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Tiffani L. Williams

Keynote Speaker Tiffani L. Williams is the Director of Computer Science Programs and Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University’s College of Computer and Information Science in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she will lead the Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) and ALIGN MSCS programs. Before joining Northeastern, Williams was a member of the faculty at Texas A&M University, most recently as an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and as an affiliated faculty member […]

Alison Scott

Allison Scott

Session: The Ultimate Unicorns – Research on Black Women in STEM Dr. Allison Scott is the Chief Research Officer for the Kapor Center for Social Impact (KCSI), where she leads a research agenda which explores barriers to participation in computing among underrepresented groups and informs the design and implementation of strategies, practices and policies to diversify the technology ecosystem. Her current areas of focus include: (a) examining equity in computer science education, (b) exploring interventions to increase computing participation, degree completion, workforce participation and entrepreneurship […]

PETA GAY-CLARKE

Peta-Gay Clarke

Session: The Ultimate Unicorns – Research on Black Women in STEM Peta Clarke is a well-rounded professional with broad experience as a Business, Information Technology and Community leader coupled with a passion for providing STEM education to underserved youth. She is currently a Community Manager for Code Next at Google. Code Next is a new Google initiative to build social capital in Black and Latino neighborhoods by developing culturally engaging and community-centric tech innovation experiences. Previously, she was the Deputy […]

Shawndra Hill

Shawndra Hill

Session: Technology and Social Behavior Shawndra Hill is a Senior Researcher in the Computational Social Science Group at Microsoft Research NYC. Prior to joining Microsoft, she was on the faculty of the Operations and Information Management Department at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was an Annenberg Public Policy Center Distinguished Research Fellow, a Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative Senior Fellow, and a core member of the Penn Social Media and Health Innovation Lab and the Warren […]

SHEILA ISBELL

Sheila Isbell

Session: Big Data Modeling Sheila Isbell has fifteen years of software development and project management experience with research interests in health informatics, global health, and educational technologies. For the last seven years, she has focused on the research, design, implementation, and deployment of solutions that aggregate disparate data for vulnerable, high-risk, and transient populations, making these data accessible to the both the populations themselves and those who support them. As a Computing Research Scientist in health informatics she has contributed […]

Adriane Randolph

Adriane B. Randolph

Session: HCI & Robotics Dr. Adriane B. Randolph is the Founder and Executive Director of the BrainLab and an Associate Professor of Information Systems in the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the Department of Computer Information Systems at Georgia State University and a B.S. in Systems Engineering with Distinction from the University of Virginia. Dr. Randolph’s research focuses on brain-computer interface systems which allow for non-muscularly controlled […]

Sandra Johnson

Sandra K. Johnson

Keynote Speaker Sandra K. Johnson is the Founder and CEO of SKJ Visioneering, LLC, a global technology development, consulting and services company. A “hidden figure”, she is formerly the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), IBM Central, East and West Africa, and was based in Nairobi, Kenya.  She has conducted research in a number of computer related areas and was part of the design team that developed the prototype for the IBM Scalable Parallel Processor (SP2), the base machine for “Deep Blue”, IBM’s world famous chess […]

Ayanna Howard

Ayanna Howard

Session: HCI & Robotics Dr. Ayanna Howard is an educator, researcher, and innovator.  Her academic career is highlighted by her focus on technology development for intelligent agents that must interact with and in a human-centered world, as well as on the education and mentoring of students in the engineering and computing fields. Dr. Howard has made significant contributions in the technology areas of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and robotics.  She has over 20 years of R&D experience covering a number of projects […]

RAQUEL HILL

Raquel L. Hill

Keynote Speaker Dr. Raquel Hill is an Associate Professor of Computer Science in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Harvard University. Dr. Hill‘s primary research interests span the areas of trust, security, and data privacy. Her more recent work on data privacy uses the semantics of data to create privacy preserving frameworks for text data. Her inter-disciplinary work on the […]

Brandeis Marshal

Brandeis Marshall

Panel: Big Data Modeling Dr. Brandeis Marshall is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the Computer and Information Sciences Department at Spelman College.  In research, Dr. Marshall is interested in discovering effective ways of handling text-based data and information. The three main focuses are: (1) labelled data analysis, (2) unlabeled data analysis and (3) fixed-length data analysis resulting in 25+ scholarly refereed publications including journal articles, conference and extended abstracts. Dr Marshall is currently serving as the PI […]

