Meet the Top Nominees Shaping the Future of Responsible AI

AI4Her Awards 2026

Every year, the AI4Her Awards spotlight women from across Benelux who are shaping AI with purpose — building solutions that advance sustainability, health, innovation, education, and inclusion. This year’s Top 5 represent the next wave of AI leadership: bold, human-centered, and driven by impact. Below is a snapshot of the inspiring women shortlisted in each category.

AI4Her Earth Award

Honouring women using AI for sustainability, climate resilience, and biodiversity protection.

Top 5 nominees: AI4Her Earth

  • Dr. Rimma Dzhusupova Global AI Solutions Lead at McDermott. With 14+ years of experience in responsible AI and engineering, she applies AI to make heavy industries greener, including green hydrogen and error detection in offshore production.
  • Anna Brueva CEO & Founder, ChemReclaim. Her startup builds AI-enabled nanotechnology that reduces the use of rare metals by up to 40x — unlocking circular, sustainable engineering for aerospace and energy.
  • María Isabel García Senior Consultant at Deloitte. She develops AI-driven ESG risk models and renewable energy portfolio tools, bridging financial AI with sustainability and regulation.
  • Christina Wunder AI for Societal Impact at Google. A strategist and community builder using AI to address sustainability challenges through technology, education, and policy.
  • Inge van den Ende Tech Lead at Dexter Energy. Her probabilistic forecasting models reduce over 30,000 tons of CO₂, powering renewable energy transitions across Europe.

AI4Her Future Award

Celebrating the next generation of rising women shaping AI across Benelux.

Top 5 nominees: AI4Her Future

  • Julie van Loef Microsoft’s Security Go-To-Market Lead and founder of the Women in Cybersecurity program. She ensures AI security is both ethical and inclusive.
  • Anouk Dutrée AI Solution Architect at HPE and co-host of De Dataloog, one of the most influential Dutch AI podcasts. She bridges AI deployment with sovereignty and accessibility.
  • Liana Hakobyan Marketing Strategy Lead at Iris.ai. Through her platform The AI Habit, she makes AI adoption more human and practical for professionals across Benelux.
  • Jacqueline van Arkel Conversational AI Engineer at Essent. She builds AI-powered voice and chat systems while nurturing knowledge-sharing communities in NLP and responsible AI.
  • Maartje Vennema Educator, speaker, and founder of Femmely. She trains hundreds in safe AI adoption and helps women build visible careers in tech and data.

AI4Her Health Award

Recognising women using AI to make healthcare smarter, safer, and more human.

Top 5 nominees: AI4Her Health

  • Prof. Marlies Schijven A global pioneer in digital surgery and the first CMIO for the Dutch Ministry of Health. Her AI-driven “Black Box” systems are transforming operating rooms across Europe.
  • Francesca Manni Clinical Scientist at Philips and TU/e researcher. She builds explainable AI tools that translate directly into safer and more precise surgical interventions.
  • Elisa Canzani Data Science & AI Director at Philips Health Tech. With experience across six countries, she leads precision medicine and AI-enabled diagnostics with empathy-driven leadership.
  • Jacqueline Kazmaier Co-Founder & CEO at Autoscriber. Her startup uses AI-powered digital scribes to give doctors their time back — making healthcare more human and efficient.
  • Clarisa Sánchez Gutiérrez Full Professor of AI & Health at UvA & Amsterdam UMC. Her AI models are deployed across 45+ countries, bringing healthcare access to underserved communities.

AI4Her Legacy Award

Celebrating pioneers whose work is transforming AI across generations.

Top 5 nominees: AI4Her Legacy

  • Fiona Passantino Speaker, trainer, and author building AI literacy for non-technical professionals through Working Humans.
  • Marzieh Fadaee Head of Cohere Labs. A global expert in multilingual AI, she is redefining how language models serve diverse communities.
  • Christina Caljé CEO & Founder of TINTT. Investor, ecosystem builder, and advocate for responsible tech across energy, health, and policy.
  • Lizzy Prins Founder of High Potential Factory and author of Van Homo Sapiens naar Robo Sapiens. She champions human-centered AI leadership.
  • Marta Strykowska Founder of Ladies Build With AI. She’s creating one of the first grassroots AI education movements for women in Benelux.

Why this matters

When AI is shaped by diverse minds, it becomes more innovative, more ethical, and more human. These nominees show that technology isn’t just about models and metrics — it’s about people, purpose, and possibility.

Responsible AI starts with us.

See you at the AI4ALL Gala — February 6th at ING Amsterdam.

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