Founder, President

Beena Ammanath

Beena is the Founder and CEO of Humans For AI. Beena is a transformational leader and recognized industry expert who has driven pioneering technology changes in several market leading major companies by shaping the use of AI, Data and Analytics. She saw through mentoring programs how difficult it was for women and minorities to enter the new economy. Inspired to make a difference, Beena started Humans For AI to increase diversity in AI and make AI understandable to the non-tech community.

Interests: Family, Women in Tech, Foodie

Co-CEO & CTO

Tarun Rishi

Tarun is an experienced technology leader highly skilled at leveraging the art of possible for successful business outcomes, building highly functional teams and simplifying complex cross functional organisational engagements. He is developing training, platforms and mentoring to improve diversity and curate a learning path into an AI technology career. Tarun is passionate about the positive use of AI and Data for businesses and society.

Interests: Politics, Technology that can change the world, Digital Art & Cooking

Co-CEO & Founding Member

Deepa Naik

As an AI Evangelist, Deepa works in accelerating industry adoption of Artificial Intelligence Technologies enabling individuals and organizations to enter the machine age. She is the co-founder at Cogitari

Interests: Education & Educating the girl child, Innovations for Human Good, Artist

COO

Christina Carlisle

Christina is an operations specialist with a passion for customer success and has a diverse business background ranging from project management to startup advising.

Interests: High Performance, Making a Difference, Design Thinking

Chief Innovation Officer

Rachel Trombetta

Rachel Trombetta is the Global Principle Enterprise Architect for GE Digital Professional Services. Her role crosses sales, engineering and execution teams to architect complex business outcomes utilizing GE Industrial software solutions and services. Her primary industrial focus includes Power, Transportation, Healthcare, Aviation, Manufacturing, and Emerging Verticals.

Rachel’s previous role was Chief Architect responsible for DevOps and Service Reliability for GE Digital Commercial Solutions including Brilliant Manufacturing and Asset Performance Management. Her team was responsible for building technology and processes to harness cloud technology and automation to deliver increased productivity outcomes for GE Digital Industrial customers.

Prior to GE, she held several roles supporting IT military command and control operations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Of note, she was Chief Information System Security Officer (CISSO) for more than 10 programs. And, during her US Air Force civilian roles in Aviano Italy, she was awarded the global Air Force civilian of the year in 2000.

Rachel holds a Master’s of Science in Management Information Systems and B.S Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland.

Interests: Teaching, public speaking

Lead Counsel

Cassie Deskus

Cassie is an attorney with a strong background in technology. She is dedicated to increasing diversity in technology and encouraging development that is transparent, accountable, and mindful of social impact.

She earned her JD, magna cum laude, from NYU Law, her M.S. in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University, and her B.S. in Math from UChicago.

Interests: Hiking, Family, Criminal Justice Reform

CMO

Taline Felix

Taline is a digital growth marketer interested in utilizing Artificial Intelligence to streamline marketing and sales. She is responsible for sharing the value of Humans For AI with the world.

Interests: Sustainability, Art of Yin and Yang, Parenting

Australia

Daniella Aburto

Daniella is passionate about scaling cool technologies to drive a positive impact. Daniella understands that AI will disrupt life as we know it, and sees a great opportunity in leveraging AI into shaping a more inclusive world. With this mission, Daniella is expanding Humans for AI into Australia and New Zealand.

Daniella has worked, studied, and lived in Mexico, Canada, USA, and now Australia. She holds a Master’s degree from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto.

Interests: Travel, Sustainability, Marathons.

Caribbean

Dr. Claire Nelson

As a futurist and sustainability engineer I help organizations and people see the future more clearly and design a map for their journey to the future they want. As a storyteller and keynote speaker, I help people feel the future. I am a creative strategic thinker and change agent, founding curator of TEDxIDB, and Editor-at-Large of Human Futures Magazine of the World Futures Studies Federation Experiences include: pioneering development equity and strategic foresight in development assistance at the Inter American Development Bank; leading the identification and development of technical assistance in innovation portfolio in renewable energy, stock exchanges, IP and privatization across the Caribbean and Latin America. Specialties include: Strategic Foresight; International Development Project Design; Sustainability Engineering; Scenario Analysis; Stakeholder Consultation; Futures Explorations Design & Facilitation; Storytelling in business.

Proven social innovator: established leading Caribbean American advocacy organization, the Institute of Caribbean Studies. Established Annual Congressional Forum on Capitol Hill on US/Caribbean relations & Pioneered White House Briefing for the Caribbean American Community in 1999. Commended in the US Congressional Record as a leader and the architect of June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month. Listed on Forbes as one of the Top 50 Female Futurists in the world

Speaking engagements include: World Steel; Jamaica Development Bank; Guardian Life Insurance; American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Jamaica Stock Exchange; US Securities Exchange Commission; US Army; US Department of Agriculture; US Patent and Trademark Office; Black Engineers Conference; World Bank African Diaspora Forum; Harvard Black MBA Conference.

Interests: Storytelling, Future of Space, Global Citizenship

India

Rohini Chavakula

Rohini Chavakula, a data science lead at Hewlett Packard Enterprise with strong passion to solve business problems using decision sciences. Having 12 years of experience in business analytics and collaborating with customers across domains to provide executable analytical solutions. Proficient in implementing complex machine learning and statistical modelling algorithms to identify data patterns and extracting valuable insights. Hands-on experience in building script based automated AI models and designing tactical/operational dashboards using various visualization tools to drive discussions and decisions.

Naturally inclined to share knowledge especially on data sciences and drive effective brainstorming sessions to ideate innovative solutions.
Have eagerness to learn new things.

Loves to spend time with my family and enjoy cooking various recipes for my family.

Interests: Emerging technologies, Culinary arts, Gardening

Europe

Renee Yandell

Renee Yandell is the Senior Director of AI Market Development for HPE in Europe and core member of the worldwide AI Strategy initiative within the company. She is also a visiting lecturer at the Grenoble International Business School, teaching high tech marketing, innovation and change management in the Masters of Business Development program.

Previously, she was the Chief of Staff for the European Executive Leadership team. Responsibilities included European business reviews with the CEO and worldwide executive staff. Prior to this role Renee was the Marketing Director for Global Accounts in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Her team also had responsibility for the developing areas of Data Analytics, Security and Mobility.

Her areas of expertise include technology innovation, product management, business development, marketing and change management.
Renee began her career at HP in California as a technical systems engineer. This led to a move to the worldwide networking lab followed by a leadership role in the client business where Renee was responsible for the initial models in electronic commerce.

She holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Davis and an Executive MBA from INSEAD Business School in Paris.

Interests: Health Informatics, Golf, Running

Editor in Chief

Barbara Heikkinen

Barbara is a business-driven technology leader who is truly passionate about innovations, productizing them, and getting the products out to the hands of customers. Her specialties include product management, business operations, data analytics and monetization, AI strategy, and digital business models.

At venture creation arm of BBVA, a global bank, Barbara helped launch a banking-as-a-service product as well as initiated collaboration with Stanford and MIT on machine learning. At Nokia Technologies, our team transformed a pure R&D and patent unit into a $2Bn business in digital health, virtual reality, and patent and brand licensing. At Nokia CTO, Barbara led product and program management for a team of 150+ people that built next-generation mobile devices and apps in a stealth mode. With PhD in Computer Science, she has held various technology and business leadership positions.

Barbara is a natural collaborator and partnership builder. She believes in leading by example in all areas of life including diversity, inclusion, and ethics of AI.

Interests: Walking the dogs (miniature poodles), Peloton indoor biking, Eating Mediterranean food

Head of Marketing and Programs

Adhar Walia

Adhar Walia is a Product Management & Product Marketing executive and a thought leader with an 18-year track record of building and growing innovative, industry first products. He has held leadership roles at several startups and Fortune 500 companies including Sprint, Qualcomm, Symantec and HTC Vive, where he has driven adoption for AI/ ML, AR/ VR and other emerging technologies.

Adhar is passionate about the use of AI and machine learning to solve big problems and transform human lives. With his expertise in Product Management, Adhar aims to bridge the gap between business and AI/ ML. At Humans for AI, Adhar is building programs to bring more inclusion and diversity in the field of AI.

Interests: Travel, Hiking, Tennis

Marketing & Project Management

Zia Virmani

I am a seasoned Business Professional with 15 years of experience in Operations Management, Sales and Marketing, Client Relationship and People Management. I have successfully driven large teams, managed performance, and consistently achieved business goals. In addition, I’ve also garnered several awards in the course of my career and have spearheaded several employee retention programs.

By joining the Humans for AI team, I aim to leverage my skills in simplifying AI for the workforce of the future.

Interests: Family, Meeting and interacting with people, Listening to Music

Chief Data Scientist

Jibin Joseph

Jibin has been working in the IOT and IIOT domain for several years and has been passionate about the use of Data Analytics and Deep Learning in every day applications. He has developed extensive data pipelines and several machine learning applications to parallelize and scale highly efficient business solutions.

Interests: Cricket, Machine Learning & Analytics, Hiking

Product Manager

Madhav Srinath

Madhav is the Product Manager spearheading initiatives including a customized AI chatbot and an HFAI mobile application suite. He is currently on the AI advisory board at Microsoft and is the Analytics Manager at Agillitics.

Interests: Data, Fitness, Food

Automation and CMS

Ratna Janjanam

Ratna is a software engineering professional with a passion for emerging AI technologies, quality, and engineering effective automation solutions. She has 12 years of experience working with various companies in and around the Bay area and holds a Master’s degree in computer science from Monash University, Australia. She is currently at Salesforce in a quality engineering role.

With the next industrial revolution engulfing us, she believes that learning is crucial, and each advancement leads to another requiring new learning and skillset. By joining the Humans for AI team, she aims to gain and leverage her skills in simplifying AI solutions.

Interests: AI, Machine Learning, Data Sciences, Automation; Cooking and watching simple recipes; Pencil sketching

VP, Student Programs

Neil Damle

Neil is actively engaged with developing Humans for AI as a platform for the next generation. As a high school student, he brings a unique perspective about the challenges faced by the future workforce. He is passionate about technology and how AI can be used to benefit humanity.

Interests: Sports, Technology and Music.

University Ambassador

Ishaan Preetam Chandratreya

I am a sophomore in Columbia Engineering majoring in Computer Science, with interests and experience in data-driven algorithms, deep learning, hardware prototyping, entrepreneurship, and economics. I am passionate about democratizing and increasing representation in artificial intelligence.

Interests: AI ML & DL, Robotics, Computer Science Foundations

Intern - AI Driven Marketing Practice

Anjali Varhade

Anjali, inquisitive by nature, a self starter and self-motivated with a strong willingness to learn on whatever lay on her hands. Being in love with optimism, passionate about Marketing with an educational background of MBA. Her passion for working in a team to achieve same goal can be traced back to her pre-professional days. Whether as a Genera Secretary in the high school or as a president of the marketing club during the Masters. Currently working into Brand Servicing, she strongly believes that AI is looking to change the game of leveraging customer data, within newfound concepts of machine learning to anticipate the next move to enhance a customer’s journey.

Interests: Traveling, Networking, Social Media

India - Digital Marketing

Sachin Patankar

Accomplished professional with 27+ years of experience in managing L&D functions and Process improvement initiatives in IT and Manufacturing sector.

Expertise in scaling up and managing training vertical for efficient delivery of training programs through traditional, contemporary, innovative and modern methods in sync with the business/stakeholder requirements.

