Responsible AI Symposium: Advancing a Blueprint for Tech Equity
The Responsible AI Symposium: Advancing a Blueprint for Tech Equity is an event organized by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA). This symposium brings together leaders from technology, civil rights, and public policy sectors to discuss and promote the development of trustworthy and effective automated systems.
Key topics covered at the symposium include governing AI with tools and principles to ensure safe and effective systems, building toolkits for fairness to protect against algorithmic discrimination, understanding the White House's AI Bill of Rights, and designing solutions that secure data while preserving consumer privacy. The event also features the release of groundbreaking research on algorithmic fairness techniques and their implications for credit markets.
Attendees can expect engaging panel discussions, expert presentations, and captivating keynotes designed to empower them with actionable insights and strategies. Notable speakers include Michael Barr, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision; Patrice Ficklin from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and Martin Gruenberg, Chairman of the FDIC. The symposium also offers networking opportunities and an expo hall showcasing innovative solutions in responsible AI.
This symposium is ideal for technologists, civil and human rights experts, researchers, public policy specialists, government and elected officials, and others interested in advancing policies for AI and other technologies that benefit people and communities while strengthening the economy.
Speakers(13)
Adam Rust
Director of Financial Services at Consumer Federation of America
Adam Rust is the Director of Financial Services at the Consumer Federation of America, a non-profit association of nearly 300 national, state, and local pro-consumer organizations. His portfolio covers non-bank credit, payments, and banking oversight. He advocates for the interests of consumers in areas at the nexus of emerging technology and finance, including the use of artificial intelligence, non-bank lending, and digital assets. He is responsible for coordinating its regulatory and legislative activities in these areas. Formerly, he was a senior policy advisor for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, where he worked on a similar portfolio. In this role, he emphasized the linkage between the privilege of receiving a banking charter and the responsibility to fulfill community reinvestment obligations. He facilitated NCRC's Innovation Council for Financial Inclusion, where NCRC and ten fintech organizations collaborated on joint pro-consumer policy initiatives. Additionally, he served two terms on the Board of Directors of the US Faster Payments Council.
Armen Meyer
Senior Advisor at Fairplay
Armen is co-founder of the American Fintech Council, and former Head of Regulatory Strategy and Public Policy at LendingClub, where he has long advocated for regulation that addresses market failure and promotes consumer protection. Before joining LendingClub, he was a Managing Director in PwC’s Financial Services Advisory Group, and Chief of Staff of PwC's Financial Services Regulatory Practice, leading teams and advising financial services and fintech clients on meeting the challenges of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform Act. During the global financial crisis, he was Assistant Secretary for Economic Development under the New York Governor and later Chief of Staff of New York's financial services regulator where he worked to mitigate the crisis's impact and implement regulatory reform. He is a frequent speaker, and adviser to fintechs, venture firms, accelerators and nonprofits.
Cobun Zweifel-Keegan
Managing Director, Washington, D.C. at International Association of Privacy Professionals
Cobun Zweifel-Keegan is the Managing Director of IAPP, Washington, D.C. Through this role, Cobun works to integrate the diverse voices of privacy professionals into the evolving tech policy conversation, engaging with business representatives, civil society, congressional leaders, and federal government stakeholders. Prior to returning to IAPP, Cobun served as Deputy Director of Privacy Initiatives at BBB National Programs, where he advised independent mechanisms that bring accountability and transparency to business privacy practices through voluntary—but enforceable—frameworks like Privacy Shield and the Cross-Border Privacy Rules. Through this work, Cobun also facilitated the development of new programs to clarify best practices in emerging areas such as youth privacy and artificial intelligence. Cobun first worked at IAPP as a Westin Research Fellow, focusing his research on the global spread of uniform data privacy norms with the advent of the privacy profession. On this topic, in collaboration with IAPP President and CEO J. Trevor Hughes, Cobun published a chapter in the Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Privacy, “Enter the professionals: organizational privacy in the digital age.” Cobun is a graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law where he served as Executive Editor of the Colorado Technology Law Journal.
Deirdre Mulligan
Principal Deputy Chief Technology Officer at White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Deirdre K. Mulligan serves as Principal Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In this role, Mulligan leads the Tech Division within OSTP, working to ensure that digital technologies benefit all Americans and advance democratic values. Mulligan is a Professor at the School of Information at UC Berkeley and a Faculty Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. Her research focuses on protecting values including privacy, equity, and freedom of expression in sociotechnical systems. Prior to joining the School of Information, Mulligan was the first Director of the Samuelson Law and Technology Clinic and a Clinical Professor at UC Berkeley School of Law. She is a founding board member of the Partnership on AI, a founding member of the Global Network Initiative, and a former Commissioner on the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission. She helped start the Center for Democracy and Technology, where she worked on key tech policy issues during the emergence of the commercial internet.
