We are excited and proud to introduce an esteemed group of leaders across critical areas such advocacy, research, investment, government, and technology as the five acclaimed judges for the Alexa Diabetes Challenge. These judges will bring the expertise, experience, and diversity of perspectives crucial to identify the Amazon voice-enabled solutions with the most potential to transform the lives of those living with type 2 diabetes.
These judges will carefully review concept submissions against the official Challenge criteria, selecting up to five finalists to receive $25,000 and advance to the Virtual Accelerator in July. At the live Demo Day in NYC this September, the finalists will present their refined solution to the judges, who will then select a winner to receive the $125,000 grand prize. (See a detailed schedule here.)
Please join us now in welcoming our all-star judges:
IFEOMA AJUNWA, JD, PHD
Fellow, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University
Dr. Ajunwa is a nationally recognized legal expert on biotechnological, employment, and discrimination issues. Her work with MIT’s Kate Crawford and NYU’s Jason Schultz examining the protection of employee health data provides a critical perspective from which she will assess solutions’ data privacy considerations.
NICOLE BELL
Founder and Executive Director, Cambia Grove
Bell has spent 20 years transforming healthcare delivery and insurance plans. She has supported Cambia’s investment portfolio since 2012, and brings to the Challenge extensive experience shepherding the success of numerous entrepreneurs and startups.
JOHN BROWNSTEIN, PHD
Professor, Harvard Medical School, and Chief Innovation Officer of Boston Children’s Hospital
Dr. Brownstein’s leadership in tech-enabled public health surveillance has earned him opportunities to advise the World Health Organization, Institute of Medicine, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the White House. In his role as a judge, he will be informed by his work championing innovation initiatives.
MICHELE TUCK-PONDER, ESQ
Producer, Diabetes While Black
A former mayor of Princeton, NJ, Tuck-Ponder draws on her own family experience with type 2 diabetes in her quest to equip black people with information and resources to better manage the disease. She will draw on this experience to assess the ability of solutions to truly improve the lives of those managing diabetes.
MATT YANCHYSHYN
AWS Technology Partner Solutions Architecture Lead, Amazon Web Services
Yanchyshyn works with the world’s largest software and hardware companies to build innovative, secure, and high-performance solutions in the cloud. His technical expertise and familiarity with Amazon technology will support his evaluation of solutions’ feasibility.
Read more here about their experience. Thank you judges for giving your time and insight to make this vision a reality!
Have a great idea? Submit soon!
The Alexa Diabetes Challenge deadline is less than a month away; submit your proposal here by 5:00 PM ET May 22, 2017.