Diana Virgovičova

Research in quantum-chemistry software and the discovery of a new photocatalyst to solve water pollution

Talk Title: The Molecule That Changed My Life

Diana Virgovičova, who at age 17 was awarded a Diploma of Excellence at the International Stockholm Junior Water Prize, grew up near Bratislava, Slovakia. Currently, a student has a keen interest in quantum chemistry, physics and business, and in her spare time, she enjoys hiking, rock climbing and playing the violin. Diana is attending the University of Toronto and majoring in computer engineering. When asked about her goals for the future, Diana aims to create her own start-up business, which would focus on solving the issue of polluted water across the globe. Diana is also interested in building and supporting platforms that help women and girls from developing communities gain education and empowerment.

Temidayo Oniosun

Managing Director, Space in Africa

Temidayo is the founder and Managing Director of Space in Africa, the authority on news, data and market analysis for the African space industry. As a space scientist with over 6 years of experience in the African space industry, he advises governments and commercial space players in the industry value chain. He is a former Regional Coordinator (Africa) for Space Generation Advisory Council and has a master's degree in Satellite Applications from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He is a popularizer of space across Africa, and regularly appears on various international media and publications discussing the African space industry.

Victoria Alonsoperez

Founder & CEO of Chipsafer

Victoria Alonsoperez is an Engineer, Entrepreneur, Inventor, United Nations Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals, and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. In 2012, she invented Chipsafer, a patented platform that can track cattle remotely and autonomously. Victoria won numerous awards including the World Intellectual Property Organization Best Young Inventor Award and the International Telecommunication Union Young Innovators Competition. Victoria attended International Space University and served as Space Engineering Teaching Associate. She also served as Chair of Space Generation Advisory Council, and she was the youngest member of the Space Foundation Board. In 2016, she won the International Astronautical Federation Young Space Leader Award and then served as Special Advisor to the IAF President.

Ms Sicelo Dube - STEMLady

Passionate Scientist and Advocate for Youth in STEM innovation and Entrepreneurship

Sicelo Dube (aka STEMLady) is a passionate scientist and entrepreneur championing STEM Education and Entrepreneurship. She is a girl leadership coach, the founder of LEC Biotec a scientific company she started at 23 years of age. She is also the Co-Founder of Elevate Trust and the current Zimbabwe Next Einstein Science Ambassador. She holds a MSc in Biotechnology and an MBA.

Professor Tom Welton

Professor of Sustainable Chemistry

Talk Title: Chemistry for a Cleaner World

Tom Welton is professor of sustainable chemistry at Imperial College London and President of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has been at the forefront of understanding how ionic liquids can be used as solvents for synthesis. He is particularly well known for the introduction of quantitative studies of solvent-solute interactions in ionic liquids and how these affect the rates of solute reactions. He also works on the use of ionic liquid for the processing of biomass. He is a champion of diversity in science and has been awarded an OBE in recognition of this.

Ms. Licypriya Kangujam

9-Years-Old Climate Activist & Founder, The Child Movement

Talk Title: TBC

Licypriya is a Nine-Years-Old Indian Climate Activists. She has been championing her cause since six-years-old to protect, preserve and nurture our environment by fighting the climate change. She is one of the youngest climate activists globally and addressed the world leaders in the United Nations Climate Conference 2019 (COP25) in Madrid, Spain calling the world leaders to take immediate climate actions to save their future. She is an outspoken young leader inspiring millions of people around the World and one of the leading voices for climate change in the World despite her young age.

She is the World Children Peace Prize Laureate 2019, Rising Star of Earth Day 2019 and the recipients of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Children Award 2019, Global Child Prodigy Award 2020, Noble Citizen Award 2020 and also amongst the “Top 100 Child Prodigies of the World 2020”. She was featured amongst the “50 powerful voices of 2020” with global leaders, influences, celebrities, athletes and musicians including His Holiness Pope Francis, Anil Kapoor, Al Gore, John Kerry, etc to celebrate the Earth Day 2020. She was even praised by United Nations Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres as “8-Years-Old Licypriya is the reminder of world’s obligations towards future generations” in 2019. She is the youngest speaker at United Nations in history. She spoke in over 400 institutions and other platforms in over 32 countries advocating adults about the threat of climate change as a part of her movement. When she started her movement in 2018, she was alone but today she has thousands of love and support from across the globe.

