People

Leadership

Joe Sutherland, Ph.D.

Inaugural Director

Biography

Dr. Sutherland is a noted technology executive, public service leader, and educator. His professional background includes executive roles at Amazon and Cisco, public service at The White House and academic appointments at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University and Emory. As the inaugural director of the Emory Center for AI Learning, he promotes artificial intelligence (AI) literacy and community across Emory University.

Link to personal website

Staff and Fellows

Senior Program Coordinator

Tommy Ottolin

Tommy Ottolin joins us from Georgia Tech, where he recently earned his master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction. Before earning his master’s, he worked at Epic Systems, where he advised hospital executives on EHR implementation projects. He has worked for several musical AI startups, holding roles in UX and product strategy to discover new forms of fan engagement.

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Communications & Events Specialist

Danielle Williams

Danielle Williams joins the center from Emory’s Communications and Marketing team. As the previous Assistant Director of Media Relations, she developed and implemented media relations strategies that elevated Emory’s university priorities, including AI.Humanity and Student Flourishing. Danielle has a history of communications roles at publication & communications agencies.

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Senior Program Fellow

Yana Bromberg

Dr. Bromberg coordinates the Center’s faculty seminar series. Her research focuses on deciphering the DNA “blueprints” of life’s molecular machinery. She develops novel bioinformatics techniques to find out where this machinery comes from and why/how it runs. Her findings consistently indicate that our world functions via dependencies and interactions at all scales.

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Student Fellows

Marcia J. Ash, MPH

Marcia Ash is a mixed-methods researcher and PhD candidate in the Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. Her research broadly focuses on the implementation of behavioral interventions and digital tools to address mental health inequities. Marcia also has industry experience as a User Experience Researcher, most recently at LinkedIn. As a Research Fellow at the Center for AI Learning, Marcia is studying the application of large language models to support qualitative data analysis.

Alisha Morejon

Alisha is currently a junior double majoring in Mathematics & Computer Science and Religion. At Emory, she's involved with the Alas de un Mismo Pájaro dance team, the Afro -Latinx Student Association, Black & Latinx in STEM, Emory Student Ambassadors, and she is a Resident Advisor. Next summer, she will be an Enterprise & Operations Technology Intern at Citi Bank.

Etna Ozkara

Etna is a senior studying Mathematics and Computer Science who comes from Istanbul, Turkey. She hopes to become a software engineer, and she has taken numerous courses, internships, and leadership opportunities on and off campus to prepare her to leave an impact in this innovative field.

Raphael Palacio

Raphael is a junior studying Computer Science and a Business minor. He is a member of the Emory Swim Club and an active participant in campus Hackathons. He is thrilled to work for the Center after enjoying AI courses that Emory offers.

Dylan Parker

Dylan is a junior studying Computer Science & Economics at Emory, and he's from Princeton, New Jersey. On campus, he's involved with Hack4Impact, Men's Club Soccer, Alpha Tau Omega, and more! He began learning about AI while studying abroad in Korea, and he's excited to continuing learning in hopes of becoming a Software Engineer after graduation.

Matthew Sharp

Matthew is from Dallas, Texas, and he will graduate with his B.S. in Computer Science and a Business minor in Spring 2024. He became a Student Fellow to solve real-world problems and further his understanding of AI concepts, and he is interested in how AI can shape cybersecurity systems and standards.

Madeline Simpson

Madeline is an Atlanta native studying Computer Science with a Business minor. She has studied a variety of coding concepts and methodologies, but she recently has been most excited by Computer Vision models. She's excited to use her time at the Center to promote the emerging field of using AI for social good.

Iris Zheng

Iris is from Beijing, China, and she hopes to graduate in 2025 with a double major in Computer Science and Biology. She conducts biology research at the Rollins Research Center, works on a data visualization project with Data Interpreter, and volunteers at a community healthcare center. With the development of AI, my interests have also evolved towards exploring the application of AI in the healthcare field; she plans to become a doctor or surgeon in the future.