Congratulations to Shawna Khouri, Biolocity Managing Director, for being selected from a pool of over 400 applicants for a new program designed to recognize the achievements of Georgia Institute of Technology alumni who are improving the human condition.
ATLANTA, JULY 15, 2020 — The Georgia Tech Alumni Association has announced 40 distinguished honorees who have innovated industries and positively impacted communities across the globe. In its first year, more than 250 individuals were nominated by colleagues, peers, and Georgia Tech faculty this April.
Shawna Khouri is a life science entrepreneur and funder who has catalyzed and grown Atlanta’s life science start-up ecosystem. Khouri shares that “Being a Georgia Tech alumna is something to be proud of, but being included amongst such an impressive list of peers is simply humbling.”
In its inaugural year, the 2020 class includes Olympian and breast cancer survivor Chaunté Lowe; founder of the Algorithmic Justice League (and one of Shawna Khouri’s freshman dorm-mates), Joy Buolamwini, whose research on algorithmic bias in artificial intelligence (AI) has led to policy and industry changes in addressing AI harms; and Maithili Appalwar, who founded Avana to address the alarming rate of suicides among farmers in Yavatmal, a district in Maharashtra, India by working with more than 10,000 farmers to conserve more than 50 billion liters of water.
“I am amazed and humbled by the accomplishments of these innovators and trendsetters. They epitomize the focus that our Georgia Tech alumni have to make the world a better place,” shares Dene Sheheane, president of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association.
Those nominated must have completed at least one semester at Georgia Tech, be under the age of 40 as of June 30, 2020, and have made an impact in their profession or community, spanning all industries and sectors. A committee of 26 faculty, staff, and volunteer leaders, who collectively represented all Georgia Tech colleges, scored each nominee using a 25-point rubric. Selection Committee member Bert Reeves, MGT 2000, State Representative in the Georgia House of Representatives, expressed that, “I was blown away at the nearly impossible task of scoring the applicants. These are folks who are not just impacting their community and state, but in some cases, their country and the entire world. It is truly inspiring to see the innovation and passion that our alumni are contributing to many of the greatest issues our world faces today.”
A list of all 40 honorees is available here.
About the Georgia Tech Alumni Association
The Georgia Tech Alumni Association, chartered in 1908, is an exclusive network of more than 172,000 worldwide tied together by their experience at Georgia Tech. Through the Association, Tech alumni gain immediate access to its extensive, global alumni network, as well as numerous alumni programs and services designed to enrich both careers and lives. The Georgia Tech Alumni Association is a participation-driven non-profit corporation governed by a board of alumni volunteers. Since 1947, the Association’s Roll Call program has raised money to financially support Tech’s academic mission, a tradition that has transformed the Institute into the place it is today. Learn more at www.gtalumni.org.
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