Apoorva Panidapu

A high school advocate for youth in STEAM and pure math & art enthusiast

Talk Title: Addressing Gender Bias In Youth

Apoorva is a pure math and art enthusiast, and the founder of Apoorva’s Art Gallery, an online platform to raise funds for charity through art. She has two published number theory papers, is a World Science Scholar, and a winner of the Spirit of Ramanujan Fellowship. Through her teaching, art, public speaking and writing, she strives to create a world where women and gender minorities in STEM are treated equitably.

Nezatul Fazlyin Zainal

A vocational student of Early Childhood Education

Talk Title: Offering STEM platforms for students of all backgrounds

Nezatul is the leading member of Nokuro Sumandak, a team that runs STEAM activities at schools in the interior region of Sabah. She was the leader of the same team that represented Malaysia in an international hackathon organized by UNESCO on Information & Media Literacy. She also led her programme in running STREAM activities (STEM + Arts + Literacy) for primary school children in the region.

Siyona Bose

Science fanatic and young highschooler

Talk Title: Biofuels for Airplanes

Siyona Bose, 13, studies at the Henrietta Barnett School for girls in London. Her family comes from India, and she participates in extra-curricular activities such as ballet, kathak and also learns how to play the clarinet. She enjoys writing stories. She has a passion for STEM, and hopes to become a scientist when she grows up.

Wireko Andrew Awuah

A Medical Student, Scientific Researcher, Diplomat, & Advocate for SDGs.

Talk Title: Possible Surge in Mental Health Issues Across the Globe

Wireko Andrew Awuah is a Ghanaian who lives and schools in Ukraine. He is currently a medical student at the  Medical Institute of Sumy State University in Sumy, Ukraine. He is also the current President Of National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Sumy. 
He holds a Diploma in International Environmental Law and Governance with the “United Nations Environmental Law and Conventions” as well as a Diploma in Global Governance with “International Business Management Institute”, Berlin, Germany. He is a Diplomat and has held several International Positions on various United Nation platforms. Wireko Andrew Awuah is so passionate about issues patterning Mental Health and also an advocate for Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

Karan Jerath

Climate Activist and Co-Founder, KARTON

Talk Title: TBC

Karan Jerath is the youngest member on the 2016 Forbes' 30 Under 30 Energy List, and a United Nations Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals. The 17 Young Leaders were selected from more than 18,000 nominations and work with the Office of the UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth on efforts to engage young people in the realization of the Goals. His novel patented invention targets remediation methods for subsea oil spills, and has earned him the Intel Foundation's Young Scientist award along with recognition from the Kingdom of Brunei, Kingdom of Bahrain, Emperor of Japan, and the Governor of Texas.

Anagha Rajesh

Nuclear Tech Enthusiast and Youth Activist

Talk Title: Nuclear and Nice

Avid reader, passionate debater and a youth activist with a drive to make a difference, that is Anagha Rajesh in a nutshell. She is a soon-to-be undergraduate student in STEM and has a penchant for all things nuclear and quantum. Anagha is the co-founder of Nuclear4Peace, a social media awareness campaign to smash the stigma surrounding nuclear tech. She has been working on a very exciting project revolving around nuclear tech and the human brain. Outside of STEM, she enjoys politics and developmental economics. She aspires to become the first woman Prime Minister of India with a STEM background.

Laura Maisvoreva

Medical student, aspiring neurosurgeon

Talk Title: Using STEM to Solve Global Problems

Laura is a medical student studying at the University of Zimbabwe and, after completion of her undergraduate degree, is aspiring to study neurosurgery. Besides health and medicine, she is passionate about conservation and environmental issues, and has worked extensively on a group project entitled 'Coral Reef Controller'. The project addressed Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water, and used coding to design a conservatory measure to protect coral, which faces extinction.

Megan Ardis

MA History of Science student & science communication enthusiast

Meg is a science communication enthusiast currently in the second year of her Master's. She is currently helping to engage young people with science through tutoring, freelance writing, and through her work alongside the Youth STEM Matters Science Communication team.

