Irene works at the intersection of climate services, digital agriculture and AI at Mercy Corps AgriFin. Her portfolio includes leading AI-for-agriculture initiatives focused on local-language advisory with Masakhane Research Hub, responsible AI adoption and practical solutions to challenges identified by farmer-facing organizations with the Strathmore Agrifood Innovation Center (SAFIC). These include a recently concluded AI for agriculture innovation challenge that trained over 400 developers on AI, voice- and text-based advisory services, and partnerships with African AI and language-technology organizations.

Before joining AgriFin, Irene worked with Silicon Valley technology companies, including Stanford University spinout Atlas AI and Meta’s Facebook Connectivity team, where she supported the deployment and scale-up of geospatial AI and Express Wi-Fi in Kenya.