Aniyia Williams inspires audiences with her vision for ethical tech, inclusive innovation, and systems that help people thrive.
5.00 of 5
Top rated!5 of 5
“Aniyia was fun to work with and gave a great talk.”
Barrett Clark
Ruby Central
Aniyia Williams is a systempreneur, creator, and investor who has spent her career building pathways toward a more ethical and inclusive tech future. As a principal on the Responsible Technology team at Omidyar Network, she works to help the tech world fulfill its promise of improving lives. Aniyia brings experience as a nonprofit founder, movement builder, and inventor, offering audiences a rare blend of strategic insight, lived experience, and a forward-looking vision for change.
Aniyia Williams has become one of the most prominent advocates for a tech sector that works in service of people. As a principal on the Responsible Technology team at Omidyar Network, she helps guide efforts that push the industry toward systems that are ethical, accountable, and centered on human well-being. Her work focuses on how technology can support thriving communities rather than deepen existing inequities, and she brings both strategic rigor and creative thinking to every conversation. Audiences appreciate her ability to connect big-picture ideas with real-world impact, turning complex challenges into clear, actionable paths forward.
Before joining Omidyar Network, Aniyia founded Black & Brown Founders, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Black and Latinx entrepreneurs launch and grow tech ventures. She continues to serve as the organization’s board chair, offering guidance shaped by her deep experience in community building and entrepreneurship. Her dedication to creating fair and accessible ecosystems extends far beyond a single organization.
As co-founder of Zebras Unite, she helped spark an entrepreneur-led movement that advocates for a more ethical and sustainable startup culture one rooted in shared prosperity, mutual support, and thoughtful use of capital. She also serves as convener of the Black Innovation Alliance, a collective of organizations committed to supporting, funding, and sustaining Black innovators across the country. These initiatives highlight her commitment to building systems that uplift people who have historically been excluded from the benefits of the tech economy.
Aniyia’s entrepreneurial path began with Tinsel, a fashion-tech company she founded to address the lack of electronics designed with women in mind. The company created the world’s first audio necklace, blending technology and style into a wearable device that solved a common frustration. Her inventive mindset continues to influence her approach to leadership and problem-solving, showing audiences what it looks like to design solutions that place people at the center.
She later co-founded the Firefly Alliance, a community that equips women with collaborative leadership tools to move beyond racism and sexism. Through this work, she brings attention to the structural barriers that women face and offers strategies rooted in collective action, resilience, and shared power.
Aniyia’s path is far from traditional. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she held roles in marketing, business development, and nonprofit fundraising. Her foundation in the arts runs deep: she trained for a decade as an opera singer and earned her B.A. in music from Penn State University, with minors in business and Italian. She graduated with honors in Italian and musicology as a Bunton-Waller Fellow and received the Josephine Rhea Award for Excellence in Italian studies. Her creative background enriches her presence on stage her delivery, storytelling, and capacity to connect with audiences reflect the discipline and expressiveness honed through years of performing.
In 2019, Penn State honored her with the Alumni Achievement Award, recognizing her as one of its notable alumni aged 35 and younger. This acknowledgment reflects her impact across sectors and her role as a leader reshaping how innovation and equity intersect.
Aniyia brings a rare blend of systems thinking, entrepreneurial experience, and cultural insight. She offers audiences a clear look at how ethical technology, inclusive entrepreneurship, and community-driven leadership can shape a better future. Whether speaking to technologists, founders, corporate leaders, or social impact organizations, she delivers depth, clarity, and a perspective grounded in lived experience. Booking Aniyia Williams means bringing forward a voice dedicated to building a tech ecosystem where people and communities can truly thrive.
5 of 5
“Aniyia was fun to work with and gave a great talk.”
Barrett Clark Ruby Central
5 of 5
“Aniyia was great! She was professional, fun, relatable to the audience and had good ways of engaging with them throughout the presentation.”
Christina George, Education and Events Manager League of CA Cities
Keynote by Aniyia Williams:
Capitalism is a hell of a drug. When used responsibly, it can create freedom, innovation and efficiency. But unchecked, hoarding, exploitation and careless behavior can run rampant. The tech world has created a great example of this with venture capital and “unicorns”. It’s not greed and growth at all costs… it’s just business. Right? Wrong. We’re entering a new age, one where entrepreneurs want to create solutions to improve the human experience and quality of life without playing a zero sum game. The age of the zebra.
In this talk, Aniyia will explain why purpose and profit do not have to be mutually exclusive, why creating alternatives to the venture capital status quo is a moral and economic imperative, and how innovation in business financing can help us solve the world’s big challenges.
Keynote by Aniyia Williams:
If you’re an underdog who wants to take your shot at building a tech business, a different approach is needed. For many people of color, women, LGBTQ, baby boomers, and the “others” - the game is harder to play IF we're using the same playbook as Musk, Gates, Jobs and Zuck. In this presentation, Aniyia will share her recipe for finding strength, flushing out your idea, launching, and making your first dollars against all odds.
Keynote by Aniyia Williams:
Today’s expectations of a happy life are at best, unrealistic, and at worst, oppressive. Are you hurtling toward burnout on a crusade to build the perfect life? Been there. Are you stressed about money, even when you’re making a decent bit of it? Done that. Are you seeing communication with your significant other get rockier by the day? Yeah, sounds about right. Know that you are not alone, and while you probably can’t "have it all", you’d be surprised to find how much joy can come from letting go of what you don’t need.
Aniyia will share some hard lessons she’s learned about finding happiness, how to think differently about what we want, and how to get it.
Keynote by Aniyia Williams:
Some days it feels like we are doomed. Maybe we are. Either way, we should make the most of our lives while we’re here. The key is to NOT make it about winning or losing, but deftly playing an infinite game. That’s only possible when you are able to lead with the reason why you do what you do.
In this talk, Aniyia will share ways to search within to discover your WHY, distinguish what is necessary and real for YOU, and how to use this as a compass to navigate the world…. as long as it keeps turning.
Keynote by Aniyia Williams:
Spoiler alert: you already are! You just need some help with bringing the most interesting pieces to the surface. When we want to be seen as interesting or valuable, it actually links to our fundamental human desire to feel connection and belonging.
During this presentation, Aniyia will explain why we want people to like us. She’ll then provide a framework to uncover the most unique and fascinating parts of yourself, expand your repertoire, and apply it to your interactions.
Watch Aniyia Williams in action