Dr. Nicol Turner Lee
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Technology Innovation at The Brookings Institution
Dr. Nicol Turner Lee is a senior fellow in Governance Studies, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation and serves as Co-Editor-In-Chief of the TechTank blog and podcast at the Brookings Institution, which is a global think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. Dr. Turner's research encompasses equitable access to technology across the U.S. and abroad. Her portfolio also includes leading Brookings institutional research and public policy work focused on the identification and mitigation of online biases in artificial intelligence systems. She has a forthcoming book on the U.S. digital divide titled Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass (forthcoming 2024, Brookings Press). She has appeared throughout various news media, testified before Congress and international global governance bodies, and written extensively on tech and telecom issues. In 2022, she was recognized for distinguished career contributions by the American Sociological Association at the annual conference. She has her B.A. from Colgate University, and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University.
Elham Tabassi
Chief AI Advisor at National Institute of Standards and Technology
In addition to serving as NIST Chief AI Advisor and Associate Director for Emerging Technologies in NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory (ITL), Elham Tabassi leads NIST’s Trustworthy and Responsible AI program that aims to cultivate trust in the design, development, and use of AI technologies by improving measurement science, standards, and related tools in ways that enhance economic security and improve quality of life. She has been working on various machine learning and computer vision research projects with applications in biometrics evaluation and standards since she joined NIST in 1999. Tabassi is the principal architect of NIST Fingerprint Image Quality (NFIQ), an international standard for measuring fingerprint image quality which has been deployed in many large-scale biometric applications worldwide. Among her other roles at NIST, Tabassi has served as ITL Chief of Staff. She is a member of the National AI Resource Research Task Force, the US Government’s AI Standards Coordinator, a senior member of IEEE, and a fellow of Washington Academy of Sciences. In September 2023, Tabassi was named by TIME magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in AI."
Koustubh "K.J." Bagchi
Vice President, Center for Civil Rights and Technology at Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights
Koustubh “K.J.” Bagchi serves as vice president of the newly established Center for Civil Rights and Technology at The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights. Prior to that he served as vice president of technology policy at the Chamber of Progress. He is a veteran of Capitol Hill and public interest organizations, which includes his role as senior policy counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute. He has more than 10 years of experience in public policy and legislative strategy at the local, state, and federal levels and led the re-establishment of the technology, telecommunications, and media program during his tenure as senior counsel for our coalition partner Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC. In addition to advising members of the Washington State Senate, he worked as legislative counsel for a D.C. city councilmember and former Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), a member of Congress who served on the influential House Appropriations Committee. K.J. graduated from the University of California Davis and received his law degree from Seattle University School of Law.
Lisa Rice
President and CEO at National Fair Housing Alliance
Lisa Rice is the second President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), the nation’s only national civil rights agency solely dedicated to eliminating all forms of housing discrimination. NFHA is also the trade association for over 170 member organizations across the country that work to eliminate barriers in the housing markets and expand equal housing and lending opportunities. NFHA provides a range of programs to affirmatively further fair housing which include community development, membership services, education and outreach, public policy and advocacy, consulting and compliance, communications, tech equity, resource development, and enforcement. Ms. Rice’s fair housing and fair lending work began at the local level. Prior to joining NFHA, she was the President and CEO of the Fair Housing Center of Toledo, Ohio, a private non-profit civil rights agency. She also served as the President and CEO of the Northwest Ohio Development Agency, a Community Development Financial Institution which she founded. Ms. Rice has helped to lead major enforcement initiatives that have resulted in expanding equal housing opportunities for millions of people. Those cases involved addressing design and construction barriers for people with disabilities, algorithmic bias, discrimination against people who are deaf or hard of hearing, unfair lending policies impacting pregnant women, sexual harassment, lending and insurance redlining practices, steering in the real estate sales market, rental discrimination, racial disparities in the maintenance and management of Real Estate Owned properties, and appraisal bias. She played a major role in helping to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the establishment of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity within the CFPB. Ms. Rice led NFHA’s effort to spear-head the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act – an 18-month campaign featuring events and activities across the country to mark the passage of the Fair Housing Act and to develop strategies for continuing the unfinished work of the law. She is also spearheading the organization’s 55th Fair Housing Act Anniversary effort. She is leading NFHA’s efforts to address racial inequality and eliminate structural barriers that prohibit underserved groups from accessing the opportunities they need to thrive. Under her helm, the organization launched its Keys Unlock Dreams Initiative designed to significantly reduce the racial wealth and homeownership gaps. Since the launch of the Initiative, the Black homeownership rate increased by 8% from a low of 40.6% in 2019 to 44% in 2021. Under Rice’s leadership, NFHA also launched the Tech Equity Initiative designed to eliminate bias in technologies used in the housing and financial services sectors. Moreover, Rice has helped lead the effort for using Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) to increase credit access for people impacted by discrimination. She spearheaded the release of groundbreaking legal analysis that led to the Department of Housing and Urban Development issuing guidance clarifying that SPCPs do not violate the Fair Housing Act. The issuance of this guidance has resulted in numerous lenders launching SPCPs. She also was the catalyst behind the development of the Special Purpose Credit Program Toolkit, co-sponsored by NFHA and the Mortgage Bankers Association. Rice has also co-led the effort to develop and expand programs to help First-Generation homebuyers gain access to critical homeownership opportunities. She is a published author contributing to several books and journals addressing a range of fair housing issues including - The Fight for Fair Housing: Causes, Consequences, and Future Implications of the 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act; Designed for the Future: 80 Practical Ideas for a Sustainable World; Discriminatory Effects of Credit Scoring on Communities of Color; and From Foreclosure to Fair Lending: Advocacy, Organizing, Occupancy, and the Pursuit of Equitable Credit. Ms. Rice is a member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Board of Directors, Center for Responsible Lending Board of Directors, FinRegLab Board of Directors, JPMorgan Chase Consumer Advisory Council, Mortgage Bankers Association's Consumer Advisory Council, Freddie Mac Affordable Housing Advisory Council, Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council, Quicken Loans Advisory Forum, Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Advisory Council, and Berkeley’s The Terner Center Advisory Council.
