About
Who we are and what we stand for
SureStart’s mission
SureStart’s mission is to build early opportunity pipelines for a highly diverse tech workforce through technical skills training and project-based learning. We are specifically committed to training and mentoring high-school and college students from communities underrepresented in AI, and connecting them to opportunities for hands-on work in innovative DEI-focused tech startups.
About the founder
Dr. Taniya Mishra is the founder and CEO of SureStart. She has been an AI scientist for over 10 years, with many peer-reviewed articles, 88 patents, and featured press articles in MIT Technology Review, NBC Learn, and The Atlantic.
Taniya is deeply passionate about increasing AI workforce diversity through opportunity equity. This passion led her to create Affectiva’s popular EMPath AI training program while serving as Affectiva’s Director of AI Research. Now through SureStart, Taniya’s goal is to make this same type of program available to other innovative AI companies who prioritize DEI, so that together they can raise a new generation of diverse young tech talent.
Taniya regularly writes about her journey as an entrepreneur and about start up best practices. Follow her posts on LinkedIn.
Awards and Press
-
WomenTech Network’s Global AI Inclusion Award Winner 2021
-
WomenTech Network’s Mentor of the Year Award Winner 2020
-
VentureBeat Women in AI Innovation Awards 2021: AI Mentorship Award Nominee
How one company is helping to diversify the A.I. field
Dr. Taniya Mishra has been an A.I. and machine learning researcher for over a decade, and in that time, the scientist saw something crucial missing in the landscape. “I don't see myself represented in this field that I think of as my own,” she says…
Read more
Tech’s attempts to diversify are failing. Here’s what to do instead.
While tech leaders publicly committed to diversity in 2020, their top-down approach is stunting true progress…
Read more
Big lie: “Women are not technical.”
The representation of women in STEM has hardly budged in the last two decades. Less than 25 percent of the tech workforce is female, even though half the market using the products is. At the leadership level, it is even worse. Just 5 percent of leadership positions in the technology industry are held by women!…
Read more
SureStart: Building an Opportunity Pipeline for the Diverse Tech Force of Tomorrow
Today we have a very special episode featuring Dr. Taniya Mishra, CEO and Founder of SureStart. Dr. Mishra, who actually worked at Affectiva prior to starting her own company over a year ago, has been an AI scientist for over 10 years, with more than 88 awarded patents. Her company’s mission is to build early opportunity pipelines for a highly diverse tech workforce through technical skills training and project-based learning. …
Read moreFuturized - thought leadership on the future
Taniya Mishra, Founder of SureStart, the diverse AI training platform, interviewed by futurist Trond Arne Undheim. In this conversation, they talk about why STEM or STEAM is not enough. They discuss pre-college and post-college--the leaky inflection points for students 16-23.…
Read more
So... What is AI (Artificial Intelligence)? w/ Dr Taniya Mishra
Ever wondered what the applications of Artificial Intelligence are besides creating the next human-conquering robot? Join us for a high level overview of machine learning + deep learning, trends and applications, as well as exclusive opportunities for…
Read more
Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Taniya Mishra of SureStart
The representation of women in STEM has hardly budged in the last two decades. Less than 25 percent of the tech workforce is female, even though half the market using the products is…
Read more"Taniya is a leader in the tech space and a huge advocate for the next generation of tech leaders."
Dr. Rana el Kaliouby, Co-founder & CEO, Affectiva