Kumba Sennaar

Project focus: The Fellow will co-create civic science tools, knowledge, and best practices that can inform and inspire philanthropy for basic science.

Kumba is a Ph.D. candidate at Brandeis University focusing on maternal health disparities with research interests in culturally-responsive and ethical AI. She also leads a consulting company, William Kelly Consulting, LLC. She earned a Master’s degree in Social Policy from Brandeis University and a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University. She holds a B.S. in Science, Technology and Society (STS) with honors from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As a scientist with interdisciplinary training, Sennaar employs qualitative and quantitative methods with the goal of generating research insights to inform theory, medical education training and public policy.

Kumba is a member of the Brookings Institution Health Equity and AI Working Group. Her articles on AI have been cited by organizations including the National Academy of Medicine, McKinsey Global Institute, and the World Economic Forum, and by journals including the Boston University Law Review, Fordham Urban Law Journal and the Harvard Data Science Review. Kumba proposed policy recommendations published in collaboration with the Federation of American Scientists to better understand AI’s role in addressing maternal health disparities. At a roundtable hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the United Nations Population Fund, Kumba discussed the role of AI in maternal health outcomes. Her TEDx talk, “Reducing Algorithmic Bias in AI,” discusses ways to improve public engagement in AI. As the Civic Science Fellow at the Science Philanthropy Alliance, Kumba helps to advance its mission to inspire philanthropists to dedicate a portion of their philanthropy to discovery science.