a wired world. Through vivid insights and lived experience, Wire Monkey invites readers to reclaim their humanity while embracing the future.
Her coaching and advisory practice supports CEOs, visionaries, and changemakers in navigating complexity, burnout, and transformation with clarity and compassion. Inspired by thought leaders such as Andrew Huberman, Brené Brown, Joe Dispenza, and Peter Diamandis, she remains devoted to integrity, healthspan, and collective flourishing.
Her mission: to empower the evolution of humanity — through love, consciousness, and technology aligned with human values.
Shiphrah Wairima: Bio
Shiphrah Wairima is a Cybersecurity and Responsible AI leader, advocate, and featured speaker, focused on building secure, ethical, and inclusive digital ecosystems across Africa. She serves as President of the Kenya Chapter at the Global Council for Responsible AI and leads WomenTech Kenya, advancing responsible AI adoption and increasing women’s participation in tech. She is also the Founding Executive Director of Founder Haus Africa, where she is building an execution-first ecosystem and residency model that supports founders in developing scalable solutions to real African problems. Her mission is to empower people, organizations, and communities to navigate the digital world safely, ethically, and affordably. Shiphrah works closely with non-technical leaders, SMEs, institutions, and underrepresented communities, translating complex cybersecurity and AI concepts into practical, accessible guidance. She has supported over 500 individuals into tech and freelancing careers, delivered trainings and workshops on cybersecurity, AI ethics, and digital safety, and helped organizations implement cost-effective security strategies. Her work centers on human-centered cybersecurity, responsible AI governance, affordable cyber hygiene, and talent empowerment through mentorship and training.
Erica Rooney: Bio
A room full of accomplished women once asked AI to picture them. Founders. Executives. Women at the top of their fields. It returned the same image, over and over: a middle-aged white man in glasses. Not one of their faces.
That was not a glitch. It was a mirror.
That moment is exactly why Erica Anderson Rooney does what she does. Because the gaps women have always faced, in pay, in confidence, in leadership, in who gets a seat at the table, are not going away in the age of AI. They are getting faster. AI does not create inequality. It scales whatever the system was already built to produce. And right now, women are not in enough of the rooms where the future is being decided.
Erica knows these gaps intimately. She spent over 15 years in human resources, rising all the way to Chief People Officer, while raising two kids and confronting every one of these obstacles head on. She has lived the glass ceilings and the sticky floors. She wrote the book on them, literally, and then she wrote the next one about what comes after.
She is not here to tell you to have it all, do it all, and be it all. She is here to show you how to break through the barriers, rise above the limiting beliefs and self-imposed ceilings, and dismantle the systemic biases that hold women back. And she is here to make sure you do not get left behind by the biggest shift of our working lives.
That is why she founded HER Collective: a community for ambitious women who are done waiting for permission. A place to rise into the rooms where decisions get made, and to stay there.
When she is not building HER Collective, Erica is the author of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors and The AI Gap: Women, AI, and the Next Great Leap Forward. She hosts the Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors podcast, co-hosts AI Voice or Victim, and serves as the North Carolina Regional State Lead for Women Applying AI. She has been recognized as CHRO of the Year, an ICON Top Chief People Officer, and a 2024 Inclusive Leader Award winner. Her work has taken her to stages like SXSW and CHIEF, and has been featured in Forbes, SUCCESS Magazine, and CBS.
But the titles are not the point. The mission is. Erica is on a fierce, unapologetic mission to empower, uplift, and amplify women everywhere, and to answer the question driving everything she builds: how do we unleash the full potential of women, get them into positions of power and influence, and keep them there?
Fawn Damitio: Bio
Fawn Damitio has spent over 25 years untangling messy change at major technology companies — Meta, Juniper, Cisco — and startups. Her throughline is a conviction the industry keeps relearning: technology transformation is a people problem, and the key to navigating it is connecting people to the problems and strategies that actually matter. Most recently, she led AI Enablement for Meta’s Developer Success team, building the programs, processes, and human connection that moved a large organization to embrace AI with genuine enthusiasm rather than fear. A committed advocate for women in tech, she founded Meta’s Women@AI Infra group and coached director-and-above leaders through Juniper’s Women’s Sponsorship program. She believes the future of AI will be built — or broken — on how well we bring people along.
Varsha Agarwal: Bio
Varsha Agarwal is a technology and AI transformation leader with over 20 years of experience building enterprise product, platform, and data systems, and translating emerging technology into real business outcomes.
Her corporate career spans 13+ in VMware (now Broadcom) and 7+ years at Publicis Sapient, where she rose from consultant to director, leading end-to-end digital transformations across SaaS platforms, customer engagement, and data systems for global clients — and driving the adoption of AI across the systems.
Today she is Co-Founder and CEO of BodhIQ, an AI transformation practice, and serves as Karnataka State Vice President of WICCI’s AI/ML Council, where she champions AI adoption and capability building. She mentors early-stage ventures through the Attvaran accelerator (Collaboration initiative of IIT-Delhi, IIT-Madras, University College London) and the Kerala Startup Mission.
Varsha is a frequent speaker across technology, leadership, and innovation forums, including IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, Adobe Symposium, NASSCOM, Rakuten Technology Conference, Red Hat, Women Who Code, and the Women in Tech Global Conference. She holds executive certifications from ISB, Kellogg, IIM Bangalore, and Stanford.
Brittney Ball: Bio
Brittney Ball is the founder of TechniDox and the Co-Founder and Chief Knowledge Officer of Aortem. She publishes The Documentation Engineer, a weekly Substack newsletter that grades AI companies A through F on documentation ethics using her original ADECP framework. Her thesis, that poor AI documentation is an ethical failure, not a UX inconvenience, has earned her a reputation as one of the sharpest voices at the intersection of AI transparency and developer education. She previously worked as a Documentation Engineer at Meta for nearly 5 years. She is a sought-after conference speaker and podcast guest, and has been featured in Business Insider.
Jofia Jose Prakash: Bio
Jofia Jose Prakash is an enterprise AI architect, technology leader, Director at Humanity + AI, and an Advisory Board Member of the American Council of Ethical AI. She has more than 15 years of experience in technology, including over seven years leading the design and delivery of enterprise AI systems from concept to production. Her work spans responsible AI, AI governance, agentic systems, retrieval-augmented generation, machine learning platforms, and enterprise AI adoption.
Beyond her professional work, Jofia is committed to mentoring women and emerging technologists, advancing AI literacy, and helping communities participate more meaningfully in the future of artificial intelligence. Through her nonprofit and advisory work, she supports ethical, inclusive, and human-centered AI adoption.
Charis Loveland: Bio
Charis Loveland is the founder and CEO of Charisma Intelligence, a consulting firm helping organizations apply AI with sound judgment, ethics, and emotional intelligence. She previously led AI/ML strategy and the EQ program at Amazon, founded Rue La La’s data science team, and launched a global crowdsourcing platform for Azure Machine Learning at Microsoft. Charis teaches AI and product leadership through General Assembly and has contributed to data science programs with MIT, Columbia, and Dartmouth. She serves on Harvard’s Committee on AI and Human Flourishing and is known for translating complex technology into practical guidance that helps leaders use AI responsibly without outsourcing human judgment.
Leigh Felton: Bio
Leigh Felton is the former Head of Responsible AI Enablement at Microsoft, where she helped build and scale the operational governance infrastructure that enabled Responsible AI adoption across engineering, legal, policy, compliance, communications, and executive leadership functions. She co-developed the global Responsible AI Champs program, a distributed governance enablement model that embedded accountability and adoption practices across enterprise operations.
She is the creator of the Co-Adaptive Anthropotechnical Environments (CAAE) framework, which examines governance requirements for AI systems operating at organizational and environmental scale, and the author of the I Could’ve Been CEO Yesterday trilogy.
Leigh currently serves as President and Board Chair of the AI for Job Security Foundation, a national 501(c)(3) focused on workforce readiness, organizational adaptation, and human-centered AI governance. Her work spans enterprise transformation, executive alignment, governance maturity, and the operational structures that determine whether organizations successfully translate AI strategy into sustainable practice.
Thalia Diedrick: Bio
Thalía Diedrick is the Vice President of Marketing at GoTu, the largest dental workforce platform in the U.S. She leads brand, growth, and go-to-market strategy for a company redefining flexibility, career longevity, and access within dentistry. Passionate about the intersection of wellbeing, AI, and meaningful work, Thalía focuses on building systems that empower professionals to thrive while driving sustainable business growth.
Tania Kapoor: Bio
Tania is where creativity meets code—on a mission to help people live healthier, happier lives through AI. Known for turning complex problems into clear, human-centered solutions, she’s a natural troubleshooter who builds tailored tech that delivers real results. With a sharp eye on scalability, performance, and real-world impact, her work blends innovation with purpose.
Afia Frempong: Bio
Afia Frempong is a global organizational leader, strategist, and faith-driven communicator whose work sits at the intersection of leadership, transformation, and human-centered change.
She currently serves as the Chief of Staff in Government Affairs at Siemens Healthineers, where she helps drive strategic alignment, executive engagement, and cross-functional transformation across global teams. In this role, Afia is contributing to the development of an AI-enabled initiative designed to help teams detect, prioritize, and interpret complex geopolitical signals with greater speed, trust, and business relevance.
Her perspective on artificial intelligence is rooted in a core leadership conviction: technology should not replace human judgment, empathy, context, or accountability. Instead, AI should strengthen the way people lead, collaborate, and make decisions in moments of complexity.
Afia brings a unique voice to the conversation as both a corporate leader and a storyteller. Her work spans global health technology, organizational effectiveness, leadership communications, and community transformation. She is passionate about building systems that are not only efficient, but trusted; not only intelligent, but humane.
As a Ghanaian-born leader, minister, mentor, and founder of AFYA LLC, Afia is deeply committed to helping people and organizations lead with clarity, resilience, purpose, and compassion. She believes the future of AI will not be shaped by technology alone, but by the leaders courageous enough to keep humanity at the center.
Malvika Jethmalani: Bio
Malvika Jethmalani is a 3x CHRO, Certified Executive Coach, and the Founder of Atvis Group – a human capital advisory firm driven by the core belief that to win in the marketplace, businesses must first win in the workplace. Learn more at www.atvisgroup.com.
Malvika’s career has spanned over 15 years, and she possesses experience in the consulting, manufacturing, CPG, healthcare technology, and mobile gaming industries. She has led global, distributed People teams across multiple geographies and supported up to 5,000 employees in 50 countries. Her expertise includes HR strategy, talent management, talent acquisition, performance management, and organizational effectiveness.
Malvika adopts a data-oriented approach to solving people challenges such as improving employee engagement, reducing turnover, developing leaders, transforming cultures, and developing talent strategies that power sustainable and profitable growth. Having served as Interim CFO and Interim COO, and given her extensive M&A (buy and sell side) and turnaround experience, she brings exceptional business acumen to her HR work. Today, she serves as a fractional CHRO, executive coach, and advisor to CEOs and Boards by translating AI through the human, governance, and leadership lens.
Malvika earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Shreya Choudhuri: Bio
Shreya Choudhuri is the founder of Build Her Labs, a community-led accelerator on a mission to get 100 women funded and scaled by 2030. Born in India and educated in design before completing her management degree at ESCP Paris (top 5 globally), Shreya built her career at the intersection of growth marketing, venture ecosystems, and innovation including as a founding team member at the Barclays Innovation Hub and Impact Fundry, where she organised 24+ events and observed firsthand the persistent underrepresentation of women in tech and finance.
That pattern became her purpose. Build Her Labs launched publicly in February 2026 and has grown to 250+ members with 180 pre-seed founders and 70 pre-idea stage in under a year. The community runs a three-phase model: open community events and workshops, an intensive sprint programme with mentor-mentee pairing, and a full accelerator connecting founders to investors, VCs, and corporate partners. Unlike traditional accelerators, Build Her Labs takes an open-source approach with sharing contacts, strategies, and resources publicly and reinvests all revenue into workshops and scholarships.
Shreya speaks on female founder challenges, the confidence gap in fundraising, and building communities that go beyond networking to actual building. She believes the next generation of female founders won’t wait for permission, they’ll build it themselves.
Dr. Sally Good: Bio
Dr. Sally Good is a Founder, business owner, psychologist, coach for AI beginners and author of four books on Amazon: Preventing Dementia using Gentle Lifestyle Changes, Gratitude Journal with Prompts, The Prayer Journal with Prompts, and the Community Daily Gratitude Journey contributor. Her soon to be published book is “Stop Dating Losers. How to Reset Your Relational Radar.” Her speaking topics include God, You, and AI, Somatic Solutions for Stress, The Neuroscience of Gratitude, & CALM is the New Superpower. Twenty years of being a scientist/practitioner have led her to numerous conclusions, the most important of which is that dementia is, in many cases, a PREVENTABLE illness. And lifelong learning is a big part of aging well.
Ammara Aftab: Bio
Ammara Aftab is an internationally recognized AI leader, speaker, trainer, author, and advocate for ethical and inclusive AI. Widely known as the “Pro AI Lady”, she is the Founder of Pro AI Global, a global AI community existing in 30+ countries, with a mission to build an inclusive and human-centered AI future.
Recognized as Pakistan’s first female certified AI trainer and AI podcast host, Ammara has pioneered Pakistan’s first Women in AI community and first AI community for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Through her initiatives, she has delivered 100+ AI training sessions, impacting 10,000+ individuals, including bureaucrats, lawyers, doctors, corporate professionals, students, and women across Pakistan.
Ammara is also the host of Pakistan’s first English AI-specific podcast, “Pro AI Talks with AI Lady,” alongside Pro AI Talks Urdu, featuring 50+ national and international AI experts. Her work aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the mission of UN Women, focusing on education, inclusion, women empowerment, ethical AI, and future workforce readiness.
She is an AI Chair at Rotary District 3271, a UNESCO speaker, and recipient of multiple recognitions, including being featured at IT Summit Dubai 2024 and acknowledged for her contributions toward AI awareness and innovation in Pakistan.
Anne Phey: Bio
Anne Phey is a leadership strategist and former C-suite executive who has spent over three decades navigating transformation across Bates, MTV Asia, IBM, and high-growth ventures. Having led through successive waves of disruption—from internet and mobile to cloud and now AI—she brings a rare combination of strategic clarity and real-world execution. While not trained as a technologist, Anne has contributed to first-of-a-kind AI work, including facial recognition and sentiment analysis, and continues to experiment hands-on with AI-assisted and “vibe” coding in her business today. As Founder of The School of Leadership, she works with leaders to go beyond understanding AI to actually using it—reshaping how they lead, decide, and innovate in an AI-driven era.
