Our Founders
Our founders met while studying at Georgetown University's prestigious McDonough School of Business. Brought together by a shared curiosity about technological advancement, coupled with a deep concern for child welfare, our three founders elected to dedicate their master's research to the topic of child safeguarding with respect to emerging AI technologies. This research included interviews with leading global experts in the fields of technology, child welfare, financial crimes and policy, and culminated in a symposium jointly sponsored by Georgetown University and the Global Fund for Children.
Greg Wallig currently serves as the co-chair of the board of directors of The Global Fund for Children, and is the founder of AI management consultancy Agentic Advisors. Greg has helped both Fortune 500 companies and government agencies develop compliance frameworks and enterprise risk management programs through leadership roles at Grant Thornton, CGI and Accenture, including as Managing Partner of Grant Thornton's Washington office and the firm's National Head of Public Policy. He is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified in the Governance of Enterprise Information Technology (CGEIT) and is a member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).
Anagha Mhatre is an attorney with years of experience leading global teams and solving complex business challenges through legal consulting. During her work with a Blockchain technology company focused on charity based token, back in 2021, she had the opportunity to work with various NGOs such as Teach a Child – Lebanon, Dignity for Children Foundation – Malaysia and Child Action Lanka – Sri Lanka and OUR rescue – United States.
Swathi Young is an international keynote speaker, blogger, community-builder, and Chief Technology Officer of SustainChain, a sustainability initiative created by the United Nations to accelerate SDG goals. She emphasizes the significance of blending Artificial Intelligence with humanities for future AI applications. She co-authored the Ethical AI framework for the US government.Her work has been featured in Forbes, SXSW, TEDx, international conferences and Medium articles. Outside of the office, Swathi is a brand ambassador for Women in AI, an international non-profit organization whose goal is to increase diversity in AI.
Timeline of our Work
Our Mission
August 2022
We met as students enrolled in the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Executive MBA Program and realized while there is great value in research focused papers, we have a bias for action.
Our Vision
January 2024
Learning about the growing threat of AI to children, we aimed to start a dialogue and create a wave of awareness within this emerging ecosystem. Our theory was to determine whether standards developed by the Funder Safeguarding Collaborative could be used to create a collaborative to safeguard children online.
Our Progress
February 2024
Our team engaged with key players in this arena, including industry, lawmakers and non-governmental organizations. This included meetings with representatives from Meta, Alibaba, Microsoft and other tech concerns, and representatives of foreign governments, and NGOs, including the Swiss Ambassador to the United States, the German Mission in the United States and the United Nations Refugee Agency. We inventoried existing and proposed legislation and attended the Senate Judiciary hearing on Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.
March 2024
Our team broadened and deepend our outreach to include not-for-profit, higer-education, lawmakers and non-governmental organizations. This included technology industry associations, like SIIA and the Advanced Technology Research Center. Not-for-profit organizations, like The Global Fund for Children, Thorn, Polaris, WorldVision, The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and The Brave Movement to End Childhood Sexual Violence. Members of Congress, including Ro Khanna, Kathy Castor and staff for Senator Mark Warner.
April 2024
Held a 90-minute virtual symposium featuring six speakers and a global audience representing five countries.
Released multiple anonymous online surveys to gather quantitative data from relevant stakeholder groups, including parents, technology experts and policy experts.
The team traveled to London to view safeguarding in action through visits to Global Fund for Children partner organizations Juvenis and Milk and Honey Bees. Further, we attended the Global Fund for Children's 30th anniversay gala where we interacted with dedicated individuals deeply committed to the cause of safeguarding children.
May 2024
Presented results of our research to Georgetown University faculty and students through short- and long-format symposia.
Launched www.safeguardingthefuture.org web site to share progress to-date and support ongoing collaboration with stakeholders.
Greg, Anagha and Swathi at the GFC 30th Anniversary gala in London, 2024
October 2024
Launched www.safeguardingthefuture.org web site to share progress to-date and support ongoing collaboration with stakeholders.