Meet the Team

Andrew Aitken

Founder & Executive Director

Andrew started CRAI on a specific observation: rural communities represent roughly 17% of the U.S. population but capture less than 4% of AI economic activity — not because anyone decided to exclude them, but because AI training data skews urban, enabling resources don't exist in rural places, and nobody was having that conversation with the builders.

He spent two decades in Silicon Valley building developer ecosystems and open-source strategy, advised the White House and institutions like Microsoft and Capital One on technology strategy, and founded the industry's first open-source think tank. He now leads CRAI, serves as strategist to the AI Institute at Fort Lewis College, sits on the FINOS Technical Oversight Committee, and advises two early-stage AI companies.

Jennifer Berridge

Operations

Jennifer Berridge is a founding volunteer leader at the Center for Rural AI, where she is helping build the operational framework for one of Colorado's first nonprofit AI training initiatives serving rural communities and higher education.

Jennifer has more than 30 years in healthcare as a provider, clinical program developer, instructor, healthcare business owner, executive leader in telehealth operations, health operations consultant, and most recently a grant specialist exploring chronic disease management using artificial intelligence and working with Fort Lewis College's AI Institute.

Jennifer brings the infrastructure-building experience and strategic discipline that early-stage, mission-driven organizations need to grow with accountability and integrity. She is recognized for translating complex, multi-stakeholder environments into high-performing systems, and for inspiring confidence among the partners and funders who make that work possible.

Emaliah Sawyer

Marketing and Communications

Emaliah Sawyer works on marketing and communications at the Center for Rural AI, where she supports storytelling, digital outreach, and community engagement around AI development in rural communities. Her work focuses on translating complex technical ideas into clear, accessible communication that helps educators, nonprofits, and community partners understand how AI can be applied in practical ways.

Emaliah is completing a degree in Business Economics with a minor in Marketing at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. At CRAI, she helps develop messaging that highlights how rural institutions can engage with emerging technologies to expand opportunity and strengthen local organizations.

Marc Nager

Marc has spent the past two decades building and supporting entrepreneurial communities around the world. As co-founder and former CEO of Startup Weekend and UP Global, he helped launch programs that supported nearly one million entrepreneurs across five continents. Before joining Howdy Partners, Marc served as Chief Community Officer at Techstars and Managing Director of the Telluride Venture Accelerator.

From grassroots organizers to Fortune 500 execs, he's worked alongside all kinds of builders to move innovation forward. Originally from Mammoth Lakes, CA, Marc now lives in Durango with his wife Ashley and their daughters, Lia and Zoe.