Speakers
Dr. Suraj Yengde
AUTHOR | ACTIVIST | Harvard FELLOW | OXFORD
Dr. Yengde is currently a W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow at Harvard University. His prior appointments were Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, a non-resident fellow at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, and was part of the founding team of the Initiative for Institutional Anti-Racism and Accountability (IARA) at Harvard University.
Dr. Suraj Yengde is also a DPhil candidate at the Faculty of History at the University of Oxford.
He has studied on four continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America) and is India’s first Dalit Ph.D. holder from an African university (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg).
Originally from Nanded, India, he is an International Human Rights attorney by qualification from India and the UK.
Prachi patankar
Activist | writer | educator
Born and raised in rural India, Prachi was raised by a freedom-fighter grandmother and parents deeply involved in anti-caste, feminist, and peasant movements. Over two decades in New York City, she has been an activist, educator, grantmaker, and writer involved in social movements which link the local and the global, police brutality and war, migration and militarization, race and caste, women of color feminism and global gender justice.
She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Human Rights Funders Network and the Grantmakers for Girls for Color. Prachi believes in the vital power of intersectional and international visions and strategies, which resonate across Dalit rights and Black lives, migrant justice and gender justice, to build bottom-up change from the local to the global.
Dr. Ashutosh nandeshwar
AI & Data Science Solutions Creator |
Data Product Executive
A visionary analytics leader with over 13 years of experience building and directing high-performing data science teams across prominent organizations. Combining a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering with two decades of programming expertise, they've consistently transformed complex data challenges into elegant, actionable solutions.
Their technical mastery spans machine learning, AI implementation, and data visualization, complemented by a talent for translating technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders. As a published author on Tableau and R, they've contributed significant thought leadership on AI and data science, while also leading educational initiatives through Apra's data science task force.
Beyond technical excellence, they bring entrepreneurial instincts that identify opportunities for innovative data products and services. Their leadership philosophy centers on mentorship and team development, consistently cultivating environments where analytics professionals thrive and deliver exceptional results.
A sought-after keynote speaker who combines deep technical knowledge with exceptional communication skills, they remain passionate about coaching the next generation of data leaders and creating solutions that drive meaningful business impact.
Dr. KYLE HEYBLOM
Earth System Scientist | Planette AI
Kyle specializes in climate dynamics and climate data analysis, and brings in additional expertise in hydrologic cycle change. He is also frighteningly efficient at tinkering with, building, and running Earth system models on high performance computing architectures. In his spare time, Kyle enjoys the outdoors and running extremely long distances in the wilderness.
Merve cerit
PhD Candidate , STANFORD University
Merve Cerit is an interdisciplinary researcher and engineer working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, digital media, and mental health. Their work focuses on developing computational methods and person-specific analyses to better understand how media and technology shape well-being, cognition, and behavior. With expertise in AI-augmented reasoning, multimodal data analysis, and learning sciences, Merve explores applications of AI that promote mental health, critical thinking, and human-centered design.