Kathy Pham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kathy Pham
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Pham at the United States Digital Service in 2015
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| Board member of | Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, Make the ... Pump Not Suck, Civic Signals, Georgia Institute of Technology, Startups & Society Initiative, FWD50, Salesforce |
Kathy Pham is a Vietnamese American computer scientist and a leader in product management. She has worked in important roles at big companies like Google and IBM. She also helped start the United States Digital Service (USDS) at The White House, which helps the government use technology better. Kathy Pham was also a top technology officer at the Federal Trade Commission and helped lead the National AI Advisory Committee.
Today, Kathy Pham is a teacher and expert at the Harvard Kennedy School. There, she teaches about how to create technology products responsibly. She has also worked with organizations like Mozilla and the Harvard Berkman Klein Center. She focuses on making sure technology, especially AI, is fair and helpful for everyone. Kathy Pham even helped create a program called the Mozilla Fix the Internet Incubator, which supports new ideas to improve the internet.
Early Life and School
Kathy Pham’s parents came to the United States as refugees from Vietnam. They spent several years in refugee camps before finding a new home in America. Her brother, David Pham, is a Major in the United States Marine Corps and received a special medal for his service.
Kathy went to Windsor Forest High School in Savannah, Georgia. She was part of the volleyball team and graduated as the second-best student in her class.
She studied Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She also earned a master's degree in Computer Science from both Georgia Tech and Supélec. She focused on topics like keeping information secret (cryptography) and how people interact with computers. While in college, Kathy was a leader in groups like Women in Computing and helped start a local chapter of United for Sight, which helps people with eye care.
Career Highlights
Kathy Pham started her career as a software engineer. She built programs for flight training and healthcare at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. Later, she worked at IBM as a consultant and data scientist, focusing on healthcare data. She also helped organize gaming leagues for fun at IBM.
At Google, Kathy worked in different roles, including managing products and data. She worked on Google Health, which helps people with health information, and Google Search. She also started Google’s first big meeting about using data to make better decisions.
In 2014, Kathy left Google to help create the United States Digital Service (USDS). This group works to make government services easier to use for everyone. She helped improve services for veterans, and worked on important health projects like the Precision Medicine Initiative and Cancer Moonshot. She also spoke at White House events about science and technology.
Since 2017, Kathy has been a Fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center. Her work there focuses on how technology, especially AI, affects society. She looks at how to make sure technology is used responsibly and ethically. She also teaches a class at the Harvard Kennedy School called "Product Management and Society."
From 2018 to 2021, Kathy worked at Mozilla. She helped lead a project called the Responsible Computer Science Challenge. This project encourages universities to teach students about the ethical side of computer science. In 2020, she also helped start the Fix the Internet Incubator at Mozilla. This program supports new ideas and startups that want to make the internet better.
In 2021, Kathy Pham became a Deputy Chief Technology Officer for the Federal Trade Commission. This government agency works to protect consumers.
In 2023, she was chosen to be the first Executive Director of the National AI Advisory Committee (NAIAC). This group gives advice to the President about artificial intelligence.
Kathy Pham is also known for her community work. She often helps immigrant communities understand government services. To honor her late mother, she created a special fund at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She also founded the Cancer Sidekick Foundation to support cancer patients.
Awards and Recognitions
- Joined the Computing Hall of Fame at the Georgia Institute of Technology (2021).
- Named one of the first "40 under 40" by the Georgia Institute of Technology (2020).
- Invited to speak at graduation events at Harvard University (2019, 2020).
- One of the youngest people to join the Georgia Tech Greek Hall of Fame (2017).
- Was a special guest of First Lady Michelle Obama at the 2015 State of the Union address.
- Named one of "40 under 40" by Nguoi Viet Daily News.
- Won first place representing the United States in the international Imagine Cup competition, which is like the "Olympics for Technology."
- Recognized as the Most Outstanding Junior by Georgia Tech’s College of Computing.
- Was a finalist for the Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship.
- Graduated as Salutatorian of Windsor Forest High School.
