Speaker's Profile

Alison is a clinical research psychologist and health tech designer who has reimagined how mental health support can be delivered for today’s world. Her deep clinical expertise, pioneering mindset and passion for accessible design are grounded in a 25+ year track record studying and developing solutions that engage people in a therapeutic process. Alison’s training at UCD, Stanford School of Medicine and with the APA, along with her experience leading AI pioneer Andrew Ng’s Health Innovation Lab, helped her advance the shift from conventional face-to-face therapy to complementary AI-powered interventions. In 2017 she introduced Woebot, the first chatbot to make mental health support radically accessible. A vocal advocate for safe and effective AI in healthcare, Alison was named to the inaugural TIME100 AI List of the most influential individuals advancing AI. She is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Department of Stanford’s School of Medicine