Davar Ardalan

Davar Ardalan is a generative AI leader and technologist specializing in cultural intelligence, agentic AI governance, and ethical innovation. With deep expertise in AI-powered storytelling systems and large language model (LLM) risk mitigation, she has led transformative initiatives across government, commercial, and nonprofit sectors, including Booz Allen, NPR, National Geographic, and the White House Presidential Innovation Fellowship Program.Ardalan’s AI research was featured in The New York Times in March 2022, spotlighting her work at the intersection of culture and computation. Her latest book, AI for Community: Preserving Culture and Tradition (Taylor & Francis, 2025), launched at the London AI Summit and offers a roadmap for building AI systems that reflect cultural nuance, historical awareness, and community-centered design.A 2025 finalist in two categories of the Booz Allen Gen AI Academy Awards, Ardalan has developed knowledge bases, prototyped AI assistants, and contributed to frameworks on LLM security, commercial AI readiness, and storytelling infrastructure.Previously, she served as Executive Producer of Audio at National Geographic and held senior editorial roles at NPR, where she led award-winning productions and mentored cross-functional teams. As former founder of TulipAI and IVOW AI, she developed Sina Storyteller and advanced research on cultural data engines such as the Indigenous Knowledge Graph.Ardalan is also a mixed media artist whose work examines how machines learn. In her Code 1776 and Shadows of Persepolis series, she uses stencils to symbolize what should be remembered, mirroring how AI learns through repetition and structure. Her art challenges viewers to consider what is retained, what is omitted, and how human memory shapes machine learning.

Watch her AI historical readings on Vimeo. Check out Davar on Spotify, Medium, and LinkedIn. Fun fact: she has also been featured in Zippy the Pinhead.

Davar is a multidisciplinary artist whose work blends tradition, technology, and storytelling through handcrafted collage. Her pieces are currently featured at Gallery 57 in Annapolis, MD, where they explore the visual language of AI in deeply human terms.

Working with Davar?

Davar's contributions have made a significant impact on National Geographic. She has helped expand the reach of our content across our parent company, The Walt Disney Company, and our non-profit partners at the National Geographic Society. Her efforts with “Into the Depths” resulted in National Geographic Magazine featuring the first Black woman Explorer on its cover in its 134-year history.-- Michael Tribble, VP Multi-Platform Content National Geographic 2023

Few humans are as far ahead of the tech community as Davar Ardalan in understanding and making accessible the criticality and value of pairing story, memory, culture, diversity with data/ai projects.

-- Carrie Jaquith, Global Head of Product Abaxx Technologies

“I had the pleasure of collaborating with Davar on a pilot spatial audio series, where she oversaw the use of ambisonic microphones in the field. I took one of these microphones to the Ecuadorian Amazon, and Davar's expertise and guidance were invaluable. Her deep understanding of spatial audio's potential elevated the final production, creating an immersive and resonant narrative.”

-- Kiliii Yuyan, National Geographic Explorer