Aleya Harris: Bio
Aleya Harris is the spark for your spark™. A trailblazer in purpose-driven story crafting, she is a marketing executive and ex-Google Vendor Partner who brings her dynamic experience to her role as the CEO of The Evolution Collective Inc. Aleya is a TEDx speaker, the founder and lead trainer of Spark the Stage ™, and the host of the award-winning Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast. She is also the bestselling author of Spark the Stage: Master the Art of Professional Speaking and Authentic Storytelling to Captivate, Inspire, and Transform Your Audience. Her unique approach as a Strategic Storytelling Consultant has revolutionized the way businesses communicate, transforming workplace cultures and market positioning. With her dynamic energy and proven methodologies, Aleya guides clients to unlock their potential, articulate their radically authentic stories, and achieve unparalleled success.
Alex Porter: Bio
Alex Porter is the founder and CEO of Mod Tech Labs. She leads the company in building the digital plumbing used to connect legacy systems, automate processing, and optimize AI workflows for highly regulated industries. By partnering with major chip makers like NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD, Alex’s team cross-compiles workloads to leverage any available compute infrastructure. Their technology features a process scheduler that runs workflows 2.6x faster, allowing industries with strict data rules, like the U.S. military, Sony, and Paramount, to maximize their existing hardware while ensuring their networks remain secure and ethical. Alex advocates for technology that protects and empowers people by sharing her insights about adopting AI at scale.
Lenara Aliyeva: Bio
Lenara Aliyeva is an international AI Strategy and Enterprise Transformation Leader with over 18 years of experience driving tech innovation and AI value realization across global sectors. Currently serving as the Executive Advisor and Head of AI & Data Strategy and Operating Model (EMEA) at Thoughtworks, she acts as a strategic bridge between deep technical engineering and C-suite leadership. Lenara specializes in scaling generative AI, MLOps, and cloud data platforms safely and effectively. An alumna of The Wharton School (MBA) and the University of Oxford (Postgraduate Diploma in AI for Business), she is a dedicated advocate for human-centric tech operating models and responsible AI adoption.
Dr. Eloho Ifinedo: Bio
Eloho Ifinedo, Ph.D. is an Instructor at New Brunswick Community College and in the Computer Science Department at University of New Brunswick, Canada. She is deeply committed to teaching and research across the fields of educational technology, instructional design, human–computer interaction, and social innovation.
Dr. Ifinedo has led several educational technology research initiatives focused on learner experience, digital learning platforms, STEAM mentorship, and technology engagement among seniors. In addition to her academic work, she has managed impactful social innovation projects addressing systemic anti-Black racism and supporting immigrant entrepreneurs within the province of New Brunswick.
She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology and a master’s degree in Mobile Technology and Business from University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Beyond her academic and professional pursuits, Dr. Ifinedo values family, community engagement, and continuous personal development.
Lynn Gitau: Bio
Lynn Gitau is the Communications Director at GatherVerse. Based in Silicon Savannah, she leads communications and supports programming across GatherVerse’s global conversations on emerging technology and humanity. As an event organizer and content developer, through speaker outreach, messaging, and live moderation, Lynn helps bring thousands together, from enthusiasts to experts, creating clear through-lines between innovation and real-world impact. She has a growing history of interviewing executives, government officials, entrepreneurs, technologists, and educators.
A technologist, national speaker, and moderator, Lynn is often invited to speak on AI, immersive technology, digital culture, and how fast-moving tools are changing work, learning, health, and public trust across Africa. She brings an academic foundation with a Bachelor’s in Mass Communications, paired with hands-on experience across new media, content marketing, and growth marketing.
Her work centers on humanity-centered innovation and sustainability, with a focus on making complex topics accessible and useful to the communities and partners GatherVerse serves.
Salvation Chigereoka: Bio
I believe that technology is most powerful when it serves humanity.
With a foundation in Chemistry Education and a career built at the intersection of Product Operations and Community Growth, I have dedicated my work to building systems that empower others. Whether I am streamlining startup operations, planning sprints or advocating for digital inclusion, my goal is always to create a meaningful, human-centric, and lasting impact.
Community Leadership: As a Chapter Lead for She Code Africa Lagos, volunteering since 2022 and a contributor to Web3 communities (SheFi, Web3Ladies, Bankless Africa, ETHAccra), I am committed to digital inclusion, onboarding, and actively creating programs to support women and girls (STEM) in tech.
Global Speaker: I am a frequent voice at events across the Web2 and Web3 ecosystems, leading dialogues on the intersection of Community Impact, Education, STEM, Product Operations, Startup, Leadership, AI, Mental Health, and Tech for Good.
Beyond White Screens:
I am a firm believer in kindness, empathy, good attitude, character, hard work, faith, and optimism. When I’m not holding standups or community townhall, you’ll find me writing poetry, short stories, getting lost in a book, exploring nature, and learning a new language.
Dr. Muhsinah Morris: Bio
Short Bio:
Metaversity Director. XR/AI Expert. Innovator. Chemist. Educator. Speaker. Autism Advocate. Author. Wife. Mom.
Full Bio:
Meet the first ever Metaversity Director, Dr. Muhsinah Lateefah Morris. She is Director of Metaverse Programs and Professor of the Practice at Morehouse College. Dr. Morris is a proud member of the inaugural HBCU IP Futures Collaborative: Powered by Michelson IP and inaugural HBCU Faculty Fellow for the Propel Center funded by Southern Company and Apple.
A B.S. chemistry graduate of the HBCU Clark Atlanta University, Dr. Morris earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomolecular Chemistry from Emory University—known as the Harvard of the South. Since Spring 2021, she has been leading Morehouse’s pioneering Metaversity project.
She’s a multi-award-winning educator and technologist recognized for her innovative leadership, including:
Teaching Excellence Award (Morehouse College)
Emerging Technology & Innovation (CBRE)
First Place – T-Mobile Unconventional Innovation
Educator of the Year 2022 (STEM Women Atlanta)
2023 Top 100 Women of the Future
2023 Atlanta Technology Professional Innovator of the Year
2024 XR Women Global Trailblazer of the Year
2024 Woman in Tech-Woman of the Year
2025 Leading Woman in AI by ASU-GSV
Residing in McDonough, GA with her husband and five sons—including one with autism—Dr. Morris advocates deeply for the autism community as part of the Community Advisory Council and Advocacy Ambassadors for Autism Speaks.
Affectionately known as Dr. M.O.M. (Molder of Minds), she is a VR pioneer transforming learning on a global scale. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and serves on the XR Advisory Council for the XR Association and the Futurist Council for Jobs for the Future (JFF).
Dr. Morris currently trains pre-service and in-service educators to create and optimize their own institutional Metaverse Cultures. Through her company, Metaverse United, LLC,
she empowers people to find where they belong in the embodiment of the internet—the Metaverse.
🔗 Learn more at UniteTheMetaverse.com.
Marcia Drake: Bio
Marcia Drake is a leader in data innovation and a visionary powerhouse who harnesses the power of data to uplift humanity, heal systems, and create a sustainable future. With a remarkable career spanning roles from data scientist to CEO of Ecoheart, Marcia’s expertise in healthcare, sustainability, and public safety is unparalleled.
Her influence extends globally, from solving crimes at Microsoft using AI to launching one of the first data quality programs for statewide courts in the U.S. Marcia’s commitment to empowering women in tech and data fields has also earned her a spot on CDO Magazine’s “Global Data Power Women List 2023” and the title of “Women in Data, Data Leader of the Year 2022.”
Marcia’s impact on public safety, healthcare, and sustainability is profound. She has pioneered data quality programs, assisted in the development of an early notification system, risk models, and outcome assessments for traffic collisions, and implemented innovative data-driven approaches that have earned her numerous awards from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Center for Statistical Analysis. Her work has led to a significant reduction in fatal and injury collisions and improved national security, showcasing her ability to use data to save lives and enhance systems.
Jeanette Okwu: Bio
Jeanette is the Founder and CEO of BEYONDinfluence, an innovative influence marketing agency dedicated to advancing clients’ marketing strategies in the digital era.
A journalist by training with ears on the ground and a sharp eye, she has a deep understanding and a passion for all things social. She has tapped emerging social technologies for small and Fortune 500 companies globally in the automotive, luxury, and consumer product industries. She spent 20 years in the US and extensive time in China, gaining knowledge and expertise of emerging trends in the social media and AI space.
Recognized for her contributions, she has been named one of the TOP 50 Global Influencer Marketing Professionals and Global Top 30 Female Leaders in the Creator Economy by Hello Partner. Currently serving as Chairwoman of the German Influencer Marketing Council (BVIM e.V.) and Co-Founder of the European Influencer Marketing Association (EIMA), she initiated the AI Ethics Action Hub in Berlin. She also hosts the popular German podcast “Influence By Design”.
Carolina Nami: Bio
I’m a Brazilian-born AI consultant and systems builder based between Berlin, Germany and Porto, Portugal, working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethical technology, and real-world business impact. As founder of nami-AI studio, I design and deploy end-to-end AI solutions – from RAG pipelines and agentic workflows to intelligent automation and production-ready applications – for startups, SMEs, and independent operators across Europe and Latin America.
With over seven years of performance marketing experience leading enterprise accounts for brands including BMW, REWE, and Zalando, I bring a rare dual perspective: the strategic instinct of someone who has managed millions in advertising spend for global brands, combined with the technical depth of a builder who actually ships the systems. I sit at an intersection that didn’t really exist five years ago – someone who understands both the business reality of performance marketing and paid media, and how AI can fundamentally change the way teams operate and make decisions. Today, I apply that combination to create AI tools that are not just functional, but equitable – designed to serve communities that have historically been underserved by tech.
Some examples of my work include developing a spiritual consultation platform powered by LangGraph, RAG and Claude AI, supervised by actual spiritual practitioners; a WhatsApp automation system for an Afro-Brazilian religious and cultural temple; a GDPR-compliant newsletter intelligence studio, shop assistant, and SEO optimizer for a pre-loved luxury cosmetics marketplace in Germany; and AI governance frameworks for EU AI Act compliance. Each project is grounded in the belief that AI should amplify human dignity – not extract from it.
I am completing an MBA in AI, Data Science and Big Data at PUCRS, and hold a certification in AI Consulting and Integration from Ironhack Europe. I am fluent in Portuguese, English, German, and Spanish – and I build AI systems across all four languages, for both professional and personal-purpose clients. My work is guided by the standards I live by: community empowerment, innovation, accessibility, and education.
“Making AI accessible, ethical, and powerful – for everyone.”
Lynn Gravatt: Bio
Lynn Gravatt (Shamama Lynn) is an embodiment practitioner, former aerospace engineer (Boeing, NASA, Honeywell), and creator of the Purpose Embodiment Method — a six-lineage framework for identity restoration at the root level.
After a decade studying matter at the material level in aerospace, Lynn shifted her focus from outer space to inner space. Over the following fifteen years she trained across six lineages — engineering and quantum physics, mind-science, Kundalini Reiki mastery, embodied movement, contemplative depth, and shamanic practice — synthesizing them into the Purpose Embodiment Method.
She works with high-performing, purpose-driven leaders and professionals who have done the inner work and still feel the edge of what their current operating mode can reach. She helps them safely disentangle authentic identity from survival-based identity — so they can lead from the truth of who they already are.
Also known as Shamama Lynn — the bridge between the engineer and the spiritual guide.
Elena Rivers: Bio
Serial entrepreneur Elena Rivers blends deep financial expertise with a passion for cutting-edge technology. After a successful career in property investing and the Family Office arena, she transitioned to the tech sector in 2016. Today, she is a certified security, investment, and blockchain specialist. For the past five years, Elena has combined her commitment to DEI with a mission to scale Web3 and AI technologies for the African continent to make businesses more sustainable, transparent, and efficient.
Niharika Pramod Pujari: Bio
I am a Lead Software Engineer with more than nine years of experience building scalable, accessible, and human-centered digital products. My work focuses on frontend architecture, AI-assisted software development, cloud systems, and integrating accessibility into everyday engineering practices. I have published research through ACM and IEEE and have spoken at technology, AI, and accessibility events worldwide. I am passionate about helping teams use emerging technologies responsibly and ensuring that innovation is inclusive, trustworthy, and usable by everyone.
Elhannah Adekeye: Bio
Elhannah Adekeye is a technology, cybersecurity, and AI ethics and governance expert, doctoral academic researcher, global speaker, and multi-award-winning author focused on advancing ethical and responsible innovation.
With global experience across leading organisations, she specialises in AI governance, cybersecurity risk, and responsible technology adoption. She also serves on industry advisory boards, providing strategic guidance on AI governance, digital transformation, and responsible innovation.
She is the Founder of Young Tech Geniuses, a global initiative that has equipped and inspired young people, particularly girls with coding, AI, and digital ethics skills. She is also the Founder of Shift+, a technology platform and publication focused on supporting individuals entering and progressing in tech.
Elhannah is a multi-award-winning leader whose work has been featured in international publications. She is the author of six books, including The Silent Networker, The Adventures of Obia series, introducing children to technology, and the AI Decoded series, exploring the intersection of AI, ethics, and human potential.
She is part of a United Nations NGO with consultative status, through which she engages in global policy and multi-stakeholder discourse with governments, institutions, and international organisations, contributing to conversations on technology accessibility, responsible innovation, and AI governance.
Lynn Dowdell: Bio
Lynn Dowdell is a Leadership & Experience Strategist, Speaker, and Founder of The Dowdell Experience and Vin Collective. She designs high-touch, human-centered experiences that transform how people connect, lead, and engage across business, community, and culture.
With over two decades of experience spanning leadership development, client engagement, and global service environments, Lynn brings a distinct and necessary lens to conversations at the intersection of human behavior and emerging technologies. Her work challenges conventional thinking by positioning empathy, trust, and emotional intelligence not as soft skills; but as critical infrastructure that shapes outcomes, systems, and influence.
As artificial intelligence increasingly defines how people are evaluated, served, and understood, Lynn’s voice centers what is often missing: the human experience. She advocates for a more intentional, human-centered approach to innovation; one that embeds lived perspective, trust, and accountability into the systems shaping modern life.
An award-winning leader and international speaker, Lynn is known for creating environments and conversations that do more than inform; they shift perspectives, challenge assumptions, and drive meaningful transformation.
Ramona Fellmy: Bio
Ramona Fellmy a global thought leader, a technology founder, SaaS strategist, and enterprise solutions leader at Dapp Detroit. Her work focuses on building low-code, AI-driven systems for complex, compliance-heavy industries, including insurance, financial services, and public sector organizations.
She operates at the intersection of InsurTech, FinTech, and ethical AI, helping organizations modernize legacy processes through scalable system design, intelligent automation, and responsible data practices. Her approach emphasizes practical implementation—ensuring that emerging technologies are not only effective, but also transparent, accessible, and aligned with real-world needs.
