Operation HOPE Announces Formation of Artificial Intelligence Ethics Council Committees and Initial Committee Leadership

Distinguished leaders in business, education, policy, and workforce development to guide ethical and inclusive AI adoption for all Americans

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Operation HOPE, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping low- and moderate-income Americans thrive in an ever-changing economy, today announced the formation of the Artificial Intelligence Ethics Council (AIEC) committees, along with the first distinguished slate of committee chair leadership appointments.

The AIEC, co-chaired by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Operation HOPE Chairman, Founder and CEO John Hope Bryant, was established to ensure that the rapid advancement of AI expands opportunity, especially for underserved communities. Powered by Operation HOPE, the AIEC brings together leaders from across sectors to help shape ethical frameworks, public policy, education pathways, and workforce strategies that prepare all Americans to succeed in an AI-driven economy.

The AIEC’s work is organized through four committees, each addressing a critical aspect of AI’s impact:

• Committee on Business + Finance, chaired by Kristy Fercho, EVP, Wells Fargo
• Committee on Education, chaired by Felica Coney, Corporate Vice President, Google
• Committee on Policy, Regulation + Governance, co-chaired by Keren Wiser, Founder & CEO, Wiser Compliance Group, and The Honorable Clyde Vanel, Esq., Assemblyman, State of New York
• Committee on Workforce Development, Employment + Career Readiness

For more information about the AIEC and to view the full 2025 AI Ethics Council Annual Report please visit: https://operationhope.org/initiatives/ai-ethics-council/

About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to "silver rights" with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.