Zoya Hussain

Zoya Hussain serves as the Head of Community at the Center for Gender Equitable AI and is a first-year student at Yale University studying Computer Science, with a certificate in Computing, Culture, and Society. Across campus, Zoya is involved in several organizations:  she is a Turing Fellow focused on AI policy, an analyst with the Yale Undergraduate Capital Partners, a product designer with Design for America, and an organizer for Yale’s annual hackathon. Through these roles, she explores how technical tools and intentional development can address real-world problems through a human-centered lens.

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Zoya’s interest in ethical technology began in literature. Her first exposure to questions of technological responsibility came through reading Frankenstein, which sparked a lasting curiosity about the moral dimensions of creation. She is particularly interested in accountability in technological development and how innovation can better reflect societal needs and values.

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Building on this interest, Zoya has pursued interests at the intersection of ethical technology and community advocacy. She previously led her statewide Encode chapter, organizing campaigns and educational initiatives around responsible AI and civic engagement while developing accessible AI literacy curricula. Her commitment to gender diversity in technology stems from her early exposure to computer science through her local Girl Scouts troop and has since translated into organizing hackathons and community programs for gender-diverse youth through Hack Club. She was also a winner of the NASA Conrad Challenge, where she developed a biometric identification device aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and now serves on the Conrad Challenge Alumni Leadership Council, advising student ventures. In parallel, she has held community-facing roles as a coordinator for International Humanitarian Law youth campaigns with the American Red Cross and, most recently, as an ambassador with the Asian American Justice Center, investigating the impacts of artificial intelligence on AAPI communities.