Joy Adowaa Buolamwini, PhD
Computer Scientist, Data Poet.  
Joy earned a Master's Degree in Media Arts & Sciences from MIT, and a PhD in 2022. She founded the Algorithmic Justice League, an org. that challenges bias in decision-making software and research to social implications and harms of artificial intelligence (AI). Her research at MIT Media Lab identified bias in algorithms and developed practices for accountability. Her project, Gender Shades, prompted IBM, Google, and Microsoft, to improve their software by addressing gender and race bias in their products. In 2019, Fortune magazine listed Joy as one of the "World's 50 Greatest Leaders." Dr. B created two films, Code4Rights and Algorithmic Justice League: Unmasking Bias. The Coded Gaze documentary is on YouTube. She won the PepsiCo - 21st Century Fox grand prize in the Search for Hidden Figures contest which "helps to uncover the next generation of female leaders in science, technology, engineering and math." And, she has a TedX talk.
 
Anne Rice*
Author, Executive Producer Film and TV
An American author known for her gothic fiction and series of novels, The Vampire Chronicles from 1976. She wrote most of her books from New Orleans and featured the city as a setting in her books. She wrote 37 novels in her career. Her most popular book is Interview with the Vampire which is also a film and TV series in which she was the Executive Producer on. Her stories have expanded into eight films and two TV series. Several of her novels are available as comics and manga. Anne’s books have sold 100 million copies, making her one of the best-selling authors of modern times. World Horror Convention GrandMaster Award. Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. Goodreads Choice Awards Best Horror.
*Anne Rice died in 2021, however, she was on my list of 21 Powerful Living Women, so I kept her in the series.
 
Zenia Nassar
Professional Boxer, German, Muslim, Gen Z
Zeina is the current Berlin Boxer title-holder and won her first boxing title in 2014 and has held the title six times in a row. She became an official Nike Athlete in 2017 and became the first Muslim woman to enter the boxing ring wearing a hijab. Zenia’s Nike ad campaign, “Don’t change for the rules. Change the rules.” In 2018 she won the German Women's Elite Championship within her weight group. Zenia helped to change the rules for boxing matches in Germany so women with headscarves can compete. She was born and raised in Berlin, Germany to Lebanese parents and studies sociology and educational science in Potsdam. She’s a member of the German National boxing team and is an ambassador of Underarmour. Zenia wrote a book, Dream Big and is active on Instagram @zenia.bower.