ALIS Leadership

Mairead Jones-Kennelly is a Senior Counsel at SUNY Office of General Counsel. She will likely tell you that her name "rhymes with 'parade' but with an 'm'" when you meet her. She is the lead legal counsel to Purchase College, Old Westbury University, and Maritime College. Mairead has cultivated a specialty in AI Ethics and serves on panels lecturing on the topic. She is focused on artificial intelligence technology's emergence and influence on campuses, including bias exposure and security. Mairead also provides advice to campuses across the legal spectrum including, Title VI, Title IX, the First Amendment, Americans with Disabilities Act, labor and employment, litigation, statutory interpretation, federal and state legislation and regulation, policy development and implementation, student conduct, and student affairs.

Prior to joining SUNY, Mairead was an attorney at New York City's Office of Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall under Mayor Bill de Blasio. There, she worked on the city's pandemic response, drafting COVID-19 emergency orders and policies, in addition to providing legal support on a myriad of programs impacting New Yorkers. Part of her portfolio at City Hall included ethics compliance for staff members and working on body worn camera and data sharing between NYC agencies. Mairead has spent her entire career in public interest, working additionally for New York City Health + Hospitals and Brooklyn Defender Services as a public defender. She clerked for the Honorable J. Michael Ryan in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

An avid soccer fan and tea drinker, Mairead and her wife currently live in Westchester, NY with their two young daughters, who carry on their parents' tradition of having unique names that require rhyming introductions.

Hannah Hage is an Assistant Counsel for the Contracts Practice Group at the State University of New York Office of General Counsel specializing in software and artificial intelligence contracts. Hannah enthusiastically joined SUNY in December of 2023.

Hannah began her focus on the intersection of technology and the law as a research assistant for her Albany Law School professor by conducting extensive interviews and field research for the development of The Future of Change: How Technology Shapes Social Revolutions, a book authored by Professor Raymond Brescia. During her law school career, Hannah gained legal experience as a law clerk working in the Office of General Counsel for the SUNY Research Foundation in Albany, New York, where she first developed her admiration of and appreciation for the State University of New York. While pursuing her JD and MBA simultaneously, Hannah produced her own doctorate thesis analyzing the use of drones in the commercial space and the implications of commercial drone use on individual privacy and personal data collection. Upon receiving her JD/MBA, Hannah became the Chief Executive Officer of a technology startup, SupreMEtric, LLC., and obtained Phase I STTR funding from the National Science Foundation in 2021 for the development of a groundbreaking forensic technology.

In private practice, Hannah was as an associate attorney at Johnson & Laws, LLC., where she served as municipality defense counsel in constitutional law litigation, advised municipalities on land use and contract issues, as well as employment discrimination claims.

Hannah is incredibly proud and excited to champion the AI Legal Institute at SUNY and looks forward to upholding integrity and compliance in the pursuit of innovation and artificial intelligence advancement.

Nihla Sikkander is an attorney and thought leader at the intersection of law, artificial intelligence, and public policy. She serves as Assistant Counsel for the State University of New York (SUNY), where she represents the nation's largest public higher education system in litigation, labor and employment matters, and AI compliance. She is also an integral founding team member of SUNY's AI Legal Institute (ALIS), a groundbreaking initiative that equips legal professionals, and public and private institutions with the tools to navigate the legal dimensions of the development and use of artificial intelligence tools and systems.

Nihla's career spans private practice and public service. Prior to joining SUNY, Nihla practiced labor and employment law at Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, and held executive roles in the nonprofit and financial sectors, overseeing human resources and fiscal operations. Nihla has participated in UC Berkeley Law's AI Institute and has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America for Labor and Employment Law. She also holds senior HR certifications from SHRM (SHRM-SCP) and HRCI (SPHR). Her multidisciplinary background and commitment to public service uniquely position her to lead conversations on the future of law and technology.

A frequent speaker, Nihla has presented on topics ranging from AI governance and algorithmic accountability to employment law and institutional compliance. Nihla is passionate about bridging the gap between innovation and regulation to ensure technology serves the public good.