Recognized for ability to drive process improvements and providing measurable improvement in operational efficiency in any kind of set-up

Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Music and Songs, Training & Knowledge sharing

HFAI Podcast & Media Support

Kate Lim

Kate is a High School student who is interested in working in the medical field. Kate is thrilled to learn about the effects and benefits the Artificial Intelligence has on human beings and the medical field workforce. Kate looks forward to being a part of “Humans for AI” and contributing to the future AI world and the diverse workforce of the next generation.

Interests: Playing Golf, Art and Computer Science, Medical

Advocate, Healthcare

Hala Kersha

Hala Kershah is a Healthcare change agent and a health equity champion. She is a Regional Program Manager at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. Dr. Kershah oversees the program’s strategy, implementation and evaluation of the medical and dental integration program, to provide a new standard of affordable and high-quality integrated care. She has a background in patient care, operations, strategy and finance. Prior to moving to the US, Dr. Kershah practiced dentistry working on improving the oral and total health of the underserved populations in Alexandria Egypt.

She holds a master’s degree in health administration from Tulane University School of public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a Bachelor of dental Surgery and Oral Medicine from Alexandria University Faculty of Dentistry. Dr. Kershah is engaged in several professional organizations including the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE) and The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)

Interests: International Travel, Exploring different cultures through their cuisine, Music

EMEA Chapter

Manoj Singh

+30 years of international Experience, Living & Working in many different Cultures / Continents / Countries, Business Environment, Successful Entrepreneur Created / Managed 3 start-up’s and since past 20 Years working in Hi-Tech Industry as Senior Management to lead Business Strategy, International Pre-Sales Org., Solution Selling, AI/BI/Machine learning, Consumption Model OpEx: Pay-per-Use to optimize Capital Expenditure, Efficiency Gain, Technology Service/ New Style of IT, Risk Management, Designing Strategy, Business Development, Value Engineering, Governance, Steering’s, Stakeholder Mgmt.

Master in Computer Science, Master in Business Administration, PMP® Certified Project Management Professional PMI & Green Belt Certified Lean Six Sigma Quality

Interests: Technology, Travel, Volunteering

Europe Team

Valerie Desmaison

Working at HPE for 22y, 6 years as European Supply Planner.
Mother of 3 teenagers i’m concerned by the Planet and respects of humans. I’m Open and happy to contribute to any activities that connect people; will push myself out of comfort zone to continue to grow & learn with others.I have no particular technical skills but can bring admin support, logistical organization etc.

Interests: Lindy Hop (Swing) & Hip Hop Dance, Travels (open to the World), Live Concerts, Theatre

Europe Team

Marie-Paule Odini

Marie-Paule is a business expert & chief technologist in the fields of 5G, Telecom, Mobile, NFV/SDN, IoT, Big Data/Machine Learning/AI, Innovation, Opensource, Startup, Tech, Green. Currently, at HPE, she is a Distinguished Technologist and prior was a Director and part of Orange Labs. She holds different chair and vice-chair positions in standard bodies and industry forums such as ETSI, IEEE, TIP. She also teaches Telecom and 5G at the University Savoie Mont Blanc, holds a Master’s Degree in EE from Utah State University and an Executive Business Degree from INSEAD, France. She is highly passionate about diversity and the environment and her hobbies include reading, skiing, sailing and outdoors in general.

Interests: Birds (active member of French Birdslife – www.lpo.fr), Environment (co-founder of Air Quality non profit – Enairgie Commune

Europe Team

Giovanni Piana

Giovanni Piana is a senior manager with over 37 years of diversified international experience in high tech.

He is currently the founder and president of Meaningful Innovation Consulting.

Previously he has served in several leadership roles at HP and HPE in many functions, product lines, and geographies. He has held executive positions in sales, R&D, Manufacturing and professional services. His knowledge and experience cover a wide variety of fields and industries: telecommunications, manufacturing, printing and imaging, IT services, automotive, healthcare, IoT.

