Biography

Dr. Nelly Elsayed is an Assistant Professor, founder and leader of the Applied Machine Learning and Intelligence (AMLI) Lab at the School of Information Technology at the University of Cincinnati. Her research focuses on Applied AI and Machine Learning for Healthcare Informatics, Cybersecurity, Smart Technologies, Computer Vision, and Business Intelligent Solutions. She received a BS. and MS. degree in Computer Science from Alexandria University and her MS. and Ph.D. from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is an active member of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society. She has served as a principal and co-principal investigator in different federal, educational, and industrial level-funded research projects. She received the Faculty Incentive Award for Research and Scholarship from the CECH, UC, recognizing her research contributions, journal and conference peer-reviewed publications, and professional presentations in 2021 and 2025. She received the Love of Learning Award from the Honor Society Phi Kappa Phi in 2019, 2021, and 2023. She received the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching (Graduate Level), CECH. She received the UCAADA Sarah Grant Barber Outstanding Advising Faculty Award for from the University of Cincinnati. She has been an Ambassador for Goodwill of Lafayette, Louisiana, since 2017. Dr. Nelly Elsayed has been nominated for the for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) which is the most prestigious mentoring award in the Nation.

Biography

Dr. Nataliia Neshenko is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Technology and Operations Management at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). She has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

Her research interests encompass operational cybersecurity, cyber risk management, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Dr. Neshenko has co-authored several influential publications, including the book Smart Cities: Cyber Situational Awareness to Support Decision Making and the article "Machine Learning and User Interface for Cyber Risk Management of Water Infrastructure" in Risk Analysis. Her work has been recognized with the Best Paper Award at the 2017 IEEE International Symposium on Personal Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications.
In addition to her academic achievements, Dr. Neshenko brings over 16 years of project management experience in business optimization within the finance and IT sectors. She holds several professional certifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), and Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA).

Biography

Dr. Sara Rushinek is a professor at the University of Miami Herbert Business School, specializing in Business Technology and Health Informatics. She has held visiting positions at prestigious institutions, including the University of Southern California (USC), the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Tel Aviv University, and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
Dr. Rushinek has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and serves as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation, in addition to being part of various editorial boards. She is an inductee of the Women in Technology Hall of Fame and actively participates in organizations such as WITI and ISACA.
Her research interests include artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cybersecurity, intelligent algorithmic automated trading, and blockchain technology. Dr. Rushinek collaborates with industry leaders such as Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Sony, and HP. She also serves as an advisor to Smart City Initiatives for the City of Coral Gables.
She earned her undergraduate degree from Tel Aviv University and her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Rushinek is dedicated to the responsible use of technology to address real-world challenges and to mentoring future professionals in her field. With her commitment to advancing AI applications, she has become a leading force in cutting-edge technologies that transform academia, healthcare, industry, and entrepreneurship, shaping the future of innovation and solutions.

Biography

Dr. Donna Franklin West is a leadership development strategist and technology consultant with over 20 years of experience in healthcare IT and enterprise project delivery. She is the founder and CEO of The Virtual PM, a firm that blends project execution with leadership, soft skills, and workforce development training.
Donna is recognized for her practical, results-oriented leadership style and her ability to align technical projects with people-centered strategies. She has led complex full life cycle implementations across diverse industries and now focuses on equipping emerging leaders and underrepresented professionals to thrive in technology driven environments.
As a certified Maxwell Leadership Trainer and DISC Consultant, she integrates behavioral insights and proven leadership frameworks to strengthen communication, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking. Her mission is to create inclusive pathways to leadership and success through training, coaching, and scalable project support.

Biography

Dr. Hassnaa Moustafa is a Principal Engineer with Intel Corporation, working on edge computing and AI solutions across IoT segments and network edge infrastructure. Previously at Intel, she led car-to[1]cloud solutions for connected/autonomous vehicles and connectivity technologies across IoT segments. Before joining Intel, Hassnaa was a Senior Research and Development Engineer with Orange, France. She contributed to wireless network solutions for the EMEA region and led engineering efforts on optimizing video and multimedia services over wireless networks, and she contributed to their related IETF standards. Hassnaa is a Senior Member of IEEE, and she has over 80 publications in international conferences, journals, and books and over 300 filed patents (over 100 granted). Hassnaa received the master’s degree in distributed systems from the University of Paris XI, and the Ph.D. degree in wireless and mobile networks from Telecom Paris Tech. She also holds a Research Director Qualification from the University of Paris XI.

Biography

Dr. Karlene Cousins is the Chair and Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics at FIU Business. She also serves as the Artificial Intelligence Integration Sponsor, overseeing the integration of AI into research and teaching within the College. She served as Director of the Master of Science in Information Systems Program. She founded ITWomen NextGen, an initiative focused on increasing the number of women in technology careers. An attorney and technology strategist, she is a frequent judge of the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge. Karlene worked in the financial, manufacturing, aviation and healthcare industries including a stint at Deloitte, one of the Big Four professional services firms. Her research focuses on the impact of emerging technologies such as mobile payments, blockchain and cryptocurrency on organizations and society. In 2016, she received an outstanding research award from the Emerald Publishing Group. Legacy Magazine recognized her as a top black educator in 2016. She is currently a Senior Editor of the Production and Operations Management Journal and Associate Editor of the European Journal of Information Systems. She obtained a Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems from the Georgia State University and a J.D. from the Northwestern University Pritzer School of Law. Dr. Cousins is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Jamaica where she earned a BSc in Computer Science and Physics and an MSc in Computer Information Systems.