Speakers for the 2026 Girls in Tech Conference
Saba Zuberi
Saba Zuberi is the Associate Vice President of Applied Artificial Intelligence at TD Bank. She leads a team of machine learning scientists to build AI solutions across the enterprise and drives applied AI research to support cutting-edge AI applications at TD.
Saba has 10 years industry experience in AI, from startup to enterprise. She holds a PhD in theoretical particle physics from the University of Toronto and completed her post-doctoral research in particle physics at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
Ruda Barar
Ruda is a senior consultant in the Technology Risk Consulting. She has 10 years of work experience and a master’s in information security & a bachelor’s in information technology. Ruda’s day to day job involves working on IT audits covering SOC 1, SOC 2, SOX, FSA, ISO 27001 areas. Her daily tasks involves client interaction, internal collaboration with team members and being a team player.
Amrutha Nidhisha Gunisetti
Armutha is a Consultant in the Technology Risk Services team where she works on IT audits and helps organizations understand and strengthen their technology controls. She comes from a business background and loves bringing in a mix of analytical thinking, curiosity, and people-oriented problem-solving into the tech space.
Sana Tonekaboni
I am an EWSC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. My research lies at the intersection of machine learning and healthcare. I work on developing methods that integrate multimodal biomedical data to better understand human health. I am also interested in challenges of deploying clinical ML in healthcare environments and finding solutions for effective and safe use of such tools in practice. I received my PhD in Computer Science from the University of Toronto, under supervision of Dr. Anna Goldenberg. During my PhD, I received the Apple Scholars in AI/ML Fellowship and the CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship.
Juliana Zaremba
Juliana Zaremba is the Director of Sales and Partnerships for Canada at Blue Voyant, a global cybersecurity firm. In this role she is responsible for strategic partnerships with Microsoft and channel partners in the Canadian ecosystem, while working with the sales team to bring cyber solutions to Canadians across the country. With deep experience building global partner programs, she has driven expansion of advanced security services and champions conversations about the ever-changing threat landscape that Canadian companies face daily. She has focused her career in cybersecurity, but has worked across organizations in various departments such as Project Management, Sales, Channel Management, Customer Success, Architecture, and Service Delivery. Utilizing her educational background in Statistics, Economics, and her Masters in Business Administration from Schulich University she has been able to create transformational change in various organizations, always putting the customer at the forefront of decision making. Juliana is also a passionate mentor and advocate for young women in tech, sharing her insights through panels and one-on-one coaching. Her work bridges technical leadership with community-building, helping to empower the next generation of female cyber professionals.
Sunita Kheterpal
Sunita’s experience is on the understanding tech needs and implementation through change management and training etc., in healthcare and she also works very closely to bring together our healthcare and alliance partner teams.
Katherine MacDonald
Katherine is a Data and AI solution architect, and have a computer science background with 20 years experience working in the data space. Her current focus is data platform engineering, and is leading the Microsoft data team in enterprise solutions.
Winnie Zhao
Winnie is a web accessibility specialist and software engineer with a passion for creating inclusive and accessible digital spaces. She started her career as a paediatric occupational therapist, supporting children with disabilities in school and beyond. She noticed a major barrier to access for assistive technology users and transitioned into the tech world to tackle the issue head on. Winnie has 6 years of experience at the intersection of disability and technology, and uses her healthcare background to give her unique perspective while building solutions and user experiences that are seamless for everyone.
Pardis Talebian
Pardis is a Manager in the Cybersecurity team at the KPMG Canada, dedicated to helping clients mitigate the daily cybersecurity challenges of protecting their networks, Infrastructure, IT and IoT assets, applications, and resources. Pardis works closely with organizations to plan and prepare for evolving threats, ensuring they have the right tools and strategies in place to detect and respond to attacks effectively. Her team focuses on building resilience by implementing best practices and solutions that strengthen security posture and safeguard businesses against future risks.
Clare Butler
Clare Butler is a consultant specializing in technology-driven solutions and process optimization. Her experience includes leading AI tool rollouts and shaping AI strategy to support digital transformation, while coordinating technical teams and project management offices. She combines strong analytical skills with a focus on implementing innovative solutions that enhance efficiency and streamline operations.