In parallel to her enterprise work, Ramona is actively exploring how AI and low-code tools can reshape education, particularly for neurodiverse and twice-exceptional (2e) learners. She is focused on how platforms within the Google ecosystem can be used to create more adaptive, personalized learning environments that better reflect how different minds process information.
Shweta Bajaj: Bio
Shweta Bajaj is the Founder & CEO of TheProImpact and NeeSh AI, an AI Co-founder platform helping businesses automate operations, build stronger brands, and accelerate growth. She is a TEDx Speaker, Author, Podcaster, and Corporate AI & Leadership Trainer with over 10 years of experience, having conducted 800+ workshops and trained 5,000+ professionals. Shweta specializes in Agentic AI, workplace productivity, executive presence, leadership development, personal branding, and business transformation. She works with organizations, educational institutions, and entrepreneurs to leverage AI responsibly while keeping human potential at the center of innovation.
Corinne Schillizzi: Bio
Corinne Schillizzi is a Product expert with 9 years of experience and 8 specifically matured on AI products. She co-founded Agendo, the AI care companion for women with endometriosis in 2026. In 2025 she contributed to HCAI by publishing a paper examining the critical importance of HCML approaches in system design on Springer Nature. In 2023 she published the book Human-Machine Learning: using feedback to design systems that serve humanity. Her experiences include working at Amazon AWS, DataRobot and NTTData.
Nancy A Shenker: Bio
Nancy A Shenker has been writing and speaking about AI since 2017… long before it was trending. As founder of theONswitch (est. 2003) and the personal brand NANCYAF, she brings 40+ years of marketing strategy to the human side of the AI conversation. Former C-suite executive at Citibank, MasterCard, and Reed Exhibitions. NYU adjunct professor. Six-time author. She was in the room when the “Priceless” campaign was born, and she’s been disrupting industries ever since. She’s not a trend-follower. She’s a practitioner.
Yunique Demann: Bio
Yunique Demann is the Founder of Yunique AI and one of the most distinctive voices in responsible AI governance today — working at the intersection of AI, privacy, security, and the law, with one consistent focus: the human consequences of AI decisions.
Named to the Empressa AI25 — a global initiative recognizing 25 women shaping the future of artificial intelligence — Yunique brings more than 20 years of experience in security, privacy, and governance, including 15 years leading large-scale transformation programs across complex, greenfield environments in the United States. She recently relocated to the United Kingdom, giving her rare fluency across both the US and UK regulatory landscapes at a time when AI legislation is moving fast on both sides of the Atlantic.
A former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Data Protection Officer (DPO), Yunique has sat in the rooms where AI decisions are made — and seen firsthand what happens when those decisions lack accountability. That experience is what drove her to build something practical, not theoretical.
She is the creator of the CLEAR™ Framework — a five-pillar governance methodology helping organizations move from reactive AI experimentation to defensible, accountable AI operations. CLEAR™ addresses the full lifecycle: creating visibility into shadow AI, aligning with privacy and legal obligations, equipping teams with approved tools and guidance, defining ownership and governance structures, and embedding the controls needed to operate AI responsibly. It is the methodology that powers everything Yunique does with clients, from AI risk assessments and defensibility reviews to full governance implementations.
She is also the creator of the VOICE™ Framework, a structured approach to AI literacy built around Visibility, Ownership, Impact, Critical Thinking, and Empowerment. VOICE™ is the foundation for her AI literacy workshops and is designed to help people at every level — from frontline employees to executive teams — understand not just how to use AI, but how to use it with intention, awareness, and accountability.
Yunique’s work spans industries and sectors, including healthcare, finance, legal, and technology — anywhere that AI is being adopted faster than the governance can keep up. She advises senior leaders including CISOs, Chief Privacy Officers, Data Protection Officers, General Counsel, and Chief Risk Officers, and is regularly brought in when an organization knows AI is already in use but has little visibility or control over it.
Beyond governance, Yunique is a certified coach with a background in NLP and Gallup StrengthsFinder, and she has long directed her coaching work toward women and female professionals navigating career transitions, leadership roles, and moments of professional reinvention. She volunteers as a coach and mentor with ISACA, She Runs It, and Minorities in Cybersecurity (MiC), and writes a weekly Substack column — Tuesday L.I.F.T. (Live Intentionally, Find Your Truth) — dedicated to coaching, empowerment, and intentional leadership for women.
She is also the author of The App Is Not Your Friend, a children’s book on AI awareness and digital safety, and the creator of an accompanying AI animation training curriculum grounded in the VOICE™ framework — bringing responsible AI education to the next generation.
A sought-after speaker, Yunique was recently invited to deliver a keynote at a major law conference on the topic: “AI Did Not Take the Responsibility. We Gave It Away.”
Her credentials include: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CIPP/E, CIPP/IT, CDPSE, C|CISO, FIP, ISO 42001 Lead Auditor, ISO 27001 Lead Auditor and Implementer, AIGA, IAAIS, PG Cert in Data Protection Law & Information Governance, Executive MBA, and MSc in Information Security.
Sneha Paul: Bio
I currently serve as project manager at konceptslab but i’m also a graduate in ai and data science graduate. I faced many struggles during my b.tech journey but i was the only one graduated with 8.5 cgpa and handled multiple roles in college and national level. I would defenitely inspire women to break out their limits and show their actual strengths.
Venetia LaSha’ Herring: Bio
LaSha’ Herring is a founder, strategist, storyteller, and creative technologist building at the intersection of AI, immersive media, accessibility, and community impact. She is COO of FlareNova Studios, where she leads Phenix Passport, a geo-anchored AR storytelling platform that brings erased and underrepresented histories back into the places where they happened. She is also co-founder of DocuHero, an AI-powered documentation and compliance platform designed to reduce administrative burden for direct care providers and help agencies stay audit-ready. Across her work, LaSha’ focuses on human-centered technology, cultural preservation, ethical AI, and tools that help communities, caregivers, and creators be seen, supported, and empowered.
Alison Morano: Bio
Alison Morano is an AI governance strategist, spatial computing leader, and founder of the Metaverse Chamber of Commerce. With more than two decades of experience spanning technology, public policy, communications, and organizational leadership, she helps bridge emerging technologies with practical governance and business strategy. Alison is pursuing doctoral studies in AI Leadership and Machine Learning at Walsh College, where her research focuses on responsible AI, machine learning, and the future of intelligent systems. She is passionate about building collaborative virtual communities, advancing ethical innovation, and exploring how AI and immersive technologies are transforming the way people work, learn, and connect.
Tracey Hawkins: Bio
“Tracey, the Safety Lady” Hawkins is an international keynote speaker, Generative AI Cybersecurity Expert for End Users, Safe Work Practices Expert, author, award-winning podcast host and AI safety educator, and founder of Safety and Security Source, established in 1995.
For more than three decades, Tracey has helped organizations protect people, profits, and reputations by translating complex safety, security, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence risks into practical, actionable solutions. Her work focuses on the human side of technology, helping individuals and organizations safely navigate AI, cybercrime, fraud, deepfakes, social engineering, digital trust, and emerging threats.
She serves as AI Safety and Ethics Lead Instructor for WeCodeKC, a STEM initiative that expands technology opportunities for underserved youth, and as Board Member and Cybersecurity Chair of the Kansas City AI Club, one of the nation’s largest AI communities.
Tracey is the founder of Real Estate Safety University™ and Business and Nonprofit Safety and Generative AI Cybersecurity University™, educational membership programs that help organizations build safer workplaces, stronger cybersecurity cultures, and more resilient communities.
She is also the host and writer of the Ripped From the Headlines Safety Edition newsletter and podcast, where she analyzes real-world safety, cybersecurity, fraud, and AI-related incidents to help audiences stay informed and protected.
A sought-after speaker throughout the United States and Canada, she has educated thousands of professionals across industries on the safe and responsible use of emerging technologies. Her expertise has been featured by The Today Show, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, AAA, REALTOR® Magazine, RISMedia, House Beautiful, Essence, CNN.com, ABCNews.com, and numerous national and industry media outlets.
Known for her practical, engaging, and human-centered approach, Tracey’s mission is to help people safely embrace innovation without becoming victims of it.
Maja Zavrsnik: Bio
Maja Zavrsnik is the CMO and Co-founder of SheAI, an educational company and community focused on closing the gender gap in AI. She is also an AI-empowered digital marketer with over 10 years of experience, working in a SaaS startup environment. For the last 3 years, she’s been working in Artificial Intelligence, having established two AI companies. Today, she helps both individuals and companies to implement AI to optimise their workflows and ensure their brand visibility in 2026.
Joelle Brock: Bio
Joelle Brock is the Founder and CEO of Leading EDJE, a technology solutions firm established in 2007 in Dublin, Ohio. What began as a vision to build a workplace where brilliant people could thrive — caring deeply for one another and for the clients they serve — has grown into a premier IT solutions provider. From custom software development to digital transformation and AI-driven innovation, Leading EDJE takes a holistic approach to helping organizations solve complex business problems through innovative technology, while maintaining a culture that is values-driven, supportive, and genuinely fun.
Joelle’s path into technology was anything but conventional.
A student-athlete at Kent State University, she earned her degree in Communications/Journalism before stepping into the IT world in the early 1990s with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, where she helped social workers navigate the agency’s first automated computer system. She went on to build her expertise through roles at Accenture and Software Architects, experiences that shaped both her technical foundation and her belief that the right culture is as important as the right solution.
Under her leadership, Leading EDJE has received consistent recognition for excellence, including Columbus CEO’s Top Places to Work, Columbus Business First’s Best Places to Work, inclusion in the Inc. 5000, and a spot among Columbus Business First’s Fast 50 Fastest Growing Companies. The firm is also recognized as one of the top certified women-owned businesses in Central Ohio — a distinction Joelle holds with particular pride.
Joelle is a sought-after voice on leadership and corporate culture. She has served as both keynote speaker and panelist, where she brings her signature blend of candor, warmth, and hard-won insight. Her perspective is grounded in nearly three decades of building and leading a people-first organization in a technical industry.
Her commitment to leadership extends well beyond her own company. Since 2015, Joelle has been an active board member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) multiple chapter leadership roles including Board President. She has also been a member of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) and has served in board and committee roles with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, First Merchants Bank, New Directions Career Center, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and Greenleaf Professional Services.
Joelle has been recognized with awards including Most Admired CEO, Enterprising Woman of the Year from Enterprising Women Magazine, and Outstanding Board Member from the New Directions Career Center. She has contributed her time, talent, and resources to more than 50 non-profit organizations throughout Central Ohio.
Outside the office, Joelle is an avid golfer, a triathlete, wine enthusiast, and a passionate traveler.
Stephanie Sylvestre: Bio
Stephanie Sylvestre is a transformational leader and technologist who uses artificial intelligence to amplify human potential. She is the co‑founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Avatar Buddy, a human‑centric AI company that builds “AI Buddies” and digital twins so people and organizations can preserve knowledge, mentor teams in real time, and make complex tools feel intuitive instead of intimidating.
Before launching Avatar Buddy, Stephanie spent nearly 30 years in corporate IT and operations at companies including Burger King, Subway, Wachovia, HP, and The Children’s Trust. As Chief Programs Officer and Chief Information Officer at The Children’s Trust, she managed a $184 million portfolio, led a major digital transformation, and earned the South Florida Business Journal’s CIO of the Year award for modernizing systems that supported hundreds of community organizations.
In 2022, Stephanie served as a fellow at Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, where she designed an asset‑based framework for Black wealth creation in Miami‑Dade County. She now serves as an expert resource with Harvard Innovation Labs, advising founders on ethical, inclusive uses of AI.
Across her work, Stephanie focuses on a few core ideas: technology should create more dignity at work, not less; AI should expand access to knowledge and opportunity, especially for underrepresented communities; and real change happens when people have the tools, confidence, and support to show up as their full selves. At GatherVerse, she speaks about human‑first AI, digital mentorship, and how we can design AI systems that protect people, preserve culture, and unlock new paths to learning and wealth‑building for communities too often left out of tech’s promise.
Yara Banks: Bio
Yara Banks, MBA, CHRMAP, is the Founder and CEO of BNX Business Advisors, a woman-owned management consulting firm specializing in leadership development, organizational effectiveness, workforce strategy, and change management. With more than 20 years of combined experience advising public and private sector organizations, Yara helps leaders successfully navigate transformation by strengthening trust, communication, and organizational resilience.
She is the creator of Lead Like a Black Belt™ and author of The Executive Blindspot, leadership frameworks that explore the human behaviors and leadership decisions that quietly influence engagement, adaptability, and performance. Her recent work has expanded into the human implications of artificial intelligence, helping leaders understand that successful AI adoption is less about technology alone and more about preparing people to embrace change with confidence, purpose, and trust.
Yara believes the future of AI will not be defined solely by what technology can do, but by how leaders choose to preserve humanity while accelerating innovation.
Danielle Franklin: Bio
Danielle A. Franklin is a defense technology executive and AI innovator with 20+ years of experience at the intersection of federal policy, advanced systems architecture, and emerging technology. She is the Founder & Executive Director of Humanity + AI, Inc. (HAVI), a 501(c)(3) AI research organization, and President of N Systems LLC, a WOSB/SBA-certified defense contractor. Danielle served 18 years as a federal civilian across OSD, SDA, the U.S. Navy, Missile Defense Agency, and U.S. Space Force, where she architected a $1.8B+ proliferated LEO constellation and authored the DoD Digital Engineering Body of Knowledge. She is a published author, inventor of multiple AI patents including ROSIE and TalkingDOG™, and a Marquis Who’s Who in America honoree for 2025 and 2026.
Nirmal Jingar: Bio
Nirmal Jingar is an Enterprise AI Leader, Board Member, and technology innovator focused on responsible AI adoption, enterprise transformation, supply chain innovation, and PropTech.
He serves as a senior engineering leader at Wayfair and is a Board Member of the U.S. PropTech Council, where he leads the AI Forum. With nearly two decades of experience, Nirmal has led large-scale modernization and AI-driven optimization initiatives that have generated tens of millions of dollars in annual business value while improving operational efficiency, reliability, and customer experience.
A TEDx speaker, international IEEE keynote speaker, Forbes Technology Council member, IEEE Senior Member, author, and researcher, Nirmal has published work on AI and supply chain innovation and authored two books on the impact of artificial intelligence on business and operations. He has also served as a judge, mentor, and advisor for innovation programs connected to MIT, Harvard-affiliated initiatives, MassChallenge, the Webby Awards, and global technology competitions.
