National AI Literacy Day Summit Speakers 2025
National AI Literacy Day Summit Speakers 2025
Featured Speaker: Matt Mahan
Mayor of the City of San Jose
Matt Mahan is the 66th Mayor of San José. He formerly served as a teacher through Teach for America, before entering the business world where he founded and grew companies dedicated to empowering neighborhoods and holding our government accountable. These core tenets remain key to his policy priorities as he pledges to focus our city government on the basic quality of life issues that impact us every single day. He currently resides in San José with his wife, Silvia, and their two children.
Featured Speaker: Katrina Stevens
President and CEO of The Tech Interactive
Katrina Stevens is the President and CEO of The Tech Interactive, a science and technology center based in San Jose, CA, that creates immersive and inclusive STEM education resources to develop the next generation of problem-solvers locally, nationally, and globally. A longtime educator, Katrina was appointed by President Obama to serve as Deputy Director of the Office of Educational Technology and later became Director for Learning Science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. She has extensive experience consulting for foundations, nonprofits, and edtech companies, and serving on national and global advisories, steering committees, and boards. Katrina was named one of ASU+GSV's Leading Women in AI in both 2024 and 2025 for her work championing AI literacy and inclusion in education.
Featured Speaker: Marc Berman
Assemblymember, District 23
Featured Speaker: Jorge Pacheco Jr.
Trustee, Area 4
Jorge Pacheco Jr was born and raised in San Jose to two working-class parents who cleaned homes and built cars to support their family. His mother escaped the Salvadoran Civil War and his Maya-Korean father left his whole family and ancestral village in the Yucatán Peninsula to give Cheko and his four sisters a chance for a better life. Despite nearly failing out of high school, Cheko went to community college and graduated from UC Berkeley—his family's first college graduate—and became a Native Studies teacher to mentor kids who struggled in school just like him. Since 2018, he has been serving his home community as their twice-elected local school board member at the Oak Grove School District making sure that no kid fell through the cracks like how he did. As of November 2024, Cheko ran for higher office and won a seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Education, overseeing 32 school districts and 240,000+ students as the first county-level Indigenous elected official ever.
Fireside Chat Featured Guest Speaker: Sal Khan
Khan Academy, Founder & CEO
Sal Khan is the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, a nonprofit educational organization that offers free lessons in math, science and humanities, as well as tools for parents, teachers and districts to track student progress. Khan Academy is piloting an AI guide called Khanmigo that is a tutor and teaching assistant. Worldwide, Khan Academy has more than 170 million registered users in 190 countries, with free lessons available in more than 50 languages.
Fireside Chat Host: Dr. Sean White
Inflection AI, CEO and Tech Board Member
Dr. Sean White is the CEO of Inflection AI, where he leads the creation of world-class AI models with groundbreaking emotional intelligence. He also cofounded, advises, and serves as a board member for transformative organizations like Braingels, the Earth Species Project, and The Tech Interactive. Sean’s work at the leading edge of technology innovation across three decades has included roles as Mozilla’s Chief R&D Officer, head of the Interaction Ecologies Group at Nokia, cofounder of BrightSky Labs, CTO of WhoWhere, VP of Technology at Lycos, and researcher at Interval. Dr. White earned his B.S. and M.S. at Stanford University and his Ph.D. at Columbia University.
Panel 1: K-12 AI: A Year in Review
- Zarek Drozda, Data Science 4 Everyone, CEO Zarek Drozda is the Executive Director of Data Science 4 Everyone (DS4E) at the University of Chicago, a national initiative advancing data science education in K-12. He co-founded DS4E, building a coalition of 3000+ education leaders. Previously, he was a Data Science Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, where he led research on data science, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other emerging technology education. Additionally, he advised the national COVID response coordinating data analytics. He also helped build a social impact incubator with economist and Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt. Zarek holds a Bachelor's in Economics from the University of Chicago.
- Christian Pinedo, aiEDU, Director of External Affairs & Advocacy Christian serves as the Director of External Affairs & Advocacy at aiEDU, leading strategic initiatives to convene stakeholders, inform systemic change, and amplify the organization’s voice in the national AI education landscape. He works closely with school districts, nonprofit partners, policymakers, and funders to drive meaningful change, ensuring AI literacy and readiness are prioritized at local, state, and federal levels. Previously, Christian worked on developing education programs at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, collaborating with multidisciplinary communities to pursue AI research and address its societal implications. He started his career as a STEM educator and developing equitable education programs— he is deeply committed to driving social change through equitable AI education, believing in the power of AI literacy to excite and empower learners everywhere.
- Dr. Pati Ruiz, Digital Promise, Sr. Director of Ed Tech & Emerging Technologies Dr. Pati Ruiz is the senior director of edtech and emerging technologies at Digital Promise, where she leads efforts to shape the future of education through technology innovation. Most recently, Ruiz has focused on initiatives that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies to enhance learning opportunities, working closely with school communities, researchers, and policymakers to close digital divides and ensure equitable access to educational technologies.
- Dr. Shelly Viramontez, Campbell Union School District, Superintendent Dr. Shelly Viramontez is the Chief Executive Officer of Campbell Union School District, where she oversees instructional, operational, and fiscal programs. With a career spanning over two decades, Dr. Viramontez has held various leadership roles within the district, including Superintendent since 2017. She is a recognized leader in creating innovative community partnerships and has earned numerous awards for her contributions to education. Dr. Viramontez holds a doctorate in Organization and Leadership from the University of San Francisco and serves on several professional boards in the education field.
- Moderated by: Aarna Sahu, Prospect High School, Junior Student Aarna, a junior at Prospect High School, has been running her podcast, Aarna’s News, since sixth grade, interviewing inspiring women in STEM to encourage young girls to pursue these fields. With over 100 episodes and listeners in 50+ countries, she’s passionate about STEM and meaningful conversations. She’s also writing Lessons From Her Career Trail with Priceless Publishing, sharing insights from professionals and her own experiences to highlight essential soft skills often missing in traditional education.
Panel 2: Innovating for the Next Generation
- Joshua Elder, Siegel Family Foundation, VP & Head of Grantmaking As Vice President and Head of Grantmaking at Siegel Family Endowment, Josh explores technology's societal impacts across learning, infrastructure, and workforce dynamics. In his role, he strategically directs investments and cultivates partnerships within SFE's focus areas. Previously, Joshua held the position of Director of Strategic Initiatives at CSforALL, a partner organization of SFE. Here, he spearheaded initiatives aimed at enhancing the capacity of school districts and educational agencies to deliver comprehensive computer science education to all students. With over a decade of experience in domestic and international education, Joshua has dedicated his career to advancing science education, instructional leadership, and pedagogical practices. Notably, he co-founded a network of low-cost private schools in South Africa and Kenya. Currently pursuing his EdD in Leadership and Innovation at New York University, Joshua holds a Master's in Public Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, an M.Ed. from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BS from Longwood University.
- Brian Johnsrud, PhD, Adobe, Director of Education Learning & Advocacy Brian Johnsrud, PhD is the Global Head of Education Learning and Advocacy at Adobe. As a former K-12 teacher and university lecturer at Stanford University and a researcher and thought leader in education technology, he’s passionate about helping the next generation cultivate essential digital and creative skills needed for success in school, careers, and beyond.
- Dr. Allison Scott, Kapor Foundation, CEO Dr. Allison Scott is the CEO of the Kapor Foundation, leading efforts at the intersection of racial justice and technology to remove barriers in access and opportunity, ensuring technology serves as a tool for equity. Under her leadership, the Foundation conducts research on disparities in the tech pipeline, funds nonprofit initiatives, advocates for policy change, and invests in entrepreneurs and venture funds focused on closing equity gaps. Previously serving as Chief Research Officer at the Kapor Center, Dr. Scott authored influential research on inequities in computer science education and effective interventions for marginalized groups, and has led national grants to expand access to CS education. She serves on advisory boards including the FCC, National Academies of Sciences, CSforAll, and SMASH, among others. Dr. Scott holds a Ph.D. in Education from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Psychology from Hampton University.
- Julia Wilkowski, Google, Pedagogy & Learning Sciences Team Lead Julia Wilkowski, former classroom educator, manages a pedagogy team within Learning & Education at Google. Her team advises Google products on applying learning science principles and measuring learning impact. She also works on LearnLM, helping infuse pedagogy into Google AI model infrastructure to power learning journeys across Google products, including Search, YouTube, and Classroom. In previous roles, she designed and delivered learning experiences for audiences including Google engineers, fiber optic installers, members of the general public, and Google sales people globally. Prior to Google, she designed learning solutions for astronauts, K12 educators, and sixth graders. Every day she strives to blend the effectiveness of hands-on science lessons with the impact of scaled learning experiences.
- Moderated by: Alejandra Acosta, JK K12 Co., Chief of Staff Alejandra is an education technology professional with a decade of experience in higher education, ranging from working directly with students to working at an edtech and AI startup. She has conducted research on digital learning, the ethical use of predictive analytics in higher ed, and how colleges use technology in admissions. Most recently she has been passionate about connecting schools and colleges to edtech and AI solutions that help them improve student outcomes. Born and raised in San Jose, she is passionate about educational and digital equity.
Steering Committee Organizations
The National AI Literacy Day Initiative is being led by four steering committee organizations. Find out what’s happening as part of this initiative across the nation, from educator resources to professional development and more in-person events.