For the final 5 years, I’ve spent plenty of time listening to and documenting the tales of builders which might be utilizing AWS applied sciences to unravel onerous human issues for my sequence Now Go Construct. Whether or not it’s offering an identification to beforehand unbanked rice farmers in Indonesia, utilizing pc imaginative and prescient and machine studying to responsibly farm fish in Norway, or discovering methods to pair cloud expertise with human instinct to reforest components of Hawaii, revolutionary of us all over the world are displaying that not everybody desires to be the subsequent unicorn, and proving that it’s potential to do good and run a worthwhile enterprise.
Nonetheless, realizing the complete potential that expertise gives to unravel these urgent points, comparable to catastrophe reduction and local weather change, takes extra than simply monetary funding. It requires a devoted give attention to nurturing and creating the technical experience and innovation capabilities of the leaders in these areas. That’s why earlier this yr at VivaTech, I introduced the Now Go Construct CTO Fellowship in collaboration with AI for Changemakers led by Tech To The Rescue.
This fellowship is tailor-made for aspiring tech leaders in nonprofits and social impression organizations. It supplies fellows with coaching, mentorship, and entry to AWS consultants to speed up their progress and the event of tech options that may make a profound distinction in areas comparable to catastrophe administration, local weather, well being and past.
At the moment, I’d wish to announce the primary two cohorts of the Now Go Construct CTO Fellowship: Catastrophe Administration, and Local weather Resilience. These people and their organizations are taking over a few of humanity’s hardest issues — and I’d wish to introduce them to you (in their very own phrases).
Aleksandra (Ola) Bilicka, Assist.NGO
Based mostly in: Poznań, Poland
From a younger age, I acknowledged the numerous potential of expertise to do good, from flying ultralight plane to witnessing drones determine at-risk penguin colonies. Hybrid edge computing and its potential to handle among the world’s most difficult humanitarian and growth points has been a driving pressure for me. In my present function, I’m lucky to leverage these applied sciences as our crew responds to crises and complicated emergencies, starting from hurricanes in Mexico and tornadoes in Kentucky to earthquakes in Turkey and battle in Ukraine. Our crew makes use of open-source AWS workloads to allow multinational organizations, native leaders, and first responders to know area challenges, visualize knowledge, make knowledgeable choices, and talk on the transfer. I hope the Fellowship will equip me with management expertise and supply a deeper understanding of rising applied sciences and their purposes in emergency settings.
Based mostly in: Saint Paul, MN, USA
Mercy Corps is a worldwide group serving communities in over 40 nations, serving to them rebuild after disasters, break cycles of poverty, and forge paths to prosperity within the face of injustice, instability, and local weather change. We leverage digital applied sciences, distant sensing, AI, and cloud computing to develop and scale revolutionary options that improve the effectiveness and effectivity of humanitarian help. As Senior Director of Expertise for Growth, I spearhead efforts to determine new purposes for expertise and knowledge, develop methods for tech integration, and construct inside technical capability. The CTO Fellowship presents a unprecedented alternative to study from one of many world’s most revolutionary executives and elevate our potential to harness expertise for social good.
Based mostly in: Pittsburgh, PA
With 20 years of expertise expertise spanning various industries together with gaming, finance, and now meals restoration, I’ve been serving because the Head of Engineering at 412 Meals Rescue/Meals Rescue Hero for the previous 5 years. Throughout this time, I’ve helped broaden the Meals Rescue Hero (FRH) platform to have interaction over 50,000 volunteers throughout 20 North American areas. The FRH platform gives Meals Restoration Organizations a complete resolution for environment friendly operations and volunteer administration, aiming to streamline the meals restoration course of and make it as intuitive, equitable, and accessible as potential for all stakeholders. This Fellowship presents a novel alternative to realize insights into the challenges confronted by different revolutionary organizations in our area. Furthermore, it can amplify our nationwide attain and pave the best way for our world growth efforts.
