Ambassadors
Engage
new voices
Santosh Viswanatham, Open Web Technology Ambassador
Our Ambassador program is for individuals passionate about activating communities who have been – and continue to be – systematically excluded from financial access and empowerment opportunities.
Ambassadors are cross-disciplinary thought leaders who research, build, organize, advocate, and imagine new paths to digital financial inclusion with Open Payments technology.
“We want to include different voices, especially the voices that were not heard before.”
–Santosh Viswanatham, Open Source Technology Ambassador
There are no current open grants for Ambassadors.
You can email our Programs team with any questions, join our mailing list to get all grant opportunities into your inbox, and/or join our community space to interact with ongoing projects and our growing community.
Ambassadors 2025
Caroline Sinders is an award-winning critical designer, researcher, and artist. They’re the founder of the human rights and design lab Convocation Research.
Andria Barret is a fierce advocate for inclusion and leverages over 15 years of experience helping organizations—from tech startups to nonprofits—create inclusive environments where people feel seen, heard, and valued.
Gavin Chait is an author and data scientist who has specialized in data curation and interoperability in the field of open data and open-access research for almost twenty years.
Sheena Allen is an entrepreneur, author, public speaker, and tech architect. She has founded multiple successful startups.
Victoria Coker is a social-impact entrepreneur, marketer, multidisciplinary artist, certified software engineer and founder of Black Web Fest.
Stephanie Perrin is an award winning privacy and civil liberties expert who has worked on privacy standards, policy, legislation, and technology interpretation for 40 years.
Ambassadors Alumni
Erica Hargreave is an international award-winning storyteller and educator interested in helping independent creatives and educators develop open educational resources.
Kokayi Issa is a preeminent Improvisational Vocalist, Author, Producer, GRAMMY-nominated musician, and multi-disciplinary fine artist and 2023 Guggenheim Fellow for Music Composition.
Jeremiah Lee is a software engineer who has worked with social network APIs since the original Facebook Platform and advocates for federated social networks.
Hollis Wong-Wear is a Grammy-nominated recording artist, filmmaker and strategist who works at the intersection of creativity, public policy, social impact and community building.
Santosh Viswanatham is an Open web advocate and Tech Speaker passionate about how Open Web Technology & protocols serve and solve everyday challenges.
-
Andria Barrett
"My goal is to protect this trusted tradition while using technology to reduce costs, expand access and make it easier for people to take part."
-
Lawil Karama
"As an artist working with diaspora communities and marginalized voices, I saw how financial exclusion compounded other forms of erasure."
-
Stephanie Perrin
"There is a great need for more work on explaining where data is going, where it is being stored, and what protection exists for it."
-
Jeremiah Lee
"A handful of companies should not control the digital public square, nor should a handful of companies control global money movement."
-
Xiaoji Song
"The future of financial inclusion is one where power is redistributed, not just interfaces improved."
-
Erica Hargreave
"Placing focus, intention and value in ensuring we are building accessibility into the system, starting with the code."
-
Ayden Férdeline
"Payments are not just transactions; they are governance made tangible."
-
Smriti Parsheera
“Understanding how different communities, particularly marginalized groups, access and engage with digital financial services is an important piece of the puzzle.”
-
Gavin Chait
"Financial exclusion arises because individuals don’t have access to the formal economy."
-
Victoria Coker
"The future of financial inclusion, to me, looks like access to all regardless of income, race, or location."
-
Kokayi Walker
"Financial inclusion is about dignity and agency. The ability to fully participate in economic life."
-
Santosh Viswanatham
"I envision a future where financial inclusion is naturally embedded into the web."
-
Sheena Allen
"Digital financial inclusion represents equity, access, and economic survival for millions of people."