Janeen Uzzell is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the largest student-run organization in the United States that focuses on improving the advancement of Black engineers in academia and industry with more than 30,000 members worldwide. As a strong STEM leader, she reinforces NSBE’s overall mission to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.
Janeen’s leadership has spanned around the world from Fortune 100 companies to the private sector to government. Her previous role was Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, one of the top five websites in the world. While in this role, Janeen launched the Office of the COO, introduced organizational rigor and process improvement, led a staff of more than 500, and operated a budget of $140M. She also created the Wikimedia Knowledge Equity Fund, a $4.5 million fund created to provide grants to external organizations that support knowledge equity by addressing the racial inequities preventing access and participation in free knowledge. This fund developed out of the intensified racial trauma toward Black people in 2020.
For nearly two decades, Janeen’s experience implementing the design and use of technology drove impact on global outcomes at General Electric (GE). As the head of Women in Technology, she effectively accelerated the number of women in technical roles across the 300,000-employee workforce. She directed numerous companywide initiatives as the Global Director of External Affairs and Technology Programs and the Director of Healthcare Programs at GE Africa, where Janeen lived for several years as an Ex-Pat in Accra, Ghana. In addition, she held positions as the Director of Global Healthcare Programs, the Director of Healthcare Disparity Programs, and the Director of Service Operations for GE.
A recipient of numerous awards for her professional accomplishments, Janeen’s credits include being recognized by ADWEEK as one of the Top Black Women Trailblazers in Tech, one of the 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business by The Network Journal, The United Nations Global Leadership Award, the GE ICON Leadership Award, and The Network Journal’s 40-Under-40 Business Leadership Award. Her community endeavors as a servant leader extend worldwide. She has served as an Ambassador for Global Causes; an expert in Public Private Partnerships; and a strategist with Ministries of Health, Heads of State, and global partners. She has also held leadership roles on the United Nations Council as well as the Global Health Council for her strategic focus on healthcare solutions in low resource settings.
Janeen received her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and a Master of Business Administration in International Business from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Currently, she serves on the board of Mercy Ships International, the dFree Global Foundation, and holds a seat as an Advisor for NCA&T’s College of Engineering, her alma mater. She is a venture capital investor and Chairwoman of the Greybridge SPAC, focused on fintech and legacy endowments within HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).
A thought leader and a voice of influence throughout her career, Janeen fuses her passion for social justice and her leadership as a global technology executive to establish diversity, equity, and inclusion in technology through product development and leadership advancement. Her career forms a beacon of light shining on inequality in tech spaces and forges opportunities for others who seek to follow this path. In her spare time, Janeen enjoys playing tennis and spending time with her family and friends. She is based in Washington, D.C.