On the move at Axon, SNEAKY BIG, Lang & Klain, Title Alliance

“Our new AI Ethics Board members bring a wealth of knowledge and experience including privacy, social justice, and some of the most directly relevant core science and applied machine learning topics such as deepfake and image manipulation detection. I’m so grateful to have their advice and perspective, and am excited to be adding their diverse viewpoints and expertise to the Board,” says Axon Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President of Software Jeff Kunins. “We’re committed to being transparent and responsible in how we develop and use AI and related technologies in our products for public safety, and our AI Ethics Board plays an important role in guiding our work.”

The newest member appointments to Axon’s AI Ethics Board include the following:

Wael Abd-Almageed
Dr. Abd-Almageed is a Research Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and a research Team Leader and Supervising Computer Scientist with the Information Sciences Institute, both of which are units of USC Viterbi School of Engineering. His research interests include representation learning, debiasing and fair representations, multimedia forensics and visual misinformation (including deepfake and image manipulation detection) and biometrics. Prior to joining ISI, Dr. Abd-Almageed was a research scientist with the University of Maryland at College Park, where he lead several research efforts for various NSF, DARPA and IARPA programs. He obtained his Ph.D. with Distinction from the University of New Mexico in 2003 where he was also awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student award. He has two patents and over 70 publications in top computer vision and high performance computing conferences and journals. Dr. Almageed is the recipient of 2019 USC Information Sciences Institute Achievement Award.

Danielle Citron
Danielle Citron is a Professor of Law at the Boston University School of Law where she teaches and writes about information privacy, free expression, and civil rights. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2019. Professor Citron is the Vice President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and sits on the Board of Electronic Privacy Information and the Future of Privacy. Professor Citron advises federal and state legislators, law enforcement, and international lawmakers on privacy issues. She has presented her research more than 300 times, including to federal agencies, meetings of the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Holocaust Museum, the Anti-Defamation League, Wikimedia Foundation, universities, companies and think tanks.

Chris Harris
Chris Harris is a native Texan and passionate advocate working to transform the criminal justice system. He currently serves as a Campaign Coordinator for Texas Appleseed, a public interest nonprofit that promotes social and economic justice for all Texans, and as a Public Safety Commissioner representing District 1 in the City of Austin. Chris has led and contributed to winning campaigns aimed at limiting: racial disparities in the criminal justice system, state violence, unnecessary arrests, ICE detentions, pre-trial incarceration, subpar indigent defense and further investment in police and prisons. Chris is an alumni of Austin College where he studied political science and international relations. Previously, Chris worked in the software industry with a focus on public sector solutions and held various roles, including analyst, consultant, and product manager.

Broadcast industry vet joins SNEAKY BIG

SNEAKY BIG has hired top industry consultant, Tom Sahara, to help grow the Scottsdale-based production studio’s live broadcast and original programming verticals. In this role, Sahara will spearhead new business development and act as a technical and operational consultant as the company continues to increase capacity and develop new capabilities. 

“For a young production company, SNEAKY BIG has already worked on a range of impressive projects and its capabilities rival even the top studios in L.A. and New York,” said Sahara. “I’m excited to be a part of this team and help take SNEAKY BIG to the next level.”  

Sahara has a deep well of broadcasting experience and spent more than 20 years working with Turner Sports, Inc., most recently as the Vice President of Operations and Technology. Other notable work includes overseeing competition venues for several Olympic games, covering a variety of sports, from gymnastics to bobsledding.

SNEAKY BIG has grown its portfolio of sports projects to include live broadcasts, graphics and custom virtual sets for the Alliance of American Football, Grand Canyon University, Arizona Spring Training Live and esports company, Do Not Peek. 

“Tom’s experience in the broadcast industry, particularly live sports, is a perfect fit for SNEAKY BIG as we continue to expand our client roster in this arena,” said SNEAKY BIG CEO Marianne Guenther. “SNEAKY BIG is primed for incredible growth and this partnership will allow us to identify new opportunities and deliver great work across all verticals.”

Richard Friedlander joins Lang & Klain

Mediator and arbitrator Richard A. Friedlander has joined the Scottsdale law firm of Lang & Klain, P.C.

Mr. Friedlander is a five-time Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” (Phoenix) in three practice categories and is listed in the “Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona” by AzBusiness magazine.

He is a past chair of the John C. Lincoln Health Network and was a 20-year member of its board of directors. The Northwestern University law school graduate is licensed to practice in Arizona and Illinois.

Lang & Klain is a 12-attorney commercial litigation and construction law firm.

Brad Straub joins Title Alliance

Title Alliance, Ltd., an employee-owned family of full-service title insurance and escrow agencies,  announced Brad Straub as its new Regional Operations Manager. Straub will oversee the company’s Arizona and New Mexico joint ventures.

Straub will help grow operations in Arizona, and New Mexico and help launch new offices within his territory as the company continues expansion throughout the Western United States. Title Alliance presently has 60 offices nationwide and will be adding new locations soon in Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and in other Western states.

“We are thrilled to welcome Brad to the Title Alliance family, where we have the utmost confidence in his ability to bring teams together with a unified focus on delivering the very best customer experience in the industry,” said Lindsay Smith, Chief Strategy Officer of Title Alliance. “Brad’s understanding of title and escrow markets, profit and loss statements, and streamlined customer experience will help our teams stay focused as we grow as a company.”

Straub has two decades in title and escrow operational management and truly understands the needs of real estate professionals and home buyers. 

“I am happy to bring my experience in this industry to help shape the future of the Title Alliance family as we expand throughout the western regions,” said Straub. “Throughout my career in this industry, I have focused on empowering my team to do everything they can to make the customer experience the best in the industry. The platform provided by Title Alliance will help us centralize and streamline those efforts.” 

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