Kakooza Hakim

Alumni Coordinator & Teaching assistant - Fundi Bots

Kakooza is an alumni coordinator and robotics teaching assistant at Fundi Bots a non-profit initiative accelerating science learning in Africa using robotics. He is also a Co-founded Aid You, a community-based initiative that democratizes heart health information through awareness campaigns and training of first aid skills to student as a way of curbing down the preventing death caused by heart related diseases.

Odufowora Hassan Boluwatife

Amateur Poet and Dental surgery Undergraduate

Hassan is a 19 year old undergraduate who lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He enjoys reading fantasy and mythology in his spare time, and he also writes poems when stressed. Hassan is passionate about kicking out gender based violence, and Rick Riordan is his favourite author.

Prof. Rana Dajani

Professor of Molecular Cell Biology and Founder of We Love Reading

Talk Title: Miss the train or ride it: The bioethics of gene editing, stem cells and data in therapy and research

Professor of molecular cell biology, Harvard, Yale and Cambridge visiting professor. Studies genetics of ethnic populations in Jordan and the epigenetics of trauma across generations. Established stem cell research law in Jordan and a global women mentoring network, Most influential women scientists in Islamic World, President of the Society for the Advancement of Science, Technology and Innovation in the Arab World. Founder “We Love Reading” Changing mindsets through reading to create changemakers received: UNESCO International Literacy Prize, Jacobs social entrepreneurship award, Science, Technology and Innovation Award UN, Ashoka Fellow, UNHCR Nansen Refugee award.

Yawri Carr

Technology Law student - Internet Policy Analyst and Cyberthreats Investigator

Talk Title: TBC

Yawri Carr is an avid enthusiast of the intersection of Law, Science & Technology. As a Global Shaper at San José Hub is focusing on promoting the awareness on Digital Rights and Internet Governance issues, as well as involving girls in STEM. She has been a youth delegate at Internet Governance Forums and related initiatives at global and regional scale, in which she enjoys working across different stakeholders to develop Internet Policy with a youth approach, environmentally conscious and human rights oriented.

Su Wern Khor

Programs Manager at FemTech Focus & Podcast Co-Host of Ya Girl Trynna Make It

Talk Title: Femtech: What is it and why do we need it?

Su Wern was born and raised Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Throughout her academic career she was highly involved in extracurricular activities and volunteered her time towards causes she cared about. At her college she won the Distinguished Senior Award for her leadership of multiple student organizations. Now a recent graduate of the University of Houston with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Finance she currently works at FemTech Focus aiming to empower the femtech industry in order to improve the quality of life for women everywhere. She also is a venture scout for The Wiress and in her free time she's usually bullet journaling, painting, listening to K-pop, producing and co-hosting her very own podcast, "Ya Girl Trynna Make It" with 3 other GenZ girls of color.

Sophie Healy-Thow

Food Security and Nutrition activist and Lead Group member of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement

Talk Title: The Food System is at Your Doorstep

Sophie Healy-Thow is a youth activist who promotes Food Security and Gender Equality. She is a Lead Group Member of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN) and serves on the Board of the leading international charity ActionAid UK. She is a regular speaker and panellist at international conferences and events. Sophie is one of the 10 women leaders featured in the Disney book; Choose to Matter by ESPN presenter Julie Foudy which encourages young women to find the leader within. In 2014 She was named by TIME magazine as one of the most influential teens. Sophie studies International Development and Food Policy at University College Cork.

Dr. Yalinu Poya

Doctor in Chemistry that loves all things sustainable

Talk Title: Making Ammonia in a Sustainable Way to Feed the World

Dr. Yalinu Poya (Ph.D.) is a young chemist from Papua New Guinea. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from the University of Papua New Guinea, a Master of Science Degree in Inorganic Chemistry with Distinction from the Northeast Normal University in the People’s Republic of China, and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Poya is one of the world’s most exciting young science talents whose trailblazing chemistry research has won plaudits from the United Nations, United States White House veterans, and holds a string of international prizes. She has earned a total of 12 awards for scientific excellence, include 3 international awards –2020 Green Chemistry and Catalysis Winner in the Inaugural Commonwealth Chemistry Congress from the Commonwealth Chemistry Federation of Chemical Sciences Societies, 2019 Green Talent Award Winner by the German Ministry of Education and Research as one of the top 25 scientists in the world in sustainable research, the Plutonium Element Award by International Union of Pure Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) as one of the top 118 chemists in the world under the age of 40, and 1 national award –1st Place in Scotland for the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) PhD Student Competition. Her work has been highlighted and featured by the American Chemical Society, Scottish Funding Council, Society of Chemical Industry and QS Top Universities. She has been selected by the University of Glasgow and honored as the 2020 University of Glasgow Future World Changer.

