About Mary Michaels

Cyber Policy · AI Governance · Women's Economic Empowerment

Mary is completing her M.S. in Global Security, Conflict, and Cyber Crime at New York University, with a focus on technology, governance, policy, and applied problem-solving. Her work examines how digital systems are governed, verified, and trusted across institutional and international contexts.

She is the inaugural recipient of the Doria Shafik Global Gender Justice Award, recognizing her scholarship and commitment to advancing global gender justice. Her capstone project, LoomHer Empowerment, explores a buyer-led, asset-financed, digitally verified textile enterprise model for women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, developed under the advisement of Professor Alexander H. Raia.

Mary is also a presenter at Geneva Cyber Week 2026, where she will contribute to the session “Cyber Ethics in Practice: A Systems-Based Framework for Global Cyber Policy and Diplomacy,” organized by Professor Zhanna L. Shank, JD. The session supports international conversations on cyber ethics, governance, and diplomatic practice.

Mary Michaels is an NYU graduate student in Global Security, Conflict, and Cyber Crime whose work bridges cyber policy, AI governance, international development, and women’s economic empowerment. She is a Graduate Research Assistant supporting practitioner-facing courses on cyber policy, AI governance, and international humanitarian law, and her applied research focuses on trust, verification, and accountability in cross-border systems.

Current Work

Alongside her academic work, Mary serves as an International Student Immigration Compliance Officer at CUNY, bringing practical experience with policy, governance, compliance, and regulatory systems into her applied research.

LoomHer Empowerment

LoomHer Empowerment is Mary’s applied capstone project and business model focused on expanding economic opportunity for women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project explores how women can access productive assets, financing, training, and buyer relationships through a digitally verified textile enterprise model.

The model combines loom financing, skills development, quality-control verification, and market linkage to help women produce textiles for higher-value local and international markets. It is designed to address common barriers facing women entrepreneurs, including limited access to capital, fragmented supply chains, inconsistent buyer access, and lack of formal verification systems.

The initiative is grounded in women’s economic empowerment, human security, inclusive finance, and intersectional analysis. These frameworks shape how LoomHer addresses access, accountability, and opportunity in underserved supply chains..

As part of the LoomHer Empowerment model, Mary developed a browser-based quality-control prototype to support textile verification before products are shipped to buyers. The app compares a reference textile design with a finished woven piece and evaluates color accuracy, pattern alignment, and overall consistency.

The prototype uses digital image analysis to support faster, more transparent quality checks. It is intended to reduce errors, improve buyer confidence, and help women entrepreneurs meet consistent production standards in a scalable way.

The app reflects Mary’s broader interest in how technology can support trust, verification, and accountability in cross-border trade and inclusive finance.

Professional Background

Mary brings experience across higher education, immigration compliance, public service, communications, and international affairs. In her current role at CUNY, she works with international student compliance and regulatory systems, including SEVIS-related processes and institutional policy implementation.

Her background also includes research, writing, public communication, and advocacy. Across these roles, her work has focused on helping institutions navigate complex systems with clarity, accountability, and practical problem-solving.