Hello. I am Lisa and thrilled to be working with all of you this semester. I am already enjoying the diversity of ideas and seeing how people approach issues.

My background is in language technology. I did early research in AI and then founded a company around global data collection for technologies including search and speech.  We worked in over 120 languages over 20 years. As the company grew, the culture was overtaken by the imperative of  “maximizing shareholder value” and in the end, the value created over decades was not shared beyond investors.   I left the company after taking it public and joined the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard which provides fellowships for seasoned executives to study social impact.

I am partnered with Talent Beyond Boundaries who partner with the UN and governments on Labor Mobility.   Skilled refugees need jobs. Global employers need talent. TBB connects them.

They have had early successes at changing immigration laws in support of labor migration, partnering with the UN.  They continue to focus on “additive” immigration quotas in additional countries (i.e. not redirecting immigration quotas but adding new opportunities for skilled refugees). They are currently engaged in a number of pilots to prove to funders and government leaders that the approach is sustainable and scalable.

As TBB scales operations there are design issues around preparing refugee families for relocation with language and culture skills. In addition, once relocated, connecting them with community support. The pilot is primarily focused on Australia.