Working together on issues that matter.
The Council for Good
The Council for Good is a place for AI and ML innovators, policy makers, social change shapers, and nonprofit stakeholders – all aligned on this path of getting the good done as outlined in the 17 SDGS by the United Nations.
This community of collaborators are supported by our Core Team members and Volunteers as they join hands, minds, and machines to collectively take on bigger and more urgent challenges.

The Council Members

Elizabeth Taylor
Waterloom
Elizabeth is the founder and CEO of Waterloom, a water resilience advisory dedicated to providing public and private sectors on the tools and insights to better understand economic impact of water. Previously worked as a strategist for Fortune 500 companies and think tanks.
» LinkedIn

Auroop Ganguly
Northeastern University
Auroop works in climate extremes, water sustainability and critical infrastructures, by integrating scientific knowledge and simulations with machine learning, nonlinear dynamics and network science. His experience spans academia, private IT (data) sector and government research labs.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Maya R. Cummings
Global Policy Solutions
Founder and President of Global Policy Solutions, Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings is an award winning policy and political strategist who works to drive society toward inclusion.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Alicia Heraz
Emaww
Alicia is a Software Engineer with a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from University of Montreal. She is the founder and CEO at Emaww and CS01.io, coach for emotional intelligence at EQBetter and chief scientist at the Brain Mining Lab.
» LinkedIn

Jared Sheehan
PwrdBy, Water Foundry
Jared is CEO of PwrdBy and a Director at Water Foundry. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and leverages a process-driven approach to design and deliver data science projects and technology products. He has built multiple social and environmental impact platforms. A former senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting, Jared currently sits on the board for the Youth Business Alliance and LATech4Good.
» LinkedIn

Pedro Siena
Siena Company
Head of Innovation at the Siena Company, Pedro is a tireless practitioner in search of new business models that will enable the flourishing of others
» LinkedIn

Paul Lamb
Man On A Mission Consulting
Paul comes with over 25 years experience as a nonprofit executive, social entrepreneur, and nonprofit management consultant, and a profound love for fine wine and pizza.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Lauri Goldkind
Fordham University
Dr. Goldkind is an Associate Professor at Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service. She is the editor of the Journal of Technology in Human Services. Goldkind holds an MSW. from SUNY Stony Brook in planning, administration, and research and a PhD from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University.
» LinkedIn

Ben Cox
H20.ai
Ben is a Director of Product Marketing at H2O.ai where he helps lead Responsible AI market research and thought leadership. Prior to H2O.ai, Ben held data science roles in high-profile teams at Ernst & Young, Nike, and NTT Data. Ben holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a BS in Economics from the College of Charleston.
» LinkedIn

Andy Forest
steamlabs
As an entrepreneur, Andy has led teams building the online solutions we rely on. As the founder of the non-profit steamlabs, he has provided technology education, and advocated for good policies for machine learning systems and the data they are built from.
» LinkedIn

Matt Lythe
Lynker Analytics
Matt is the Managing Director at Lynker Analytics that specializes in data science, geospatial analytics and data infrastructure solutions. He comes with a wealth of experience across public and private sectors in multiple fields that include science, energy, postal services, software and property.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Anastassia Fedyk
Haas School of Business
Anastassia is an Assistant Professor of finance at the Haas School of Business. Her research focuses on behavioral biases in individual and group decision-making, particularly concerning information and belief formation. She holds a PhD in Business Economics from Harvard University and a BA in Mathematics with honors from Princeton University.
» Website

Dr. Patrick Kline
UC Berkeley
Patrick is a Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley and a faculty research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research focuses on the determinants of wage inequality and the effectiveness of public policies designed to combat inequality.
» UC Berkeley

Alexander Fred-Ojala
Predli, UC Berkeley
Alexander Fred-Ojala is an expert on AI and data science applications. He is the CEO & Co-founder of Predli a global emerging technology consultancy, and he is a faculty member and the AI and Blockchain Director of the Learn2Launch Program at UC Berkeley.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Ahmad Jadallah
Phi Science Institute
Jadallah is a doctor in medicine and the leader of Phi Science that works in the area of tech education and applied research. He is a researcher in AI in healthcare applications and believes that AI is the future of global health.
» LinkedIn

Sinit Zeru
Tony Blair Institute
Sinit Zeru is a Senior Advisor at the Tony Blair Institute currently based in Ethiopia. She is an Advisor to the Ministry of Innovation & Technology, and is works on pan-African tech4development initiatives.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Desmond Upton Patton
Columbia University
Desmond is a professor and Associate Dean at Columbia university. His research examines the intersections of social media, AI, black youth and well being. He is also the associate director or DEI at the Data Science Institute at Columbia.
» LinkedIn

Matthew Gee
Brighthive, University of Chicago
Co-founder and CEO of Brighthive, Matthew is bringing data trusts to market as a form of collaborative governance for AI. He is also the co-founder of Data Science for Social Good Fellowship Program.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Bill Howe
University of Washington
Bill is an Associate Professor in the Information School and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering. His research interests are in data management, ML, and visualization, with an applied emphasis in social responsibility, services in the public sector, and applications in the physical, life, and social sciences.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Douglas Hague
UNC Charlotte School of Data Science
Doug Hague is the Executive Director of the School of Data Science at UNC Charlotte. He spent 20+ years in industry running large data science teams prior to joining academia. His last role was Chief Analytics Officer at Bank of America Merchant Services.
» LinkedIn

