Her Story
About Anisa
Anisa Abeytia is an AI governance strategist, digital equity advocate, and humanitarian technology consultant who works at the intersection of responsible artificial intelligence, public policy, and social impact. As Founder and Principal Consultant of FourthSpace Solutions, she advises governments, international organizations, nonprofits, and technology companies on the ethical deployment of AI, with a particular focus on humanitarian settings, digital inclusion, and high-risk environments. Her work centers on ensuring that emerging technologies are designed and governed in ways that are equitable, accountable, and responsive to the communities they affect.
Drawing on a multidisciplinary background that spans policy, migration studies, postcolonial and feminist theory, humanitarian fieldwork, and technology governance, Anisa brings a unique perspective to AI strategy and implementation. She has contributed to national and international AI policy initiatives, presented recommendations to the United Nations Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, participated in the UN General Assembly's Digital Compact process, and supported the development of digital equity and AI governance frameworks adopted by public institutions and global organizations. Through FourthSpace Solutions, she provides AI governance consulting, red-teaming, adversarial evaluation, workforce training, and policy development services designed to build trust, reduce bias, and strengthen responsible AI adoption.
Anisa holds a Master's degree in Literary Theory with a focus on Postcolonial and Feminist Thought from Stanford University and a Master of Arts in Migration Studies from the University of San Francisco. A recognized thought leader in AI governance and humanitarian technology, she has published extensively on AI ethics, digital inclusion, crisis response, and emerging technologies in outlets including The New Humanitarian, The Hill, and ReliefWeb. Through her research, consulting, and advocacy, she continues to champion community-centered approaches to AI governance, ensuring that the voices of historically underrepresented communities help shape the future of technology.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Anisa
01What do you attribute your success to?
Nobody gets to determine how my life story ends. Just me. Only me. I've had teachers, principals, everyone telling me, you can't do it, you can't do it. You're dark. You're a Latina. You're a Muslim. You're Native American. You don't end up in those places. So it was always just, I come from a long line of strong women, and growing up, it was okay to be a strong woman. In the end of the day, it's just you in your room, with your mind by yourself, and no one can motivate you, really except yourself. For me, it's very much part of faith. I believe I deserve to be happy. I think God thinks that all of us should be happy. And sometimes we need to ask. So much of what motivates me, it's like God doesn't answer prayers. Humans do.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't make the mistake of self-rejecting. I know sometimes it feels bad to be rejected. You have no idea how many times, how many things I applied for that I got rejected, but this is one thing that I did get accepted for. So don't, you know, don't make the mistake of self-rejecting. Just try. The worst they can say is no. I was sitting with a group of young women at a conference, and I had applied for a grant from a community college and got it. The younger women at the table were like, how did you get that? I said, I applied. It was a table of 10 women. No one had ever said that to them before.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I'm filling a business and governance gap, where without trust, the public doesn't want to adopt AI. There's no enforceable framework right now, but through the certification program that I'm developing, which is peer-reviewed and I've used it in different spaces and different fields, I'm building out inclusion to reduce bias, but also looking at the actual architecture. The opportunity is building governance in from the very beginning, rather than as an afterthought. I want people to be able to use AI sustainably, and also with keeping the climate in mind as well. I'm helping build AI that's for everybody.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Work-life balance is critical for me, especially for women. There's so much research and data that has shown that we use our brain more, or just the way our brain is wired. You need one hour just to turn it off. I build fun into my day. Joy. I force myself to stop, and I'm like, well, I'm gonna go do something else. Try a new spa. My morning routine is I have a huge beautiful garden, and we have a little mini sculpture garden back there, and that's where I have my breakfast. I look around at all the beautiful things that I've created, and take a breath. That's the reset. I also believe I deserve to be happy. I think God thinks that all of us should be happy. I'm not part of the LGBTQ community, but I volunteer there because I faced so many biases in my life. I just show up, and people naturally discriminate against me because I'm a visibly brown, short Muslim woman. Volunteering there, I feel very seen because they have similar experiences.
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