Panel Moderator and #SpeakingMyName Campaign Co-Lead

Praveen is the Founder and CEO of NameCoach. Initially inspired by his sister’s name getting mangled at her college graduation, Praveen built NameCoach's first product to enable schools to easily collect and embed audio recordings of student names and gender pronouns wherever instructors and staff need to access them (e.g., on class rosters, for graduation, for advisers). His company’s mission is to enable respectful and inclusive interactions in every interaction. Praveen got a PhD in Philosophy from Stanford, an MPhil in History of Technology from Cambridge, and BA in History from Harvard - but scrapped it all to build some tech.

Ed Bianchi is the Director of College Partnerships at IDEA Public Schools in Texas. Prior to joining IDEA Ed spent four years as an Assistant Director of Admissions at Lafayette College. He has worked in education (from Pre-K through Higher Ed) for 18 years in South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Principal of ELLIS Preparatory High School

Born in N'djamena, Chad (Central Africa)

Been in Grand Rapids, MI for 8 years

Serves as the coordinator of the African Collaborative Network (ACN): a collaborative of like-minded African professionals working together to make social and economic impact for Africans in Grand Rapids and Michigan