From Data Leader to Chief AI Officer | The AI Sisterhood Podcast Ep. 4 ft. Jena Zangs
With Jena Zang | | 57 min
Episode summary
This episode centers on Jena Zang’s work leading enterprise-wide data and AI strategy in higher education. The conversation focuses on how institutions build AI systems they can trust, with attention to governance, ethical AI, adoption, and practical implementation. It emphasizes that trust is a real bottleneck, and that universities need to move beyond isolated pilots toward mature, responsible AI strategy. The episode also follows Jena’s path from data leadership into a Chief Data & AI Officer role, highlighting a human-centered approach and the importance of purpose over hype in real institutional AI work.
Meet the guest
Jena Zang
Jena Zang is the Chief Data & AI Officer at the University of St. Thomas. The episode frames her work around enterprise-wide data and AI strategy in higher education.
What this episode explores
- Trust is presented as the main barrier to AI adoption in institutions, more than model excitement or experimentation.
- Higher education AI work is framed around governance, ethical AI, and systems that institutions can actually use.
- The episode contrasts early AI experimentation with the need for a more mature, institution-wide strategy.
- Responsible AI leadership matters when the stakes are real, especially inside a university setting.
- A human-centered approach and purpose are positioned above hype in AI leadership.
Read the original episode description
In Episode 4 of The AI Sisterhood Podcast, I’m joined by Jena Zang, Chief Data & AI Officer at the University of St. Thomas. This is not a conversation about flashy AI demos or hype-driven experimentation. This is about what it actually takes to build AI systems that institutions trust and use. Jena leads enterprise-wide data and AI strategy with a strong focus on trust, governance, ethical AI, and real-world impact. We talk about what AI adoption looks like inside higher education, why trust is the real bottleneck in AI, how institutions can move from pilot chaos to actual maturity, and what responsible AI leadership looks like when the stakes are real. We also get into Jena’s journey from data leader to Chief Data & AI Officer, her human-centered approach to AI, and why purpose matters more than hype. If you’re a woman in AI, a builder, a leader, or simply someone tired of surface-level AI conversations, this episode is for you. In this episode, we cover: • Jena’s journey into AI leadership • What it means to lead AI inside a university • Why trust, governance, and adoption matter more than model hype • Responsible AI in real implementation • How institutions can move from AI experiments to real strategy • Leadership lessons from scaling data and AI over time Guest: Jena Zang Chief Data & AI Officer, University of St. Thomas https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenaz/ Subscribe so you never miss a Saturday episode. _____________________________________________________ The AI Sisterhood Podcast is the show where women building the future of AI share how they actually do it. Hear how they built it. Then go build yours. Every week, host Arthi Rajendran sits down with a woman who is in the arena : shipping ML models, founding AI companies, and doing the hard technical work that rarely gets talked about publicly. No hype. No theory. Just real builders having honest conversations about real systems. We go deep on: → How they actually built what they built → The technical decisions behind real AI systems → Career journeys into AI : the unpolished, honest version → What it takes to build as a woman in a male-dominated space → Where AI is going, from the people actively shaping it Because the AI conversation online is overwhelmingly male, but the women building in this space are extraordinary. This podcast exists to make them visible and to give every listener the fuel to go build something of their own. New episode every Saturday. 🎙️ WANT TO BE A GUEST? Are you a woman building real AI systems? We want to hear your story. Fill out our guest interest form → https://forms.gle/NMRrmjgkz3GSHGiK7 🤝 SPONSOR THE AI SISTERHOOD PODCAST Reach a community of women AI builders, developers, founders, and professionals actively building with AI. To explore partnership opportunities, reach out at → arthirajendran@thearthiaicollective.com 🔔 Subscribe + hit the bell so you never miss a Saturday drop 💬 Leave a comment : Arthi reads every single one & responds 📤 Share this episode with a woman in AI who deserves to be seen 📍 Get in touch: 🌐 Website → https://thearthiaicollective.com/ 📸 Instagram → / thearthiaicollective 💼 LinkedIn → / arthirajendran The AI Sisterhood Podcast is part of @thearthiaicollective a product and community ecosystem dedicated to making AI accessible, buildable, and human. 🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get ₹740 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5658854090145792
Show notes are based on the published YouTube episode description. Watch the full conversation for context.