Dr. Taniya Mishra is the founder and CEO of SureStart, where she is helping build the next generation of AI leaders. An accomplished AI researcher for more than two decades, Mishra has more than 50 AI and machine learning patents and numerous peer-reviewed publications. Before founding SureStart, she held technical AI, innovation and leadership roles at companies like AT&T Labs and Affectiva, an MIT Media Lab spinoff, where she focused on advancing conversational AI, affective computing and human-centered machine learning. Passionate about AI advancement, future-readiness and AI ethics and inclusion, Mishra has been recognized as a Leading Woman in AI by NASDAQ, spoken at CES, SXSW Edu, ASU+GSV and the New York Academy of Sciences and has received several AI and tech mentorship awards. Under her leadership, SureStart has supported K through 12 and college students from across the US and globally in developing AI fluency through curriculum, mentorship and innovation programs that equip students to understand and use AI with skill, confidence and agency for an AI-driven future.