Shweta Khushu
SkySpecs Inc.
Shweta is a Sr. Engineer and Growth Lead of the AI team at SkySpecs. She is passionate about solving real-world problems that challenge mankind using Artificial Intelligence, especially Computer Vision. Additionally, she volunteers with Climate Mind, a non-profit building a web application designed to make conversations about climate change easier.
» LinkedIn

Mechthild von Knobelsdorff
Hungarian For Expats
Mechthild 'Maggie' von Knobelsdorff is an impact-driven entrepreneur and project manager. She has worked on international climate negotiations, founded her own social business and empowered female entrepreneurs.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Emre Eftelioglu
Amazon
Emre Eftelioglu is an Applied Scientist working with geospatial datasets to identify patterns which were overlooked by traditional machine learning methods. His main research focus is on Urban Mobility, but he also works on understanding the interconnections between Food Energy and Water resources to improve sustainability.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Frank Sanacory
SUNY Old Westbury
After obtaining a PhD in mathematics from the University of South Carolina in Functional Analysis. Frank has been involved in developing data science and the data science program at SUNY College at Old Westbury.
» LinkedIn

Anand Sampat
One Concern, Lotus AI, LLC.
Anand is an entrepreneur who has spent the last 10 years applying AI and Data Science to traditional sciences. Most recently he was the co-founder and CEO of Datmo, an AI consulting and software infrastructure company which was acquired by One Concern, an AI social enterprise solving climate related resilience. He also runs a podcast and newsletter where he features social enterprises aiming to Do Well by Doing Good.
» LinkedIn

Maria Becerra
Business Analyst
As an industrial engineer and business analyst, Maria takes advantage of her analytical and people skills to help organizations make data driven decisions and to make a positive impact in the community.
» LinkedIn

Dr. Charith Silva
Data Scientist & Visiting Lecturer
Charith is a visiting lecturer at the University of Salford and lead SQL Server DBA & Data Scientists in a regional electricity distribution network operator, Manchester, UK. He has more than 20 years of experience in advanced data analytics, business intelligence, and database administration. He has earned a PhD in Data Science from the University of Salford. His research interests focus on Data Engineering, Data Mining, and Machine Learning.
» LinkedIn

Briana Vecchione
Cornell University
Briana is a Ph.D. student in Information Science at Cornell University, working with Solon Barocas and Karen Levy. In the past, she's spent some time working at Microsoft and Spotify. She is also an affiliate of the AI Policy and Practice initiative and Mechanism Design for Social Good. Her work is supported by a Facebook Fellowship and Google Women Techmakers scholarship.
» LinkedIn

Marc Kaufmann
Central European University
Marc is an Assistant Professor at CEU Department of Economics and Business. His research focuses on beliefs and
misperceptions people hold and how this affects their work, productivity, and well-being. He graduated from Harvard University with a PhD in Economics and holds an M.Math from the University of
Cambridge.
» LinkedIn

Saumitra Sahi
Salesforce
Saumit is a data-driven problem solver. He leverages data science and designs AI processes to help drive strategy & growth initiatives for Salesforce’s Platform offering. Prior to Salesforce, he worked as an antitrust economic consultant at Charles River Associates in Chicago. Saumit holds an MBA and Masters in Computer Science from the University of Chicago and a BA in Economics from Princeton University.
» LinkedIn

Jon Letts
Sustainable Ocean Alliance
Jon is a community designer who brings his experience as an auditor to consider what is immaterial and what matters in the change we need to create. He is an organizer, coach, founder, and passionate advocate for conscious interactions with each other and our environment.
» LinkedIn

Frank Trevino
Illumulus, University of Oxford
Frank is a digital transformation & sustainability serial entrepreneur across the telco, space and public sector, focused on AI/ML, 5G and smart platforms. He is a Cofounder & Partner (AI Strategy) at Illumulus and a MSc. candidate at the University of Oxford in Sustainable Urban Development.
» LinkedIn

Neal Rickner
Seafire Capital
Neal is a tech executive that specializes in advancing new ventures through early-stage growth. Recently Neal served as the Chief Operating Officer of Makani, a next-generation wind-turbine company owned by Alphabet and Shell and is now the CEO of Seafire Capital, investing in aerospace, mobility and elecrification.
» LinkedIn

Carolina Pacheco
Queen's University
Carolina is a digital transformation and technology leader with a background in AI/ML. She is also a leading avocate for Women in AI – a global non-profit organization on a mission to increase female representation and participation in AI. In the past Carolina spent time with League, Data Science & Engineer, as well as Nestle S.A, Global Business Technology, teams.
» LinkedIn

Theebak Sothilingam
Sierra Medical
Theebak Sothilingam works at Sierra Medical as the Head of Data Science, building the next generation of AI-driven diagnostics to reduce the time and cost of cancer detection. Previously, Theebak has held roles at Oliver Wyman, RBC Insurance, and Morneau Shepell as