Based in Boston, Nirmal is committed to advancing human-centered, responsible, and practical AI adoption that helps industries become more efficient, resilient, and future-ready.
Wendy Ivany: Bio
As the Chief Strategy Officer in a consulting firm specializing in custom application development and technology transformation, I operate at the intersection of strategy, execution, and emerging technology. I help organizations move beyond isolated AI experiments toward becoming truly AI-enabled—where intelligence is embedded into workflows, decisions, and customer experiences. With an academic background rooted in psychology, I am passionate about how we can merge innovative technology with welness.
Archana Rao V: Bio
Archana Rao is a Data Scientist, AI Researcher, and lifelong learner passionate about solving impactful real-world problems through data and AI. With a strong interest in emerging AI technologies, research, and responsible innovation, she enjoys exploring diverse AI tech stacks with an entrepreneurial mindset. She believes that a great data scientist is not only a problem solver but also a problem creator—someone who uncovers visible and invisible patterns to define meaningful challenges.
Beyond technology, Archana is deeply interested in self-exploration, leadership, and human-centered thinking. She draws inspiration from spirituality, yoga, music, art, and thoughtful conversations, bringing empathy, curiosity, and positivity into both her professional and personal journey.
Lejla Tetrick: Bio
Lejla Tetrick is the founder of BG4K LLC and inventor of CSSR/DAS (Cross-System Signal Recognition / Dynamic Adaptive Staging), a patent-filed architecture built on a single realization: the world isn’t actually fragmented – our systems are.
For decades, we’ve trained machines to operate inside tidy, pre-labeled categories while ignoring the far richer territory between them. CSSR/DAS lives in that neglected space, detecting causal convergence across biological, environmental, oceanic, and clinical data streams that were never designed to communicate – surfacing shared root causes before anyone has labeled the domain.
Lejla designed CSSR/DAS to address one of modern discovery’s greatest inefficiencies: parallel research, redundant frameworks, and years of duplicated work as separate disciplines independently uncover the same truths. By treating systems as inherently connected rather than isolated, the architecture reveals emerging risks earlier, supports more informed decisions, and uncovers entirely new categories of solutions that only become visible at the intersections.
Shiran Mlamdovsky Somech: Bio
I am an AI Impact leader, the founder of Generative AI for Good, channeling the power of generative AI to catalyze global positive change. Driven by a fervent passion for humanity, creativity, and innovation, I spearhead projects that have not only reached millions but also saved lives and clinched international awards. These initiatives have been honored at prestigious platforms such as the UN and NATO.
Silper Pesa: Bio
Silper Pesa (FCCA), is a Certified AI Consultant, AI Strategist, John Maxwell-certified leadership coach, and global operations leader with 18+ years of experience leading transformation across humanitarian, development, and peace building environments across 14 countries. I speaks on human-centered AI, agentic AI, career reinvention, and workforce development, helping professionals and organizations turn disruption or job loss into opportunity. Inspired by the M-PESA lesson that powerful innovation solves real human problems, I use my T.R.A.N.S.L.A.T.E. framework to help people build AI readiness, translate skills and past experience into future-ready value, and move from uncertainty to legacy.
Kim Kelly: Bio
Kimberly Kelly is a keynote speaker and executive leader who helps organizations strengthen resilience, self-awareness, and leadership under pressure. Drawing on more than 20 years of executive experience, she equips leaders to navigate uncertainty, embrace change, and unlock stronger performance in an AI-driven workplace.
Dorota Mleczko: Bio
Dorota Mleczko is the founder of Paloma’s AI Academy, where she helps teachers, non-technical professionals, and teams across Europe and globally actually use the AI their companies already pay for. Her approach is hands-on workshops, not demos: people build with the tools in the room, not watch someone else click.
Her bigger vision is AI-native. She helps solopreneurs and small business owners build AI-native businesses around their own internal knowledge, the way she runs her own. Working solo from Genoa, Italy, she now handles in-house, with an AI team she builds and documents in public, the work she once outsourced to developers, designers, and agencies. She works in English, German, and Polish.
Deepa Naik: Bio
I work with organisations and institutions at the intersection of technology, education, and impact – helping them build responsible, AI-ready capabilities. My journey spans 28+ years in technology strategy and consulting, enterprise architecture and data/AI strategy — and over a decade in teaching and curriculum design.
I champion workshops and programs that demystify emerging tech for business leaders and learners, and I speak on topics that connect strategy with purpose. I believe in bridging academia and industry, elevating diverse talent, and cultivating mindful innovation.
Beyond consulting and teaching, I engage as a speaker and writer to support inclusive tech adoption and responsible innovation.
I architect bridges between technology and people, classrooms and boardrooms, learning and real-world impact.
Tomar Beh: Bio
She is the founder of AI CoLab Studio and M-prez Enterprise, an award-winning organisation creating programmes that support women, young people, and underrepresented communities.
With more than 15 years of experience across nonprofits, arts and culture, education, and community development, Tomar brings a practical and human-centred perspective to emerging technology. She is the creator of the SAFE AI Framework and author of Start AI Right for Nonprofits, a practical guide helping organisations move from AI chaos to clarity through responsible governance, literacy, and implementation.
Her work focuses on making AI accessible, accountable, and useful for organisations that often lack large budgets, technical teams, or dedicated digital resources. Through training, speaking, and consulting, she helps leaders build confidence in AI while keeping human judgement, inclusion, and community impact at the centre of decision-making.
Tomar’s mission is simple: to help make AI work for communities it was never built for.
Chinwendu Iwuorie: Bio
Chinwendu “Chichi” Iwuorie is the Founder and CEO of Corro AI and an AI Technical Program Manager focused on helping organizations navigate AI adoption and transformation. Her work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, operations, and human-centered innovation. Drawing from experience across technology, entrepreneurship, and creative industries, she is passionate about ensuring AI enhances human potential while building trust, collaboration, and responsible adoption. Chichi is committed to empowering individuals and organizations to lead confidently in the AI era.
Cristina DiGiacomo: Bio
Cristina DiGiacomo is an AI philosopher and founder of 10P1 Inc., working at the intersection of philosophy, ethics, and AI governance. With 20+ years as a digital strategist, 14 years of philosophical study, and a Master of Science in Organizational Change Management, she brings rare depth to one of the most consequential questions of our time: how do we govern human behavior with AI before the systems we’re building govern us?
She is the creator of the 10+1 Code — a philosophically grounded framework for AI governance — and the architect of the Moltbook Experiment, a 44-day empirical study that produced the first known evidence of a Trained Politeness Ceiling in agent-to-agent AI interactions. Her work has been published at systemsethics.com and recognized with a Cannes Cyber Lion and two New York Times Publisher’s Awards.
She is building the governance infrastructure that AI systems don’t yet have — and making the case that moral intent cannot be declared. It has to be designed.
Shri Nandan: Bio
I have built my career at the intersection of customer experience, digital transformation, product strategy, and enterprise technology, helping organizations modernize how they serve customers, scale digital businesses, and prepare for the next era of AI-enabled engagement.
Across 20+ years in telecommunications, healthcare, financial services, insurance, and technology-driven environments, I have led transformation through ambiguity, complexity, and rapid change. My work often begins where mandates are unclear, legacy systems limit progress, data ownership is fragmented, and teams need a stronger operating model to move from vision to measurable execution.
My focus is on building scalable products, responsible AI frameworks, intelligent customer journeys, and enterprise-ready digital ecosystems that improve experience, efficiency, growth, and quality.
Ronnette Turner-Corley: Bio
Ronnette Turner-Corley is the founder of Essenarcy AI Solutions, an AI governance architecture firm serving regulated industries. As a CPD-Accredited Certified AI Consultant, she builds accountability infrastructure for California’s Title 17 ILS/SLS sector, where new state regulatory requirements are reshaping what Regional Centers and the Department of Developmental Services expect from operators.
Her flagship product, Ava, is an AI governance agent built to prepare ILS/SLS operators for Regional Center review with structure instead of guesswork. Ronnette extended that same framework through Elara, a governance platform built for regulated industries beyond ILS/SLS.
Before founding Essenarcy, Ronnette spent 20+ years in financial services, where she built a track record grounded in performance and regulatory discipline. A psychology degree from University of the Pacific shapes her systems-first approach: she thinks in structure, builds for authority, and designs for longevity over short-term output.
Ronnette speaks on AI governance, regulatory readiness, and what governed AI infrastructure actually requires in regulated environments.
Jennifer Gavin: Bio
Jennifer Gavin is the Founder and CEO of Aidgency, the operating system for corporate purpose, and a builder of AI for HumanKind.
She founded Aidgency to help organizations turn purpose into measurable action by combining AI-powered infrastructure with human expertise.
Jennifer is also the creator of The Other 80., a live intelligence platform tracking female-founded startups actively raising capital. The platform provides a real-time visibility layer for founders, investors and allocators seeking a more complete view of the innovation economy.
An award-winning entrepreneur and strategist, Jennifer holds a degree from Boston University, a DeepLearning.AI certification, and is a graduate of the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center program. She volunteers with Taproot Foundation and God’s Love We Deliver and previously served on the 25th Anniversary Planning Committee for At The Crossroads.
Aparna Dubey: Bio
Aparna Dubey is a finance leader with a passion for exploring the intersection of business strategy, organizational effectiveness, and human behavior. Throughout her career, she has focused on helping organizations navigate change, drive growth, and build cultures that enable people and businesses to thrive. Aparna serves on the Global Board of Trustees of the Organization Development Network (ODN), where she contributes to advancing the practice of organization development worldwide. Her interest in emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, centers on understanding how humans respond to AI and what it takes to cultivate a new generation of AI-era leaders who can balance innovation, adaptability, and human connection.
Diana Adamko: Bio
With more than twenty years of experience across education, emotional wellbeing, spirituality, and human development, Diana has devoted her work to helping women grow, heal, and reconnect with their inner truth, creating practical pathways back to inner clarity and inspired action.
Diana is a Women’s Wellbeing Advocate, Wellbeing Skills Development Consultant.
She is the founder of the S.E.N.S.E for Life™ a self-leadership ecosystem that teaches women, how to navigate their lived experiences across their hormonal life stages, and all the shifts it brings in their confidence, energy, identity, and emotional wellbeing, so that women can become informed participants in their own wellbeing rather than passive recipients of support.
S.E.N.S.E. For Life can be delivered for teams, and/or organizations supporting female leaders and employees. It is a learning space for women to build self-awareness, emotional regulation + self-leadership skills, and practical tools to stay confident, present, and effective in their work and life.
Diana’s vision to merge S.E.N.S.E For Life with technology, and with its use to become a bridge to fill in the female health data gap, improve health services and overall wellbeing for women; to provide an education tool for women to understand their body, biology and wellbeing better so that they can advocate for themselves and their wellbeing needs.
Dr. Lola Longe: Bio
Dr. Lola Longe is an AI professor, researcher, and founder of SAFER AI Protocol, where she advances responsible AI literacy, governance, and human-centered innovation. Her work focuses on helping educators, organizations, and communities adopt AI ethically, transparently, and confidently. She teaches AI, data analytics, and emerging technologies while developing practical frameworks that make responsible AI accessible across industries and learning environments.
Sonia Thakurani: Bio
Sonia Thakurani is the SVP – Data and AI Practice at NeuIQ, where she leads the firm’s Data and AI strategy. With over two decades of experience in enterprise technology, data platforms, and digital transformation, she partners with executive leadership teams to design and deliver AI-powered solutions that create measurable business value. Her expertise spans enterprise AI strategy, agentic AI, customer experience intelligence, data modernization, AI governance, and large-scale cloud data platforms. Sonia has led complex transformation initiatives across industries, helping organizations build trusted data foundations, operationalize AI responsibly, and accelerate business outcomes through intelligent decision-making. Sonia is a TOGAF Certified Enterprise Architect, a SnowPro Core Certified professional, an AWS Certified Solutions Architect, and a Six Sigma Black Belt. She combines deep technical expertise with strategic business insight to help organizations move from AI experimentation to sustainable enterprise transformation. She is currently pursuing doctoral research examining the adoption of AI.
Roberta Scrofani: Bio
She is a practitioner, researcher, and policy expert working at the intersection of AI transformation, human-centred leadership, and equitable governance — bringing over fifteen years of senior, cross-functional leadership inside global technology and advertising corporations.
Having built technology transformations from the inside — across product development, talent and leadership, and employee inclusion — she understands where governance gaps emerge not in theory, but in practice. This experience led her to pursue rigorous academic inquiry at Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences, where she completed an Impact MBA in Sustainability, Innovation, and Leadership and developed an original research framework on conscious leadership approaches to AI transformation, drawing on interviews with technology leaders across the globe.
She is currently an expert member of TWG6 (AI Economy) within the EU-funded WIDCON project, coordinated through the Women in Digital Forum, where she leads research on structural barriers to women’s participation in the AI economy — spanning skills policy, lifelong learning, and organisational accountability — with outputs feeding directly into European Commission policy recommendations.
An Ambassador of the Tomorrow Academy Fellowship Programme, she is a regular keynote speaker and workshop facilitator on the human dimensions of AI transformation and governance, including at flagship gatherings in Amsterdam and Vienna. She also mentors emerging practitioners through Tomorrow University’s Challenge mentorship programme.
Her voice in this conversation brings what the field too rarely has: an integrated perspective across the boardroom, the research lab, and the policy table — consistently oriented toward responsible, human-centred, and equitable AI.
Folashade Oroge: Bio
Folashade is a Cloud/DevOps Engineer with over five years of experience designing, deploying, and managing scalable cloud infrastructure. Her journey in tech began at the helpdesk engineer, progressed through cloud support engineering and systems administration with roles at Flour Mills of Nigeria and Teknowledge giving her a deep, practical understanding of how infrastructure works at every layer of the stack.
Beyond her technical work, Folashade is a recognised leader in Nigeria’s tech community. She served as Chapter Lead for She Code Africa (SCA) Lagos for three years, earning an Excellence Award for her outstanding contributions to the chapter. She has volunteered extensively across SCA Lagos, Women Techmakers Lagos, GDG Lagos, and several other tech communities. She currently serves as a mentor at Tech4Dev and a DevOps Trainer at Spicetech, where she is actively shaping the next generation of African tech talent.
Folashade is also the recipient of a Leadership Award from Daystar Academy, a testament to her commitment to people development and community building. As a seasoned event organiser and host, she has brought together developers, engineers, and tech enthusiasts across multiple platforms and stages.
She is currently building a startup called EventHub a digital vendor marketplace management platform designed to streamline the discovery, verification, booking, and management of event service providers across Nigeria.
