North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) April Dawson, Siobahn Day Grady, Ph.D., and Jaleh Rezaie, Ph.D., have been selected for the 2025-2026 Amazon Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) Educator Consortium.
Offered by the Machine Learning University Educator Enablement Program (MLU-EEP), the consortium focuses on faculty development in AI/ML teaching and research while building meaningful relationships across the AI/ML ecosystem.
The consortium empowers faculty to integrate AI/ML concepts into their curriculum through hands-on bootcamps, interactive workshops and ongoing support. Participants create engaging, practical learning experiences using industry-standard tools.
Dawson is associate dean of technology and innovation and professor of law at the School of Law. She leads the Technology Law and Policy Center and launched the Law and Technology Certificate Program to prepare students for careers at the intersection of law and emerging tech. A former computer programmer and U.S. Department of Justice litigator, Dawson teaches courses on AI and legal innovation, manages a $1 million Intel-funded budget and co-chairs NCCU’s AI Working Group. She serves in leadership roles with the American Bar and North Carolina Bar associations, co-hosts Legal Eagle Review on WNCU 90.7FM and is a nationally recognized voice on AI, law and social justice.
Grady is an associate professor of information systems and science in the School of Library and Information Sciences and founding director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Research. A national leader in artificial intelligence, digital access and STEM education, she is also an alumna of the AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador initiative, where her statue was featured in the largest exhibit of women’s statues in the United States. Grady has led major public engagement efforts, launched workforce readiness programs and established endowed scholarships at all the historically Black colleges and universities in the University of North Carolina System.
Rezaie serves as associate provost and dean of graduate studies, where she also holds a faculty appointment as professor of computer science. Appointed in 2015, she brings decades of experience in STEM and graduate education, having previously served in multiple leadership roles at Eastern Kentucky University, including director of the STEM-H Institute and founding chair of the computer science department. Her research focuses on STEM education, university administration and computer science instruction.