April M. Boyd-Noronha

April Boyd-Noronha has over 20 years of experience in academia and advanced technologies. April is a global keynote speaker, thought leader, and global advisor on emerging trends and the future of work with a particular focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion in XR and cybersecurity.

April was named 2018 Educator of the Year by the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals. Because of these distinct roles and experiences, she’s uniquely positioned to connect academia, corporations, and industry leaders with NextGen talent, especially tomorrow’s workforce that are of color and most times under positioned for success. She is a distinguished author who has been sharing her experience and expertise via publications and books such as “The Top 5 Rules of Engagement for Parents Raising a Girl in STEM”.

XRSI’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Advisor, April Boyd-Noronha serves as the Chief Engagement Strategist at The STEM Broker, LLC and advises many boards such as FinTech4Good, United Way, MindDrive, and Suburban Balance. April is based in North America with her family that includes three future STEM technologists including Cybersecurity Analyst (daughter), Behavior Analyst (daughter), and Drone Pilot (son). As a Professor, she advocates the use of immersive technologies to advance curriculums in Health Information Management (HIM), Cybersecurity, and Computer Information Systems (CIS).

April actively serves her community as an advocate and mentor for girls and youth via virtual reality hackathons, drone racing and events promoting diversity and emerging technologies bringing her real-life experiences and challenges to inspire many generations around the world.