Kaif Ali

Founder SpaceEra and Architecture Student

Talk Title: COVID19 Shelter Design

Kaif Ali is a 20 years old international Award-winning Architecture student, from Delhi, INDIA. He has done research on Covid19 shelter and developed a project named SpaceEra which serves not only as a safe quarantine shelter but also can be used as a shelter home in flood-prone regions, and refugee shelters too. His project is appreciated by the Government of INDIA, published in TIMES OF INDIA and he is honored as COVID19 Lockdown Hero in INDIA. His project has also won several national and international awards and competitions. SpaceEra vision is acknowledged by UNHCR, UN Youth Envoy, One Young World, and several international organizations. He is currently working with Organisations of Africa to build the world's 1st and largest medical center out of shipping containers from the same concept of his project SpaceEra. He is a true inspiration for the Youth, that we all can achieve great heights.

Prof. Sarah Gilbert

Professor of Vaccinology

Sarah Gilbert works on vaccines for many different emerging pathogens, including influenza, Nipah, MERS, Lassa, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, and SARS-CoV-2. She is the Oxford Project Leader for ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, a promising vaccine against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

Michael Trinh

Synthetic Biology undergraduate research and HBSc Candidate at UofToronto

Michael Trinh is a rising sophomore at the University of Toronto who is working at the crossroads of Synthetic Biology and Immunology. He is an incoming undergraduate research student at the lab of professor George Church at the Wyss Institute. During the summer of 2020 Michael worked on developing a set of RNA oligonucleotides to be used as potential COVID-19 therapeutics.

Dr. Michael D. L. Johnson

Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona and Director of NSURP

Dr. Johnson started out by getting his bachelors in Music. After a very "smooth" transition, he obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics and had two postdoctoral fellowships and St. Jude Research Children's Hospital in the departments of Infectious Diseases and Immunology. He is currently runs his own research group at the University of Arizona studying how bacteria use metals, which is important for their survival. He is active in science outreach through events like starting the National Summer Undergraduate Research Project, The BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, minority scientific affairs through the American Society for Microbiology, and online through twitter @blacksciblog.

Timothy McGrath

SciFest Ireland SFI STEM Champion 2019 and ISEF 2020 Finalist

Talk Title: How we can combat Deadzones with specific plant species & My S.T.E.M. Journey

Timothy is currently a University College Cork Computer Science Undergraduate. He is passionate about problem solving and working towards the UN SDG Goals. He has worked on projects ranging from helping the blind, cleaning cholera infected water and solving oceanic and freshwater deadzones. He has been highly awarded for his work at competitions i.e. the BT Young Scientist and SciFest.

Neha Shukla

Innovator and STEM Enthusiast

Talk Title: SixFeetApart: Innovation in Transforming Crises

Neha is a 15-year old innovator, passionate about using science and technology as a catalyst for social change. Working to solve real-world problems using STEM, she invented SixFeetApart - a wearable social-distancing device to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. She loves sharing her innovation journey to inspire students globally to tackle the world’s greatest problems through creativity and innovation.

Paul Nyawita

Development Enthusiast and Student

Talk Title: Solutions to the Healthcare Agenda - A Case Study of the BIGPIC project in Kenya

Paul is passionate about the development agenda, especially in Africa, and is eager to see the continent take its rightful place on the global arena. He is also a student of Economics at the University of Nairobi and enjoys meeting new people and exchanging innovative ideas

Shakhrizoda Rizakulova

Neuroscience enthusiast, high school student & femactivist

Talk Title: Gender-based violence

Shakhrizoda is 16, and studies at the Presidential School in Tashkent. She is preparing to take A-level exams in chemistry, biology and mathematics. Shakhrizoda is the winner of the Olympiads in Russian language and literature. She is a liberal feminist and Ted-Ed speaker, and loves karaoke, neuroscience, writing articles, criticizing and chips.