Based mostly in: Heredia, Costa Rica
I’m deeply captivated with leveraging revolutionary applied sciences, distant sensing, picture and knowledge processing to create constructive impression. Because the CTO of qAIRa in Lima, Peru, and the CEO of Inexperienced Xpo Lab in San José, Costa Rica, I lead groups that harness distant sensing expertise, knowledge analytics, and AI fashions to develop options that empower our shoppers to make knowledgeable choices. Our focus is on creating the best platform to current these outcomes, guaranteeing our shoppers not solely entry the information they want but in addition achieve worthwhile insights that drive steady enchancment of our choices. The Fellowship represents an thrilling alternative for me to chart a transparent path in direction of turning into an distinctive challenge and product supervisor, in addition to a simpler expertise chief. As I attempt to steer my groups to success, I’m keen to amass the instruments and methods essential to information our efforts and obtain our bold targets extra successfully.
Based mostly in: Ubungo, Tanzania
Because the CTO at Code for Africa, I lead groups that construct civic tech options to empower communities and drive social change throughout the continent by means of data-driven initiatives. My ardour lies in utilizing expertise to handle social points, specializing in creating accessible instruments for citizen engagement, knowledge evaluation, and public service supply. As an open-source advocate and seasoned technical chief, I’m dedicated to creating expertise that serves those that want it most.
Based mostly in: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rising up in Latin America, I witnessed firsthand the challenges our area faces. This expertise fueled my want to make a distinction, main me to a profession in public affairs the place I honed my expertise in driving impactful change. Nonetheless, I sought a method to apply these expertise with larger precision and scale – like a surgeon needing a scalpel, not only a hammer. This pursuit led me to CRIES, the place we leverage AI and OSINT to handle crucial points comparable to arms trafficking, defending indigenous neighborhood rights, combating disinformation, and stopping climate-driven conflicts. I imagine the Now Go Construct Fellowship might be instrumental in scaling our impression and creating an bold early warning system for the area.
Based mostly in: Bangladesh and Nepal
With almost a decade of expertise in innovation administration throughout the humanitarian and growth sectors, I give attention to selling open-source improvements and whole-of-community approaches to reinforce resilience in resource-constrained environments. My experience lies in leveraging social innovation, human-centered design, and the even handed software of frontier applied sciences to handle challenges confronted throughout humanitarian crises. As Chair of the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub’s Advisory Group and a Fellow on the Ethereum Basis, I carry a various perspective to the sphere. At present, I’m spearheading efforts in exploration, technique growth, and speedy experimentation round Generative AI at ACAPS and BRAC.
Based mostly in: Bristol, UK
I’m Petya Kangalova, Expertise Partnership and Engagement Lead on the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Group (HOT). At HOT, we offer map knowledge that revolutionizes catastrophe administration, mitigates dangers, and contributes to attaining the Sustainable Growth Targets. We develop a collection of open-source instruments for collaborative mapping and geospatial knowledge assortment, together with an AI-assisted mapping service that enhances effectivity for humanitarian mappers.
As an open tech fanatic, neighborhood builder, innovator, and advocate for variety and inclusion within the tech business, this Fellowship will empower me to strengthen my management expertise and speed up innovation within the open mapping and geospatial area. It should additionally facilitate connections and collaborations with different leaders within the tech and humanitarian sectors, enabling us to refine our applied sciences and create extra sustainable impression in addressing right this moment’s most urgent challenges.
Based mostly in: Pune, India
At WOTR, I spearhead initiatives that harness expertise to reinforce rural resilience and empowerment, addressing challenges in sustainable agriculture, meals safety, drought resilience, and local weather adaptation. By integrating AI, satellite tv for pc imagery, and cell instruments, we allow communities to make data-driven choices and enhance operational effectivity. The CTO Fellowship gives invaluable insights and connections that can assist us scale our impression on rural livelihoods and environmental conservation.
A name for future fellows
Whereas our inaugural Fellows has been chosen, we’re nonetheless recruiting fellows with a spotlight in these crucial areas:
- Well being
- Schooling
- Financial Growth
Go to Tech to the Rescue to study extra in regards to the Now Go Construct CTO Fellowship and to apply.
Now, Go Construct!