Giovanni is passionate about technology and a strong believer in purpose-driven innovation.

Giovanni graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering from Politecnico of Milano in 1983. He also attended a certificate program in Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University in 1990 and holds a mini-MBA from the same university.
He lives in Grenoble, France with his family.

Interests: Outdoor Sports

Human-Centered Design, ANZ Team

Dillian Gonzalez

Dillian works in innovation focusing on solving wicked problems using design thinking techniques to breach the gap between design, tech and business.

Interests: Emerging Technology, Psychology, Art

Community Engagement Manager

Michael Slater

Michael is a technology enthusiast who is passionate about making new connections, studying computer science, and finding new innovative ways to solve problems and increase diversity within tech around the world. He previously worked as a city planner for a small town in Texas to construct ordinances and regulations under the head economist. He currently works for Deloitte and is eager to learn more about AI. Michael obtained his bachelor’s in Economics with a minor in business from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018.

Interests: Playing and listening to music, Machine Learning, Traveling

Fundraising and Marketing

James Konoske

2019 Graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University (San Diego, CA). Received a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with concentrations in Computer Science, Statistics, and Finance. I’m Passionate about Data Analytics and the influence and impact technology has on our ever evolving world. As the son of an immigrant mother, being able to help bridge the gap between opportunity and accessibility is one of my greatest passions in life.

Interests: Voluntarism, Softball and Volleyball, Collecting Enamel Pins

Head of Brand & Design

Joy Jacob

Joy is an accomplished hands-on creative executive and strategic visual storyteller. Her expertise includes building transformational content teams, executing publishing strategies, driving creativity & best practices across customer journies, and positioning brands for optimal performance, competitive advantage, bottom-line growth, and sustained success. Since 2003, she has independently owned and operated a creative consultancy focused on print & digital magazine publishing, brand identity & design, and cross-media campaign development for a portfolio of Fortune 500 brand clients and high-profile publishers.

Interests: Volunteering at children’s hospital, Creative Writing, Cooking

Lead Content Strategist (Copy Writer & Editor)

Alison Weiss

Alison Weiss is a creative and experienced content writer and editor. Her strategizing, researching, and interviewing skills enable her to craft engaging content focused on the intersection between technology and society.

Interests: Cooking, Travel, Creative writing

UX Designer

Radhika Tandon

Radhika is a designer with a background in education and the arts. She is passionate about the collaborative nature of the design process. She looks forward to how the implementation of AI technologies can benefit education practices and increase accessibility.

Interests: Running, Museums, Food

Intern (AI in HR)

Avani Chomal

I am a technology enthusiast who grabs all the exciting opportunities which come forth. My passion lies in managing the human as a resource to achieve the path effectively and mutually. With a combination of both I want to contribute larger towards the human progress with the coming technologies.

Interests: Blogging, Traveling, Dancing

Volunteer

Macy Liang

I am a high school student and my interests involve math, sciences, and computers.  I haven’t worked much with artificial intelligence in the past but I am excited to learn about it and help promote it.

Interests: Math, Music, Sports

Intern

Peyton Wang

Peyton is a rising sophomore at Wellesley College interested in studying cognitive science and computer science. She enjoys writing and is passionate about women in AI. This summer, Peyton looks forward to helping contribute content to Humans For AI.

Interests: Music, Swimming, Food

Student programs - development

Tejas Kulkarni

Tejas is a high school volunteer for Humans For AI. He has lots of experience with AI-related projects, and enjoys spreading his knowledge and opinions to others. Tejas is very passionate about learning new ways of using artificial intelligence to benefit the community.

Interests: Music, Photography, Computer Science

Student Programs - Content Design

Anirudh Murugesan

Anirudh is involved with the design and growth of our Student Program as a platform for the next generation. With past experience in youth development, Anirudh contributes valuable insight of effective communication with young learners. He has a passion for AI’s potential to benefit the lives of people around the globe.

Interests: Sports, Cognitive Science, Journalism