We're Building WomenAILabs in Chicago. I Need the First Believers.

Most stories about a new organization get written after it succeeds — after the sponsors, the crowd, the polished photos. This isn't that story.

I'm writing to you from the very beginning. Right now, WomenAILabs is a mission and a founder who refuses to let it stay an idea. There's no big budget behind me. There's no crowd yet. There's me, in Chicago, building this in the open — and inviting you to be one of the first people brave enough to build it with me.

Why I'm doing this

For years I've worked as a senior ServiceNow consultant and AI architect. I've delivered enterprise systems, led technical teams, and shipped real solutions for real clients.

I've also spent those same years being underestimated, talked over, and asked to prove twice what others prove once. Bias isn't a theory to me. It shows up in rooms. It shows up in hiring. It shows up in the data we train our models on. And increasingly, it shows up inside the AI systems quietly making decisions about people's lives — who gets seen, who gets hired, who gets a loan, who gets believed.

Here's what I keep coming back to: if AI is going to shape the next century, the people who've felt unfairness firsthand need to be in the room building it. Not as an afterthought. As founders.

That's why WomenAILabs exists.

What WomenAILabs is

WomenAILabs is a Chicago-born community where women, non-binary technologists, and allies use AI to solve real problems — faster, more fairly, and more openly than the systems we're trying to fix.

We're not a lecture series. We're a build space. We teach by making things that matter, capturing what we learn, and sharing it so the next person doesn't start from zero.

What we're building first: the July 18–19 VibeCode

On July 18–19, 2026, we're hosting our first WomenAILabs VibeCode — a two-day build sprint, in Chicago and online, where teams use AI to prototype solutions to real fairness and equity problems.

The goal isn't a trophy. The goal is proof. By the end of those two days, we want working prototypes, real stories, and a model other cities can copy. We'd rather show you what AI for good looks like than tell you about it.

To make that happen, I'm being honest about where we are: we're recruiting the founding team, the mentors, the judges, and the sponsors right now. Nothing is locked yet. That's not a weakness — that's your opening. The people who step in this week help decide what this becomes.

Who I need beside me — this week

I'm not recruiting titles. I'm recruiting doers. The first question I'll ask you isn't "do you want a board seat" — it's "what can you help us get done before July 18?"

Here's where I need hands right now:

  • Founding leaders / action board — experienced people who can make fast decisions and own a workstream end to end.
  • VibeCode facilitators & AI mentors — folks who can guide teams through building with AI in a weekend.
  • Judges — people who can evaluate prototypes and give sharp, kind feedback.
  • A venue partner in Chicago — a space, a university, a company office, a co-working spot. Room for builders.
  • Sponsors — companies willing to fund prizes, food, and costs, and to put their name behind equitable AI at the founding moment, not the famous one.
  • Volunteers — registration, logistics, communications, day-of support. A few hours a week moves mountains.
  • Storytellers — photographers, writers, and people who can capture what happens so it outlives the weekend.

If you're reading this and thinking "I could do one of those," — that's the whole invitation.

What I can promise you

I can't promise you a big stage or a famous name on the flyer. Not yet.

I can promise that your fingerprints will be on the foundation. I can promise we move fast, decide quickly, and respect your time. I can promise the work is honest — no inflated numbers, no manufactured hype, just people building something that should exist.

And I can promise this: when WomenAILabs grows into the cities and the showcase we're planning, the people who showed up at the start will be the reason it happened.

How to join

If you want in, tell me one thing: what can you help us accomplish before July 18?

Reach out at https://womenailabs.org/get-involved or connect with me directly. Builders, mentors, judges, sponsors, venue hosts, university partners, storytellers — all of you.

This is the part of the story that gets written before it works.

Come write it with me.

— Dawn C. Simmons Co-founder, WomenAILabs · Chicago