Latanya Sweeney

Latanya Sweeney

Keynote Speaker Dr. Latanya Sweeney is a Professor of Government and Technology in Residence at Harvard University, and her mission is create and use technology to assess and solve societal, political and governance problems, and to teach others how to do the same. One focus area is the scientific study of technology’s impact on humankind, and she serves as Editor-in-Chief of Technology Science.  Another area of focus is data privacy, for which she is Director of the Data Privacy Lab at Harvard.  See […]

Kailei Carr

Kailei Carr

Workshop: Branding Your #BlackGirlMagic A champion for women in leadership, Kailei Carr is the CEO of The Asbury Group and the director of Information Technology Senior Management Forum’s (ITSMF) EMERGE Academy, a leadership program designed for women of color in IT. Having spent over 15 years working for and with some of the world’s most recognizable companies and brands, she now advises the executives behind such brands, propelling them toward greater impact and influence, both online and in the office. […]

Rakia Finley

Rakia Finley

Session: 10 Years in Development – What Got Harder, and What Sucked Rakia is the CEO of Surge Assembly, a consulting firm designed to improve the growth of businesses and nonprofits by utilizing technology. Her work includes consulting on the use of software systems to achieve the corporate mission, information technology planning and the strategic use of technology. Rakia also resides as the Co-Founder and CIO of FIN Digital a full-service digital development firm building beautiful innovation applications, AI platforms, […]

ALANA WARD-ROBINSON

Alana Ward Robinson

Keynote Speaker Alana Ward Robinson is a transformative information technology executive with over 30 years of experience increasing value in organizations with breakthrough applications of emerging technologies to support changing business models. Throughout her career, she has built successful business-aligned IT organizations within publicly traded companies, specifically large manufacturers and healthcare (payer) companies. She is recognized for her expertise in developing and gaining consensus, whether that is through implementing technologies that enable bold transformation initiatives, obtaining buy-in from peer leadership […]

Brenda Darden Wilkerson

Brenda Darden Wilkerson

Keynote Speaker Brenda Darden Wilkerson is an advocate for access, opportunity, and social justice for underrepresented communities in technology. She currently serves as the President and CEO of AnitaB.org, an organization working to shape public opinion about issues of critical importance to women technologists in academia, industry, and government. She founded the original Computer Science for All program, building computer science classes into the curriculum for every student in the Chicago Public Schools, and serving as the inspiration for the Obama […]

Christina Harrington

Christina Harrington

Panel: What No One Told You About Being a Black Woman in Academia Christina Harrington is a designer and qualitative researcher focused on creating technology experiences that promote health and wellness among marginalized populations and those with disabilities. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow in the Communication Studies department where her research interests intersect Human-Centered Design, Human-Computer Interaction, and Health Informatics, primarily working with the older adult population. In particular, she is interested in leveraging co-creation and community-based participatory […]

Renata Rawlings-Goss

Renata Rawlings Goss

Session: Big Data Modeling   Dr. Renata Rawlings-Goss is the Co-Executive Director of the South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub, who works with industry, universities, and government in creating productive partnerships around Big Data, Data Science and the “Internet of Things”. One of only four federally funded Big Data Hubs for the nation, the South Hub services 16 states, Delaware through Texas including Washington DC, in forming multi-state, multi-sector collaborations in priority areas such as Health, Energy, Smart Cities, Policy, […]

Leigh Bond

Leigh Creighton Bond

Session: Personal Health and Mental Wellness Since December 2016, Leigh Bond serves as the Vuley Fellows Coordinator at Feminist Women’s Health Center. She’s responsible for coordinating the Errin J. Vuley Fellows Program’s calendar of activities, including bringing together community partners as facilitators and creating curriculum materials. Leigh’s commitment to pathways that address her dual passions in education and justice led to her current position. In the past, Leigh has worked for legal nonprofits that serve low-income populations, including Atlanta Legal […]

Kristen Hayes

Kristen Hayes

Workshop: Heal Thyself Painting Sessions Kristen Hayes, a Native Washingtonian, is a visual artist, graphic designer, art educator, and a member of Black Artists of DC. She is presently a tenth-year art educator, currently working within the Montgomery County Public School system, and continues her personal work as a visual artist for the past twenty-two years. In 2012, she was recognized by the White House as a “Champion of Change” for her on-going endeavor, “Color Is Life”, a collaborative painting […]

Shamika Klassen

Workshop: Black (Women) to the Future: Crafting the Gathering Space of Tomorrow Together Today Shamika is a person who is passionate about people and technology! She was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, and is the oldest of four children.   After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in African and African-American studies in 2011, she served a year with AmeriCorps in New York City.  She went on to study technology and ethics by developing technowomanism at Union […]