About Us

Dr. Sidney Shapiro is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at the Dhillon School of Business, University of Lethbridge, where he joined the faculty in 2023. He earned his PhD in Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies from Laurentian University, specializing in social network analytics. Prior to his academic appointment, he spent over a decade in data science leadership roles, including as a data science team manager in the occupational health and safety sector, where he led projects involving business intelligence, data engineering, machine learning, and automation.

Frank Onuh is the Executive Director of AIRI Foundation and a member of Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. He has extensive leadership and R&D experience in Applied Generative AI and misinformation studies.

Frank is a consistent voice in AI ethics and digital empowerment and has designed and led major cross-sectoral projects that span AI literacy and capacity building, including designing low-cost AI-powered auto systems. As part of this work on de-biasing GenAI outputs, he developed the AI Bias Detection Canvas, a structured framework for identifying and mitigating algorithmic inequities. Frank has facilitated digital training partnerships that help provide training to BIPOC professionals in the data science and AI fields across Canada.

Mr Onuh has worked across sectors to translate emerging technologies into accessible tools for both technical and non-technical communities. He serves on the boards of leading social impact organizations and advises organizational and national policy projects involving AI use while helping them develop rounded, AI-safe policy and use case frameworks.

Janelle Marietta is a recognized leader with 15+ years of experience guiding not-for-profit organizations across Canada. She is an active researcher in the areas of social marketing, not-for-profit marketing/management, immigration settlement, and community-based participatory research.

Janelle is also a doctoral researcher and instructor at the University of Lethbridge Dhillon Business School, where she teaches courses such as consumer behavior, social marketing, not-for-profit marketing, services marketing, and business research methods. She has served on many boards, supporting Local Immigration Partnerships, Economic Development, Community Social Development, and initiatives such as the Alberta Living Wage Network. She has a keen interest in how technology and innovation can support the not-for-profit sector in building stronger communities.

Osasu is a Computer Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer, and Artificial Intelligence Specialist working at the intersection of AI in health and security. He leverages advanced machine learning and deep learning techniques to build impactful, responsible AI systems. He holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Lethbridge, where his research focused on designing novel AI architectures in neuroscience to support radiologists and clinicians in the study of schizophrenia. His work has been presented at peer-reviewed conferences and has contributed to advancing precision medical imaging and multimodal integration in clinical diagnostics.

Osasu is deeply committed to democratizing AI and has a strong track record of using technology to drive inclusive, community-centered solutions. Aside being the co-founder of ALMA Network Solutions LTD, he founded ZAIR, a tech startup and has previously served as a specialist consultant, reviewer, and drafting member of the Nigeria Startup Act—an initiative enacted into law by the Nigerian presidency to protect the country’s tech ecosystem, nurture innovation, and support the funding of startups. Now active within Canada’s innovation landscape, he continues to champion responsible AI practices across sectors. As a member of the AIRI Foundation leadership, he brings a systems-thinking approach and a deep commitment to advancing equitable AI literacy, particularly among underserved populations.

Dr. Ignatius Ezeani is a Research Fellow at the School of Computer Science, Lancaster University, and formerly a Visiting Researcher at Microsoft Research Africa. Ezeani’s work focuses on developing tools and methods to process and empower underrepresented languages through advanced AI techniques. His notable projects include the pioneering Igbo-English Machine Translation initiative, which has set new benchmarks in the evaluation and accessibility of African language resources. Further contributions span collaborative research in semantic annotation for genomics, leveraging pre-trained embeddings for minority language taggers, and the development of accurate part-of-speech tagging and diacritic restoration for Igbo.

Throughout his career, Dr. Ezeani has passionately promoted diversity and inclusion in the technology sector and regularly collaborates with cross-disciplinary teams driving innovation in machine learning, language technology, and spatial humanities, ensuring that resource-scarce communities have access to cutting-edge AI advancements. Through his technical advisement and mentoring, Dr. Ezeani inspires new generations of researchers and is actively engaged in global AI communities through Deep Learning Indaba, Masakhane, and Black in AI, championing African and underrepresented voices in the future of AI.

Gurpreet Singh is a machine learning expert whose work focuses on the critical ethical challenges of modern artificial intelligence and its domain applications. He advocates for frameworks that prioritize transparency, fairness, and accountability, urging a shift from a focus on mere innovation to a deep consideration of AI’s societal impact. A key component of his approach is advancing AI literacy, empowering individuals and communities with the knowledge to critically engage with the technologies that shape their lives.

Beyond academia, Gurpreet is a results-driven leader who has made a significant impact through his roles as Director at Oxford Learning Lethbridge and active member of the Alberta Anti Racism Advisory Council, where he champions equity, diversity, and inclusion in both business and community settings. He is deeply committed to addressing the use of personal data and AI in healthcare and the risks of algorithmic bias to minority, at-risk, and underrepresented communities. Through his advocacy for robust governance and human-centric design, Gurpreet works to ensure that technology does not perpetuate historical biases. Also recognized for expertise in digital humanities and project management, he delivers actionable solutions at the intersection of technology, ethics, and community needs.

James Yeku holds a PhD in English from the University of Saskatchewan and is an associate professor at the University of Kansas, where he teaches courses in postcolonial digital humanities and African literature. He is the author of the monographs The Algorithmic Age of Personality: African Literature and Cancel Culture and Cultural Netizenship: Social Media, Popular Culture, and Performance in Nigeria, as well as two poetry books and a nonfiction collection.

He is a joint winner of the Pius Adesanmi Early Career Research Excellence Award of the Canadian African Studies Association and a recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt fellowship. James lives in Lawrence, Kansas.

Dr. Presley Ifukor is Chair and Research Director at the Alberta Centre for Emerging Democracies. He brings substantial leadership, research, and consulting experience, with deep technical expertise in artificial intelligence, professional training, and computational linguistics.

A German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) alumnus, Dr. Ifukor earned graduate degrees in Cognitive Science and linguistics, focusing on AI-driven projects such as computing analogies, knowledge representation, and intelligent tutoring systems in mathematics. He has also served as a Visiting Scholar at Rutgers University and Boston University in the USA.