Building AI Boston connects people to the conversations that are shaping our future. We bridge the gap between thought leadership and everyday understanding with AI experts from Boston and beyond. Our global community represents the idea that Boston is a state of mind, where accessibility and innovation meet to break down hype and explore possibilities.
Anna Devere is a multi-media producer and marketing strategist. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre in her hometown of Las Vegas, and continued her professional acting and design career around the globe. Anna has worked in advertising, sales and marketing, law and even holistic health, but her driving force has always been serving people. She channels this passion into singing and songwriting and has worked with music industry legends including Gladys Knight, with whom she won a Grammy in 2005 for Gospel Album of the Year. She performed at the Blue Bird Cafe in Nashville with Suzy Bogguss and now writes, records and performs her own original songs, which are featured in her non-profit work and the docuseries Beyond Reflections. She has won multiple Davey awards for co-hosting and co-writing the daily show Celebrate Every Day. Building AI Boston casts Anna in her favorite role: connecting people and building community through storytelling. She also hosts Discover Your Potential and Smart Pet Talk, and her forthcoming book “Seeing Like A Storyteller” highlights her ambition to change the world with empathy and compassion.
Chris is a writer from New York City whose comedic skills and nose for history and pop culture helped Anna shape the early success of their former podcast Celebrate Every Day, covering a range of topics from the history of food and sports to everyday objects. Chris’s skill as a social commentator is now a welcome addition to the cast of Building AI Boston. He has a knack for bringing levity and intelligence to subjects that can be otherwise divisive. His podcast Unrelated with actor and life-long friend Ato Essandoh covers race, culture and seemingly unrelated subjects and attempts to understand why we don’t generally understand one another. On Building AI Boston, Chris shares Anna’s outsider perspective and digs into all the ways that disruptive technologies like AI have upended society. He is also an improv comedian and the writer and producer of the Las Vegas Mob Experience. His extensive knowledge of lesser known history makes Chris a formidable trivia game player and he organizes local events in Denver, Colorado.
Kara Peterson is the co-founder of Descrybe.ai, a Boston-based justice tech startup she launched in July 2023. The company leverages AI to democratize access to the law and addresses the access-to-justice crisis in the United States. Kara leads Descrybe.ai’s marketing and business development strategy. She has garnered numerous accolades for Descrybe.ai, including a 2024 Anthem Award for Best Use of AI, a Webby Award nomination, and two American Legal Technology Awards for Startup of the Year and AI Innovation. She was also named a “Woman of Legal Tech 2024” by the American Bar Association. In 2024 she was selected as a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) and now serves as a Webby and Anthem Awards judge. Kara is a recognized advocate for responsible AI and AI for good, as well as for advancing women in technology. A frequent speaker at conferences and on podcasts, Building AI Boston is her platform for celebrating her belief in AI’s transformative potential and its role in promoting accessibility.
