AI Week Schedule

AI Week Distinguished Speakers

Dr. Nataliya Kosmyna, research scientist at MIT Media Lab

Dr. Nataliya Kosmyna is a research scientist at MIT Media Lab’s Fluid Interfaces group and a visiting faculty researcher at Google. She has over 15 years of experience in developing and designing end-to-end brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). She is passionate about the idea of creating a partnership between AI and human intelligence. Kosmyna’s projects explore ways of helping people with ALS, mvASD and other health challenges, to communicate with their families, caregivers, and to control their homes or robots. Dr. Kosmyna’s solutions and projects are successfully deployed in classrooms, hospitals, workspaces, aerospace, Lower Earth Orbit and on the moon. 

Kosmyna won multiple awards for her work, including the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science award, she was named as one of 10 Top French Talent from MIT Innovators Under 35 and more. Her work was covered in more than 400 TV appearances, radio and other news outlets all around the world including New York Times, The New Yorker, CNN, Washington Post, Time, Nature, CBS News and more.

Luke Leonhard, chief of staff at Google DeepMind

Luke Leonhard is chief of staff at Google DeepMind, serving the speech and audio teams, ensuring that GDM's Gemini models can be used across Google products and serve users across the world. His teams provide data, computation, and policy guidance for processing audio.

Leonhard has been at Google for over 12 years, and previously he was at Brady Corporation in Milwaukee, where he served as a user experience manager, web application services manager and software developer. Leonhard graduated from MSOE in 2004 with a B.S. in Business and Computer Systems. He was an adjunct professor at MSOE from 2012 to 2013 and taught management information systems courses.

Dr. Max Wintermark, Professor and Chair of Neuroradiology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Neuroradiology

Dr. Max Wintermark is a Swiss-American neuroradiologist renowned for pioneering brain perfusion scanning techniques. He holds an M.D. from the University of Lausanne, a master's in clinical research from UCSF, and an MBA from UMass Amherst. 

After training in neuroradiology in Switzerland and at UCSF, he advanced through faculty positions at UCSF, the University of Virginia and Stanford University, where he served as a professor of radiology and Chief of Neuroradiology from 2014 to 2022. 

Since 2022, he has been Professor and Chair of Neuroradiology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His research focuses on clinical translation of advanced neuroimaging for cancer, stroke, traumatic brain injury and psychiatric conditions, with over 750 publications. Dr. Wintermark currently serves as the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Tina Austin, Founder of GAInable.ai

Tina Austin is an AI ethics consultant and biomedical researcher who helps universities adopt artificial intelligence critically and responsibly. She is the creator of the UnBlooms™ Framework and UnBlooms™ scale (used by faculty internationally) which reimagines Bloom’s Taxonomy for accessible, inclusive and critical AI literacy.

Recognized as a 2025 Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and one of ASU+GSV’s Leading Women in AI, Tina has taught at UCLA, USC, CSU and Caltech across fields ranging from regenerative medicine to communication. She serves in advisory roles with the California Department of Education’s AI & Workforce Board, the Los Angeles AI Taskforce and the Marconi Society, and is a member of Oxford University’s global AIEOU community. Tina was also part of a select cohort of global educators invited to speak at OpenAI Headquarters for its first inaugural Higher Education AI Summit.

Her work has been featured by OpenAI, Microsoft and Duolingo, and her mission is to advance inclusive, evidence-based approaches to AI in education.

Nancy Connolly, President of Hammes Healthcare

Nancy Connolly is the President of Hammes Healthcare. She brings more than 25 years of deep industry knowledge and exceptional client service skills and believes in establishing long-term relationships with our clients. During her tenure at Hammes, Nancy has been focused on the strategic planning and development of healthcare assets. She works directly with clients on key initiatives including ambulatory network planning, project feasibility planning, site selection, and project management for ambulatory facilities, hospital expansions, and new hospitals. Nancy has been directly involved in the planning and delivery of hospital programs in excess of $3 billion.

Prior to joining Hammes, Nancy was a Senior Regional Manager for The Advisory Board Company. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, and earned a Master of Business Administration in marketing and corporate strategy from the Robert H. Smith School of Business from University of Maryland.

Sarah Alt, Chief Information Officer at Phelps Dunbar

Sarah Alt is an accomplished professional in ethical artificial intelligence with extensive information technology expertise working for and consulting with companies, professional services firms, institutions of higher education, startups, and nonprofits. As the Chief Information Officer for Phelps Dunbar, Sarah spearheads strategies for people, process and technology to drive innovation, excellence and value for the firm and its clients.

Sarah is a sought-after speaker at industry conferences and events, where she shares her knowledge and experiences of designing, developing, and deploying technology responsibly. Sarah is an IAPP certified AI governance professional and has contributed to ethical guidelines and standards for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Sarah was nominated to serve on the 2024 Legislative Council Study Committee on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Wisconsin, is a 2025 Lawdragon 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors and was nominated to the 2025 Milwaukee Business Journal Women of Influence.