Anne is an urban planner who is passionate about building an equitable city that serves all Edmontonians. Following an undergraduate in international development and economics, she went on to complete a masters in city design. After 10 years of working and traveling abroad, Anne was thrilled to return to her hometown of Edmonton in 2012. She spent 7 years at the City of Edmonton and worked with the Right at Home Housing Society to provide affordable housing solutions to meet the diverse needs of our community.

Through serving in leading roles at the City of Edmonton from 2012-2019 and as Board President and staff member of Right At Home Housing Society, Anne has gained a deep understanding of the people and processes that shape our city. Anne has been a leader in multiple organizations, from small grassroots initiatives to a multi-million dollar agency. She knows the importance of collaboration and informed decision-making, and how to make hard choices in challenging situations.

Anne is a proud Edmontonian with deep roots in O-day’min. She lives in Oliver with her partner and daughter, and her work takes her to neighbourhoods across the ward. She is an active volunteer and loves taking in the many great amenities that Ward O-day’min has to offer.

Maureen Towle is the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Data, Privacy and Innovation Division and Chief Data and Privacy Officer for the Government of Alberta. The Data, Privacy and Innovation Division is accountable for the Government of Alberta Data Strategy; the protection of personal information and guidance around the ethical use of data; and the Alberta Technology and Innovation Strategy; governance of Alberta Innovates and the Alberta Enterprise Corporation. In addition, this division advances the strategies and policies related to the delivery of data, content management, technology, and privacy related programs and services.

Over her career with the Alberta Public Service, Ms. Towle has made many significant contributions to the modern services government provides to Albertans and meaningful transformation in the information and records management, data, and privacy systems in the province. Ms. Towle has served in key leadership roles across the Government of Alberta, in the fields of human resources, customer relationship management, and data and information management and most recently in the innovation space. As Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Data and Privacy Officer, she provides exemplary leadership to a complex and diverse portfolio of programs and services.

Her recent work has included the Data Strategy, Content Management Policy, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Operations transformation, Information Management Awareness and Training and supporting impactful cross-ministry programs such as the Anti-Racism Action Plan. Ms. Towle is also a key champion of the government’s drive to digital. Her efforts and leadership directly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of the APS, building a better and stronger public service as well as supporting Albertans in how they interact with and receive government services.

Gail Powley is a community-builder, championing the growth of the tech sector by supporting entrepreneurial advanced tech companies and raising their visibility, advising on policies and providing access to talent. She has worked in industry, government and academia for more than three decades.

Powley graduated with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Alberta. Over the next 20 years she took on technology development and process automation roles with companies including Microtel Pacific Research (B.C.), Procter & Gamble (Toronto), Aspen Technologies (Calgary), Matrikon (now Honeywell, Edmonton) and Willowglen Systems (Edmonton). As a practitioner, she applied advanced technology for the energy, pulp and paper, and transportation industries. Through this experience, she progressed through to executive management.

To pursue her interest in supporting a diverse workforce, she joined WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science & Technology) where she helped found WISER (Women in Science, Engineering & Research), a group for graduate students and young professionals. Throughout the years, Powley’s volunteer leadership roles have included founding organizations like BESTT (Bridge for Engineering, Science, and Technology Talent) and MentorUP Alberta — groups that support underrepresented professionals in science and engineering in both industry and academia.

Her volunteer work with the Alberta Women’s Science Network earned her recognition as a Mentor of the Millennium. She was founding chair of the Women in APEGA advisory group, and led the development of “Managing Transitions Before, During and After Leave,” a best-practices guide for employees and employers that supports the retention of women STEM professionals after maternity leave; the document was adapted and jointly published by Engineers Canada and Geoscientists Canada. Powley’s work to build a more diverse, inclusive and innovative work force also earned her the Women in Engineering and Geoscience Champion APEGA Summit Award in 2014.

Most recently – Powley has become a Board Member of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), a non-profit corporation that invests in research infrastructure at Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions. Powley also holds many local Steering Committee roles including with Rainforest Alberta and Edmonton Regional Innovation Network (ERIN).

In her role as President of Technology Alberta, Powley and her team collaborated with champions in industry and academia during the COVID-19 pandemic to mobilize tech companies across the province (with federal and provincial government support) to provide work opportunities for unemployed students and professionals. As a result, 500 work placement opportunities were created which will: grow advanced technology companies, provide valuable professional development, and build community.

Deborah Akaniru is a Machine Learning Project Manager with the Advanced Tech team at Amii. She has managed a variety of technology-focused projects in areas such as Networking, Security, Unified Communications, performance optimization, as well as the design and implementation of smart business solutions across various industry verticals, including information technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, and healthcare.

Deborah earned a B.Eng in Electronic Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She also holds her PMP and PMI-ACP designation. She is passionate about using technology as a force for good.

Ella Wherritt is a data engineer and data analytics instructor. She has five years of data experience in nonprofits, educational technology, and password security. She's also a Operational Analytics Data champion, ready to share her data knowledge with the community.

When she isn't sharing her love for data, you can find her hiking or sipping coffee.

I have had a passion for technology ever since my first robotics course in high school. Since then I have fallen in love with coding and have completely my bachelors in computer science. I have worked as a Front End developer at Intuit and a Back End developer at Dotdash Meredith. I have been able to speak at a variety of conferences and events like the Canadian Celebration of Women in Computing and Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

Maddie is a Sr. ML / Research Engineer in industry, published author and seasoned open-source AI leader, with 6+ years of experience in ML R&D. Her areas of interest include generative models, NLP and Human <> AI interactions. She was also a 2x startup founder, a Blockchain educator/researcher, Founder of Women Who Code - Data Science, and technical advisor to various startups and Diversity and Inclusion consultant for tech nonprofits. She completed her degree in Mathematics at the University of Waterloo and currently lives / works out her truck. Maddie enjoys piloting airplanes and adventures in the wilderness in her spare time.

People Coordinator at AltaML. I came to Canada as an international student and worked my way through retail, student leadership, marketing and now tech

Celia is currently the CTO at AltaML, one of the largest applied AI solution providers in North America. Celia holds a Bachelor and Masters degrees in Computing Science and has over 25 years of technology, business and management consulting experience including senior executive leadership positions. She has solid competencies in digital transformation, enterprise architecture, data and solution architecture, strategic planning, IT service delivery, program and project management, as well as vast experience in leadership and delivery of large and complex technology transformation programs. Prior to joining AltaML, Celia worked for Deloitte Consulting in the Technology Strategy and Transformation service and co-led the Architecture practice for Deloitte Canada.

Cassy supports the Co-founder and Co-CEO, Cory Janssen, in various areas including in his role as interim CRO, leading AltaML's Series B financing and achieving other strategic objectives. She graduated from UofA in 2022 with a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance - with distinction). Prior to her internship at AltaML, Cassy was an intern at Amii and helped plan the CIFAR Deep Learning + Reinforcement Learning (DLRL) Summer School.

I recently embarked on a new journey in Computational Science; learning and researching new ways to harness the power of technology in the field of Artificial Intelligence - improving utility and impact, enabling accessibility, and enhancing algorithms.

I am interested in collaborations that provide opportunities for the application of Data Science and Machine Learning models for education, social good, and equity, especially in Africa and for Africans.

Experience in Data Analytics using Data collection, Data Visualization, Statistical Methods, Exploratory Data Analysis, Machine Learning/Deep Learning algorithms.

My research interests include Deep learning, Sensor networks and Internet of things. I currently work on building robust models for multimodal sensor fusion that handles data quality issues.