What it takes to build an AI-ready workforce

Jaime Schmidt is a Professor of Accounting and Executive Director of the C. Aubrey Smith Center for Auditing Education and Research at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also an Associate Editor at Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. Jaime received a B.B.A., M.S. in Accounting, and M.S. in Education from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. Professor Schmidt’s research examines the issues and implications of audit policy and includes studies in artificial intelligence, litigation, corporate governance, and standard-setting. Her work focuses on helping audit standard setters and regulators understand the current auditing environment and develop ways to improve auditing. Her work has appeared in several academic journals including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Contemporary Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies and Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory. Professor Schmidt has received research grants from the Center for Audit Quality, PwC LLP, and the American Accounting Association. She was awarded the James Dietrick Outstanding Faculty Award in 2016 and 2026 and the Amplifer Award for classroom inclusivity in 2020.

Kristen currently serves as the head of AI Fluency at Anthropic where she helps every person transition to an AI-enabled world safely. Prior to Anthropic, Kristen worked at Okta, Slack, BrightBytes, and as a public school educator. She’s passionate about transforming how people work and grow every day.

A lifelong educator, Kristen also co-founded Edcamp, an organization that brings free, organic professional learning across the globe. In 2015, Edcamp was named one of the 10 most innovative companies in education by Fast Company.

Kristen has published 3 books on learning design, and her work has been featured at TEDx, Educon, PBS Newshour, and more. She holds a doctorate degree in adult learning and organizational development.