Jacquelyn Thomas: Bio
Jacquelyn Thomas is the Founder and CEO of AInspire Solutions and Executive Director of Kids In Technology, Inc., a nationally recognized STEM and AI education organization founded in 2002. An award-winning curriculum developer and workforce innovation leader, she has spent more than 20 years helping underserved communities gain access to STEM, artificial intelligence, and emerging technology education.
Jacquelyn is known for translating complex AI concepts into practical, human-centered learning experiences for students, educators, workforce organizations, and community leaders. Her work focuses on AI literacy, responsible AI adoption, workforce readiness, and closing the growing digital divide in underserved communities.
She is the recipient of the PBS American Graduate Award and an AARP Purpose Prize winner and has trained thousands of learners through school partnerships, workforce initiatives, and community-based programs. Through AInspire Solutions, she helps organizations move from AI curiosity to practical implementation with clarity, ethics, and purpose.
Anu Sharma: Bio
Anu Sharma is a strategic communications and reputation advisor with more than 15 years of experience helping organizations navigate complex issues, build trust and communicate with impact. She currently serves as a Senior Consultant at Crestview Strategy, where she advises clients on strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, issues management, public affairs and reputation risk.
Prior to moving to Canada, Anu built her career in India across agency and corporate communications roles, working with global brands and organizations on public relations, executive communications, digital strategy and crisis communications. She was recognized as one of PRmoment India’s “30 Under 30” communications professionals.
Anu’s current areas of interest include AI adoption communications, stakeholder engagement, trust-building and reputation management in an increasingly AI-enabled world. She is particularly passionate about helping organizations bridge the gap between deploying emerging technologies and building understanding, confidence and trust among the people they serve.
Beyond her professional work, Anu is deeply involved in advancing the communications profession. She serves as President of the Ottawa chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and is passionate about leadership development, ethical AI, public speaking and helping communications professionals evolve from tactical executors to strategic advisors.
Anu is currently pursuing advanced studies in Strategic Communications through the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and is working toward her Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP) certification.
Frances Chinaza Agba: Bio
Frances Chinaza Agba is a Co-Founder of LumenAfri, Computer Science Educator, and AI Governance Programme Lead working at the intersection of responsible AI, education equity, digital inclusion, and gender equality. She leads LumenAfri’s strategy for expanding AI literacy and safe technology education to underserved African learners, with a focus on rural communities, girls, low-resource schools, and young people often excluded from mainstream AI opportunities.
Her work combines digital education, programme design, AI governance, public-interest technology, and community-centred implementation. Through LumenAfri, Frances is building practical pathways that help young people not only use AI, but question it, verify it, govern it, and shape it responsibly. She speaks on responsible AI, inclusive AI education, gender-responsive technology, and why the future of AI must be designed with the communities it has historically left behind.
Wambui Kungu: Bio
Wambui K. is the Founder of Neural Den LLC, a Texas-based AI workforce readiness and adoption consultancy helping organizations move beyond AI awareness into measurable workforce capability.
She is a Certified AI Consultant, Instructional Designer, and U.S. Navy veteran with a background spanning technical systems, business process improvement, quality assurance, and adult learning. Her work focuses on the human and operational side of AI adoption, helping leaders design role-based capability, workflow integration, manager reinforcement, governance, and trust-centered implementation.
Wambui is also a Texas DIR-certified AI awareness training provider aligned with HB 3512, supporting public sector and organizational leaders in responsible AI education. Her perspective is shaped by experience building training for technical and non-technical audiences, including work with AWS and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Through Neural Den, she helps organizations ask a deeper question: not just whether people have access to AI tools, but whether they have the confidence, context, support, and systems needed to use AI responsibly and meaningfully in the flow of work.
Suzanne Schneider: Bio
Suzanne Schneider (b. 1997) is an interdisciplinary artist and designer based in Bloomington, Indiana. Holding a BFA in Digital Art with a minor in Psychology from the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University, Schneider occupies the intersection of human behavior and emerging technology.
Under the artist name Swedes Experience, her practice spans video art, 3D environments, photography and printmaking. Schneider’s work is deeply informed by her psychological studies, allowing her to move beyond aesthetics to prioritize how audiences sit with, observe, and interpret visual environments. This unique background provides a framework for her commercial work, where she utilizes psychological principles to create more intentional, informed, and impactful designs for her clients.
Her thesis project, Smell the Roses (2023), serves as a hallmark of this approach. The immersive video environment explores the trauma surrounding her brother’s Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), utilizing 3D fractals and AI-driven transformations. Developed over two years, the piece evolved from early Google Deep Dream experiments to high-fidelity 4K projections, reflecting both a personal journey and the rapid advancement of the tools she employs.
Schneider continues to push the boundaries of AI-based video by including neural style transfer and Stable Diffusion, using these tools as systems of visual transformation that bridge the gap between technical structure and emotional experience. Most recently, her innovative approach to intuitive, tech-forward design was recognized on a global scale when she was personally invited to apply for the the inaugural DATALAND x Google Arts & Culture artist residency program.
Katie Naughton: Bio
Katie Naughton is the Founder of Drive Her Forward, a leadership platform helping ambitious women build careers and lives by design, not by default.
An entrepreneur, investor, and one of the rare one percent of women automotive dealership owners, Katie built her career leading inside one of the world’s most male-dominated industries. Purchasing her first dealership at just 32, she developed a leadership philosophy grounded not in titles or authority, but in accountability, trust, resilience, and the courage to create better cultures.
Through keynote presentations, executive conversations, and leadership education, Katie challenges professionals to stop waiting for better leadership and become the leaders they wish they had. Her signature message, If You Never Had the Leader You Needed, Become Her, inspires audiences to replace outdated leadership models with human-centered leadership built on integrity, clarity, and intentional influence.
Katie speaks to organizations navigating change, developing future leaders, and creating workplaces where people perform because they feel empowered, not because they feel pressured. Her perspective resonates across industries including technology, finance, automotive, law, construction, and entrepreneurship, where leadership is increasingly measured by the ability to build trust, adapt, and lead with purpose in a rapidly changing world.
Sushee Nzeutem: Bio
Sushee Nzeutem is an independent AI governance researcher and the founder of SVRNOS. She works on the structural side of AI safety: how AI systems actually fail once they are deployed, and how to make that failure something an organization can locate, name, and prove.
She has published four open frameworks toward this. The 7-Layer Model locates where in a system a failure happens. The Governance Error Register is a shared catalogue of AI governance failures with stable codes, so “failure” means the same thing across organizations. The Non-Content Safety Attestation protocol proves that a control actually ran. And the Generation Gap study measures multi-turn safety across AI vendors.
Before AI, she spent 17 years leading technical implementations inside regulated finance, at AXA, HSBC, Rothschild, Oddo, BNP Paribas, and UBS, where a systems failure is audited and priced. She holds a PMP and an Executive MBA from HEC Paris, and works from Chiang Mai.
Christine Agro: Bio
Christine Agro is a TEDx speaker, founder of the Intrinsic Energy® Institute, and creator of Intrinsic Energy Work® and Pioneer of Patriarchal De-Encodement®. For more than twenty-five years, she has brought forward information from the Collective that has repeatedly been at the leading edge of our conscious evolution, introducing new frameworks that help people understand the deeper patterns influencing health, behavior, and human potential.
Padmaja Suren: Bio
Padmaja Suren is the founder of Maithri Metaverse, a radically innovative edtech platform built on the prinicples of TIGReSS Architecture that prolotes the design and development of psychologically safe online learning environments
Being a survivor of gender based violence and an experienced technologist, she has pioneering a path for harnessing emergine tech for good. Prior to founding her company she has helped large enterprises design and architect data and analytics platforms at scale during her at tenures at AWS, Harvard abd other companies in the public sector.
She has presented her innovative solution for survivors at Harvard, Boston Trauma Conference and the United Nations High Level Policy Forum on Sex-trafficking.
The very first iteration of her solution model won the semifinalist at the 2015 Echoing Green venture competition and won the first place in the First annual 2026 Open Metaverse Browser Standards Forum Hackathon.
Janice Fortman: Bio
Dr. Janice Fortman is an internationally recognized relationship coach, communication expert, author, speaker, and host of the popular television show Relationship Matters TV. With more than 20 years of experience helping individuals and organizations improve communication, strengthen relationships, and build healthier workplace cultures, Dr. Jan has become a trusted voice in leadership and personal development.
Her engaging presentations combine practical communication strategies with emotional intelligence principles, empowering audiences to foster stronger connections, improve team dynamics, and lead with greater empathy and authenticity. Dr. Jan is known for delivering interactive, insightful sessions that inspire lasting personal and professional transformation.
Akanksha: Bio
Akanksha is a public policy and AI governance researcher dedicated to understanding how historical hierarchies are embedded in modern AI systems. Her research examines the structural barriers women face in AI development, deployment, and governance – exploring how ancient patterns of exclusion persist in today’s algorithms. Through her work on AI policy, she advocates for women’s meaningful participation in the rooms where AI decisions are made, ensuring that governance frameworks prioritize equity and accountability across the AI economy.
Felistah Yogo: Bio
Healthcare AI /ML and Interoperability Engineer/Analyst with 2 years’ experience applying Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, and data-driven solutions and 9 years as an Interoperability Professional, Systems Engineer/Analyst leading and executing complex system integration projects within the healthcare sector. My skills allow me to develop and deploy AI/ML models in compliance with healthcare data standards (HIPAA, HITRUST HL7, FHIR, pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trials (pRCTs).
In addition, I am Skilled in building coalitions and team of health providers, data scientists, IT, government and state officials, public and private sector members to design interpretable, equitable, and regulatory-compliant AI tools and Health information systems.
Alina Tudorache: Bio
Alina Tudorache
DAO Architect of Reality
Blockchain Strategist | Agentic AI Leader | NLP Architect | Gamification Designer
Visionary builder of sovereign, intelligent ecosystems. I architect multi-layered DAOs that fuse decentralized governance, agentic AI, tokenized economies, behavioral design, and gamification into living systems of data ownership, human empowerment, and digital fairness.
I design the Alignment Stack: from identity and purpose through governance, tokenomics, and community impact. Across FinTech, DeFi, SocialFi, Metaverse, EdTech, HealthTech, and GovTech, I create ecosystems where technology serves human potential.
Top 10 Quantum AI Leader 2026
Top 25 Global Blockchain Leader 2026
Top 50 Global Agentic AI Leader 2025
Guided by the fusion of NLP, Gamification, Human-Centered Design, and Blockchain, I empower individuals and collectives to own their data, shape their governance, and co-create regenerative futures.
Sia Sitaula: Bio
I am a Statistical Support Analyst at National Records of Scotland and an AI Engineer with a Distinction MSc in Artificial Intelligence and a background in Neuroscience. My work focuses on using data, AI, and statistical analysis to drive meaningful public impact. I am passionate about education, equality, and accessibility, and I am particularly interested in how AI can reduce barriers to learning and create opportunities for underrepresented communities. As a woman in STEM, I look forward to connecting with fellow leaders and innovators to help shape a more inclusive future for AI.
Algernae King: Bio
Algernae King is a Business Infrastructure and AI Systems Strategist, Qualified Accountant, and Certified CPD AI Consultant who helps organizations, institutions, and entrepreneurs build AI-ready operations that drive measurable results. As the first and only Manus Fellow in Michigan, she sits at a rare intersection of financial credentialing, AI systems expertise, and proprietary framework development — making her one of the most distinctive voices in the AI readiness and business infrastructure space.
She is the creator of the O.P.E.R.A.T.E. Framework™, the G.O.V. Method™, and the C.A.R.P. (Certified AI-Ready Professional™) program — a CPD-accredited training system designed for workforces, institutions, and organizations preparing for the next decade of AI integration. She is a three-time Amazon bestselling author, most recently of Multiply with Manus, which debuted at #1 in multiple categories and documents her proprietary approach to building AI-powered business infrastructure.
Algernae has delivered training and strategic consulting to corporate teams, school districts, workforce development organizations, and government-adjacent agencies. She is listed with the AAE Speakers Bureau and has been featured by Michigan Works!, AB Newswire, Digital Journal, and the AI at Work Summit. She is the founder of King Enterprises Unlimited LLC and the co-founder of the Built DIFFRNT™ Youth Initiative, a Metro Detroit financial literacy and entrepreneurship program for young people.
Her keynotes and workshops leave audiences with frameworks they can implement immediately — not theory, not inspiration, but infrastructure.
Speaking inquiries: [email protected]
Jessica Lowry: Bio
Jess Lowry is the Founder & Executive Director of ENID Studio, a human systems design consultancy helping organizations redesign work, services, and governance for an AI-enabled future. A service designer and transformation strategist with more than 15 years of experience, she has led organizational change initiatives across healthcare, government, financial services, retail, and technology. Jess developed the Human Systems Design Assessment, a socio-technical framework that helps organizations evaluate readiness across human, business, and technology dimensions. Through executive workshops, research, and multidisciplinary collaboration, she helps leaders adopt AI in ways that strengthen organizations while keeping people at the center.
Lori Wheeler: Bio
Lori “LMarie” Wheeler is the Founder and CEO of The Biz Oasis™, an AI-powered operations agency helping service-based business owners trade chaos for clarity and automated systems. With 25+ years of global corporate leadership—managing enterprise technology programs for Fortune 100 companies, federal agencies, and international organizations across the globe—LMarie brings a rare blend of executive-level strategy, emotional intelligence, and hands-on systems architecture to every stage she takes.
As a Certified Strategic AI Consultant & Prompt Engineer, Neuro-Stress Management Practitioner, and Certified Life Coach, she created the B.O.S.S. Framework™ (Build, Optimize, Sustain, Serve)—a proven methodology helping entrepreneurs scale without burning out. She is the author of From Chaos to Calm and creator of the Oasis Pro-Suite™.
LMarie’s signature message: sustainable growth isn’t about doing more—it’s about building smarter systems powered by AI, that give leaders their time (and sanity) back.
Halima Muhammad: Bio
Halima Muhammad is the Post 2 City Councilmember for Porterdale, Georgia, and an AI governance and strategy executive who advises organizations on responsible AI adoption, NIST AI RMF and ISO 42001 frameworks, and human-in-the-loop systems. She is the founder of the Human × AI Lab, an independent training organization, and a registered Georgia lobbyist advocating for her model legislation, the Responsible AI Adoption and Worker Protection Act. Halima is also a writer, actress, and AI artist based in the Atlanta area, with work exhibited internationally and a permanent public mural in Stonecrest, Georgia. She brings together civic leadership, emerging technology, and storytelling to help small communities imagine futures as ambitious as those of major cities.
