OUR SPEAKERS
Murali Annavaram
Professor in the Ming-Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California from 2007. He also holds a joint appointment with the department of Computer Science. He held the Robert G. and Mary G. Lane Early Career Chair until 2017. His research focuses on designing dispersed computing paradigms that perform complex machine learning algorithms on highly heterogeneous computing devices.
Meghan Jacquot
Works in Risk Assessment Cybersecurity Engineering with Cyber Future Foundation and is a curious lifelong learner with a commitment to sharing what she has learned with others. She is a Cybersecurity Specialist and has a prior career in IT Support and STEM education (teaching CS and Engineering to high school students - 17-18 year olds). She is studying cybersecurity at the University of Maryland GC as a second bachelor’s degree in CS with a focus on cybersecurity and networking as well as a cybersecurity certificate from George Washington University and graduates in August 2021.
Gracie
ermi
Research Software Engineer at Vulcan Inc. in Seattle, WA. She builds machine learning platforms to support wildlife research, including projects related to sharks, elephants, killer whales and bottlenose dolphins. As an Ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science IF/THEN Initiative, Gracie shares her work and her STEM story with audiences around the world.
Fleur
Gooden
Computer Science and Mathematics teacher at Basis International School Guangzhou. She was born and raised in Jamaica but has lived in Guangzhou, China for the past ten years. She earned her undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), her Master’s in management information system from the University of the West Indies and started a doctorate in urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech.
Alan
Kennedy
Has worked in education for 12 years. During that time, his opportunities allowed him to work in the United States, Nigeria, and China. He believes that learning is developmental and that learners with or without disabilities are capable of critical thinking and application. In his opinion, the goals of education are to prepare students with critical thinking skills for lifelong learning and to develop students who have practical knowledge and skills to solve problems outside of the classroom. In his class, he is keenly aware of the power dynamic between student and teacher.