Her Story
About Shani
Shani Abada serves as Director of Conversational AI at Chase. She began her career in academia with a deep interest in language, inspired by family members who spoke multiple languages. After taking a linguistics course in college, she pursued and earned a PhD to study how the brain processes language, how it changes with age and neurological impairments, and how auditory and visual information integrate. In 2012, she transitioned into conversation design, initially working as a voice user interface designer, and has since evolved the role to create interactive language experiences across phone systems, chatbots, digital platforms, and voice assistants. In her current position, Abada focuses on strategic thinking for customer-facing conversational experiences, influencing the organization, guiding her team on design principles, and ensuring brand-aligned character and guidelines for consistent interactions. Outside of work, she is passionate about special education advocacy, speaking with families about identifying needs and supports, and volunteers extensively in her community. Abada values leading authentically, doing right by people, maintaining transparency, and fostering respect so that disagreements focus on the work rather than the individual.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shani
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Remembering that no one's gonna die if something isn't perfect, and that you don't own the work. Also, never turn down money and always take the call to keep an eye on the market.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Read Lean In but don't be too literal. Sit at the table, have a presence, advocate for yourself. Don't worry about imposter syndrome, just move forward. Use time before having spouse and children to grow your career.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges and opportunities are the same: field evolving quickly with new language models, need to keep up continuously, finding talent with right title, navigating ambiguity while leveraging new tools.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being authentic, doing right by people, being transparent, respecting each other, disagreeing respectfully about the work not the person.
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