Her Story
About Irene
I am an educator with a Master’s degree and over 10 years of international teaching experience, including working in China, where I witnessed how rapidly education can evolve through technology.
Today, my work focuses on AI literacy not as a technical skill, but as a new layer of thinking.
Through AI Explorers Academy, I design structured, age-appropriate frameworks that help children understand AI, question it, and use it responsibly. I approach AI literacy as a progression: Awareness —> Interaction —> Creation
Because when schools skip this progression, they create dependency instead of understanding.
My goal is to help educators, parents, and school systems raise children who are not just consumers of AI, but thoughtful, creative participants in an AI-driven world.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Irene
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to combining two worlds that rarely meet: education and emerging technology.
My background in teaching gave me a deep understanding of how children learn. My work in AI helped me see how quickly that learning environment is changing.
What drives me is not just innovation, but responsibility.
I believe that if we introduce AI without teaching children how to think, question, and interpret it, we create dependence instead of capability.
So my work is focused on building clarity for educators, parents, and schools on how to approach AI in a structured, human-centered way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
“Don’t follow opportunity. Follow the problem that actually needs solving.”
For me, that problem is how we prepare children for a world shaped by AI.
It’s easy to focus on tools, trends, or short-term success.
But real impact comes from working on something foundational… something that will still matter in 10 or 20 years.
That perspective shaped the direction of my work and continues to guide every decision I make.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would encourage young women to develop one skill above all: clarity of thinking.
We are entering a world where information is abundant, but understanding is rare.
AI can generate answers, but it cannot replace judgment, curiosity, or perspective.
So learn how to:
- ask better questions
- challenge what you see
- think independently
Those skills will matter far more than any specific tool or technology.
And most importantly, don’t wait to feel “ready.”
Start building, learning, and contributing early.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges right now is that AI is entering education faster than understanding.
Many schools are introducing tools without a clear framework for how children should interact with them.
This creates a gap - students gain access, but not understanding
At the same time, this is also the biggest opportunity.
We have a chance to rethink education not just by adding AI, but by redefining how children learn to think, question, and create.
If done correctly, AI literacy can strengthen critical thinking, not weaken it.
But that requires intentional design, not just adoption.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that guide both my work and personal life are:
* Responsibility - especially when working with children and emerging technologies
* Clarity - making complex ideas simple and understandable
* Curiosity - staying open to learning and questioning
* Integrity - building frameworks that are ethical and age-appropriate
* Human-centered thinking - ensuring technology supports development, not replaces it
I believe that as AI becomes more present in our lives, these values become even more important, not less.
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