AI governance, risk, and product consultant.
I’m Avita Barnes — a product builder and AI strategist with a BS in Computer Science and 10+ years of product and risk management experience bridging technical complexity, business ROI, and compliance. I help organizations move beyond deep learning’s black box dilemma so AI solutions are transparent, ethical, and audit-ready, combining data science experience with Responsible AI development to deliver technology stakeholders can trust and scale.
Experience
Candid MAC
Implement NIST Risk Management Frameworks to identify AI risks and remediate model drift and algorithmic bias before deployment. Apply Explainable AI to make opaque deep learning decisions traceable and audit-ready, and design Python NLTK + UiPath workflows that automated review sentiment analysis and lifted client foot traffic 15%.
WebPros
Led an enterprise identity governance initiative driving an 85% increase in automated provisioning, consolidated customer identities across six brands for $180K annual savings, and used ML clustering of customer feedback to raise CSAT by 15 points.
Northwestern Mutual
Standardized enterprise risk management frameworks and security audit protocols, cutting review cycles 35%. Closed stakeholder feedback loops for a 55% improvement in team output and improved developer velocity 15% via CI/CD pipeline audits.
IHS Markit / S&P Global
Delivered 300+ risk assessments and remediation playbooks for 12 regional banks and a capital management firm, and streamlined enterprise risk assessment workflows across multi-institutional teams.
American Airlines
Drove a 14% ROI increase by championing deprecation of underutilized software assets and delivered 5 major API integrations and cloud migration projects supporting critical operations.
Wells Fargo
Managed the migration of 2,500+ databases supporting essential banking services with zero downtime and reduced approval turnaround time by 35%.
Core competencies & skills
AI & Machine Learning
Solutions & Automation
Product Analysis
Enterprise Strategy
Education & certifications
BS, Computer Science
Southern New Hampshire University — 2014
Certified Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance — 2019
Certified Product Manager
AIPMM — 2021
AI Security
INFOSEC — 2026
Explainable AI (xAI)
Duke University — 2026
Volunteerism
Executive Director — God’s Heart Corporation
2024 – Ongoing- Leading a tech-first non-profit transformation, building AI agents to maximize resource allocation, donor and social engagement.
- Pioneering Generative AI to automate grant writing, social media management, and multi-channel content development — increasing output by over 70%.
- Overseeing strategic growth and board relations while maintaining a lean, high-impact operational structure.