Mark Warner
Senator Mark Warner, Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence at U.S. Senate
Senator Mark Warner plays a leading role in shaping legislation and public policy governing AI and automated systems. His proposed legislation, the Federal Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act, intends to ensure the U.S. can continue to be a leader in the sector and threats posed by AI and automated systems can be effectively managed. As the Senate explores technological innovations through the AI Insight Forums, hearings, Congressional briefings, and other engagements, we can be sure to see the introduction of new legislative proposals. Hear from the Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence on how the U.S. plans to remain a leader in AI innovation while developing more trustworthy autonomous systems that are high-performing and beneficial to society.
Patrice Alexander Ficklin
Fair Lending Director at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Patrice Alexander Ficklin is the founding director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Fair Lending & Equal Opportunity, which leads the CFPB’s efforts to ensure fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory access to credit. Her prior experience includes negotiating complex transactions and leading teams engaged in counseling industry and consumer advocate organizations on regulatory compliance, consumer protection, fair lending, fair housing and fair employment. Patrice mediated employment discrimination claims and arbitrated individual lending discrimination claims made by Black farmers in Pigford v. Glickman, a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Law School.
Rikard Bandebo
Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at VantageScore
Dr. Rikard Bandebo has spent the last 20 years as a product leader and general manager, working at the cross-section of financial services and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Throughout his career, he has paired his expertise in data analytics with meaningful insights that help drive product innovation and expand market share. Most recently, he served as CPO for Unacast, a location data company, where he helped steer a more product-driven strategy during a period of exciting growth. At Clarivate (a former Thomson Reuters division), he led product strategy for MarkMonitor and managed the divestiture and transition to Investcorp. He was also a product leader at other data analytics companies, including Bersin by Deloitte; 7Park Data (a Vista Equity Partners company); and real estate analytics company Markerr. Earlier in his career, Dr. Bandebo led the Analytics and Advisory teams at First Data (now a Fiserv company) where he shared insights on consumer spending, financial services, retail and small business sectors as Chief Economist. Dr. Bandebo earned his Doctorate, Master of Science as well as his Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Business, Economics and Computer Science degrees from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Samantha Gordon
Chief Program Officer at Tech Equity Collaborative
Samantha Gordon is an experienced leader in the space of workers’ rights and social justice. Currently, she serves as the Chief Program Officer at TechEquity Collaborative where she leads the organization’s work to raise public consciousness about economic equity issues that result from the tech industry’s products and practices, and advocates for change that ensures tech’s evolution benefits everyone. Prior to joining TechEquity, Sam spent over twelve years organizing with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Snigdha Sharma
AI Policy Researcher at National Fair Housing Alliance
Snigdha works as an AI Policy Researcher with a distinct focus on developing AI frameworks and guidelines that align with the principles of safety, security, and trustworthiness. As an AI Policy Researcher, she is responsible for developing and advocating for policies that ensure ethical, safe, and responsible use of artificial intelligence technologies in housing and financial services. This role involves conducting in-depth research, analyzing the impact of AI on society, and collaborating with stakeholders to create frameworks that balance technological innovation in housing with societal well-being and rights. Her journey began as a Tech Equity Analyst in the Responsible AI team, where she conducted comprehensive research on regulations and laws pertinent to algorithmic systems, and spearheaded projects emphasizing Privacy, Security, Fairness, Explainability, and Interpretability within the Responsible AI ecosystem. Her role also involved leading the department’s efforts in environmental impact assessments of technology, and overseeing auditing services based on the organization’s Purpose, Process, and Monitoring (PPM) framework. Elevated to Senior Tech Equity Analyst, Snigdha continued to lead research on regulations and laws affecting algorithmic systems, machine learning solutions, and AI systems. She played a pivotal role in ensuring the fairness and equity of AI solutions developed or reviewed by the Responsible AI team. Her leadership extended to various work streams focusing on core aspects of Responsible AI, including Privacy, Security, Fairness, and Explainability. Her extensive experience in overseeing algorithmic auditing services and her commitment to minimizing the environmental impact of technology have been instrumental in her transition to an AI Policy Researcher, where she now aims to shape policies that responsibly govern AI technologies.
Event Details
- Date
- June 15, 2024
- Location
- 🇺🇸 Washington, D.C., United States
- Urban Institute
- Pricing
- Varies by tier
- Audience
- Technologists, civil and human rights experts, researchers, public policy specialists, government and elected officials.