AI in Product: Applied AI - AI Governance Panel Discussion

Overview
Applied AI: What Actually Works brings together experienced leaders across product, data, security, and business to cut through the noise and talk honestly about using AI in real organizations. This panel will focus on practical lessons, real-world failures, and actionable best practices for leaders navigating AI adoption today. Expect candid stories, concrete frameworks, and an interactive discussion designed for executives and operators who want to move forward with clarity, confidence, and control.

Agenda

• 2:00pm - 2:30pm: Arrival and networking
• 2:30pm - 2:45pm: Announcements and round-room introductions
• 2:45pm - 3:30pm: Featured panel
• 3:30pm - 4:00pm: Your impromptu discussion topics
• 4:00pm onwards: Continued networking at Monster Brewing

Meet Our Featured Panelists

Sacha Sweeney-Newman
Founder Atlasticity
Sacha is a cloud and AI business strategist and co-founder of Atlasticity, an AWS Advanced Tier Partner focused on helping organizations modernize responsibly and extract real value from emerging technologies. With deep experience across AWS cloud operations, managed services, migration, and applied AI, Sacha regularly advises executive teams on how to move from experimentation to production—with low disruption of modernization.
Outside of work, Sacha runs almost entirely on creativity, curiosity, and controlled chaos. She’s passionate about serving people in need and constant growth—whether that’s in business, mindset, or life in general. That growth mindset is tested daily while juggling four daughters, an impressive 34 nieces and nephews, and—at last count—nine “outside” cats (it's a long story!).
She’s also a firm believer in saying yes to fun while being gloriously mediocre with old and new hobbies alike: wake surfing on the lake in the summer, heroic but inconsistent attempts to keep a golf ball on the fairway, and monthly appearances at Billiards & Bytes, where tech conversations are seriously great but pool skills are optional.
As today’s moderator, Sacha will guide the panel toward actionable insights and real lessons learned from the field.

Norman Owens
Senior Solution Architect - AWS
Norman Owens helps customers get the most out of the AWS cloud. He has acquired deep expertise with traditional AI/ML tools by building solutions for customers, and supplementing this activity with a Master’s of Science in AI/ML.
As a proud University of Minnesota alum, Norman enjoys working with students to help them reach career starts faster. He is curious about what is working in today’s gloomy job market and is always willing to take a first appointment via LinkedIn. Norman is grateful to be able to help future leaders now.
Norman recently acquired his 12th AWS certification and is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his AWS Gold Jacket.
Outside of work, Norman is supporting the youngest of his two children through university and is proud to enjoy the achievements of all three adult children.

Jena Zangs
Chief Data & AI Officer, University of St. Thomas
Jena Zangs is a Chief Data & AI Officer who helps education leaders move beyond AI hype into real-world impact. At the University of St. Thomas, she leads enterprise AI strategy, governed data infrastructure, and applied innovation focused on trust, usability, and outcomes that matter. Her work has been recognized with an AWS Education Champion Award and a Top 50 Data & Analytics Team honor. With a masters in data science, Jena brings a builder’s mindset to every opportunity, showing how educators and institutions can design AI that supports people, not replaces them.

Megan C. Starkey
Founder and CEO - RBD
Megan C. Starkey is the founder and CEO of RBD., an AI advisory firm helping mid-size organizations build capabilities for the AI era. She has spent two decades helping global organizations like Target, General Mills, Chase, and IBM turn emerging technology into business performance. She is the author of The Intelligence Organization:
Redesigning the Firm to Outcompete in the AI Era and creator of the Starkey ModelTM, a use case prioritization framework. She is a founding member of AI Circle and holds credentials from Harvard Business School and MIT.

Sponsors
This event is sponsored by Lab651 & Recursive Awesome

Organizers
This event is part of the community interest groups series at Applied AI, where community members power sessions for niche interest areas through the Applied AI platform.

This event is organized and hosted by Cameron Gross, John DeBauche, and Beth-Alison Berggren.