New board members’ education, technical, and entrepreneurial acumen will enhance growth and development of organization’s artificial intelligence (AI) and tech entrepreneurship programs for underrepresented youth and families.
Technovation is proud to announce the addition of Sepi Hejazi Moghadam, Head of Special Projects, University Relations at Google and Rachelle Davis, Senior Software Engineer at Blizzard Entertainment to its board of directors as it continues to build programs for youth and families that spark curiosity in new technologies and create a foundation for lifelong learning.
Technovation’s board of directors bring diverse experience and perspectives to the direction of the organization as it develops engaging and innovative AI and tech entrepreneurship curricula and training materials that are free and accessible to educators, parents, and mentors worldwide.
Dr. Sepehr Hejazi Moghadam, Head of Special Projects, University Relations at Google incubates programs that improve the experience and outcomes for underrepresented students in computer science at the graduate level. His projects have focused on establishing a deeper understanding of underrepresented groups who choose computer science and the barriers preventing those that do not. He has a PhD in Political Science and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Masters in Policy Analysis and Evaluation from Stanford University.
“I am thrilled to join the Technovation board because the organization shares the same level of commitment I have to empowering young people and their families who have been historically underserved in computer science pathways to be the creators of tomorrow’s innovations that will benefit their communities and the world,” said Hejazi Moghadam.
Rachelle Davis is a Senior Software Engineer on one of Blizzard Entertainment’s incubation teams. Previously, she was a lead engineer on the Hearthstone team where she architected and managed all technical development of new game features for the blockbuster hit digital strategy card game. Rachelle’s journey as an engineer began at the University of California, San Diego where she earned dual Bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics-Computer Science and Interdisciplinary Computing & the Arts. She then received her Master’s of Science in Computer Science with a focus in Games from the University of Southern California.
“I have always been a strong advocate for women in software engineering and women in games,” said Davis. “I could not be more excited to join the Technovation Board and be a part of empowering young people – especially women – on a global scale to believe in themselves and their futures in technology.”
The organization is also excited to welcome Deena Shakir, a Partner at GV, as a board observer. At GV, Deena supports portfolio companies with their business development and growth opportunities. Prior to joining GV, she led business development for early-stage products at Google in health care, research and machine intelligence, and search. She also spearheaded social impact investments for Google.org.
“Technologies like automation and AI impact everyone, but too few people currently feel empowered to use these technologies to solve problems in their lives and for their communities,” said Technovation CEO & Founder Tara Chklovski. “We are excited to add Sepi, Rachelle and Deena’s experience and insights to our board as we aim to inspire more people around the world to become leaders, creators and problem-solvers.”