Delaware Power Moves: State rep will lead AI commission to help residents navigate tech

The heat isn’t slowing down people’s moves this summer, as Delaware professionals climb into new positions, seats and appointments. 

This month’s Power Moves spotlights sectors like healthcare, AI and finance. Delaware Bio adds to its board of directors and a brand new AI commission comes together to help Delawareans protect themselves as generative AI rapidly develops.

Also, the United Way gets a new board chair and a student appointee gets selected for the State Board of Education.

Read on for all the details on these Power Moves below the chart detailing the top tech skills in Delaware. 

Rep. Krista Griffith heads new AI commission

Krista Griffith, state representative of the 12th district in Fairfax, has been named chair of the new Delaware AI Commission. Griffith sponsored the bill that created the commission as a way to address concerns with rapidly evolving generative AI and a lack of data privacy education. 

“This commission is made up of the best possible experts to keep us safe, ensure our rights are not violated, and review all of the opportunities and challenges as they come our way,” Griffith posted on LinkedIn after its inaugural meeting.  

The commission appointed Sunita Chandrasekaran, associate professor of computer and information sciences at the University of Delaware, as vice chair, and Richard Jester, AI program manager at JPMorgan Chase, as secretary.

The Commission will make recommendations to the General Assembly and Department of Technology and Information on the use of AI for all state agencies. 

Delaware Bio adds two new medical biotechnologists to its board

The Delaware BioScience Association, known as Delaware Bio, announced the election of two new members to its board of directors: Natalia Rivera-Torres of ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute and Bruce Sachais of the Blood Bank of Delmarva and New York Blood Center Enterprises. 

Rivera-Torres, principal investigator and co-leader of translational research within Christiana Care’s Gene Editing Institute, is considered a rising star in the field of human gene editing. 

“Natalia is a driving force in our lab space who continuously pushes our science to the next level, and her work into precision in CRISPR cuts has changed the way we think about lung cancer care,” ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute posted on LinkedIn. 

A graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, Delaware State University and the University of Delaware, Rivera-Torres currently holds faculty appointments at the University of Delaware and Mayo Clinic.

Bruce Sachais is senior vice president and chief medical officer for The New York Blood Center Enterprises, as well as the Medical Director for the Blood Bank of Delmarva. 

A graduate of Lehigh University and the University of Washington St. Louis, he also directs the Translational Research and Development Laboratory in Newark. Sachais was recently appointed as an affiliated professor at the University of Delaware.

“Bruce and Natalia’s expertise will greatly strengthen our ability to support companies, researchers and entrepreneurs developing innovative therapies and technologies that benefit patients and society,” said Chris Yochim, Delaware Bio board chair in a press release. ,” said Chris Yochim, Delaware Bio board chair in a press release. 

More Power Moves:

• M&T Bank Interim Chief Marketing Officer Brian Nourie was named chair of the United Way of Delaware’s board of directors. 

• Governor John Carney appointed Caesar Rodney High School student Sage Sawhney to serve on the State Board of Education.
  
• Hannah Grantham has been selected as the new director of the Delaware Historical Society’s Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage.