Tess Posner
Tess Posner is an award-winning entrepreneur and artist dedicated to fostering a world where innovation, creativity, and opportunity are accessible to all—ensuring that no one’s potential is limited by background or circumstance. She served as the founding CEO of AI4ALL from 2017 to 2021, scaling it into an internationally recognized organization with over 20 AI education partner sites. Tess currently serves as a Board member and AI4ALL’s Interim CEO. Before that, she was Managing Director of TechHire at Opportunity@Work, a national initiative launched out of the Obama White House to expand pathways into tech careers, overseeing a network of 72 cities, states, and rural areas and 1,300+ companies implementing the TechHire model.
Earlier in her career, Tess built and led Samaschool, an educational program focused on preparing communities for the future of work. She expanded the program from a San Francisco pilot in 2013 to a global platform that trained over 50,000 students in 70+ countries in tech skills, digital freelancing, and AI-era workforce adaptability. By equipping people with the skills to succeed in the evolving digital economy, Samaschool became recognized as a leader in future-of-work education, earning a spot on Business Insider’s list of the “13 Most Innovative Schools in the World.” Before that, Tess led workforce and education programs at First Place for Youth, helping foster youth gain economic independence, and she previously ran literacy and debate programs in underserved New York City schools.
As a music artist, Tess is passionate about creating songs that bring healing and empowerment. Her award-winning song “Volcano” won the WAM Award in 2024, exploring themes of feminine power and resilience. “Supernova” is an anthem for survivors of sexual assault, and “New Angels” is a song longing for hope in the face of an increasingly complex world with global challenges. She sees music as a transformative force, saying: “Art can change the world by helping us feel and imagine new ways of thinking and dreaming that don’t exist yet.”
Her leadership and creative work have been recognized through awards such as the VentureBeat Women in AI Award and inclusion in 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNBC, Entrepreneur, Fortune, USA Today, The Atlantic, Business Insider, TechCrunch, and Fast Company. Her initiatives have received funding from Melinda Gates, Jensen Huang, Google.org, Microsoft, Capital One Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Autodesk, and the Robin Hood Foundation.
Tess is the co-author of The People-Centered Economy: The New Ecosystem for Work and holds a master’s degree from Columbia University in Social Enterprise Administration and a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s College in Liberal Arts.