By Milton Kirby | Washington, D.C. | January 28, 2026
At 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning at Dulles International Airport, Aliyana Isom boarded a plane bound for Dubai. The destination is more than a city. It’s a signal. In a matter of hours, she will moderate a global leadership panel at the January 31, 2026 Corporate Women Summit, bringing culture, accountability, and governance into a room where decisions ripple across borders.
That flight marks a milestone. Isom has been named Global Lead for Security Professionals in AI Governance by Women in AI Governance (WiAIG) a role that places her at the center of one of the most consequential conversations shaping technology’s future.
A Role That Signals Trust
This trust underpins WiAIG’s appointment. Their decision recognizes more than résumé lines: it’s confidence in Isom’s ability to translate risk into policy, and policy into practice. As Global Lead, she will grow and support a worldwide community of security practitioners working to ensure AI systems are built and governed with trust at their core.
Security professionals are essential to AI governance because artificial intelligence systems must protect confidentiality, preserve integrity, and remain resilient from design through deployment. Isom’s mandate is to align security risk management with ethical, legal, and operational frameworks so organizations can adopt AI responsibly without sacrificing public trust.
Roots and Resolve
Isom’s path to global leadership is grounded in service and systems. A proud U.S. Air Force veteran and former Senior Cybersecurity Program Manager at Nike, she has spent her career navigating invisible infrastructures that shape real lives.
“I realized it when I saw how invisible systems could directly affect real people’s lives,” Isom says. “Someone had to be accountable for that power.”
Working close to innovation clarified the stakes. “AI can scale harm quickly if governance isn’t built in from the start,” she explains. Mentors trusted her with complexity. Communities reminded her that her voice mattered even when she was the only one in the room.
Making Sense of AI Governance
At its core, AI governance is a framework of policies, procedures, and ethical standards that ensure AI is developed and used responsibly. It addresses bias, privacy, security threats, and accountability—balancing innovation with safety.
Trust, Isom argues, comes from controls, transparency, and accountability especially when systems fail. Governance is not about slowing innovation; it is about building guardrails early so damage does not have to be repaired later..
Representation and Responsibility
Stepping into this role as a Black woman in tech governance carries weight and purpose. “My presence expands what leadership can look like in these spaces,” Isom says. From her community, she carries resilience, discernment, and an awareness that decisions made in global rooms affect people far beyond those in the room.
To young women watching, her message is direct: “You do not need permission to lead. Preparation and competence will open doors.”
Dubai: Leadership in Action
In Dubai, Isom will moderate a session at the Corporate Women Summit from 11:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. titled “From the Office Cubicle to Navigating Foreign Territories.” The panel explores what it takes to succeed in a new country, including understanding cultural nuances and building networks from scratch.
She will guide a conversation with Tatjana Markovic, Paulina Mercader, Sophie McBaiden, and Donna Forte-Regis, leaders whose experiences navigating unfamiliar systems mirror the same challenges facing global AI governance.
Cross-cultural leadership, Isom notes, requires the same discipline as governing artificial intelligence: the ability to assess risk in unfamiliar environments, build trust across differences, and design systems that remain accountable even when contexts change.
“The practitioners who are responsible when theory meets reality are often missing from global conversations,” Isom says. In Dubai, she brings those voices forward, grounding dialogue in outcomes rather than abstraction.
The Vision Ahead
Looking ahead, Isom is focused on building a safer AI future, stronger global standards, inclusive leadership pipelines, and systems that protect communities rather than exploit them.
“Responsible AI must be explainable, auditable, and challengeable,” she says. “Innovation can move fast, but trust has to move faster.”
As the plane descends and the heat of Dubai rises, Isom’s journey comes into focus. This is more than her career advancing; it is about bringing accountability and purpose to the forefront of global technology leadership.
This article was first published in The Truth Seekers Journal.
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