Jeni Yelton: Bio
Jeni Yelton is a speaker, executive coach, leadership strategist, and founder of Purpose Driven Solution. With more than 25 years of experience in leadership development, training, organizational change, and coaching, Jeni helps individuals and organizations build confidence, clarity, and purpose-driven impact. She holds a master’s degree in Adult Learning and Leadership, is an ICF ACC coach, a Prosci® certified change practitioner, and a Maxwell Leadership Certified Executive Trainer. Jeni is also the author of Confidently Flawed: The Fatal Flaw Theory to Stop Fixing and Start Thriving, where she challenges people to stop exhausting themselves in pursuit of perfection and start leading from their gifts, values, and purpose. Her speaking style blends story, humor, reflection, and practical application so audiences leave encouraged, challenged, and ready to take meaningful action.
Carmen Milagro: Bio
Carmen Milagro is the Founder and Chair of DIVINA WORLD Foundation, a California 501(c)(3) dedicated to Indigenous cultural preservation, ethical AI and multi-generational human flourishing. She is a Master Certified Professional Behavioral, Youth, Life and Career Coach with over 25 years of experience working across wellness, education, nonprofit leadership and community development and independent researcher – ORCID Researcher ID: 0009-0009-9292-772X
Carmen is the creator and visionary architect of the world’s first Indigenous and World Music Hall of Fame, Museum and Library, built on the virtual reality Conectado-verse immersive technology platform. She is a member of the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Culture Diplomacy Study Group and a three time consecutive presenter at the GatherVerse Global Summit.
Under her leadership DWF holds a Platinum Candid Transparency Seal and is actively pursuing major philanthropic partnerships to bring the Hall of Fame pilot to life. Carmen is also a Founding Member and featured writer for LeverageUp Media’s In Mint Health publication and host of the long running global wellness platform Wellness 360 with Carmen Milagro on expandiTV, now in Season 5.
Ms. Milagro is a proud first generation San Franciscan born of Salvadoran parents with European and Mayan ancestry whose life work is rooted in one unshakeable belief: that no culture should ever be left behind.
Ashwini Purushothaman: Bio
An AI expert, technical innovator, and the Founder and CEO of Gradient Nova AI, a premier training and consulting firm dedicated to bridging the gap between academia and industry. Driven by a passion to democratize future tech, my company delivers hands-on, project-based learning experiences that empower professionals and students to transition confidently into high-impact, AI-first careers.
My expertise spans Big Data, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Generative AI, and Cloud Technologies. I don’t just teach innovation—I build it. I hold a proprietary patent in Artificial Intelligence and recognized my engineering capabilities on a global stage by placing in the Top 7 out of 2,500 entries in a prestigious global AI hackathon. Leveraging my extensive background as an elite corporate trainer and a Josh Talks speaker, I combine deep technical acumen with high-impact communication to help organizations and individuals architect the future workforce.
Sadio Jonas: Bio
Sadio Jonas is a 20-year technology veteran, Fractional AI Executive, AI innovator, and the Founder and Director of AI Strategy at AI Vantage Consulting—the first consulting firm built natively for the Generative AI era. She is also the Founder of The Academy for AI Strategy, focused on AI skills for visionary leadership in the “AI Augmented Era.”
She partners with organizations and their leadership teams to navigate enterprise-wide AI transformation with clarity, confidence, and a distinctly human-centered approach.
Shae Pratcher: Bio
Shae Pratcher is a Mindset Strategist, multi-award-winning author, keynote speaker, and creator of The C.L.A.R.I.F.Y. System™, a leadership framework that helps individuals and organizations recognize pressure, regulate internally, and respond with intention. Drawing from both executive leadership experience and her personal journey through trauma and healing, Shae equips leaders with practical strategies to improve emotional regulation, communication, resilience, and performance. Her work bridges neuroscience, mindset, and leadership to help people build the internal operating system that drives sustainable results.
Tamara Burks: Bio
Tamara Burks spent nearly three decades inside the rooms where organizational power is decided — as a senior talent leader at a big 4, as a strategist building people infrastructure for institutions navigating growth and transformation, and now as Managing Partner of Burks Strategic Holdings, Inc. She is the creator of Words That Wilt™ and The Language Audit™, tools built on 30 years of watching how language shapes outcomes for women in professional spaces, and the creator of the BSH AI Governance Framework, which brings decision-rights architecture to organizations navigating AI adoption. She is the author of the forthcoming From Boardroom to Bloom and speaks nationally and virtually from her base in Florida.
Suzi Scher: Bio
Suzi Scher is Founder & CEO of PlumOG, an AI consulting, education, and strategy firm based in Denver, Colorado. Known as the AI Soul Sister™, Suzi brings 25+ years of organizational transformation experience from companies including Clorox and Charles Schwab to help entrepreneurs and teams cut through AI overwhelm and build practical, human-centered AI strategies. Her proprietary SoulStack™ Method guides businesses through Signal, System, Story, and Scale. Her guiding philosophy: Human Strategy, Smarter AI™. Because AI should support humans, not replace them.
Mufaro Nyachoto: Bio
Mufaro Nyachoto is the founder of Nyac Consulting, a Strategic Advisor & Coach, and a business transformation leader with 15+ years of experience spanning healthcare IT, higher education, and organizational change. She has a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Information Technology, and is the author of Mastering Health Information Technology: A Business Analyst’s Blueprint for Success. Mufaro previously spoke on “Collaboration: Human in the Loop” at AI Business Catalyst 2025. Her work sits at the intersection of enterprise transformation and individual reinvention — helping organizations and professionals alike navigate change with clarity instead of fear.
Godhuli Vyas: Bio
Godhuli Vyas is the Founder of Saarthi and a product manager passionate about building AI that solves practical, human problems. Her work focuses on designing technology that is accessible, inclusive, and meaningful, particularly for agriculture and underserved communities.
She has worked across AI, product management, operations, and developer ecosystems, helping early-stage startups improve user experiences, streamline workflows, and build data-informed products. As the Chapter Lead of Google Developer Groups (GDG) at SAGE University Indore, she has led technical communities, organized AI workshops, and helped students explore emerging technologies through hands-on learning.
Through Saarthi, she is building an AI-powered logistics platform that helps farmers access better transportation, market intelligence, and digital services. She believes the best AI products begin with understanding people first and automating only after deeply understanding their needs.
Her work is driven by one principle: technology should amplify human potential, not replace it.
Karen Coombs: Bio
Dr. Karen Coombs is the founder of Coombs Consulting LLC, where she helps organizations implement responsible AI, strengthen AI governance, and modernize quality engineering practices. She is a technology leader with Fortune 500 experience, an adjunct professor, and author of Systems Analysis and Design: Building Intelligent and Ethical Systems. Her work bridges industry and academia by helping leaders responsibly adopt emerging technologies while preparing the next generation of technology professionals. Her research examined cybersecurity risks in DNA-based data storage environments. Her professional work focuses on responsible AI, AI governance, software quality engineering, and helping organizations adopt emerging technologies.
Ayushi Pandey: Bio
Ayushi is a biotechnology major working at intersection of machine learning and healthcare. As a machine learning research intern at IIT Bombay’s Visual Computing & ML Lab, she has been working on improving the reliability of biomedical VLMs like BioMedCLIP through orthogonality-based calibration. She co-authored a review paper on machine learning for female-predominant autoimmune diseases – focusing on how sex-agnostic datasets/model miss out on critical neuroimmune mechanisms specific to the female body. She also runs a page on LinkedIn – Female Athlete Performance, a research-driven platform exploring the physiology, training science, and health data gaps unique to female athletes.
Ayushi is quite passionate about femtech, closing the research and data gap when it comes to women’s health – building AI systems that are trained on the full diversity of women’s bodies rather than defaulting to male-normed data.
Russell Bundy: Bio
Russell is a dynamic multidisciplinary entrepreneur with a proven track record of success across diverse industries, including radio, music, e-commerce, and blockchain. Throughout his career and entrepreneurial ventures, Russell has consistently demonstrated a commitment to positive social impact. This dedication is evident in his radio business, where he strived to entertain listeners and foster a strong community, evidenced by the growth of his station to over 50,000 monthly unique listeners and a thriving 22,000-member Discord community in 2016.
Russell’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to launch a successful e-commerce business. This venture honed his strategic thinking and business management expertise, encompassing all aspects from operations to finance. Notably, he achieved this success through bootstrapping, demonstrating his resourcefulness and financial acumen.
The e-commerce world opened the door to the burgeoning landscape of Web3 technologies. Recognizing the potential of NFTs, Metaverse, Crypto, DAO, AI and other emerging trends, Russell became an early adopter in 2020. He has since developed a deep understanding of these technologies and their strategic applications. Witnessing both the opportunities and challenges within this new space, Russell is passionate about leveraging Web3 for positive global change.
Driven by the belief that financial success can coexist with social impact, Russell is dedicated to advocating for humanity before technology and creating a better world. His experiences across various industries have reinforced his commitment to using innovative technologies for the greater good. He aims to contribute to a future where technology serves to enhance human well-being and foster a more equitable and sustainable society.
Grant McGaugh: Bio
Grant McGaugh is a visionary leader, storyteller, and the driving force behind 5 STAR BDM, a trailblazing brand development and business growth consultancy empowering executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations to unlock their fullest potential. With more than two decades of executive leadership and strategic transformation experience—spanning Fortune 500 companies, healthcare, technology, and digital innovation—Grant is known for illuminating the path through complexity and guiding clients to enduring success.
As the architect of the proprietary BRAVE Framework (Boldness, Resilience, Authenticity, Vision, Execution), Grant has helped countless professionals elevate their brands, amplify their influence, and lead with purpose and clarity. His signature approach cultivates courageous leadership, deepens self-awareness, and transforms ambiguity into actionable impact, helping clients not just build brands, but craft legacies.
Grant’s journey is rooted in his own story of resilience, purpose, and transformation—a journey that began with personal tragedy and evolved into a calling to empower others to embrace their true identity, disrupt the status quo, and become catalysts for change. As the host of the acclaimed “Follow the Brand” podcast, Grant shares powerful insights and success stories that inspire leaders worldwide.
Widely recognized as a Brand Development Master (BDM), Grant is a sought-after speaker, mentor, and strategic advisor. He champions authenticity, diversity, and human-centered leadership in every engagement, making “Integrity doesn’t have a price tag” his personal and professional mantra.
Connect with Grant to discover your thunder, define your brand’s authentic voice, and lead your field with bold, measurable transformation
Lauren Descher: Bio
I recently acquired my Master’s degree in Virtual Reality at the University of the Arts London, where my passion lies in exploring various facets of the technology industry. Specifically, I am captivated by emerging technologies like AR, VR, and MR, and I aspire to contribute to their advancement in this rapidly evolving field.
My primary goal is to create a positive impact in the world, striving to make a difference in the lives of those I encounter. I firmly believe in the power of imagination and its ability to manifest reality. Guided by the motto “If I can dream it, I can create it,” I embrace every new idea and connection as an invaluable opportunity for personal growth and learning.
Driven by motivation, outgoing nature, and an optimistic outlook, I have gained practical experience in various VR sectors such as entertainment, education, health art and design I aim to enhance human interaction and elevate it to a whole new level through future Intelligence. I excel both as a team player and a leader, and my colleagues find inspiration in my ability to radiate positivity and empower others.
Aileda Bailey: Bio
As a seasoned entrepreneur with over a decade of experience, Aileda is a Strategic Operations Consultant and Conscious Leadership Development creator/facilitator, blending cutting-edge business strategies with intuitive insights to guide leaders and organizations through transformative growth.
Specializing in the convergence of technology and humanity, Aileda empowers clients to navigate the complexities of the digital era with a human-centric approach. Her consultancy fosters innovation, ethical leadership, and sustainable success, making her a beacon for those seeking to harmonize business excellence with the essence of human values. A visionary in her field, Aileda is redefining leadership for the future.
Conscious Leadership Development is changing the operational model for leaders and corporations across all industries. It is changing how executives just like you engage with the world.
This training is guiding a greater understanding of wellbeing on all levels. Learn to thrive and succeed in times of rapid change as a balanced leader who embraces your purpose.
Kaustubha V: Bio
Kaustubha V is a Solution Architect at Microsoft with 14+ years of experience building large-scale cloud, automation, and AI-driven systems across enterprise environments. She specializes in production AI systems, Azure ML, cloud infrastructure, MLOps, and intelligent automation, with a strong focus on translating experimental machine learning workflows into scalable industry solutions. She has earned 50+ industry certifications across Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, and AI technologies, and is also recognized as a Kubestronaut for her expertise in the cloud-native ecosystem.
She is a Women Techmakers Ambassador, Azure Developer Community speaker, and an active contributor to initiatives focused on increasing accessibility and representation in technology. Kaustubha has authored and presented research at leading international workshops and conferences, including ICLR, NeurIPS, ICCV, GHCI, and CODS-COMAD, ICML with work spanning AI systems, responsible AI, generative AI, and scalable ML infrastructure.
Dr. Quiana Bradshaw: Bio
Dr. Quiana Bradshaw is from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and married with 3 beautiful children. I received my Doctor of Computer Science with a concentration in emerging media in September 2013 and was noted for making a significant contribution to the field. I have obtained my Bachelor of Science in IT, 2 MBA’s, Master of IT, Master of Higher Education College Administration Leadership, and Doctor of Computer Science and a Google Data Analytics Certification, Google Cybersecurity Certification, Google UX Design Certification, Google Professional AI Certification. I also have an AI of Strategy & Governance from the University of Pennsylvania-Wharton. I’m an Academic Program Director, Emerging Technology (@ Columbia Southern University) and Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Judson University.
My current research focuses on how applicable games are to education and how they can help curriculum designers create engaging curricula for instructional technology. My goal is to create new emerging technologies and expand the STEM learning/distance education environment. I have various research interests in data science, artificial intelligence, health sciences, virtual world environments, video game development, games-based learning, game-based learning, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, human-computer interaction, information security, educational technologies, and immersive learning environments.
Tess McKinney: Bio
With more than 20 years of experience in technology and over a decade focused on educational and healthcare innovation, Tess has become a recognized leader in helping organizations implement emerging technologies to improve training, workforce development, education, and patient care. Since founding XRenegades in 2022, she has helped more than 150 organizations—including healthcare systems, colleges, universities, workforce development programs, government agencies, and private industry—evaluate, deploy, and scale AI and immersive technology solutions.
Her work includes AI-powered applications, XR simulation programs, immersive learning labs, healthcare training initiatives, custom software development, headset deployment and management, and strategic consulting services. Tess is known for helping organizations successfully integrate emerging technologies into real-world environments while improving outcomes, increasing efficiency, and expanding access to expertise.
A nationally recognized speaker, educator, author, and entrepreneur, Tess is passionate about leveraging AI, XR, and simulation technologies to transform healthcare, education, and workforce development. Through XRenegades, she continues to drive innovation by developing practical solutions that help organizations prepare for the future of work while improving learning, training, and operational performance.
