Leila Toplic

As the Head of Emerging Technologies Initiative at NetHope, Leila leads strategic efforts focused on enabling the nonprofit community to design and use technologies like AI, digital identity, blockchain and others in an impactful and ethical way to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Most recently, she led capacity building in AI and AI ethics and developed two toolkits in collaboration with NetHope members, USAID and MIT D-Lab.

Leila also serves as a subject-matter expert on education in emergencies, with the focus on children and youth impacted by displacement. She leads EdTech Collective, a coalition of global NGOs, focused on digital education and work for youth in Africa. Between 2017-2019, Leila led a task force for the No Lost Generation (NLG) initiative, a coalition of 30+ UN / NGO agencies) that brought together UN, NGO, private sector, academia, government stakeholders to develop innovative learning and work solutions for conflict-affected youth in the Middle East and North Africa.

Prior to NetHope, Leila spent 15 years in leadership roles in the technology sector (Microsoft, Adobe) and at social enterprise startups (Samasource, LRNG) working at the intersection of technology and society.

Leila frequently writes and speaks on the topics of AI, ethics, and education. She was named 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics for 2021 and serves as an Advisor to several technology startups, SxSW EDU, and UNESCO's Global Declaration on Connectivity for Education.