Aya Catalina Ibarra
Chair, Board of Directors
Why AjA?
I remember when I moved to this country how hard it was to communicate with others and how I lived in an in-between space of languages, cultures, and spaces. Art was my way of navigating through those spaces and my art teachers were truly my guides. Beyond my own personal experience, I have seen with my own eyes how powerful The AjA Project’s platform is for disenfranchised communities and I want to provide that opportunity to more people.
How did I get to know AjA?
I worked at an afterschool program in City Heights called the Sudanese English Project from 2002 – 2004 and had the opportunity to see how empowering The AjA Project’s platform was for the refugee children from Sudan and Somalia. My students became artists and even though I spent so much time with them everyday, I learned more about them through the art they made with The AjA Project than I had in an entire year. It was truly a deeper understanding of their world through their “lens” and it was beautiful, powerful, and moving.
More about me
Currently I am focused on solving the toughest data challenges using emerging technologies in the retail industry – spanning topics from climate change to real-time supply chain visibility. Prior to this current role, I traveled all over North America, Asia, and Europe working on Artificial Intelligence and Mobility solutions for IBM. I have been a public school teacher, an artist, and a non-profit professional prior to entering the tech industry.