Raechel Walker

 I am a PhD candidate in the MIT Media Lab’s Personal Robots Group. My research advances reflexivity as a unifying principle that strengthens the entire K–12-to-Workforce AI Ecosystem—from how students learn about AI to how employees and community organizers design and use it, and even how AI systems reason autonomously. I coined the framework “liberatory computing” to ensure that minoritized students can use their computing skills to challenge systemic oppression. To bring this framework to life, I founded the Data Activism Program, which empowers minoritized students with liberation tools, data science, and Responsible AI skills to support social justice organizations. My research integrates AI education, Critical Participatory Action Research, and data science to develop transformative and justice-oriented computing practices. I’ve been honored to receive several prestigious fellowships, including the MIT Presidential Fellowship, Amazon Robotics Fellowship, and GEM Fellowship. Also, I've won two Best Paper Awards at the Conference on Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT).   

This work has been recognized by the Education Development Center, Learning Engineering Tools Competition, the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT), the MIT IDEAS Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, MIT News, The Concord Bridge, the Day of AI,  MIT Open Data  Prize, and the #CSK8 Podcast by Jared O’Leary. Also, my research was published in peer-reviewed venues, such as the ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization (EAAMO), the ACM Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology Conference, and the IEEE Black Issues in Computing Education Conference.