Smith College Announces 2026–27 Presidential Colloquia Speakers

News of Note

Amanda Ballantyne ’02 and Yacine Fall ’21 will explore “AI, Integrity, and the Collective Good”

BY TIERNEY BOYLE

Published August 28, 2026

Labor and technology policy expert Amanda Ballantyne ’02 and global health innovator Yacine Fall ’21 will return to Smith College for the 2026–27 Presidential Colloquia speaker series, where they will discuss the theme “AI, Integrity, and the Collective Good.”

Ballantyne will speak on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and Fall on Thursday, April 15. Both of this year’s Presidential Colloquia events begin at 5 p.m. and are free and open to the public. They will not be livestreamed or recorded.

Amanda Ballantyne ’02

Tuesday, October 20

Ballantyne graduated from Smith College in 2002 with a bachelor of arts in government. She went on to earn a law degree from the University of Washington School of Law and build a career in organizing, tech policy, and economic justice. She was the founding executive director of the AFL-CIO Technology Institute, the labor movement’s first dedicated technology policy center. Ballantyne is currently a visiting scholar at the MIT Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work and a senior fellow for Workers and Tech at New America, a public policy think tank. She also served as an inaugural member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, advising the White House on AI workforce strategies, and has testified before Congress on the future of work.

Yacine Fall ’21

Thursday, April 15

Fall is a data strategist, entrepreneur, and public health advocate specializing in cross-cultural data access and technology. She graduated from Smith with a bachelor of arts in biochemistry and African studies. She earned her master’s from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she co-founded HYVE, a secure data platform designed to address language and cultural barriers in global research. Using accessible AI technology and data management tools, HYVE seeks to connect global data collectors with populations that have historically been underrepresented in research. Fall currently serves as a community-based doula at Rawdah, a New Jersey initiative providing culturally responsive, faith-centered support to Muslim women and families.

Presidential Colloquium

Smith College’s Presidential Colloquium brings influential thinkers to campus to share their expertise and perspectives on pressing social, political, and global issues. The 2026–27 series focuses on how rapid advances in artificial intelligence are raising complex questions about human labor, access to technology, and ethics.

Past speakers have included former assistant U.S. secretary for health Admiral Rachel Levine, ACLU president Deborah Archer ’93, and Adrianne Todman ’91, 12th deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.