Siena Castellon

Neurodiversity Advocate, Young Leader for the SDGs, Author and Future Physicist

Talk Title: Embracing Neurodiversity in STEMM

Siena Castellon is a neurodiversity advocate and founder of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, an international campaign that encourages schools to recognize the strengths and talents of students with special educational needs. She is the author of “The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: How To Grow Up Awesome and Autistic.” Siena is also a Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals and a future physicist.

Dr. Lauren Esposito

Curator of Arachnology and Creator of 500 Queer Scientists

Talk Title: TBC

Dr. Lauren Esposito is the Assistant Curator and Schlinger Chair of Arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences. Lauren’s current research investigates the patterns and processes of evolution in spiders, scorpions, and their venoms. Originally from the US-Mexico borderlands, she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at El Paso, and went on to obtain an MS and PhD from the American Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the City University of New York. Lauren is also the co-founder/director of a science, education, and conservation non-profit called Islands & Seas, and the co-creator of 500 Queer Scientists, a visibility campaign for LGBTQ+ people working in STEM careers. Lauren is also a passionate educator, and during her research expeditions across the globe, has organized education programs on the importance of conserving biodiversity in local communities.

Prof. Mark Logan

Tech Executive & Professor at University of Glasgow

Talk Title: TBC

Mark has over 25 years of leadership experience in the technology sector, including as COO of Skyscanner, one of Europe's most successful technology companies. Mark’s current focus is as an advisor, investor and non-executive director in UK and international start-ups. He is a Professor at the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science and advises the government on technology policy.

Illac Diaz

Founder and Executive Director of Liter of Light

Talk Title: TBC

Illac Diaz is a social entrepreneur working to empower communities in the Philippines and around the world through several pioneering programs in rammed earth, bamboo, and PET plastic bottle construction. Illac’s latest venture, Liter of Light (Isang Litrong Liwanag), is the world’s first grassroots green lighting program bringing low-cost, zero-carbon solar bottle bulbs to underprivileged communities worldwide. By empowering local entrepreneurs and marginalized groups like prison detainees and trash pickers, this initiative shows how simple solutions powered by human hands bring the green revolution to the bottom 99%. Since 2013, Liter of Light has empowered the lives of over one million people a year across 32 countries. Each of these hand-built solar lights reduces carbon emissions by 1000 kg and allows each of us to have a stake in creating a cleaner, greener future.

Amrit Menon

Design Engineer at The Washing Machine Project

Talk Title: The Washing Machine Project

Amrit is a Mechanical Engineer from Heriot-Watt university, now getting into the industry focussed on entrepreneurship and social innovation. Hearing about The Washing Machine Project and several other similar organizations doing such important work has inspired Amrit to use his skills and knowledge to help and give back to the community. Outside of the TWMP, Amrit is working with a small team to tackle the problem of period poverty and access to affordable sanitary pads among women in high-risk and poverty-stricken regions.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Vania G. Zuin

Professor on Green and Sustainable Chemistry at the Federal University of Sao Carlos (SP, Brazil) and Visiting Professor at the Universities of York (UK) and Leuphana (Germany)

Prof. Zuin's background is Green and Sustainable Analytical Chemistry and Green and Sustainable Chemistry Education, with major interests in developing analytical methodologies that are incipient to determine bioactive high-value organic substances extracted from Brazilian agro-industrial residues as well as the development and dissemination of educational material for Higher Education.

Sonja Jost

CEO of DexLeChem, a Green Chemistry Startup

Sonja Jost is an inventor and engineer who co-founded DexLeChem, a Green Chemistry startup of which she is the CEO. Sonja is member of different advisory/ supervisory boards and high-tech juries and gives advice to governmental organizations, scientific institutions, NGOs, as well as several political parties. She received various awards, e.g. “25 female inventors who are changing our world”.

Adam Brownsell

Publisher, Royal Society of Chemistry

Adam has worked in STEM publishing for over 15 years. Currently the publisher of Chemistry World magazine, he has previously worked in medical, educational and professional sectors and specialises in digital publishing and web technologies. In his varied career he has found that the one constant has been the importance of great stories, told with insight and integrity.

