Conference Speakers
AI/ Misinformation Panel
Arthur Gwagwa
Arthur Gwagwa qualified as a lawyer in Zimbabwe and England. Once taught by Agnes Callamard of Columbia University, he is a globally recognized human rights lawyer who specializes in the right to privacy and freedom of expression in the digital age. He was recently acknowledged as one of Africa’s top ten changemakers in digital rights and freedoms.
He is a Ph.D. research fellow in the Dutch Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies at Utrecht University, where he also teaches Ethics of Technology. He is one of UNESCO’s Africa regional experts on AI. He holds several research affiliations, including with Stanford and the UK Royal Chatham House, where he sits on the High-Level Task Force on AI and Society. He recently contributed to a forthcoming volume of essays with Stuart Russel and James Manyika.
Dr. Maria Dikcis
Dr. Maria Dikcis is a College Media Fellow in the Department of English at Harvard University. Her research interests include contemporary American literature, critical race and ethnic studies, artificial intelligence, and data science. She teaches courses that foreground humanistic approaches to these topics, such as “Race in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” and “The Dark Side of Big Data.” During the 2023-24 academic year, Dr. Dikcis is also serving as a Researcher for the metaLAB (at) Harvard, where she is supporting the development of the AI Pedagogy Project. This curated collection of assignments and resources is designed to help educators integrate generative AI into their classrooms in critical, creative, and responsible ways.
Cybersecurity/ Privacy Panel
Karen Sorady
Karen Sorady is the Vice President of the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) Strategy and Plans division at the Center for Internet Security. In this role, Karen’s focus is on establishing relationships with key member segments, including the MS-ISAC Executive Committee, external association partners and the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to develop strategies and plans to provide solutions and best practices which positively impact the cyber security interests of our State, Local, Tribal and Territorial members. Karen has a wealth of experience in cybersecurity and information technology having retired as New York State’s Chief Information Security Officer after a more than 30-year public sector career. Her background includes executive cyber and information technology leadership, governance, strategic planning, risk management, security outreach and awareness, threat and vulnerability management, and incident response. Ms. Sorady holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Albany, NY and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the State University College at Oneonta, NY. She holds certifications as an Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), in Risk and Information Security Controls (CRISC) and in Strategic Planning, Policy and Leadership (GSTRT).
Mental Health Panel
Dr. Laura Marciano
Dr. Laura Marciano is a Research Associate at the Harvard Chan T.H. School of Public Health Department of Social and Behavioral Science, the Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness. She is the PI of the HappyB project (funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation - SNSF) and the HappyB2.0 Project (funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - NICHD), aiming to study the longitudinal link between smartphone use, social media, and positive well-being in adolescents. She is also the responsible of the Happiness 2.0 project aiming to communicate the studies’ results to teens, parents. She obtained her PhD at USI Switzerland and her doctoral work received the prize for the best thesis in Social sciences. She studied Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience in Italy, where she graduated with Laude and Menzione ad Honorem. Dr. Marciano is also part of the board of the IBSA Foundation for scientific research, which aims to disseminate scientific results through communication activities.
Closing Keynote Speaker
Dr. Yalda T. Uhls
Dr. Yalda T. Uhls is the founder and executive director of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA, which is the only youth-centered organization to bridge the gap between social science research and media creation to help storytellers better reflect the lives of adolescents. She is an internationally recognized research scientist, educator, author, and expert on the science of media and adolescent development, the importance of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and the evolving nature of parenting. Dr. Uhls’ career bridges the worlds of entertainment and psychological research. She was a movie executive at MGM and Sony who earned an MBA and Ph.D. from UCLA. She now serves as an assistant adjunct professor at UCLA and is the author of Media Moms and Digital Dads: A Fact Not Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age. She is also the proud daughter of Persian immigrants.