About Us
Our Mission:
To empower young people to rebuild & evolve human connection in the age of AI.
Our Work:
1.
We elevate actionable insights from youth-led research on AI’s impact on social connection, turning knowledge into action.
2.
We empower young people to cultivate meaningful connection by creating tools, activities, and spaces that grow their agency to harness AI’s benefits while navigating its risks.
3.
We activate leadership through powerful experiences and public dialogue that deepen urgency and clarity in the field.
Our Team
Michelle Culver | Founder
Michelle has led at the forefront of human flourishing for over two decades. She began as a 5th-grade teacher in Compton before shaping Teach For America's first national program, growing educator impact and diversity as the corps expanded tenfold. As EVP of Regional Operations, she led 14 regions, 300 staff, and a $68M budget, reaching over 200,000 students. She later founded the Reinvention Lab, TFA’s R&D hub for rethinking education. Through this work she grew her conviction that students can only truly thrive when situated in meaningful community, which ultimately led to launching The Rithm Project. She and her husband, a Salesforce futurist, explore possible futures where their daughters—and all young people—can flourish.
Alison Lee | Chief R&D Officer
Alison leads The Rithm Project’s youth-focused research and emerging tech foresight. A researcher and product strategist by training, she’s dedicated her career to designing for belonging, safety, and youth thriving—applying her expertise at both ed nonprofits and tech giants alike, most recently leading research on safety and integrity at Instagram, and Responsible AI at Meta. She holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science in Education and a Master’s in Learning Analytics from Columbia University. Alison lives in the Bay Area with her puppy, Jellybean, and spends her free time listening to R&B and playing video games with friends on Discord.
Steve Askar
Steve leads our direct-to-youth work, creating tools to help young people build connection in an age of AI. A former preschool teacher and San Diego’s Early Childhood Educator of the Year, he later explored systemic impact as a Harvard Urban Scholar, earning the Intellectual Contribution Award. He launched an AI-driven reading product reaching hundreds of thousands of students and now collaborates with youth to shape a more connected future. Outside of work, he enjoys surfing, skiing, and cooking with his family.
Rob Strain
Rob is a former first grade teacher and current coach, designer, and strategist. He founded his social impact studio, Lemon Battery, to empower changemakers to bring bold ideas to life — and in that capacity is helping The Rithm Project design catalytic gatherings and communications that spark discourse. He lives in Oakland with his husband, daughter, and dog and is on a kick of cake-making.
Jessica Cohn
Jess is a project manager and strategist who helps busy nonprofit leaders focus on what matters most. She supports The Rithm Project with all things behind-the-scenes, bringing clarity, structure, and a sense of calm to projects spanning operations, fundraising, event planning, and more. Jess lives in Los Angeles, where you can find her chatting about novels with her book club, spotting every single dog and bird, and occasionally escaping to the mountains of Southern California.
Cyra Alesha | Youth Fellow
Cyra Alesha is passionate in integrating technology, human connection, and education to create lasting impact. She is a liftetime RISE recipient from Eric Schmidt & the Rhodes Trust, has hosted an educational television show that reaches 6 million households weekly, led free technology programs for over 1,000 youth, and partnered with UNICEF to empower youth through innovation. She is currently involved in the Center for Youth and AI, studying Industrial & Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, and finding time to read fantasy and adventure novels.
Ethan Chang | Youth Fellow
Ethan Chang is a product designer at heart and an engineer by training. He was one of the top high school students in physics competitions. He also worked at Apple and OpenAI last summer as an engineer/designer. He is into understanding how AI will change the way people interact with physical products, and can further enhance human connections. Ethan also breakdance, surfs, and loves backpacking.
Kashyap Rajesh | Youth Fellow
Kashyap Rajesh, an 18-year-old Cornell student, is Vice President of Public Education at Encode, the world’s largest youth-led AI safety movement. He launched Encode’s chapter program, which now supports over 60 grassroots groups working on AI policy. Kashyap has worked to shape federal and state AI legislation—including facial recognition, deepfake regulation, and safety standards for AI-powered hiring tools in Illinois. Most recently, he created and launched Encode’s first online course for independent school staff and faculty, focused on navigating classroom AI risks from data privacy to non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII).
Marisol Jimenez | Youth Fellow
Marisol Jimenez is a design engineer and storyteller passionate about thoughtful products and exploring how technology intersects with identity and equity. She is drawn to work that challenges dominant narratives and creates space for perspectives that are often overlooked. In her free time, she lifts weights (heavy!), reads books (gothic horror mostly), and knits her own sweaters.
Peggy Yin | Youth Fellow
Peggy Yin is a psych-tech researcher, designer, artist, and community-builder. She co-led a team across MIT Media Lab and UCLA to publish Future You, a platform that allows users to connect with virtual versions of their future self to reduce anxiety and improve long-term decision making. She has extensive background in arts and culture as a solo vocalist at Carnegie Hall, a commissioned artist for MIT Museum and Harvard Yard, producer of the "Who Owns the Truth?" symposium on AI and democracy at Ars Electronica (the world’s largest media art festival), and cofounder of the Conflux Collective in Cambridge, MA. Her work has been featured at the WSJ Future of Everything Festival, SXSW, BBC Radio, Forbes, The Happiness Lab, the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, the United Nations, and more. She is currently an Impact Fellow at Impact Labs and a Roberts Family Fellow at Harvard Business School and the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She is a current student at Harvard College, where she studies computational neuroscience and art history, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa for academic excellence.
Our
Supporters
Cambiar Education
Carson Foundation
LearnerStudio
Margulf Foundation
Omidyar Network
Raikes Foundation
Silicon Schools Fund
Young Futures
“For every dollar and every minute we invest in improving artificial intelligence, it would be wise to invest a dollar and a minute in developing human consciousness.”
Yuval Noah Harari