Poppy Bradley

Youth STEM Matters Editor and Natural Sciences undergraduate

Talk Title: Research 101

Poppy is currently a second year undergraduate at Bath studying Natural Sciences, specialising in Biochemistry and Pharmacology. She's especially interested in stem cell biology and how we can apply this to develop novel therapies, as well as cell signalling and how we can use this to our advantage in drug development. In my free time she enjoys rowing and cycling. Poppy is also one of the Life Sciences Editors for Youth STEM Matters, Youth STEM 2030's flagship project and scientific journal.

Kerena Norris

Life Sciences Editor for Youth STEM Matters and Biochemistry Undergraduate

Talk Title: Research 101

Kerena is passionate about making STEM accessible to all and promoting young scientists through her editorial role with the Youth STEM Matters Journal. She has interests in the immunology, oncology and biochemistry fields. Kerena has previous research experience in functionally and phenotypically characterising a transgenic mouse line. Outside of academia, she is an avid book reader and candle collector!

Adam Khan-Qureshi

Editor-in-Chief at Youth STEM Matters

Talk Title: Scientific Publishing for Maximum Impact

Adam is a third year Biochemistry Student at the University of Warwick and the Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief of Youth STEM Matters. He is keen on utilising his editorial experience to provide young scientists a voice within the scientific community. His scientific research interests lie around protein biochemistry, immunology and molecular biology.

Alvina Mishra

Reviewer at Youth STEM Matters

Talk Title: Scientific Publishing for Maximum Impact

Alvina is currently in sixth form studying biology, chemistry and mathematics. She is part of the life sciences team at Youth STEM Matters and is particularly interested in working with molecular biology and genetics. Alvina is passionate about women empowerment and likes to play guitar in her free time.

Hillary Diane Andales

Science Communicator/Astrophysics Undergraduate Researcher

Talk Title: A Crash Course in Science Communication (and Changing People)

Originally from the Philippines, Hillary is a second-year physics student and astrophysics researcher at MIT. Through public talks, webinars, social media posts, and YouTube videos, she works to get everyone excited about science. So far, her talks have reached tens of thousands of people while her videos have reached millions worldwide. More information about her work is at hillaryandales.com.

Bupe Chikumbi

Founder of Genius Education Zambia

Bupe is a 24 year old, 5th year medical student at the University who obtained a degree in Human Biology in 2019. She is passionate about SDG-4 and STEM advocacy. She founded Genius Education Zambia in 2018 and with the help of an incredible team they host annual Genius Science Fairs, Writing contests, Genius STEM clubs, Genius E-learning and has written a curriculum approved textbook that aims at empowering learners with the skills required to thrive in education. She believes in the inherent genius present in everyone and strives to help learners discover their genius and their role in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Ghislain Irakoze

Founder - Wastezon

Ghislain is the Founder of Wastezon, a cleantech company based in Rwanda. Prior to founding Wastezon, he was a Youth Think Tanker Researcher at Mastercard Foundation and he initiated Recycle for Environment Campaign that involved over 220 young people in waste Recycling. He is a UNEP Young champion of Earth Finalist and CoC Youth Conservation Poster Prize Awardee.

Rushank Goyal

Tech-based changemaker and high schooler

Rushank is a high schooler from central India using emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and IoT for social impact. He has worked with agencies like the United Nations Development Program, the National Health Mission, and the Ipas Development Foundation on social projects. He is also a twice-published researcher and thrice-published author who has spoken at 20+ events with 3000+ attendees.

Maria Theresa Villatoro

Founder & Executive Director at Conquer

As a recent college graduate working in Finance, Maria Theresa is devoted to breaching the gap between technology and developing countries. She strongly believes that a tech driven education is our best bet for empowering while striving for national development. Through the initiative STEM in a box, her team is committed to distributing robots assembled from electrical trash and cardboard in El Salvador and Nigeria. These educational kits come with didactic material that allows young girls to learn the principles of electricity, coding, and robotics while they complete the national math curricula. She currently serves as an advisor for the construction of the Bluebird CESSNA-152 and is an active member of the Global Changemakers community.