MANILA, Philippines — Two trailblazing women with Filipino roots have been appointed to the 14-member She Shapes AI 2025/26 Global Awards Council, a prestigious body tasked with identifying world leaders in ethical and inclusive Artificial Intelligence.
The appointees are Filipino-British entrepreneur Gina Romero and AI founder Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo. They join a diverse roster of experts from around the globe to select winners who are using AI for social good.
- Gina Romero: A technology advocate and community builder, Romero is the founder of Mettamatch, an ethical data and AI services firm. She is well-known for her work with Connected Women, a platform that helps Filipino women freelancers access digital opportunities and provides socially responsible AI outsourcing.
- Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo: An inaugural She Shapes AI award winner returning as a judge, Lamentillo is the founder of NightOwl AI. Her mission-driven company uses AI to preserve endangered languages and combat digital exclusion. A former Undersecretary at the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), she has already helped digitize over two million words from underrepresented languages.
The Global Awards Council will evaluate nominees from across continents, focusing on projects that demonstrate measurable real-world impact and ethical AI development. The final She Shapes AI Awards will be presented on April 16, 2026, at the London School of Economics (LSE).
The inclusion of Romero and Lamentillo underscores the growing influence of Filipinos in the global tech landscape, particularly in initiatives that align artificial intelligence with human-centric and inclusive progress.