Why did you decide on a career at the UN?
I’ve always been drawn to complex, system-level problems - the kind that require collaboration across disciplines and sectors to solve. The UN is one of the few places where you can work on those challenges at scale, while staying connected to the people and communities directly affected.
My journey has taken me from supporting post-conflict stabilization and community resilience in the Sahel, to developing climate foresight tools for South Sudan, and now exploring how AI and digital innovation can empower victims of terrorism. Before joining the UN, I worked in the private sector on green tech entrepreneurship and in research advising governments on the security implications of emerging technologies. The UN brings all of that together - it’s where policy, innovation, and humanity intersect to make a real, measurable difference.
What has been your favorite technology project or initiative at the United Nations and why? What was your contribution?
Right now, I’m leading a really exciting new initiative with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism that looks at how AI and digital tools can help victims of terrorism. I started by mapping what’s already out there, from trauma-informed virtual therapy tools and ethical data-sharing platforms to misinformation monitoring and signposting tools for people in crisis. The response from innovators, academics, frontier labs, and start-ups has been incredible, and it’s opening up real possibilities to co-create solutions with victims themselves.
Another highlight was Reboot UNtapped, an internal UN hackathon where I co-led the winning solution - a climate-security foresight tool for UNMISS. It was fast, creative, and showed how interdisciplinary teams can turn ideas into working prototypes that have real-world impact.
What advice would you give women interested in pursuing a field in technology?
Stay curious and keep learning. I went back to my calculus textbooks to complete a Stanford course in Machine Learning this year because understanding how the technology works helps you shape how it’s used. The future belongs to people who can bridge worlds to build technology that truly serves society.