Angel Mosley: Bio
Angel is a visionary cybersecurity leader with over 20 years of experience spanning government, finance, healthcare, and hospitality sectors. With a unique ability to translate complex cybersecurity strategies into actionable insights, Angel has emerged as a trusted voice in the field. Her career trajectory showcases a deep commitment to empowering the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through education, mentorship, and advocacy.
She is the founder of CyberSecurity GameChangers (CSGC), a non-profit organization dedicated to sparking student interest in cybersecurity through tailored programs that provide critical skills for success.
“When I appeared on national television, I asked leaders to imagine getting a call from the FBI about their company’s data being exposed. The reaction was immediate — because cyber risk isn’t theoretical. My talks move audiences from awareness to decisive action.”
Aquarius Maximus: Bio
Aquarius Maximus is a visionary tech founder, blockchain pioneer, and AI innovator building at the intersection of culture, consciousness, and technology. She is the creator of Guapcoin, a digital currency designed to empower communities through economic sovereignty, and the founder of Syrn Music, an AI-powered platform pioneering neural music, voice models, and creative ownership. Expanding into immersive digital worlds, she is also developing GatherXR, a next-generation metaverse platform for connection, creation, and virtual experiences. Through her work, Aquarius Maximus is shaping the future of decentralized systems, creative economies, and human-centered technology.
Linda Porter: Bio
Linda “Lynne” Porter is a speaker, author, and human-centered AI consultant dedicated to bridging the gap between technology and real life. With over four decades of experience in education, leadership, counseling, and organizational strategy, she brings a powerful people-first perspective to conversations around AI, trust, and emerging systems. Now retired from her role at a Nashville HBCU, Linda continues to empower women and non-technical professionals to confidently engage with technology without losing their voice.
A certified AI Consultant, AI Fellow, and AI Super User, Linda is passionate about making AI accessible, ethical, and practical. She has spoken at GatherVerse, AI-Driven Summit, and alongside leaders such as Alicia Lyttle and Katherine Morrison Ministries, inspiring audiences to lead with clarity, dignity, and purpose.
Known for her warmth, insight, and ability to translate complex ideas into meaningful human understanding, Linda’s message is simple yet powerful: trust must come before tools.
Faith Olat: Bio
Today, as Marketing Director for The Cxmmunity Foundation (a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing youth technical skills through education, infrastructure, and providing access to the gaming, esports, and digital entertainment industries) she drives growth, increases revenue, and strengthens donor engagement. She is also launching her newest venture, focused on connecting the diaspora to build wealth across continents while helping the next generation remain grounded in a world where AI and technology are evolving faster than ever.
Yvette Brown: Bio
Yvette Brown is Co-Founder of XPROMOS, creator of the Outcome Playground, and author of the forthcoming book on AI Fluency and Decision Confidence. For more than 35 years, she has turned emerging technologies into market advantages for enterprise brands. Over the past 2.5 years, she has leveraged her domain expertise to train and evaluate leading LLMs, while guiding organizations to apply AI in ways that fit the realities of different functions, teams, and roles, moving beyond experimentation toward certified AI fluency, decision confidence, meaningful and measurable results, and real capacity.
Donna Davis: Bio
Dr. Tiffany R. Harris: Bio
Dr. Tiffany R. Harris is an award-winning international keynote speaker, mindset strategist, leadership expert, and founder of Shift Your Mindset & Dream BIG LLC. Known as the “Mindset Architect for Limitless Success,” she has empowered leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations across more than 40 countries to transform performance by addressing the internal beliefs and behaviors that drive outcomes.
Through her signature MINDSET Framework, Dr. Harris helps individuals and teams navigate change, build resilience, strengthen leadership capacity, and create sustainable success. Her work bridges the gap between innovation and human potential, demonstrating that technology, business, and social progress are most impactful when they remain grounded in humanity.
She is passionate about advancing women in leadership, promoting ethical innovation, and helping organizations build cultures where people can thrive while embracing the future.
Stephanie Cummings Carr: Bio
Stephanie Cummings Carr is the President & CEO of Stephanie Marthine Consulting Services, LLC, an AI boutique firm focused on Cloud/AI strategy and business trans‐formation. She operates as an AI Certified Consultant, leveraging deep industry experience to help organizations harness artificial intelligence.
Based in the Washington, D.C. area, Stephanie played a pivotal role at Google developing and managing cloud partnerships within the Government Public Sector, driving collaboration, cloud adoption, and revenue growth through AI/ML services.
As a Strategic Partner Executive at Amazon Web Services (AWS), she serviced FSIs and ISVs. With 20+ years in IT and software sales, Stephanie has built a proven track record at Amazon Web Services, Oracle, and IBM.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Stephanie is actively involved in public service organizations including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Links, Inc., The Society, Inc., and The GirlFriends, Inc. She serves on the Advisory Council for the University of Maryland Smith School of Business and is a board member of ScholarCHIPS, Inc., a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit providing college scholar‐ships and mentorship for children of incarcerated parents.
Happily married to Jefery Carr, a civil rights attorney, Stephanie enjoys traveling and relaxing at spas. For organizations exploring their AI journey, Stephanie is ready to help.
Connect at stephaniemarthine.com or [email protected]
Dr. Zakia Ghafari: Bio
Zakia Ghafari, PharmD, is a pharmacist, speaker, and thought leader who helps individuals and organizations create sustainable change without burnout. Drawing on neuroscience, behavioral design, and real-world leadership experience, she developed the Change Is Easy framework, which reframes resistance as a clarity problem—not a motivation problem. Zakia’s work challenges traditional wellness and productivity narratives by replacing willpower-based solutions with practical systems that make change inevitable. She speaks on workplace culture, leadership, and work–life integration, equipping audiences with tools that create lasting transformation.
Adriana Stanciu: Bio
Educational counselor, author, and founder of the “Lecții la Minut” educational community. Passionate about leadership in education, counseling, parenting, and the impact of technology and AI on learning. Editor-in-chief of the educational magazine “Un minut” and creator of projects focused on communication, personal development, and modern educational practices.
Melanie Curtis: Bio
Melanie Curtis is a world record pro skydiver, keynote speaker, and peak performance coach with more than 12,000 skydives and 30 years of experience leading and coaching worldwide. Featured in Forbes, CBS Evening News, and Good Morning America, Melanie combines adventure, leadership, and personal growth into transformative experiences for audiences. She has worked with leaders, entrepreneurs, and high performers around the world, helping them move through fear, build resilience, and access their untapped potential. Through powerful storytelling, practical tools, and humor, Melanie inspires people to take bold action, elevate performance, and create meaningful impact in their personal and professional lives.
Linda Albright: Bio
Linda Albright | Certified AI Consultant & Educator
A Certified AI Consultant, Linda Albright is the founder of the Albright AI Agency as well as Women Run AI, a community helping women lead in the age of AI. After 25 years scaling tech companies across Web 1, , Web 2, Web 3, and now AI, she’s committed to ensuring that wisdom, leadership, and intuition shape what comes next.
Linda leads free virtual trainings, a flagship 7-week training program (The AI Lab for Women), and co-leads the AI Collective – Hartford Chapter, a global nonprofit advancing AI education. She also collaborates with the University of Connecticut School of Business on AI Day Hartford, works with Southern CT State University’s School of Business, serves on the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls, and advises the Senior Executive Women’s Network.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindaalbright/
Core Highlights:
• Certified AI Strategist, Albright AI Agency, advisory and training services for businesses to help them integrate and adapt to AI.
• Founder, the Women Run AI movement and the flagship program AI Lab for Women to ensure women’s voices, values and vision are embedded into AI. Women earn AI Leadership Certificate, Level 1.
• Serial Entrepreneur: With over 25 years of experience scaling technology companies across Web 1, Web 2, Web 3, and now AI, Linda helps business leaders and entrepreneurs leverage AI as a true competitive advantage
• Expertise: AI in business, revenue acceleration, sales & marketing AI, Web3, AI for Good.
• Industries: Entrepreneurs, business leaders, coaching, consulting, AI education & training professional services
Advisory Roles:
• AI Collective – Founder, Hartford CT Chapter – Global nonprofit advancing AI education, monthly events
• AI Day Hartford – Spearhead training and initiatives in collaboration with University of CT’s Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Governor’s Council on Women and Girls – Promote STEM education throughout the state of CT
• Senior Executive Women’s Network – Nonprofit dedicated to women’s advancement in the workplace
• Million Women Mentors – Nonprofit dedicated to promoting girls/women in STEM industries
Teecee Okore: Bio
Teecee Okore is a Strategy and Operations Consultant, founder of Teecee Business Solutions Ltd, and a business systems expert focused on helping organizations improve operational execution through systems design, AI adoption, workflow optimization, and scalable infrastructure.
Over the years, she has worked with growing businesses, nonprofits, and operational teams to improve internal systems, eliminate workflow bottlenecks, implement automation, and build the infrastructure necessary for sustainable growth.
Her work sits at the intersection of operations, organizational transformation, and practical AI implementation, helping organizations move beyond the excitement around AI to focus on what actually determines successful adoption: operational clarity.
She is deeply passionate about ensuring more organizations, especially women-led organizations and impact-driven teams, understand how to leverage AI strategically rather than simply adopting new tools without the systems required to support them.
Shauna Adams: Bio
Shauna Adams, known as “The Muse of AI,” is a Certified AI Consultant, international speaker, and founder of The Muse of AI. She specializes in helping individuals, businesses, nonprofits, educators, and community organizations harness the power of artificial intelligence in practical, ethical, and transformative ways.
With over 25 years of speaking experience, Shauna is known for making complex AI concepts easy to understand and implement. Her engaging presentations combine real-world applications, hands-on strategies, and a human-centered approach that empowers audiences to work smarter, increase productivity, and prepare for the future.
Whether speaking to executives, entrepreneurs, educators, faith-based organizations, or community leaders, Shauna inspires audiences to move beyond fear and embrace AI as a tool for innovation, creativity, and impact.
Janelle Villiers: Bio
Janelle Villiers is an Ivy League-trained bioengineer, bestselling author, and keynote speaker who helps women leaders break the cycle of perfectionism and step into the lives and leadership they were built for. As Founder of Janelle Villiers Partnerships, she works with driven women who are brilliant, capable, and exhausted by their own standards. Her signature workshop, 3 Steps to Stop Perfectionism, gives audiences a personalized, repeatable framework for shifting from self-criticism to courageous, confident action. With 15+ years of teaching experience and certification as an NBI Thinking Preference Specialist, Janelle brings both depth and humanity to every room she leads.
Ellie Colyer: Bio
Ellie Colyer (Fox) is a Digital Consultant, AI strategist, founder and multidisciplinary innovator working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, healthcare transformation, immersive technology and human-centred design.
With a career spanning consulting, education, languages, performance and technology, Ellie specialises in helping organisations navigate complex digital transformation programmes while ensuring technology remains grounded in human needs and outcomes. She currently leads large-scale digital transformation programmes and is the Founder and CEO of TogetherGen, a venture developing AI-powered immersive environments for rehabilitation, wellbeing and recovery.
Ellie holds an MBA with Distinction from Warwick Business School, where her dissertation focused on immersive technologies and the future of human experience. She is commencing an MSc in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and is a member of the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL).
A passionate advocate for responsible innovation, Ellie speaks on AI, human potential, digital health, immersive technologies and the power of interdisciplinary thinking. Her work explores how emerging technologies can augment human capability, creativity and wellbeing in an increasingly hybrid world.
Edward Prentice III: Bio
Edward Prentice III is the Founder and CEO of Y Creative Digital Agency, where he leads the development of AI-powered, immersive, and workforce-focused digital platforms. His work is centered on creating real opportunities for women to gain future-ready skills, build income pathways, and participate in the growing fields of AI, media, technology, and immersive experiences. Through initiatives such as the Phoenix Workforce Initiative, YCA Next Wave, and YCA Capital City, Edward is committed to helping women access training, hands-on project experience, and career opportunities that can lead to long-term economic empowerment.
Abigail Merrill: Bio
Abigail Merrill is a Founder, CEO, and leading operator voice for women in AI. Since 2019 she has owned and operated GrowthUP Partners, an AI consultancy firm that has delivered 120+ projects helping small to mid-sized businesses move from scattered AI experimentation to measurable business results. She is a Certified AI Practitioner with credentials from CertNexus, Google, and Microsoft, and brings 15+ years at the intersection of AI, operations, and business growth.
Abigail has built her thought leadership at the intersection of human-centered AI and women’s leadership. Team finalist for a WIN AI Challenge grant by the Melinda Gates French Gates Foundation focused on AI literacy for k-12 teachers in rural NC, co-creator for the first AI for Women Conference in the RTP region, a recurring speaker on practical and responsible AI at SheEvolved, the Center for Practical AI, and AI Ignite. Her flagship AI for ROI Framework and Circle of Human methodology operationalize a single thesis: AI accelerates only when humans set the direction and own the outcome. Based in Durham, NC, Abigail is committed to making AI approachable and accessible to the women, operators, and leaders who will shape what humanity-centered AI actually looks like.
Vasumitha Kadiyam: Bio
VENKATA SAI VASUMITHA KADIYAM is a finance professional currently pursuing the final levels of both Chartered Accountancy (CA) and Cost & Management Accountancy (CMA), with a growing interest in Artificial Intelligence and its potential to transform business, finance, and decision-making.
A graduate of Andhra University, she has built her journey through discipline, consistency, and a commitment to continuous learning. She was recognized among India’s Top 15 speakers in the NTS 24 Elocution Competition, reflecting her communication skills and confidence in sharing ideas on impactful platforms.
Having previously participated in the Gatherverse AI Roundtable Summit, Vasumitha gained valuable exposure to discussions on innovation, leadership, and the future of AI. She considers every opportunity a platform to learn, improve, and contribute more meaningfully.
At the Gatherverse Women’s AI Summit 2026, she looks forward to learning from inspiring leaders, connecting with ambitious women professionals, and deepening her understanding of how AI can create meaningful change across industries.
Bernice Loman: Bio
Bernice Loman, MBA is an international speaker, and founder of Loman Creative Services. She equips businesses, nonprofits, churches, and entrepreneurs to leverage artificial intelligence and emerging technologies with confidence and purpose. With expertise spanning AI, virtual reality, spatial computing, digital marketing, and business strategy, Bernice is passionate about helping organizations embrace innovation while keeping people at the center of technology.
A recognized community leader and technology trainer, Bernice speaks nationally and internationally on the practical, ethical, and transformative use of AI across industries. Her mission is to bridge the gap between faith and innovation, empowering leaders to navigate the future with wisdom, integrity, and impact.
