Elise Marie Smith

"AFROTECH™ is such a mainstay in the Black community, in the Black tech community, I remember I went to some of the earliest conferences, and it was a time where I felt like I belong, where I could see leaders who I aspired to be like, and wanted to follow their journeys and their careers and learn from them. To be honored as a part of the 50 means so much"

"I definitely am surprised that I would be honored in this way, and among so many leaders I admire and respect… [I’m] grateful to be recognized for the work we’re doing at Praxis Labs and the impact we’re making. There is a lot more work to be done, but [I’m] grateful for the contribution to have made it to this list of 50 incredible leaders."

"I think this notion that systems and structures haven’t been set up equitably for everyone is definitely a part of those stories and those experiences"

"“I’ve always sought to think about how can technology be used at scale to overcome some of what we’ve seen has held so many in our community back, and really, all of us. I think this idea of how do you scale access, how do you scale opportunity, is something that is really inspiring to me."

"Some of our practice simulations that we just launched as part of Pivotal Practice are really focused on these critical kinds of power skills, things like asking open-ended questions, reframing, affirming… with your team daily can help people who may not typically feel included, that they belong, or feel seen, can help them feel like their contributions are valued, that their perspective is helpful, and that could be the difference or the unlock between arriving at the best solution or missing it completely"

"How do you hear people’s perspectives, respect them, and also align a team that may have differing perspectives? We have a whole suite on that, and how you practice that, and how you build confidence and comfort in navigating that, realigning the team and really driving towards collective outcomes"

"The work we’re doing is incredibly timely. It’s incredibly powerful. And with GenAI, we’re able to leverage faster development time. We’re able to leverage embedded measurement. We’re able to leverage personalized coaching and generated simulations to help people create space to practice, build those skills, and apply them in their daily life."

"“What we’re doing is valuable and helpful for everyone, but might have even better outcomes for those who maybe historically haven’t felt included, haven’t felt like they belong, haven’t felt like they have an opportunity to continue to grow and thrive at the same rate as their peers, and so this is, again, really powerful work we’re doing."

"For me, it’s how do we use technology to help us become even better humans, to help us be able to give feedback across differences, to navigate difficult conversations, to provide performance feedback and expectations with accountability and care in a way that actually serves us all better, that creates more value for everyone, doesn’t cause harm."

"We’re seeing our workplaces need that more than ever."