WIA Women to Watch: 2021 Q4, Dr. Mehrnaz Shokrollahi

Dr. Mehrnaz Shokrollahi is the AI Team Lead at PureFacts Financial Solutions where she manages a team of smart, ambitious, and humble individuals. She helps the team transform financial data into reliable Artificial Intelligence. She has developed multiple algorithms and use-cases for various financial institutions. Alongside her work at PureFacts, she is also the lead of PurePossibilities, an initiative designed to help support the growth of worldwide wealth. She is also a mentor in the Wavemakers program, a first-of-its-kind, work-Integrated learning program that leverages virtual reality. She is also a member of the advisory board of QueensUniversity’s InQUbate program, the first student-run AI incubator. She also holds a position in IEEE Canada as the Chair of the IEEE Signal Processing SectionToronto Chapter. Since completing her PhD from Ryerson University in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2015, Mehrnaz has had various positions indifferent industries including healthcare, manufacturing and mobile app and has focused solely on developing AI solutions. She has also authored numerous papers and been awarded prestigious scholarships, including Mitacs PostdoctoralAward. She was selected as the 30 Influential Women Advancing AI in 2020through ReWork.  She is a believer in education, especially for women, and has been an advocate for empowering women through education and science.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
"If I had a superpower, I would travel around the world in no time and learn about different cultures, food, and places. I love to travel and loveto meet people and get to know them. With a superpower like this I can also take my son along to show him everywhere in the world and teach him about different food and cultures."

What advice would you give your younger self? What advice would you ignore?
"Be kinder to yourself. Everything will be fine and things always happen for a reason. 
I will ignore the “Never give up” advice. Sometimes it's ok to give up, move on and pivot."

What is your favorite quote or sayingthat captures your mission?
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of theirdreams. -Eleanor Roosevelt"

You can connect with and learn more about Dr. Mehrnaz Shokrollahi on her Linkedin.