Igniting Your Agency: How Women Can Lead in AI and Digital Transformation‍

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We are urged to adopt AI quickly in order to stay relevant, but the age-old truism of 'go slowly to go fast' remains true. If we've learned one thing from the effects of social media, it's that our attention to and involvement in technological advancements are vital to producing positive outcomes in private and public sectors, education and social impact. After this discussion with Jen García, an English instructor for 20 years, turned tech educator and emerging AI and systems engineer, you’ll leave with a deeper understanding of the current state of AI and practical ways women can not only adopt but also engineer AI, innovate applications, and shape policy in this emerging technological revolution.

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Jen García

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Jen García is the founder of Ingrained.ai, where she trains professionals across business, education, government, and social impact to use AI tools with fluency and judgment. Grounded in neuroscience, learning science, and research on human and AI interaction, her work builds the human skills that matter most as AI spreads: communication, cognition, and values, augmenting people's abilities rather than replacing them. In 2026 she launched the Ingrained.ai learning platform to extend that work.

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She also serves as AI Strategy and Partnerships Lead at Caltech's Center for Technology and Management Education, where she cultivates corporate partnerships and designs and delivers AI fluency curriculum for non-technical professionals.

A native Angelena, Jen has spent nearly two decades in education: 16 years teaching English at UCLA and UCI Extensions and USC, then three years in workforce development through her nonprofit Employ California, designing courses preparing Los Angeles County employees for promotional exams. An emerging engineer, she holds a Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate credential and an Associate Systems Engineering Professional credential, with AI engineering and project management certifications underway, and has led AI training for the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Los Angeles County Management Council, DoorDash, Disney, and Northrop Grumman.

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Jen is co-developing a Women and Artificial Intelligence Global Framework for the United Nations Global Impact Forum, with a final presentation in Geneva in December 2026.

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Beyond her work, Jen is a writer and a triathlete.

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