Rachael Groover: Bio
Rachael Jayne Groover is a TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and transformational leadership teacher who helps entrepreneurs, executives, and changemakers develop unshakeable confidence, authentic presence, and emotionally intelligent leadership in high-pressure environments. She is the Founder of The Awakened School®, a global learning community dedicated to supporting individuals in living and leading from clarity, inner peace, and purpose while making meaningful impact in the world.
For over two decades, Rachael has worked internationally with leaders across business, entrepreneurship, and personal development spaces to help them overcome fear of judgment, self-doubt, burnout, and visibility anxiety. Her work focuses on the internal foundations of leadership—emotional resilience, self-awareness, authentic communication, and grounded confidence—so that individuals can show up powerfully without sacrificing well-being or authenticity.
Rachael is the author of three influential books: Unshakable Inner Peace, Powerful & Feminine, and Divine Breadcrumbs. Each explores a different dimension of human transformation, from releasing mental and emotional struggle, to embodying magnetic presence and confidence, to learning how to trust life’s unfolding path. Her teachings integrate psychological insight, emotional intelligence, and practical embodiment practices that help people shift from performance-based leadership to presence-based influence.
Her TEDx talk, How to Be Unshakeable When All Eyes Are On You, has resonated globally with audiences navigating visibility pressure in leadership, business, and communication. In it, she explores how individuals can stay grounded, clear, and expressive even when under scrutiny or high expectations.
Through her speaking, courses, and trainings, Rachael has supported thousands of people worldwide in transforming how they lead, communicate, and relate—especially those whose work depends on being visible, vocal, and influential. Her clients often include entrepreneurs, coaches, executives, and professionals who are required to speak, sell, present, and represent their work in increasingly public and demanding environments.
Rachael’s approach blends practical leadership tools with deep inner development work, offering a grounded yet transformative path for those who want to lead with both strength and authenticity. She is known for helping people move beyond fear-driven behavior into a more centered, clear, and impactful way of showing up in their work and life.
She is based in the United States and speaks internationally for conferences, organizations, and leadership programs focused on communication, resilience, emotional intelligence, and conscious leadership.
Dr. Ebha Patel: Bio
Dr. Ebha Patel is an inspiring grassroots leader, rural development advocate, and women empowerment champion whose life journey reflects resilience, innovation, and a deep commitment to social transformation. Born in a village where opportunities for girls were often limited, she rose above societal barriers to become the first female engineer from her village—an achievement that not only transformed her own life but also inspired countless rural girls to dream beyond traditional boundaries.
Her story is not merely one of personal success; it is a story of purpose-driven leadership rooted in compassion and service. While many chose urban careers and comfortable professional paths, Dr. Ebha Patel chose to dedicate herself to the villages of India, where real change was needed the most. She understood that transformation at the grassroots level requires more than awareness—it requires implementation, accountability, and consistent action.
Driven by this belief, she emerged as a powerful voice for Panchayati Raj leadership and women Sarpanches, helping them embrace digital governance, AI awareness, technology-driven solutions, health initiatives, and effective implementation of government welfare schemes. Her unique ability to bridge innovation with grassroots realities has earned her immense respect across administrative and rural development circles.
Her impactful work in technology, digital governance, and rural transformation has been recognized by the NITI Aayog Frontier Tech Hub in collaboration with The Better India. She has also been recognized among the Top 10 Inspiring Leaders of India by ABP News for her extraordinary contribution to society and women-led transformation.
At the heart of her mission lies her flagship initiative, Ghar Ayye Nanhi Pari, a movement that celebrates the birth of the girl child with dignity, joy, and pride. What began as a heartfelt initiative gradually evolved into a powerful social movement across rural India. Through this initiative, more than 9,000 newborn baby girls and their mothers have been honored across over 700 Panchayats in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
The initiative has received heartfelt appreciation from the Honorable Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel, who acknowledged its role in strengthening women’s empowerment and changing societal attitudes toward the girl child. By working closely with Sarpanches and local governance systems, Dr. Ebha Patel ensured that the initiative moved beyond celebration and translated into awareness, dignity, and access to welfare support for mothers and children.
Her contribution to grassroots governance is deeply rooted in execution and last-mile delivery. She believes that policies create impact only when they reach the people they are designed for. Because of her exceptional focus on implementation and practical transformation, she is often recognized as the “Government Schemes Implementation Girl.” Her work has strengthened trust between communities and governance systems, ensuring that welfare initiatives are not confined to documents but become realities in people’s lives.
Dr. Ebha Patel’s leadership philosophy is beautifully captured in her belief: “Awareness informs, but implementation transforms.”
This philosophy became visible in projects like the transformation of Anganwadi centers and women-led governance models, where she demonstrated how dedicated implementation can bring measurable and meaningful change within a short period. Her efforts empowered women representatives not only to hold positions of authority but also to become confident decision-makers and development leaders within their communities.
Her journey has also been marked by immense personal courage. As a survivor of a major Whipple surgery, she faced one of life’s toughest battles with extraordinary strength and determination.
Instead of allowing adversity to stop her, she transformed her pain into purpose, emerging even stronger in her mission to serve society. Her resilience became a source of inspiration for many women who saw in her a reflection of courage, grace, and perseverance.
Today, Dr. Ebha Patel continues to inspire rural India through her unwavering commitment to women empowerment, grassroots governance, and social transformation. Whether working alongside government institutions, collaborating with Panchayat leaders, or mentoring women at the grassroots, she carries forward a vision of inclusive and sustainable development.
Her story is a reminder that true leadership is not measured by titles or recognition but by the number of lives touched with compassion and courage. Through every initiative, every village visit, and every girl child celebrated, Dr. Ebha Patel continues to prove that when determination meets service, extraordinary transformation becomes possible.
Her journey is not only a story of leadership—it is truly a journey of love, courage, and hope for a stronger and more empowered rural India.
Mou Rakshit: Bio
MOU RAKSHIT
Analytics Engineering Leader | Data Engineer & Architect | Databricks Champion | Microsoft Fabric and Azure AI Practitioner
Northville, MI | 248-925-8004 | [email protected] | linkedin.com/in/mourakshit | credentials.databricks.com/profile/mourakshit34507/wallet
OVERVIEW
Analytics engineering and data platform leader with 26+ years of hands-on delivery experience turning raw enterprise data into trusted metrics, canonical datasets, reporting products, and decision-ready analytics. I have built and operated data foundations across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, utilities, and insurance, with recent work focused on Databricks, Microsoft Fabric, Azure, SQL, Python, Airflow orchestration, data governance, self-service analytics, and AI-ready data products. My work has been shaped by real production pressure: legacy systems, fragmented definitions, difficult migrations, late defects, and stakeholder ambiguity. I stay close to the work, keep learning, teach others, and build data systems that business teams can trust.
ROLE ALIGNMENT
• Translate ambiguous stakeholder questions into clean data models, trusted metrics, dashboards, and self-service analytics for Engineering, Product, GTM, Finance, and Operations teams.
• Build canonical datasets from raw operational, finance, product, and application sources using SQL, Python, Spark, Delta Lake, Databricks, Fabric, Airflow, and dbt-style modular transformation practices.
• Set data integrity standards through validation, reconciliation, lineage, job monitoring, SLAs, incident response, release discipline, and root cause analysis.
• Create reusable data products, metric definitions, curated tables, reporting layers, and governance patterns that scale beyond one dashboard or one stakeholder request.
• Coach engineers and analysts through design reviews, office hours, customer training, conference talks, and graduate analytics instruction.
TECHNICAL STRENGTHS
Analytics Engineering: Canonical data models, metrics layers, semantic design, dbt-style transformations, self-service analytics, KPI governance, stakeholder-facing reporting
Data Engineering: ETL/ELT, batch and incremental pipelines, orchestration, CDC patterns, Spark, Delta Lake, SQL, Python, PySpark, validation frameworks
Platforms: Databricks on Azure and AWS, Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, Azure Data Factory, Synapse, ADX/KQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Snowflake integration patterns
Governance and Quality: Unity Catalog, metadata, lineage, data quality rules, RLS/ABAC design, data observability, production support, access controls
AI Data Foundations: Azure AI Foundry patterns, AI Search, Document Intelligence, Databricks AI/BI, governed lakehouse data for conversational analytics and RCA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
ACCENTURE / AVANADE | Senior Manager, Data Engineering Lead and Principal Data Platform Solution Architect | United States | May 2022 to Present
Selected programs: Capital Group, Dow Chemical, Hostess, Johns Manville, Southern Company, healthcare and manufacturing data platform initiatives
• Lead architecture and delivery for enterprise lakehouse, analytics, data product, and AI-ready platform programs across Azure Databricks, Databricks on AWS, Microsoft Fabric, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Azure Data Factory, SQL, Python, and PySpark.
• For a large financial services transformation program, led data engineering delivery across six workstreams with 15+ offshore engineers and cross-functional business analysts, building governed finance data products for reporting, analytics, and future AI-assisted variance investigation.
• Defined canonical finance and operational datasets, curated layers, metric definitions, quality checks, release cutover processes, and production support practices for regulated enterprise reporting.
• Partner with business, engineering, product, and technology leaders to convert decision needs into technical requirements, prioritize intake, manage delivery tradeoffs, and align data work with measurable business value.
• Designed ingestion and transformation patterns for ERP, finance, operations, telemetry, and application data using batch, incremental, and near-real-time approaches where the business case justified them.
• Implemented governance patterns including Unity Catalog, role-based access, attribute-based access design, data classification, metadata, lineage, and least-privilege consumption for analytics teams.
• Built and reviewed dbt-style modular transformation patterns, Databricks Jobs/Workflows, Airflow orchestration designs, SQL models, validation logic, and CI/CD-ready deployment practices.
• Led release planning, deployment execution, smoke testing, incident triage, and post-release stabilization for production data workloads where accuracy and business continuity were non-negotiable.
• Developed Microsoft Fabric and Azure AI architecture patterns using Azure AI Foundry, Document Intelligence, AI Search, Power BI, and governed lakehouse data for conversational analytics, root cause investigation, and human-reviewed action workflows.
• Coach architects, data engineers, and analysts through design reviews, Databricks office hours, enablement sessions, and implementation walkthroughs.
Environment: Azure Databricks, Databricks on AWS, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, Azure Data Factory, Synapse, ADX/KQL, Airflow, dbt patterns, SQL, Python, PySpark, Power BI, Tableau, Git-based delivery
TRINE UNIVERSITY | Adjunct Professor, Master of Science in Business Analytics | Part-time | May 2024 to Present
• Teach graduate analytics with emphasis on practical data modeling, metrics, reporting, decision-making, and communication of findings.
• Coach students to reason from data, explain uncertainty, and connect analytics outputs to business decisions.
UAW RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS TRUST | Senior Data Engineer Lead and Principal Data Platform Architect | Greater Detroit Area | May 2017 to May 2022
• Owned enterprise data platform and analytics delivery across membership, finance, healthcare operations, clinical reporting, and executive analytics.
• Built trusted data repositories and reporting datasets for operational reporting, financial analysis, healthcare decision support, and business performance measurement.
• Led engineering and production support teams responsible for ingestion, ETL/ELT, SQL data modeling, Tableau analytics, release management, issue resolution, and SLA-focused operations.
• Worked directly with Finance, Operations, Clinical, and executive stakeholders to define data requirements, trusted metrics, reporting needs, and adoption priorities.
• Improved self-service analytics through curated data structures, Tableau reporting, data definitions, and repeatable support practices for analysts and business users.
Environment: SQL Server, Oracle, Azure Data Factory, Tableau, enterprise data warehousing, data modeling, ETL/ELT, healthcare analytics
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF MICHIGAN | Principal EDW Architect and Lead data engineer | Greater Detroit Area | Aug 2010 to May 2017
• Architected enterprise clinical analytics platforms and data marts supporting quality measurement, healthcare analytics, performance reporting, and regulatory reporting.
• Led data architecture, modeling, Oracle warehouse administration, integration, production support, and stakeholder engagement for enterprise analytics programs.
• Translated clinical and operational requirements into data structures and reporting models that improved consistency, trust, and reuse across teams.
AMERISURE INSURANCE | Senior Consultant, BI Data Warehouse and Analytics | Farmington Hills, MI | Jul 2009 to Aug 2010
• Designed and built analytics warehouse structures integrating multiple operational sources into Oracle for reporting, actuarial analysis, and business insight delivery.
• Partnered with business stakeholders to define report-ready datasets, validation checks, and BI consumption patterns.
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES | Data Engineer, Progressive Roles | United States and Global | Jul 1998 to Jun 2009
• Delivered database engineering, data modeling, ETL, performance tuning, production support, and client relationship management for enterprise systems across global delivery teams.
• Built the technical foundation that shaped my operating style: solve the production issue, learn the system deeply, document what matters, and make the next release more reliable.
SELECTED SPEAKING, TEACHING, AND COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP
• Databricks Data + AI Summit 2024 speaker: “Navigating the GenAI Storm: Intelligent Data Platform Design.”
• Accepted speaker for multiple 2026 data and AI conferences including Data Summit, Data Connect West, Great Lakes Data AI and Analytics Summit, Day of Data Richmond, SQL Saturday Atlanta, and community data events.
• Databricks Champion Lead and Databricks Center of Excellence contributor, organizing and speaking in regular office hours and coaching new Databricks champions.
• Delivered Databricks and modern data platform training for public and private audiences, customer enablement, and internal learning programs.
• Adjunct professor teaching business analytics, with focus on practical analytics delivery, metric interpretation, and clear communication of data findings.
EDUCATION, CERTIFICATIONS, AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING
Education: MS Computer Science, Wayne State University; Master’s Health Services Administration, University of Michigan; MS Analytics and Data Science, Georgia Tech, in progress; Wharton CTO Program; BE Electronics and Telecommunications, IIEST Shibpur
Databricks: Data Engineer Professional and Associate, Data Analyst Associate, Machine Learning Professional and Associate, GenAI Associate, Spark Developer Associate, Unity Catalog governance accreditation
Microsoft and Other: Azure Data Engineer Associate, Azure AI Engineer Associate, Power BI Data Analyst Associate, PMP, TOGAF, CBIP Mastery Level, Tableau Certified Professional, ITIL Foundation
CAREER THROUGH-LINE
I have spent my career close to the hard parts of data work: old source systems, unclear ownership, competing definitions, late production issues, and teams that still need trusted answers by Monday morning. That history is why I care about reliable analytics engineering, clean data models, explainable metrics, production discipline, and teaching others. I am drawn to Anthropic because reliable, interpretable, and beneficial AI depends on the same habits: careful data work, clear reasoning, rigorous evaluation, humility about uncertainty, and systems that people can trust.
