National AI Literacy Day Summit Speakers

Christian, Chief of Staff at aiEDU, spearheads efforts to create equitable AI literacy experiences, serving as a liaison to school districts and nonprofits. With a background in education and recent work at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, he drives initiatives aligning AI education with societal needs. Christian is committed to fostering social change through accessible AI education.

Jason B. Allen, National Director of Partnerships at the National Parents Union, amplifies parent voices through partnerships, programs, and campaigns. With 19+ years in education and currently as a Catalyst Fellow of EdSafe Alliance, he empowers students, families, and communities. Through his company, Educational Entities, LLC, Jason harnesses digital storytelling to share experiences and cultivate advocacy on platforms like podcasting and blogging.

Jean-Claude Brizard is President and CEO of Digital Promise Global, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on shaping the future of education and advancing equitable education systems by bridging solutions across research, practice, and technology. He is a former Senior Advisor and Deputy Director at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and he's a twice former, large city school superintendent.

Katy Knight is President and Executive Director of Siegel Family Endowment, a foundation focused on the nexus of technology and society. Under her leadership, equity, flexibility in grantmaking, and systems-level thinking have been key touchstones for the organization. Since joining Siegel in 2017, she has pioneered an inquiry-driven approach to philanthropy, grounded in the scientific method, and centered on reframing big questions and learning alongside grant investments.

Jonathan Porat was appointed State Chief Technology Officer in 2023 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Previously, he served as CDT’s State Chief Technology Innovation Officer following a position as Seattle’s first Information Technology Engagement Manager. Porat worked across governments to lead initiatives with city executives, frontline staff, Seattle’s City Council, the Washington State Legislature, and the US Congress to identify business and policy issues, find innovative tech solutions, and ensure they would be sustainably managed for years to come. Previously, he worked at the US Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy and in the Executive Office of the President.

Esmeralda Tovar is the Computer Science Education Manager at The Tech Interactive (The Tech). During her time at The Tech she has developed The Tech’s data science (DS) and computer science (CS) learning models which focus heavily on computational thinking. She has led and designed professional development for teachers focused on integrating computational thinking into core subjects. She has been a guest on the Spanish Cráneo: Ciencia para niños curiosos podcast in which she breaks down CS topics, and most recently AI, for kids who are curious about STEM and the world around them. She is an advocate for STEM equity and wants to ensure that younger generations have access and build the skills necessary to pursue STEM careers if they choose to.

Peggy currently leads the curatorial department at the Oakland Museum of California, an interdisciplinary museum of art, history, and natural science. She has more than three decades of experience developing learner-centered exhibitions and programs in museums such as the Boston Children's Museum, The Tech, and the Exploratorium.

Jill Bourne is San José's City Librarian. With a focus on expanding access, partnerships, educational outcomes, and digital empowerment, she is committed to enhancing the relevance and leveraging the value of public libraries in the communities they serve. Bourne has been recognized as a “Mover and Shaker” by Library Journal, a “Women of Influence” by Silicon Valley Business Journal, Library Journal’s “Librarian of the Year,” a member of the “Upstart 50” by the San Francisco Business Times and was honored by the Cinequest Film Festival with the “Maverick Visionary Award.” She leads the San José Education and Digital Equity initiatives through extensive partnerships with academic agencies, telecommunications providers, and community-based organizations, to remove barriers for under-connected and under-resourced households throughout San José.

Tara Chklovski is the Founder and CEO of Technovation - the world’s largest technology entrepreneurship program for girls. Technovation has empowered 400,000 participants across 120+ countries to tackle local problems using cutting-edge technologies (mobile and AI). Tara has been featured in the award-winning documentary Codegirl, and named “the pioneer empowering the incredible tech girls of the future” by Forbes. Technovation recently released a strategic plan to empower 25 million girls with AI & technology entrepreneurship skills over the coming years - to meet the UN 2030 Sustainable Development goals.

Michael Matsuda, Superintendent of the Anaheim Union High School District and acclaimed educational leader, spearheads transformative initiatives at AUHSD, fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and compassion. He has garnered numerous awards for his visionary leadership, including national recognition from Education Week, the California Association for Bilingual Education, and more. Matsuda champions democracy in education, overseeing 17 California Democracy Schools and serving on the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships Board of Directors. His initiatives, such as AIME mentoring program and AUHSD SERVATHON, enrich student experiences and promote civic engagement. Matsuda's journey, deeply intertwined with AUHSD’s history, is documented in the poignant film "Remember Us: An Historic Chapter at Anaheim High School."

Christofer Nelson is the President and CEO of Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), a network of science centers, museums, and allied organizations dedicated to the vision of increasing understanding of and engagement with science and technology among all people. Before ASTC, Christofer worked for a range of philanthropic, government, and private-sector organizations, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Georgetown University, and the X Prize Foundation.

Winnie Fong is the Vice President of Programs and Instruction at Breakthrough Silicon Valley, a SJ-based non-profit dedicated to helping traditionally under-represented students to get into and succeed in college. In her role, Winnie provides leadership and oversees the planning and implementation of its 7-year student support and college access and success program for first gen students. Winnie brings over a decade of experience in youth and education support service, including working at a couple of college access organizations in SJ prior to joining Breakthrough.

Corey is the Chief Program Officer at AI for Education and a former high school English teacher, school principal, and edtech executive. She has over 20 years of experience leading classrooms, schools, and district teams to transformative change focused on equity and access for all students. As a founding public charter school leader, she ensured that 100% of seniors were accepted to a four-year college. Her focus now lies in assessing the broader K-16 edtech ecosystem, uniting stakeholders at all levels to build a more equitable and abundant future for all.

Michael de la Cruz is a Senior Director of Microsoft’s Customer Experience Success organization. He focuses on driving strategies and initiatives for the Education industry worldwide to accelerate time to value from technology investments and the successful adoption of Microsoft solutions. Michael brings over 16 years of global ed tech experience from his work at Microsoft, Google and Intel. He has a passion for helping customers experience “Aha moments” which clearly demonstrate how technology can help transform education.  Michael is also a volunteer in various technology committees and athletic programs in his local public school district.

Sonia Malik, Global Program Director at IBM Corporate Social Responsibility, leads the SkillsBuild Program. IBM SkillsBuild is a free education program focused on underrepresented communities in technology, that helps adult learners, and high school and university students and faculty, develop valuable new skills and access career opportunities. Aligned with IBM’s commitment to Skill 30 million by 2030, Sonia leverages her extensive leadership and programmatic expertise to drive strategic development and global execution across 150 countries. Her role underscores IBM’s dedication to leveraging technology and talent to address societal challenges worldwide.

Ellen Pack joined Common Sense Media in 2013 and currently serves as its President. Common Sense is the leading nonprofit organization in the US dedicated to building a more healthy, equitable, and empowering future for all kids in the digital age.

Katharin Probst is a Director of Engineering at Google, where she currently heads the engineering and data science teams for Google for Education. Before Google, she was a Director of Engineering at Netflix, where she was responsible for the Netflix API, which helps bring Netflix streaming to millions of people around the world. She also holds a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University. Her technical focus is on scalable distributed systems and cloud computing, but her interests go beyond the technical to the human, where she is passionate about making education accessible and effective for people around the world.